Prehistoric Architecture: The Beginnings

Kim –
Good day everyone! Specially to our professor in this course, Ms. Fiel Margeau E.
Reventar.

We are the group 1, and this is our presentation in History in Architecture 1

But before we proceed to our presentation, please allow us to introduce ourselves to all of
you, I am Kim Bonifacio Mane , the leader of the group, together with the co-members
Shamel Jessiah Larano San Jose, Rich Anne Danieles , John Mark Froilan C. Abella.
(isa isang mag papakita)

For the learning outcomes,

1. We will be able to discuss the cultural and environmental context of architectural and
stone evolution,
2. Analyze and compare ancient architecture in space and time vis-a-vis contemporary
architecture,
3. Develop cultural sensitivity that values and appreciates the cultural achievements of
our ancestors,
4. And appreciate or apply historic solutions to contemporary design challenges.
And at the end of our presentation we will give you 6 questions related to the topic and you
are supposed to identify it, so please take down notes.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word prehistoric or prehistory?

(papasok na si Rich Anne)

Now let’s move on to the last part of our topic, The Megalith Construction.
Megalith Construction

First let's define megalith

Megalith means large stone, usually rough stone used in prehistoric cultures as a monument or
building block. A megalithic structure is an ancient monument made of large stones.

Megalith comes from Greek; "mega" means big and "lithos' ' means stone. (next slide agad
pagtapos ko sabihin)

Megalithic monument refers to monumental architecture built between about 6,000 and 4,000
years ago in Europe, during the Neolithic and Bronze ages.

Most megalithic monuments consist of a number of stones, which are fitted together without
the use of mortar or cement. This form of rock art was used in ceremonial or ritualistic
structures .It is used to refer to any huge, human-built or assembled structure or collection
of stones or boulders.
Megalithic structures can be found across Europe, Russia, America, Africa, and Asia. Even
though they are far apart, many of the structures look alike. (NEXT SLIDE)

For example we have the: Stonehenge (NEXT SLIDE)

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is the most well known megalithic structure. Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge
was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. It is located in southern England and has a great outer
circle of evenly spaced uprights (posts) supporting horizontal slabs (lintels) and two inner circles
similarly marked, with an altar-like stone at the center. The entire structure is oriented toward the
exact point at which the sun rises on the day of the summer solstice. It must have served a sun-
worshiping ritual.

So, Stonehenge is probably the marking of the Neolithic people. The original purpose for the
monument is unclear. This is partly because its makers left no written record and partly
because the site has been modified throughout the years. So, it's tough to tell if the stones are
in their original places or not. Some people think that the site was built as a temple of worship
of the ancient Earth gods. Some say it was used as an astronomy observatory of sorts. Still
others say it was an ancient graveyard. (NEXT SLIDE)
As u can in the image, this is the Stonehenge plan

Stonehenge Plan
The circle was dissected by an axis. This is a combination of circular and axial (linear)
planning. The circle is broken by a street originally lined by menhirs. The heelstone was a single
menhir that stood alone, also surrounded by a small ditch. This is oriented specifically to the
sun. On the summer solstice (the longest day of the year), the sun rises over the heelstone. The
most basic organization of such structures was based upon what people saw happening in the
sky. Things on the ground are related to the cosmos – the sun, moon, and positions of stars. There
are also four holes marked by four stones in a rectangle that represent the rising and setting of the
moon.
Today it is hard to distinguish between the circles because some of the stones were gone and
some have fallen out of position. In the heart of the inner circle stood a group of stones
arranged in a horseshoe shape. The open side of the horseshoe was exactly directed to the
point where the sun rises on the longest day of the year. During sunrise, the rays of the sun
shine for several minutes exactly into the central axis of the horseshoe.
The round shapes repeated in Stonehenge are an example of a universal reference to celestial
events in prehistoric architecture. Bodies that are visible in the sky are round, and according
to many cosmological theories, from earlier times, the sun and the stars emerge from earth
and return to earth every day. (NEXT SLIDE)

Mike Pitts

On a lifetime’s study and a decade of new research,( archaeologist and journalist )Mike Pitts
explores the mystery of how Stonehenge was built.

On a lifetime’s study and a decade of new research

Mike Pitts is an archaeologist and journalist who examines how Stonehenge was constructed, and
how people transported its huge stones to the famous site. Interrogating the key questions: the
sources of the various stones, how they were transported, and how it was all put together.
Recent groundbreaking discoveries using cutting-edge scientific techniques have given us incredible
new detail on the sources of these immense stones and brings it into the wider context of other
megalith buildings around the world, as well as placing Stonehenge at the center of a network of
European Bronze age cultures.

There has been endless speculation about why Stonehenge was built, inspiring theories
ranging from the academically credible to the improbable, but far less investigation into how.
In the millennia since its creation, pieces of Stonehenge have been knocked over by heavy
machinery, and been exposed to radioactive sodium, but the seemingly impossible endeavor
of raising the stones with Neolithic technology has remained inexplicable until now.
We, too, shall have no difficulty in doing so once we understand that it is not necessary to
enclose space in order to define or articulate it. If architecture is "the art of shaping space to
human needs and aspirations," then Stonehenge more than meets the test. (NEXT SLIDE)

That's all for our discussion for today. I hope you learned a lot about our topic, and if you have
a question, please don't hesitate to ask.