Editing Home (section)

=== Prehistoric ===
[[File:Taino petroglyph in cave.jpg|thumb|[[Taíno]] [[petroglyph]]s in a cave in Puerto Rico]]
The earliest homes humans inhabited were likely naturally occurring features such as [[cave]]s. There is numerous evidence for early human species inhabiting caves from at least one million years ago, including ''[[Homo erectus]]'' in China at [[Zhoukoudian]], ''[[Homo rhodesiensis]]'' in South Africa at the Cave of Hearths ([[Makapansgat]]), ''[[Homo neanderthalensis]]'' and ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]]'' in Europe at [[Archaeological Site of Atapuerca]], ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' in Indonesia, and the [[Denisovans]] in southern Siberia.

In southern Africa, early modern humans regularly used sea caves as shelter starting about 180,000 years ago, when they learned to exploit the sea for the first time.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=17943129 |year=2007 |last1=Marean |first1=C.W. |title=Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5902752 |journal=Nature |volume=449 |issue=7164 |pages=905–908 |last2=Bar-Matthews |first2=M. |last3=Bernatchez |first3=J. |last4=Fisher |first4=E. |last5=Goldberg |first5=P. |last6=Herries |first6=A.I. |last7=Jacobs |first7=Z. |last8=Jerardino |first8=A. |last9=Karkanas |first9=P.|last10=Minichillo|first10=T. |last11=Nilssen |first11=P.J. |last12=Thompson |first12=E. |last13=Watts |first13=I. |last14=Williams |first14=H.M. |doi=10.1038/nature06204 |bibcode=2007Natur.449..905M |s2cid=4387442 |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922101726/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5902752_Early_human_use_of_marine_resources_and_pigment_in_South_Africa_during_the_Middle_Pleistocene |archive-date=22 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest known site is PP13B at [[Pinnacle Point]]. This may have allowed rapid expansion of humans out of Africa and colonization of areas of the world such as Australia by 60–50,000 years ago. Throughout southern Africa, Australia, and Europe, early modern humans used caves and rock shelters as sites for rock art, such as those at [[Giants Castle]]. Caves such as the [[yaodong]] in China were used for shelter; other caves were used for burials (such as [[rock-cut tombs]]), or as religious sites (such as [[:Category:Buddhist caves|Buddhist caves]]). Among the known sacred caves are China's Cave of a Thousand Buddhas<ref>{{cite book |last=Olsen |first=Brad |title=Sacred Places Around the World: 108 Destinations |year=2004 |publisher=CCC Publishing |isbn=978-1-888729-16-0 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FS40w2nrqQC&pg=PA16 |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521053946/https://books.google.com/books?id=7FS40w2nrqQC&pg=PA16 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[sacred caves of Crete]]. As technology progressed, humans and other hominids began constructing their own dwellings. Buildings such as [[Hut (dwelling)|huts]] and [[longhouse]]s have been used for living since the late [[Neolithic]].<ref name="Skara Brae">{{cite web |url=http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/ |title=Skara Brae |publisher=Orkneyjar |access-date=8 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209170724/http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/ |archive-date=9 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>