Homes Around the World

Not everyone lives in the same kind of house. Some people live in tall apartment buildings. Others live in mud huts, tents, or houses on stilts. The type of home people build depends on the weather, the materials nearby, and their way of life.

Homes for Different Climates

In the Arctic, the Inuit people sometimes build igloos from blocks of snow. In Southeast Asia, many homes are built on stilts to stay above floodwaters. In the desert, some houses are made from mud bricks that keep the inside cool. In Mongolia, nomads live in round tents called yurts.

Homes and Culture

The way a home is built often shows what a culture values. In Japan, traditional houses have sliding paper doors and straw mats called tatami. In parts of Africa, whole families live together in groups of small huts called compounds. Some Native American peoples once lived in longhouses that held many families.

Fun Facts

• Yurts can be set up or taken down in just a few hours.
• Some homes in Cappadocia, Turkey, are carved right into rocks.
• Houseboats are floating homes found in places like India and the Netherlands.

Did You Know?

The oldest known homes are about 15,000 years old! They were found in Japan and were simple pit houses dug into the ground.