About the House

The domestic unit is inseparable from its homestead and the house at once a physical place and a social unit is often also a unit of production and consumption a cult group and even a political faction. Inspired by Lvi-Strauss'' suggestion that the multi-functional noble houses of Medieval Europe were simply the best-known examples of a widespread social institution the contributors to this collection analyze house systems in Southeast Asia and South America exploring the interrelationships among buildings people and ideas. They reveal some of the ways in which houses can stand for social groups and serve as images of process and order.