2023 Aug. 23 - Pre Historic Architecture - Lesson

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1
(ARCH 213)
HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF ARCHITECTURE
PRE-HISTORIC AND EARLY CIVILIZATION
WHAT IS PRE-HISTORY?
- The Cultures who lived before the time of written and recorded History
- Prehistory start as soon as 500,000 BCE and stretches in the lands of the eastern
Mediterranean to about 3,000 BCE and in area of western Europe until well after 2,000 BCE
THE GLOBAL JOURNEY
- Direct human ancestors evolved in Africa from 2.3 million years ago
- Humans spread from Africa into Southern Europe and Asia.
- They could not settle far north due to the cold climate
- From Siberia by foot into North America
- From Southeast Asia by boat into Australia
STONE AGE
Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age)
Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)
WHAT IS PALEOLITHIC ?
- Comes from the word Paleo meaning Old and the Greek word Lithos
meaning Stone
THE SOCIETY
- Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers, Egalitarian meaning they believe that all
people are equal and deserves equal rights.
THEIR BELIEFS
- Extremely advanced spiritual life that focuses on Animism the belief in a
supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe,
Shamanism a practice that involves a shaman interacting with the spirit
world through altered state of consciousness, and early forms of
Worshipping Gods and Goddess
ARCHITECTURAL CHARATERISTICS:
- Cave Dwellings: caves were early human living spaces, Man made use of
Natural and man-made caves both below and above ground as a Shelter
- Evidence of human occupancy of caves comes from the painting that

were made with only fire as their light source.
- The intention of the paintings were not for decoration but rather to provide
images that might grant mystical power over haunted animals
EXAMPLES:
- Lascaux Cave near Montignac Nice, France (discovered in 1940)

- Chauvet Cave Ardeche, France (discovered in 1994)
PLAY VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjejoT1gFOc
WHAT IS MESOLITHIC ?
- Comes from the word Meso meaning Middle and the Greek word Lithos
meaning Stone
THE SOCIETY
- They begin to settle near the sources of fresh water, they also began to
raised animals and also attempted to produce food, but they are still Hunter
Gatherers. Egalitarian meaning they believe that all people are equal and
deserves equal rights.
THEIR BELIEFS
- Extremely advanced spiritual life that focuses on Animism the belief in a
supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe,
Shamanism a practice that involves a shaman interacting with the spirit
world through altered state of consciousness, and early forms of
Worshipping Gods and Goddess
- This age recode as the Beginning of Architecture, by constructing

temporary shelters from perishable materials such as tree trunks and
leaves
- Used simple, easily available materials, usually of plants and animal

materials such as wooden poles, grasses, and animal skins.
- Undifferentiated building types: Dwellings usually serves also as

workshop, shrine, grave, etc.
- Traditional Buildings may be thatched huts, windbreaks, tent, igloo,

natural caves, etc.
EXAMPLES:
- Bambuti Hut: shows evidence that they used leaves as roof

- The Tongus Hut: shows evidence that they used grass as roof
EXAMPLES:
- Bambuti Hut: shows evidence that they used leaves as roof

- The Tongus Hut: shows evidence that they used grass as roof
EXAMPLES:
- Lapp Tent: shows evidence that they used animal skins as roof
- Molodova Hut: composed of Mammoth bones as its main structure with animal skins as roof
EXAMPLES:
- Lapp Tent: shows evidence that they used animal skins as roof
- Molodova Hut: composed of Mammoth bones as its main structure with animal skins as roof
WHAT IS NEOLITHIC ?
- Comes from the word Neo meaning New and the Greek word Lithos
meaning Stone
THE SOCIETY
- Settled villages and towns with egalitarian social structures; widespread
trading activity
THEIR BELIEFS
- Worship of the Great Goddess, prevalence of female imagery in art and
architecture; veneration of the cow or bull
- Small farming villages with permanent dwellings: pit houses, beehive-

houses, long-houses, and village-like structures are common
- Use of mud brick in arid climates and wood in temperate climates
- Beginning of the distinction of building kinds: houses, granaries, shrines

or temples.
EXAMPLES: (URBAN COMMUNITIES)
Khirokitia – On the island of Cyprus, a large

Neolithic Village dating from between 4,000 BCE
and 2,500 BCE exhibited a well-organized
architectural tradition. Spread in a semi-circle on
the flanks of a steep hill. Khirokitia had a
population of about five hundred people.
Khirokitia - Houses are built in limestone, had a circular plan, the exterior diameter of with varied from
about 2.00 meters to 9.00 meters, Roofs were flat and made of timbers surmounted by reeds and mud
Catal Huyuk – in central Anatolia (near the modern city of Konya) lay a city that dates back as far as
7,400 BCE; by the 3,000 BCE it had a population of about 8,000 people.
Catal Huyuk – the city consisted of

rectangular flat-roofed housed packed
together into a single architectural
mass with no streets or passageways.
Inhabitants moved across rooftops and
descended into their homes through
the roofs via ladders. Walls were made
of mud bricks reinforced by massive
oak post. Light came through small
windows high in the walls
Jericho – is claimed to be the Oldest City in the World. This territory belongs to the ancient city of
Palestine, was built 9,000 BCE on the Jordan River. In addition Jericho is also the lowest city in the world
as it is situated at an altitude of 258.00 Meters below sea level
Damascus – one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, the First settlement started
around 3,000 BCE.
2 KINDS OF MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES
1. Structures Served as Places for the Dead

2. Places for Tracking the course of time and understanding the cosmos
4 BASIC FORMS OF MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES
1. Menhir – a large single upright standing stone

2. Dolmen – a free standing chamber, consisting of standing stones covered by a capstone
3. Cromlech – Altar-tomb, made of rough stones
4. Tumulus – mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves
EXAMPLES: (MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES)
Kerloas Menhir in Brittany, France is the Longest Menhir in all of Europe, possible the world with a height
of 9.50 Meters
Dolmens are Roof tomb structures used to commemorate the dead, it is also used for rituals and
ceremonies. Example is Poulnabrone Dolmen in County Clare, Ireland
Cromlech is a megalithic construction made of large group of stone blocks usually used as a altar-tomb.
Example is the Almendres Cromlech near Evora, Portugal
Tumulus or Borrows are usually a burial

mound from which the dead were lay to rest.
These are considered as monuments to
honor and remember the dead. Best example
of this is The Newgrange Burial Chamber in
Ireland
The Newgrange Burial Chamber in Ireland

was built around 3200 BCE. Its about 79.00
– 85.00 meters in diameter, with only 19.00
meters passageway that ends with a domed
inner chamber
The Newgrange Burial Chamber in Ireland is

79.00 – 85.00 meters in diameter, with only
19.00 meters passageway that ends with a
domed inner chamber
PLAY VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ldH0a_LsX4&t=128s
The Great Serpent Mound – is a 411.00 meters long, and 0.90 meters high effigy mound located at
Peebles, Ohia. It is considered to be the largest effigy mound in the world
Summer Solstice (Sunrise)
Equinox (Sunrise)
Winter Solstice (Sunrise)
Due North
Summer Solstice (Sunset)
Solar Alignments of
The Great Serpent Mound
Gobekli Tepe – located at the south-eastern Anatolia, this monumental round-oval and rectangular
megalithic Structures are erected by Hunter-Gatherers in the Pre-pottery Neolithic age between 9,600 and
8,200 BCE.
PLAY VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em-P7MUt5Bk&t=1s

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HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1

THE GLOBAL JOURNEY

Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

- Evidence of human occupancy of caves comes from the painting that

- Lascaux Cave near Montignac Nice, France (discovered in 1940)

- This age recode as the Beginning of Architecture, by constructing

- Used simple, easily available materials, usually of plants and animal

- Undifferentiated building types: Dwellings usually serves also as

- Traditional Buildings may be thatched huts, windbreaks, tent, igloo,

- Bambuti Hut: shows evidence that they used leaves as roof

- Bambuti Hut: shows evidence that they used leaves as roof

- Small farming villages with permanent dwellings: pit houses, beehive-

- Use of mud brick in arid climates and wood in temperate climates

- Beginning of the distinction of building kinds: houses, granaries, shrines

EXAMPLES: (URBAN COMMUNITIES)

Khirokitia – On the island of Cyprus, a large

Catal Huyuk – the city consisted of

2 KINDS OF MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES

1. Structures Served as Places for the Dead

4 BASIC FORMS OF MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES

1. Menhir – a large single upright standing stone

Tumulus or Borrows are usually a burial

The Newgrange Burial Chamber in Ireland

The Newgrange Burial Chamber in Ireland is

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