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The exploration of wood and lumber is as old as humanity itself, underpinning the progress and survival of human civilizations through centuries. From being an essential part of the prehistoric man’s rudimentary tools, wood has shaped the course of human history, carving its presence in the realms of construction, transportation, and even literature.
Jul 16, 2013 · During the period of reciprocity with the US and the construction of railways and canals, the importance of the American market grew: 400 million board feet of British North American lumber passed through Oswego, NY, between 1864 and 1866, and wood exports to the US from the Province of Canada were worth almost $7 million in 1866-67. While these numbers are impressive, up until the 1880s ...
- The Ancient Middle East
- The Hellenic Period
- The Roman Period
- China and Venice
- Spain
- The Rise of Britain
- The Present and The Future
Today it is hard to believe that in antiquity vast forests were growing in the Middle East. However, during the early part of the third millennium BCE, the mountain slopes of this region were covered with massive cedar forests. These forests disappeared in the millennia before Christ’s birth about two thousand years ago. The destruction of the ceda...
According to Perlin most of the Ancient Middle East lost its forests by the end of the third millennium BCE. He argues that this removed one of the fundaments under the ancient civilisations in the Middle East and as a consequence the centre of trade and power in the Mediterranean shifted to areas that still had sufficient reserves of timber: Crete...
For the Romans, as for other civilisations before, wood played an important role in their economy. The importance of wood is reflected in Pliny’s Natural History. He devoted books XII to XVI of this work entirely to trees and recognised the importance of forests for human existence: In Pliny’s time Italy was almost completely stripped of its forest...
Now that we have explored the importance of wood and forests of antiquity, we make a big jump forward in time to examine the importance of wood in the rise of the West. Without the abundant availability of wood, Europe would never have been able to undertake the exploration of the world’s oceans that led to the great geographic discoveries. This de...
During the 15th and 16th centuries Spain was building a sea borne empire in the Americas and the Far East. The expansion was a heritage of the struggle against the Moors in the later Middle Ages. In search for allies against their Muslim enemies the Spanish and Portuguese explored the coasts of West Africa. In doing so they discovered the Azores in...
Because of the relative late development, during late Middle Ages and early Modern Period, of large-scale shipping and industry around the North Sea basin, shortages of wood only appeared in the early Modern Period. In England the first signs of timber shortages were noticed during the wars against France in the 1620’s. In order to obtain enough ti...
Nowadays steel and concrete are the predominant materials used to construct tall buildings and long-span bridges. But wood is still used as a major material in houses, smaller buildings, for decorative purposed and furniture. It is also a raw material for pulp-based products such as paper. Although wood is in many cases replaced by stronger and lig...
Around 720 B.C., woodworking started to influence the Chinese civilization. The Chinese have developed precise measurements for making pieces of furniture and other sophisticated woodworking applications. Lu Ban was a famous Chinese carpenter who was one of the woodworking originators of the country.
Products. The products created by the lumber and wood industries include lumber, veneer, plywood, particleboard, oriented strand board (formerly called flake, chip, or wafer board), wood pellets and wood composites (or engineered wood). These products are created by mechanical processes such as sawing, peeling, slicing or chipping.
Jul 18, 2016 · By Sarah Woods. Wood is one of the longest standing building materials in existence, with evidence showing homes built over 10,000 years ago used timber as a primary source for construction materials. Europe's Neolithic long house--a long, narrow timber dwelling built in 6000 BC-- is an excellent example. As one of the largest buildings during ...
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Aug 6, 2021 · The history of timber is very complex, as you probably assumed. Builders use timber to create everything from modest buildings to imposing structures, and it is one of the longest-standing building materials known to man dating back over 10,000 years. Timber has shaped the way we live, and its history dates back to the Roman period and ...
