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Wild vegetation such as water reed , bulrush / cat tail , broom , heather and rushes were probably used to cover shelters and primitive dwellings in Europe in the late Palaeolithic period , but so far , no direct archaeological evidence for this has been recovered . People probably began to use straw in the Neolithic period when they first grew cereals — but once again , there is no direct surviving archaeological evidence of straw used for thatching in Europe prior to the early medieval period .
Many indigenous people , such as the Maya , the Inca and the Triple Alliance ( Aztec ), lived in thatched buildings . After the collapse of most extant American societies due to diseases introduced from Europe , the first Americans encountered by Europeans lived in structures roofed with bark or skin set in panels that could be added or removed for ventilation , heating and cooling . Evidence of the many complex buildings with fibre-based roofing material was not rediscovered until the early 2000s . French and British
settlers built temporary thatched dwellings with local vegetation as soon as they arrived in New France and New England , but covered more permanent homes with wooden shingles .
In most of England , thatch remained the only roofing material available to the bulk of the population in the countryside , in many towns and villages , until the late 1800s . Commercial production of Welsh slate began in 1820 , and the mobility provided by canals and then railways made other materials readily available . Still , the number of thatched properties increased in the UK during the mid-1800s as agriculture expanded , but then declined again at the end of the 19 th century because of the agricultural recession and rural depopulation .
Gradually , thatch became a mark of poverty , and the number of thatched properties gradually declined , as did the number of professional thatchers . Thatch has become much more popular in the UK over the past 30 years , and is now a symbol of wealth rather than poverty . There are about 1 000 full-time thatchers at work in the UK , and thatching is popular again because of the renewed interest in preserving historic buildings and using more sustainable building materials .
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CONTACT ANGELINE MARTIN
0861 727 663 angie @ interactmedia . co . za