There are tons of alternative ways to generate joints from flat pieces, instead of all are restricted to laser cutters, but lots of the techniques have over from fields like woodworking and metalworking. Mortise and tenon joints are similar to finger joints, apart from the "fingers" on one particular piece https://bookmarkpagerank.com/story20225434/helping-the-others-realize-the-advantages-of-cnc-machines-for-woodworking