Editing Tree house (section)

==History==
[[File:Picturesque New Guinea Plate XIV - Tree House, Kolari Village.jpg|thumb|200px|Papuan tree house in  [[British New Guinea]], 1885]]

===Prehistoric hypotheses===
{{See also|Nest-building in primates}} <!-- "Nest-building in primates" links here !-->
All [[great apes]] build tree platforms or [[nests]] as shelter from dangers on the ground, and the habit may have been inherited by [[humans]]. While no evidence of prehistoric human-made tree houses has been found, wooden structures would not have survived over time. In contrast, evidence of cave dwellings, rock shelters, and bonfires is detectable, but is notably scarce from before 40,000 years ago. This has led to the speculative hypothesis that [[archaic humans]] may have lived in trees until then.<ref>Donald R Perry, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fsF1AwAAQBAJ&q=%22tree+houses%22+&pg=PT392  Interpreting evidence: Tree houses], 21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook, SAGE Publications, 2010, page 365-366</ref> The [[Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism|skeletal changes]] due to the [[Bipedalism#Evolution of human bipedalism|evolution of human bipedalism]] started at least four million years ago, but early bipedal [[hominin]]s may still have spent some time in trees and retained some tree-climbing abilities. Early terrestrial bipedalism is supported by evidence such as fossilized bones and footprints (like the [[Laetoli]] footprints). According to the [[savannah hypothesis]], this evolution happened as an effect of early humans adapting to life on the ground in savannah environments, partly for more energy-efficient locomotion.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

=== Among indigenous people ===
Even today, tree houses are built by some indigenous people in order to escape the danger and adversity on the ground in some parts of the [[tropics]]. It has been claimed that the majority of the [[Korowai people|Korowai]] clans, a [[Papuan peoples|Papuan]] tribe in the southeast of [[Irian Jaya]], live in tree houses on their isolated territory as protection against a tribe of neighbouring [[Headhunting|head-hunters]], the Citak. The [[BBC]] revealed in 2018 that the Korowai had constructed some very high tree houses "for the benefit of overseas programme makers" and did not actually live in them.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 April 2018 |title=Human Planet: Tribe's treehouses not real home, says BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43649469 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="The Guardian">{{Cite news |last=Sweney |first=Mark |date=2018-04-04 |title=BBC admits treehouse scene from Human Planet series was faked |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/apr/04/scene-from-human-planet-documentary-was-faked-bbc-admits |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817024529/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/apr/04/scene-from-human-planet-documentary-was-faked-bbc-admits |archive-date=Aug 17, 2022 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> However, the Korowai people still build tree houses, not elevated but fastened to the trunks of tall trees, to protect occupants and store food away from [[scavenger|scavenging]] animals.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980309043026.htm Head-Hunters Drove Papuan Tribe Into Tree-Houses], ''ScienceDaily''</ref>

===In modern societies===

Trees have historically been integrated into the construction of buildings, for example the walls of a chapel, to provide support to a structure built around them. {{Lang|fr|[[Chêne chapelle]]|italic=no}} is an example of this practice.<ref name="Living Architecture">{{Cite journal |last=Thomas Vallas |date=25 May 2017 |others=peer reviewer Luc Courard |title=Using nature in architecture Building a living house with mycelium and trees |url=http://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/frontiers-of-architectural-research/ |journal=Frontiers of Architectural Research}}</ref> Modern tree houses are usually built as play areas for children or for leisure purposes, but may also be used as accommodation in hotels or residential applications. In this case, the main part of the structure is built with more typical construction materials. The use of tree houses in this manner is part of a movement towards the practice of "living architecture".<ref name="Living Architecture" />

Tree houses may be considered as an option for building eco-friendly houses in forested areas, because unlike more typical forms of housing, they do not require the clearing of trees.{{cn|date=September 2024}}