ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the house tomb as a type of domesticity, but in its case, created to solve the problem of the dead, and accommodate, express, and explains death, a phenomenon equally as ephemeral, indeterminate, and vexing as divinity. It presents how funerary architecture served a range of goals regarding the housing of the dead, or in some cases, the undead or eternally present ancestors. The chapter provides a survey of the cultural and ontological roles and traditions of house tombs illustrated by historically significant funerary architecture. Particular attention is paid to the funerary practices and artifacts of American Indian cultures, which had a consistent penchant for house tombs. Many American Indian cultures emphasized multi-stage funerary processes rather than one specific event, which often included separation, liminality, and re-incorporation. These rituals, enacted over time and especially during propitious times established by the celestial calendar, were rites of passage that guided the dead to their changed status.
