From the beginning of time, the man has found wood indispensable to his existence. Primitive tree dwellers and cave men lived by hunting and foraging for succulent herbage, fruits, seeds and roots that the forests provided. They then fashioned bows and arrows from the branches, which were used to shoot the wild animals. Man discovered the use of fire, to warm his dwellings and help him drive out the wild beasts and keep them at bay. His dependence on wood formed a new link with the plant world in the need for fuel. Man's control over fire initiated the beginning of social living and gave birth to a whole series of related technologies that would otherwise have been inconceivable. The most important and immediate outcome of the fire was an increase in the exploitation of food resources, since a great many foods are inedible, unpalatable or unhygienic until they are cooked.

The sedentary mode of life called for a more permanent and convenient home, which laid the foundation of civilisation. Wattle and daub huts, roofed with thatch, were constructed from flexible branches, stems or leaves woven between upright poles that formed the walls, which were overlaid with clay on both sides. Roofs were made similarly. Later more elaborate houses of timber and thatch were built on piles over the waters of a lake, such as the Swiss lake dwellings. Then finally came more civilised dwellings made of bricks and stones, in which timber still plays a major role.

Primitive man not only used wood for the construction of his crude shelters, but was also able to fashion rafts and canoes (with which he was able to cross rivers and streams), implements and utensils of various kinds. Subsequently, when the metal tools became available, the uses of wood increased substantially. As civilisation advanced, so did the man's knowledge of the useful materials that nature bequeathed in such abundance. Better tools and the skill to use them enabled yet more uses to be found for the wood. Modern research workers find more diverse and advanced uses for wood every year. The story is one of a steady progress and is yet unfinished. Forests have thus exerted a great influence on the distribution and development of human civilisations.