Prehistoric PDF

600.
000 – 750 Prehistoric Ages

BC
• Also called Stone Age period because of the absence of metal implements
• Occurred from Human Habitation of earth to 4000-3000 BC
Sub-Division of Period:
Period can be further subdivided into Early (Old) (or Paleolithic) Stone Age and
New (or Neolithic) Stone Age
600.000 – 750 Prehistoric Ages
BC
Occurred before invention

of writing
So, no written People in this era:
records • Move about in search of food, water, and
good climate
• Got their food through food gathering,
Archeology, paleontology, hunting and fishing
anthropology etc. study • Their lifestyle made them barely able to
prehistoric objects and survive
provide information about • Not much is known about their beliefs
civilizations based on these
studies.
BC Paleolithic
Ice Age
• Cro-Magnon1 nomadic
hunters and gatherers
• Lived communally, simple
social organization
• Usually move about in small • Built shelters at: Cave entrances and under
bands of less than 15 rock overhangs
persons
• No writing, but symbolic • Animal skin tents, mud huts, fire for heat
marks (maybe to keep time) • Ritual burial practices: red ocher sprinkled on
• Used simple tools corpses, personal adornment, bodies
1
arranged in the fetal position and oriented
early modern humans (early
Homo sapiens sapiens) toward the east
BC Paleolithic
BC Paleolithic
BC Paleolithic
Two forces shaped the form of Dwellings and

settlements
• functional need,
• available construction materials and
technology
In this Age:
• Primary requirement is for temporary
structure, no desire to invest in construction
of dwellings
• Constructed dwellings using available
materials with form directly reflecting natural
objects
BC Paleolithic
Caves The buildings that survived from prehistoric times
Rock shelters and caves and are considered architectural works were cult
provided natural protection and structures. Homes were built with less durable
have been found in many materials, such as mud bricks and wood.
regions of the world
• Wall drawings and reliefs
which show the beginnings
of religion.
Huts
Early stone people constructed
temporary shelters using
available materials
BC Paleolithic
BC Paleolithic
BC Paleolithic
Interpretations of Paleolithic
Cave Paintings
• Hunting rituals – for successful hunt

• Fertility rituals – to increase fertility of
herds/hunters
• Social ceremony – used in rites to strengthen
bonds between clans; initiations of young men
• Literal representation – accurate depictions of
scenes; record of animals
BC Paleolithic
Chauvet Caves, • Discovered in 1994
35,000 BCE, • Contains the earliest known cave paintings
Southern France • Subject matter- exotic, dangerous animals
• Sea life- contour line drawings
BC Paleolithic
Chauvet Caves, • Also used contours of the rock
35,000 BCE, • Very realistic representations of various
Southern France animals
• Some human figures, including a “Venus”
figure with a “Sorcerer”
• At first dismissed – work was more
aesthetic/developed than thought for that
time period
BC Paleolithic
Altamira Caves, • Discovered in 1879
12,000 BC, • Subjects are animals they hunted
Spain • Drawings are deep within caves
• Their purpose might be magic rituals
performed before a hunt
• Various poses- detailed, legs, tail, head, horns
• color powders made from organic material
BC Paleolithic
Altamira Caves, • Medium- pigments mixed with a binder (a liquid
12,000 BC, such as spit, blood, urine, animal fat)
Spain • Tools- fingers, sticks, animal hair, moss
• Used natural bulges of rock to suggest contours of
animals; helped create sculptural effects
• Also carved rocks to shape figures
BC Paleolithic
Lascaux Caves, • Discovered in 1941 by boys playing with their dog
15,000-13,000 BCE, in a field
France • Used about ten to twenty thousand years ago
• Used by several generation of people
BC Paleolithic
Lascaux Caves, • Entered through one entry to a large hall
15,000-13,000 BCE, • From the hall, cave braches out into other spaces
France
BC Paleolithic
Lascaux Caves, • Style differed from Altamira- more skilled and
15,000-13,000 BCE, naturalistic
France • Drew outline, then filled in with pigment
• Painted on ceilings and top of walls
• Not exposed to elements- why it is so well-
preserved
• Used contours of rock as part of composition
BC Paleolithic
Lascaux Caves, • Horns, eyes, hooves shown from front; heads,
15,000-13,000 BCE, bodies
France • In profile
• Shows movement and exaggerated characteristic
features
BC Paleolithic
Relief Sculpture
• Some original material remains and forms the
background plane
Sculpture-in-the-Round
• Any sculpture that is completely detached
from its original material so it can be viewed
from all sides
BC Paleolithic
Makaspansgat,
ca. 3,000,000 B.C.E.,
South Africa
Pebble resembling a human

face
reddish brown jasperite

approximately 6 cm. wide
BC Paleolithic
Hohlenstein-Stadel,
ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.,
Germany
Human with
Feline Head
mammoth ivory
appr. 29.5 cm. high
BC Paleolithic
Willendorf,
ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E.,
Austria
Venus of Willendorf
Limestone
appr. 10,8 cm. high
• Monumental object- has

quality of appearing big
• Fertility goddess
• Small bulbous oval shapes
emphasize head, breasts,
torso, thighs
• No facial features
• Undeveloped arms rest on
breasts
• Most detail on front
BC Paleolithic
Laussel, Dordogne,
ca. 25,000-20,000 B.C.E.,
France
Woman of Laussel
painted limestone
approximately 45,8 cm. high
BC Paleolithic
cave of Les Rideaux,
ca. 20,000 B.C.E.,
France
Woman of Lespugue
mammoth ivory
appr. 14,6 cm. high
BC Paleolithic
a cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert,
Ariége,
ca 15,000-10,000 B.C.E.,
France
Bison reliefs
clay
each approximately 61 cm long
• Features also incised

• Naturalistic illustration of
bison
• Still located in cave
BC Paleolithic
HUTS: Used simple easily available materials, like plant and
animal materials such as wooden poles, grasses,
leaves, and animal skins
Building inside the holes:
• Helps with
• Construction system was insulation
also simple, involved • No need
• digging holes, putting to build walls
wooden poles in holes
and burying them.
• The poles are tied
together to create the
shell of the building
• The shell is covered with
grasses, leaves or
animal skins
BC Paleolithic
HUTS:
• There is no evidence of the

use of technologies to
modify the interior of the
hut
• The huts were used for
shelter and sleep.
• The huts together formed a
camp side for temporary
living.
• For the communal
gatherings a common area
around a firepit was used.
BC Paleolithic
Hallan Cemi,
ca 11,000 B.C.E., • Temporary circular dwellings.
Batman, Turkey • Build on a pit with branches and mud plaster.
BC Paleolithic
Terra Amata, • One of earliest known example discovered in 1966
at Terra Amata in France
ca 400,000 B.C.E.,
• Dates back to 400,000 years
Nice, France • Oval in shape and constructed of tree branches
• Space inside is organized for different uses
• The hut was used by a band of people for limited
hunting days
• It is left to collapse after use and new huts built
over by the next years hunting season
BC Paleolithic
• Huts and tents build from the bones and skin of the
animals they hunted.
BC Paleolithic
Mammoth bone dwelling,
ca 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.,
Ukraine
BC Paleolithic
Mammoth bone dwelling,
ca 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.,
Ukraine
BC Paleolithic
In time rounded houses evolved to rectangular

houses.
This kind of plan provides the advantage of

• construction using local building materials,
• easier construction methods,
• the possibility of a floor,
• the best accommodation for domestic life,
• the differentiation of activity areas,
• the possibility of adding rooms by the addition of
walls, etc.
12.000 – 8.000 Prehistoric Ages
BC Mesolithic
• Transition period; Ice Age

over • Animals, like reindeers, disappeared
• Some overlap with • Fishing became a major source of food; people
Paleolithic period, but there left the caves and gathered around bodies of
was important cultural and water
environmental changes • They started to settle into agricultural
communities; Crude farming tools
BC Mesolithic
BC Mesolithic
Great Stone Tower of
Settlement Wall,
ca. 8,000-
7,000 B.C.E.,
Jericho,
Israel/Gaza
BC Mesolithic
From Ain Ghazal,
ca. 6,750-6,250 B.C.E.,
Jordan
BC Mesolithic
• Domesticated animals • Skills were developed, marking start of civilization,

• People stopped wandering introduction of basic social organization of society
and settled down in
permanent settlements • Organized villages surrounded by cultivated fields
• Went from hunters to and protected by walls
herdsmen, farmers and • River valley civilizations in Egypt (Nile),
townsmen Mesopotamia (Tigres/Euphrates), India (Indus),
• Made pottery and textiles; China (Yellow)
1st food producers with • Oldest city- Jericho, 7,000 BC
storage for food
BC Neolithic
Architecture evolved when early
Stone Age man settled down
Once settled, he had to build
permanent structures
• Early villages were simple with no palaces, rich
houses or non-residential buildings
• There was improvement in village form including
introduction of streets
• Once settled Neolithic man sought to satisfy his
spiritual needs. This led to the construction of
monuments
BC Neolithic
• More diversified construction materials

• Mud was popular material, though construction
system varied by location and availability of
construction materials
• Adobe2 and Stone most popular materials for
houses
• Large stone was used for monuments
2spanish for mud-brick. It is a natural building material

made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of organic
material like sticks, straw, and/or manure
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.,
Turkey
• Neolithic monument in
present day Turkey
• Occupied between 6300 BCE
to 5400 BCE
• Supported a population of up
to 6000 people
• It was the largest and most
cosmopolitan city of its time
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.,
Turkey
• The city was a trading center

• It had an extensive economy
based on specialized craft
and commerce
• Physically Catal Höyük was
highly organized with
elaborate architectural
features
• Houses were packed in one
continuous block punctuated
by courtyards
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.,
Turkey
• Houses were of one story

mud construction
• They had main rooms with
in-built clay furniture, fire
places and ladder to the roof
• Many houses have cult
rooms decorated with bull
heads
• Some houses appear to be
shrines for worship
• No streets in settlement and
access to houses was
through the roof
• Movement from house to
house through the roof
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük, ca 6000 BCE
ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.,
Turkey ca 6200 BCE
ca 5950 BCE
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 6150 B.C.E.,
Turkey
Landscape with Volcanic
Eruption
watercolor copy of a wall
painting
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 5,750 B.C.E.,
Turkey
Deer Hunt
detail of a wall painting from
Level III
BC Neolithic
Çatal Höyük,
ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.,
Turkey
Seated Goddess Figurine From

Çatal Höyük
associated to other Neolithic

goddess figures like Venus of
Willendorf
baked-clay
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone
Architecture • Monumental construction by Neolithic man
particularly in Europe took the form of megalithic
monument
• Megalithic means large stone
Function was not an important • Megalithic construction involves setting up large
issue in monuments stone blocks alone or leaning against each other
• Sometimes post and lintel construction is used
Product of desire to achieve
higher emotional and spiritual
needs • Stone is quarried from rocks, transported by rollers
pulled by people
• Lever action is used to lift and place stone in
Also a symbol of the position
achievement of society
• The secret of the construction lies in abundance of
labor, endurance of effort and availability of
unlimited time
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone
Architecture
• Megaliths- large monuments created from

huge stone slabs
• Menhirs
• Dolmens
• Cromlechs
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone • Uncut, slightly shaped, single stones standing
Architecture upright in the ground
• Clustered rows
MENHIRS
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone • various Menhirs, Ireland, Scotland, England,
Architecture France
MENHIRS
BC Neolithic
Carnac, • various Menhirs, Ireland, Scotland, England,
ca. 4,250-3,750 B.C.E., France
France
Menhir
alignments
at Ménec
• A unique stone monument-

stone alignment
• The structure consist of more
than 3000 large stones lined
up for several kilometers.
• The structure runs east by
north east in ten to thirteen
rows towards a circle
BC Neolithic
Carnac, It represents the first instance of a principle of
ca. 4,250-3,750 B.C.E., organizing space
France
• As objects in space, the
height and mass of the
stones made them visible
from a distance and
encourage movement
towards them
• The structure affords an
intermediate experience
between openness and
enclosure, between
boundless space and a wall
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone
Architecture
DOLMENS
Chambers/enclosures
2 or more vertical stones
supporting a large single stone
Early- tombs
Later- passageways
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone • various Dolmens, Ireland, Scotland, England,
Architecture France
DOLMENS
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone • A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth
Architecture and stones raised over a grave or graves.
TUMULI
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone
Architecture
TUMULI Tumuli differ from one culture to another.
• The simple ones were graves dug into the
ground, where bodies were deposited and
then a large amount of earth was piled on
top, creating a mound.
• The more complex type were actual
structures, either built on top or sunken
slightly into the ground and then covered by
earth.
• Sometimes, large existing hills were tunneled
into and graves were carved from the interior.
BC Neolithic
Carnac,
ca. 4,250-3,750
B.C.E.,France
• Dolmen Tomb in Carnac is a
burial structure
• Consist of two upright stones
slabs supporting a horizontal
cap stone
• All are held together by their
weight
• The remains of a dead
person is placed in the
chamber formed by the
stone blocks
• The entire structure is
covered with a mound of
earth
BC Neolithic
Monumental Stone
Architecture
CROMLECH
Groups of menhirs arranged to

form circles or semi-circles
Outer circle is post & lintel
Post-and-lintel construction-
massive posts that support
crossbeams, or lintels
BC Neolithic
Salisury Plain,
ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.,
Wiltshire, England
BC Neolithic
Salisury Plain,
ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.,
Wiltshire, England
BC Neolithic
Salisury Plain,
ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.,
Wiltshire, England
Subject of a very
lively controversy
about its function
Although it appears
to be a sacred place,
the actual function
of the structure is
still not clear
BC Neolithic
Göbeklitepe,
9.600-7.300 BCE,
Urfa, Turkey
BC Neolithic
Göbeklitepe,
9.600-7.300 BCE,
Urfa, Turkey
BC Bronze Age
In a given region, the bronze age • The key prerequisite to the bronze age was the
is considered to begin when development of smelting (the process of extracting
bronze becomes a much-used metal from ore). Once a sufficient volume of metal
material for practical objects has been smelted, it can be hammered or cast
(i.e. tools and weapons). (melted and poured into a mould) into a desired
shape.
BC Bronze Age
• The first metal to be smelted was copper. Being a

rather soft metal, copper was not a dramatic
improvement over stone for the crafting of tools
and weapons.
• It was eventually discovered, however, that by
blending copper with tin, one obtains a much
harder metal: bronze.
BC Bronze Age
• Bronze Age Architecture emerged as the

social and cultural environment moved on
from small Neolithic groups of people of the
Stone Age to much larger tribes.
• Production and trade increased. Maritime
transport and trade began to pick up. The
villages begun to get richer.
• The villages started to merge and form towns
and cities. (First cities emerged in B.C.E. 2500-
2000)
• A ruler class emerged and they started to
build palaces for themselves.
BC Bronze Age
Troy,
ca. 3000 B.C.E.,
Turkey
Human occupation on the site

of Troy began in the early
Bronze Age. The first defensive
wall round the citadel was built
around 3000 BCE.
Construction material: sun -
dried bricks.
The plan of the houses were
megaron plans.
BC Bronze Age
Troy,
ca. 3000 B.C.E.,
Turkey
megaron, a tripartite
rectangular room containing a
central hearth surrounded by
four pillars, found in Bronze Age
Greece and Asia Minor
BC Bronze Age
Troy,
ca. 3000 B.C.E.,
Turkey
BC Bronze Age
Invention of Writing
• Sumerian cuneiform is the earliest known

writing system. ('cuneiform' means 'wedge-
shaped' and comes from the Latin cuneus
(wedge))
• It is based on the appearance of the strokes,
which were made by pressing reed a stylus
into clay.
• These type of symbol emerged in 3,000 BC. By
about 2,800 BC some of the Sumerian glyphs
were being used to represent sounds, like the
modern alphabets.
BC Bronze Age
Invention of Writing
• This is also the time when hieroglyphs started

to appear in Egypt consisting of 700 symbols.
Prehistoric Ages
1.000 – 500 BC
Iron Age
• The iron age began in Southwest Asia ca. 1000

BC, once smelting pit designs had advanced
sufficiently to produce the higher
temperatures needed to smelt iron ore.

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600.

000 – 750 Prehistoric Ages

Occurred before invention

Two forces shaped the form of Dwellings and

• Hunting rituals – for successful hunt

Pebble resembling a human

reddish brown jasperite

• Monumental object- has

• Features also incised

• There is no evidence of the

In time rounded houses evolved to rectangular

This kind of plan provides the advantage of

• Transition period; Ice Age

• Domesticated animals • Skills were developed, marking start of civilization,

• More diversified construction materials

2spanish for mud-brick. It is a natural building material

• The city was a trading center

• Houses were of one story

Seated Goddess Figurine From

associated to other Neolithic

• Megaliths- large monuments created from

• A unique stone monument-

Groups of menhirs arranged to

Outer circle is post & lintel

• The first metal to be smelted was copper. Being a

• Bronze Age Architecture emerged as the

Human occupation on the site

• Sumerian cuneiform is the earliest known

• This is also the time when hieroglyphs started

• The iron age began in Southwest Asia ca. 1000

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