There are lots of interesting examples of earth shelters throughout history, many are still lived in around the world.
The Mandan Earth Lodge was the permanent home. The TeePee was just for hunting expeditions during good weather…
Even here in the USA, the Mandan indians of Dakota, famous for their mobile Tee-Pees, used earth sheltered dwellings as their permanent homes.
Imagine whole villages of these things…
Imagine explorers finding whole villages of earth sheltered homes…
After the natives were displaced by settlers, earth sheltered homes continued to be popular for the same reasons.
The Laura Ingalls Dugout on the banks of Plumb Creek, 1874, MN.
In 1874-6, Laura Ingalls (Wilder) lived in a Dugout (before moving to Iowa after three years of crop failure). She used her memories of Plum Creek to write “On the Banks of Plumb Creek”.
This sod dugout was built in Nebraska, 1890. The wagon parked on the roof has a load of Sod.
This dougout was built on South Loup River in 1890. You can get more info from “Mother Earth News“…