History Of Houses
The Neolithic Age brought the first appearance of dwellings which could probably be called houses. They were built in regions where the soil was fertile enough for cultivation. They consisted of huts, either singly or in groups, the floors of which were hollowed out a little below ground level. This partially underground construction had two advantages : it was easier to erect the poles which supported the building, and in winter the temperature inside the hut was higher. Even in Neolithic times houses were sometimes built with several interior rooms, and even with stables and sheds. A special type of town was made up of prehistoric lake dwellings, or palafittes, like the one shown. These were houses built on the stilts at the water's edge or on marshy ground, to give protection from wild animals or enemy tribes. Today in the Indian subcontinent there are still tribes living in palafittes. Of all the houses of antiquity (in Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia or Rome) the Roman house was the best and most comfortable.
In prehistoric times, before man began to build artificial shelters or houses as we understand the word, they lived in caves. Inside these caves it was impossible to make an oven for cooking food. The group generally set up camp at the mouth of the cave or on a rocky ledge nearby. These people may have slept in the caves, but it was on the threshold that they gathered to talk, to fashion their tools, to cut up the spoils of hunting, to prepare their meals, and even to bury their dead.
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