Chris Scholz
...in the far East.
The gnarly old wood species that the ancient Chinese preferred don't grow into large trunks, F&P became a necessity. Dovetail construction is relatively uncommon in traditional Asian furniture and usually used for secondary joinery like in drawers.

Marco Polo was born in 1254. It is completely plausible that M&T construction made it to the British Isles via Venetian traders and the Silk Road. (pure speculation, I have no evidence to support that)