A dugout is a house that lies in the earth. This is one of the most acient types of houses know to man. Dugouts are fully in the earth and have a flat roof top. They also can be dug into the side of a hill.Dugouts were used in protection from shelling during World War I. They played on important role in trench warfare. They used the trench to rest and carry out other millitary activites. Dugouts were about 10cm under the ground and there top was made of either concrete,wood, or steel.In the civil war the United States goverment passed the Homestead Act. This gave away free land to anyone who was going to live and farm the land. In the great plains the settlers found it hard to find trees to by able to build log cabins. So they used prairie grass or sod. It was a good building block nd insulation. The first homes often called soddies, were usally just a smallone room home that would house a family. The floor of the house was made of dirt or wooden planks. Some families would use newspapers to line the walls of there house. In the cold the would use buffalo chips or cow chips to keep warm.
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