Archaeologists use material and structural data to define sets of cultural groups. However, theoretical work on such material data is scarce and shows that the correspondences between a cultural group and technical element groups are not strict. In this paper, we question the relationship between material culture and culture in the sense of society for archaeologists and anthropologists. We seek to define the elements of material culture (in architecture) that participate in the determination of cultural identity in eastern Senegal. In this country, one identifies oneself by one’s culture and then by one’s profession, before referring to one’s nationality. The actualist approach is based on data from our doctoral thesis: the architecture and workings of sixty concessions, built by nine different cultural groups, were studied using ethnoarchaeological methods. In this paper, these data form the theoretical framework for the interpretation of a recently abandoned concession in the village of Diabougou. The architectural elements and relative spaces present in this concession are shared by several present-day cultural groups: the Fulani, the Malinke and the Jakhanké. Architecturally, for this study area, the greatest vector of identity is the roof of buildings. Other elements that are identity markers include the shape of the village and concessions, the shape of houses, the surface area of concessions and houses, the types of granaries and the techniques of wall construction. These elements show technical inventions and borrowings, but also technical choices that allow individuals to differentiate themselves culturally.