ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the methodologies for recognizing buildings that are in some way associated with societal notions of power. It reviews the concept of agency, which is a most suitable theoretical model when dealing with expressions of power. Differentiation in house contents is one of the standard reliable indicators of socioeconomic hierarchy in the archaeological investigation of ancient communities. Two examples from Mesoamerica illustrate the usefulness, or lack thereof, in using material culture inside domestic structures as a main indicator of high-ranking residences. Architecture and associated material culture are ideal vehicles by which an agent may seek to attain and establish a particular social identity within a community. An interesting architectural alteration took place within Swahili stone houses at the time of European arrival. Separated for 2,000 years, the Tongan and Hawaiian societies developed different styles of monumental architecture, but in both cases the structures illustrated the power of the chiefs.
