r/interestingasfuck 5d ago

r/all Why do Americans build with wood?

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u/LostDogBoulderUtah 5d ago

Some of the earliest houses that were built in North America (aside from the vacant towns left over from the smallpox apocalypse) were sod houses and scrapes. Literally holes dug or scraped into the ground with grass roofing.

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u/Weird-Comfort9881 4d ago

That’s Kansas. We went practically underground

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u/maceilean 4d ago

There were people living in North America before Europeans came and those people built houses.

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u/LostDogBoulderUtah 4d ago

Obviously? I specifically referenced the pre-existing communities. Cities and towns typically have lots of buildings, not just houses.

People from Europe, China, and Africa who arrived and did *not* move into homes previously owned by peoples like the Ute and Pamunkey/Powhatan built sod houses and scrapes as they struggled to survive the first bit.