Editing Furniture (section)

===Prehistory===
The practice of using natural objects as rudimentary pieces of furniture likely dates to the beginning of human civilization.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=4}} Early humans are likely to have used tree stumps as seats, rocks as rudimentary tables, and mossy areas for sleeping.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=4}} During the late [[palaeolithic|Paleolithic]] or early [[Neolithic]] period, from around 30,000 years ago, people began constructing and carving their own furniture, using wood, stone and animal bones.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=1}} The earliest evidence for the existence of constructed furniture is a [[Venus figurine]] found at the [[Gagarino]] site in Russia, which depicts the goddess in a sitting position, on a throne.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=2}} A similar [[Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük|statue of a seated woman]] was found in [[Çatalhöyük]] in Turkey, dating to between 6000 and 5500 BCE.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=4}} The inclusion of such a seat in the figurines implies that these were already common artefacts of that age.{{sfn|Smardzewski|2015|p=2}}

A range of unique stone furniture has been excavated in [[Skara Brae]], a Neolithic village in [[Orkney]], Scotland The site dates from 3100 to 2500 BCE and due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae were forced to build with stone, a readily available material that could be worked easily and turned into items for use within the household. Each house shows a high degree of sophistication and was equipped with an extensive assortment of stone furniture, ranging from cupboards, dressers, and beds to shelves, stone seats, and [[limpet]] tanks. The stone dresser was regarded as the most important as it symbolically faces the entrance in each house and is therefore the first item seen when entering, perhaps displaying symbolic objects, including decorative artwork such as several Neolithic [[carved stone balls]] also found at the site.
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File:Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük on black background.jpg|The [[Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük]], a figurine discovered in Turkey and dated to approximately 6000 BC, is evidence that furniture already existed by that point.
File:Skara Brae house 1 5.jpg|A dresser with shelves furnishes a house in [[Skara Brae]], a settlement in what is now Scotland that was occupied from about 3180–2500 BC
File:CucuteniRitualStatues.jpg|[[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture|Cucuteni]] ritualic figurines sitting on miniature chairs; 4900–4750 BC; painted ceramic; [[Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț]] ([[Piatra Neamț]], Romania)
File:CucuteniNeolithicChair.JPG|Cucuteni figurine staying on a miniature chair; 4750–4700 BC; ceramic; discovered at Târpești (modern-day Romania); Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț
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