02 prehistoric architecture nddu final
TRANSCRIPT
Prehistoric architectureAr. Maria Lourdes Rigunay, UAP
Prehistoric Architecture• No written record from the prehistoric
period• Information is gathered from scientific studies
of prehistoric objects • Many academic disciplines are interested
in studying human civilization - archeology, paleontology, anthropology etc
• The disciplines study prehistoric objects• They provide information about
civilizations based on studies
• Occurred before invention of written records
• Also called Stone Age period because of the absence of metal implements
• Occurred from Human Habitation of earth to 9000 BC
Prehistoric Architecture
Prehistoric Architecture• The history of man can be classified into
different stages and with it corresponding structures were built:
1.Savage stage or the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic age. Up to 9000 BC
2.Barbarian stage or the New Stone Age or the Neolithic age. 9000 BC to 3000 BC
3.Iron or Bronze Age
Prehistoric Architecture• Not restricted to any particular
geographical region• Occurred in different localities• Usually close to sources of food, near rivers
The Stone Age
The Stone Age• Occurred before invention of written
records• Absence of metal implements• Occurred from Human Habitation of earth
to 9000 BC• Period can be further subdivided into
Early (or Paleolithic) Stone Age and New (or Neolithic) Stone Age Early Stone Age – Up to 9000 BC New Stone Age – 9000 BC to 3000 BC
THE OLD STONE AGE“Savage stage” or “Paleolithic age”
The Old Stone Age• Before 9000 BC• Where people used crude stone for their
implements.• Man was a hunter and a food gatherer
• Got their food through food gathering, hunting and fishing
• Constructed temporary shelters from perishable materials such as tree trunks and leaves.
• He also made use of natural and man-made caves both below and above ground as shelter.
The Old Stone Age• The method of living was temporary
• Nomadic, always on the move• Move about in search of food, water, and
good climate• Usually move about in small bands of less
than 15 persons• Their lifestyle made them barely able to
survive• Not much is known about their beliefs
ARCHITECTUREThe Old Stone Age
The Old Stone Age: Architecture
• Nomadic people → Did not require permanent shelter or settlements
• Dwellings consist of simple shelters
Examples:• Rock Shelter• Cave Dwelling• Temporary structures of plant and animal
materials
The Old Stone Age
Rock shelters and caves provided natural protection.
The Old Stone Age: Caves
• A good example is the cave at Lascaux,France
• Caves were more popular as dwelling• Caves used by Stone Age people have been found in many regions of the world
Lascaux, France• Interior has elaborate paintings of
animals and hunting scenes• The artwork celebrates the hunting
life of the early stone age people
Art provides a means to explore the struggle between life and death (survival).
CavesA. Natural cavesB. Artificial caves below ground
CavesC. Artificial caves above ground
THE NEW STONE AGE“Barbarian stage” or the “Neolithic age”
•When early man emerged from cave dwellings into shelters created by his hands •The history of architecture began.
The New Stone Age• Lasted from 8,000 to 3,000BC• People used polished stone for their implements• Their method of housing was made more permanent
with the use of durable materials. • Discovered art of farming and animal husbandry
• People become more domesticated and were preoccupied with cattle raising and planting
• Learned to domesticate animals, farm and grow crops, make pottery and weave cloth
The New Stone Age• Neolithic people acquired confidence in
ability to tame and control nature• Period saw interest in natural cycles such
as of weather and heavenly bodies • e.g. sun and moon
• People learned to differentiate between spaces and places – sacred versus everyday places• Architecture was born
Prehistoric Architecture
• Architecture began when man thought of protecting himself from the attack of wild animals and from the elements.
The New Stone Age• Having fulfilled his basic need, Neolithic man sought to
conquer fear of the unknown• Needed to understand forces of nature that both
nourishes and destroys• Sought to understand the heavenly bodies and
weather cycles• Sought to control nature through rituals and magic
• Gradually introduced the idea of religion• Confusion about death and life after death led to
introduction of tombs• Tombs are evidence of social differences in the society
The New Stone Age• Skills were developed, marking start of
civilization• People stopped wandering and settled down in
permanent settlements• Discovery: result of population pressure
• Introduction of basic social organization of society• Villages were established and grew,
protected by walls
BRONZE AGE“Iron Age”
Bronze Age• Started around 2,000BC, when iron was
discovered. • Carpentry and masonry was practiced. • There was a gradual improvement in the
design of buildings, particularly in Egypt.
Civilizationwas reached with:• Advancement of social and economic
development• Development of communication• Rise of towns and cities due to social and
economic development
PREHISTORIC STRUCTURES
Domestic Structures
Huts from vegetation
• 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
Temporary Structures:Hut at Terra Amata, France
•Early stone people constructed temporary shelters using available materials
•One of earliest known example
•Discovered in 1966 at Terra Amata in France
•Dates back to 400,000 years
•Oval in shape and constructed of tree branches
HUTSBambuti Hut –huts show evidence of use of leaves to cover hut
The Tongus Hut –show evidence of use of grass to make huts
Tents from Animal Skin
The Lapp TentThe Lapp tenth shows the use of animal skins
Mud Construction• Improvement in technology led to mud construction and
architecture
New Stone Age Architecture •Architecture evolved when early Stone Age man became settled
•Once settled, he learned to build permanent structures
•Early dwellings were round beehive huts •Mud was popular material, though construction system varied by location and availability of construction materials
Huts• Round huts evolved to rectangular form around
9000 to 7000 BC• Early villages were simple with no palaces, rich
houses or non-residential buildings• Once settled Neolithic man sought to satisfy his
spiritual needs• Led to the construction of monuments
HutsExamples• Neolithic Dwelling and Settlement
• Catal Huyuk• Megalithic Monuments
• Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France• Stone Alignment, Carnac France• Stonehenge, England
Neolithic Dwelling & Settlement: Catal Huyuk • Neolithic monument in
present day Turkey• Occupied between 6300
BC to 5400 BC• Supported a population
of up to 6000 people• Largest and most
cosmopolitan city of its time
Catal Huyuk• Had extensive economy
based on specialized craft and commerce• The city was a trading
center• The size of the city and
its wealth are a product of its status as a trading center
Catal Huyuk
• Physically, was highly organized with elaborate architectural features • Houses were packed in
one continuous block punctuated by courtyards
Catal Huyuk• Physically, was highly organized with
elaborate architectural features • Houses were packed in one
continuous block punctuated by courtyards
• Houses • One story mud construction• Access to houses was through the
roof• Movement from house to house
through the roof• No streets in settlement
Cult rooms decorated with bull heads,
shrines for worship
Main rooms had in-built clay furniture, fire places and ladder to the roof
Catal Huyuk
PRE-HISTORIC STRUCTURES
Mostly religious or sacred in nature
Megalithic Monuments • Monumental construction by Neolithic
man particularly in Europe took the form of megalithic monument• Megalithic means large stone• Construction involves setting up large stone
blocks alone or leaning against each other• Sometimes post and lintel construction is used
Method of Megalithic Construction
• Very similar to the Egyptian pyramids• Stone is quarried from rocks, transported by
rollers pulled by people• Lever action is used to lift and place stone in
position• The secret of the construction lies in
abundance of labor, endurance of effort and availability of unlimited time
Megalithic Monuments • Tombs
• Also called Dolmen• Non-funereal structures
• Single stones: Menhirs• Stones composed in groups: Henge
Monuments
Menhir• A large monolithic structure made of simple
upright stone sometimes set on end and arranged in parallel rows
• Some run for several miles and consists of thousands of stones.
Stone Alignment, Carnac, France
• Unique stone monument
• Consist of more than 3000 large stones of local granite lime lined up for several kilometers
• Runs east by north east• Ten to thirteen rows
towards a circle
Stone Alignment• The height and mass of the stones made
them visible from a distance and encourage movement towards them
• Affords an intermediate experience between openness and enclosure, between boundless space and a wall
• Represents the first instance of a principle of organizing space
Dolmen• Consists of several large stones set on end with a
large covering slab.
Dolmen• Horizontal cap stone• Held together by their weight• Consist of two upright stones
slabs supporting a horizontal slab
• The remains of a dead person is place in the chamber formed by the stone blocks
• The entire structure is covered with a mound of earth
• Stone age people built tombs because of the belief that dead people needed shelter
Cromlech
• Huge stones arranged in a circle and partially covered with horizontal slabs of stone
• Sometimes, there are in two concentric circles with an altar at the center.
• Example: Stonehenge, England
Stonehenge, Salisbury, England
• Neolithic ritual monument• Most celebrated monument
in England• Most important prehistoric
structure in Europe• Well preserved • Subject of a very lively
controversy and theories about its function
Stonehenge• The plan of Stonehenge is
arranged in the form of concentric circles
• Altar at the center• Around it are five trilithons
ALTAR TRILITHONS• Beyond trilithons is a circle of
blue stones from Wales• Beyond blue stones, an outer
monumental circle of large rectangular blocks capped by continuous lintel
Stonehenge• Beyond the monumental
circle are 56 movable marker stones in the Aubrey holes
• The whole monument is isolated from the landscape by a trench
• A long avenue cut through trench to trilithons
•The Stonehenge appears to be a sacred place•The actual function of the structure is still not clear
Stonehenge: Function• There are two viable theories:
• Structure mirrors cosmic eye of lunar goddess and outer circle is an elevated walkway for rituals
• An astronomical computer for the prediction of the eclipse of the sun and moon
• Whatever the case, function is in someway connected with the cosmos
Stonehenge: Uniqueness• Why is the Stonehenge a remarkable
monument?• Three possible reasons
• It was not constructed to meet any practical need of the people
• The level of accuracy in its construction• The uniqueness of its geometry and form
Tumuli or Barrows • A passage grave or
mound of earth or stone protecting a tomb chamber or simple grave.
• Example: Treasury of Atreus
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Building Materials, Construction & Technologies
Characteristics of prehistoric architecture will be examined under three headings:
Building Types
Categories of Prehistoric buildings• Dwellings and settlements• Funerary and Religious buildings• Ritual structures
Architecture of the Civilization • Residential building and settlements
varied between early and new Stone Age periods
EARLY STONE AGE• Always on the move• Used temporary structures• Provided basic shelter and protection for
short periods of time
Architecture of the Civilization NEW STONE AGE• Established permanent dwellings and
settlements – CatalHuyuk, Jericho• Improvement in house form including
change to rectangular rooms• Introduction of multi-room houses• Introduction of non-residential buildings-
for work, storage & rituals• Open village layouts with streets• Increase in number and size of villages
Architecture of the Civilization • Funerary and religious buildings were
introduced during new Stone Age
FUNERARY BUILDINGS• Structures such as tombs used for rituals
and burial for the dead• Example we studied is the Dolmen Tomb
Architecture of the Civilization RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS• Evidence of the first practices of religion• Buildings used for rituals related to
worship and religion• Example is found in the shrines embedded
within Catal Huyuk
Architecture of the Civilization RITUAL BUILDINGS• Buildings whose functions are not entirely
certain• Usually associated with ritual ceremonial
activities • Activities may be related to religion
• Examples are the Stone Alignment, Carnac and the Stonehenge, England
Materials, Construction System & Technique
• Most popular construction materials were wood and tree saplings, leaves, grasses, adobe, animal skins and stones
• Availability of material and construction technology varied between locations
• Materials and construction technology also varied between the early and new stone age periods
Materials, Construction System & Technique
EARLY STONE AGE• Used simple, easily available materials• Usually of plant and animal materials such as
wooden poles, grasses, leaves, and animal skins• Construction system was also simple• Usually involves digging holes, putting 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
Materials, Construction System & Technique
NEW STONE AGE• More diversified construction materials• Adobe and stone most popular materials• Large stone was used for monuments• Construction method also improved over time• Significant improvement in Adobe construction• Evidence of ability to quarry, shape, transport
and join large stones to create monuments
Principles of Architectural Organization
• Principles that give form to architecture of period:• Principles and forces that determine form of
dwellings and settlements• Principles and forces that determine the form
of monuments
Principles of Architectural Organization
Two forces shaped the form of dwellings and settlements:
• Functional need• Available construction materials and
technology
Principles of Architectural Organization
DWELLINGS AND SETTLEMENTS:EARLY STONE AGE• Primary requirement is for temporary
structure• No desire to invest in construction of
dwellings• Constructed dwellings using available
materials• Form directly reflecting natural objects
Principles of Architectural Organization
DWELLINGS AND SETTLEMENTS:NEW STONE AGE• Became settled requiring permanent dwellings• Required durable construction• Improved dwellings and settlements to meet
needs • Change in form of house, introduction of
furniture and differentiation of space• Improvement in village form including
introduction of streets• Improvement in construction technology
Principles of Architectural Organization
MONUMENTS• Function was not an important issue in
monuments• Desire to achieve higher emotional and
spiritual needs• Symbol of the achievement of society• Understanding monument requires
understanding meaning to its creators
Principles of Architectural Organization
• Monuments display an understanding of architectural principles: • Role of geometry in organizing architectural form• Differentiation of space for different activities and
uses• Principles of locating objects in space and of
channeling movement• Principles of space enclosure, including difference
between boundless space and full enclosure• Monuments represent the first instance of a principle
of organizing space
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