Early people not only observed the great strength of the tree, they used the best features in their own construction. Centuries-old wooden ships and buildings stand as a testament to the second life of the tree. There are really only a few ways to successfully join wood, whether building a house or a chair. The greatest challenge, beyond fashioning a log into boards, is joining the wood components at right angles to one another. The earliest archaeological examples all exhibit typical joinery - no matter where in the world they are found.
Joints do more than make use of small pieces of wood.
They make frames, increase length, and make large surfaces of solid wood. However, this can be a weak structure, and bulky because the members overlap. Any joint will be only as strong as the weakest component, and rope or leather can not match the strength and durability of wood. This ancient joint is found in Egyptian furniture thousands of years old. The most common tenon is rectangular in cross-section, as is the mortise.