During the late 18th century, the Catawba Nation experienced profound cultural changes over a relatively short time as community members adjusted to a series of transformative events including a devastating smallpox epidemic. Benefiting from a rich documentary record, successive short-lived domestic occupations, and a nearly continuous archaeological record of Catawba settlements between 1750-1800, it is possible to trace rapid cultural change experienced by the Catawba. In this talk, Dr. David Cranford presents recent research on Catawba household archaeology that shows individual households experimented with a variety of creative solutions that contributed to the persistence and ultimate survival of this community.