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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