Stone huts on the northern side of Mount Etna in Sicily were built at least since pre-Hellenic times, around 4,000 BC. The building materials were basalt blocks from eroded lava at this location. The builders used dry-stone wall construction without…

The Mentawai people at Siberut Island use forest huts (called Sapou by them) for various reasons and purposes. One is a permanent dwelling for single, old men who do not live with their family in the Uma (family home in…

Roof thatching is vital for shelter waterproofing in the Mentawai tribe of around 6,000 people on Siberut Island, Indonesia. Siberut lies about 100 miles (160 km) west of Padang in West Sumatra. Of the 6,000 Mentawai people, roughly 1,000, mainly…

Termite mounds are primarily made of soil, which is excavated below the mound and carried to the surface by these insects. They use the soil to construct the mound, forming it into a variety of shapes depending on the termite…

Members of the Khoi San (Bushmen) tribe named Ju/’hoansi are also called !Kung. Both, /’ and ! denote click sounds. It is a society of about 30,000 people spread over Namibia, Botswana, and southern Angola, with a central area at…

Empty aluminum beer- and/or pop cans will serve additional purposes after guzzling the content. Besides of toys and various repair applications, these cans can even build huts and houses! As can be seen in Texas, the US here, or Australia…

Two German geologists, Dr. Henno Martin, and Dr. Herman Korn, went at the beginning of WW2 in 1940 for 2,5 years into hiding around the Kuiseb Canyon area, Namibia, to avoid internment by the South-African Union government. During that time,…

Although they are commonly referred to as “Ant hills,” particularly in Australia, the structures in question are actually “Termite hills.” Despite their physical similarities to ants, termites are related to cockroaches rather than ants. However, like ants, they are small…