Invitation to Vernacular Architecture was written as a guide to the study of older ordinary buildings and landscapes.The authors, Thomas Carter and Elizabeth Cromley digs deeper into the history by providing analysis of the architecture of buildings using information collected over the course of many years. This study, known as vernacular architecture, is apart of material culture studies. Material culture studies is basically the study of physical environments in which the researchers find the purpose of that specific building according to "culturally dictated plans". This text indicates that artifacts, specifically older buildings, were built for a reason. Culture is tied into these ordinary buildings as well as human behavior which makes it worth while interpreting the meaning behind such objects.<br> Lanier, Gabrielle M. "Invitation to Vernacular Architecture: A Guide to the Study of Ordinary Buildings and Landscapes." Historical Archaeology 41.2 (2007): 165-66. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.