files_lecture_slides_module_2_prehistory.pdfv

7/16/2019 files_Lecture_Slides_Module_2_Prehistory.pdfv

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ARC 110

History of Architecture I

Module 2

Prehistoric Architecture


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Module 2 Outline

Lecture 4

Historical Background Location and period

Social characteristics and beliefs

Architecture of the Civilization

Early Stone Age architecture

Lecture 5 New Stone Age architecture

Architectural Characteristics Buildings and other architectural elements

Building materials, construction and technologies

Principles of Architectural Organization


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Leaning Outcome

Learning outcome from the civilization:

Ways of life and dwellings in the earliestperiod of human civilization

The evolution of early buildings and

settlements The evolution of monumental construction

in relation to religion and ritual activities


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Module 2 Lecture 4



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Outline of Lecture

Lecture 4

Historical Background Location and period

Social characteristics and beliefs

Architecture of the Civilization Early Stone Age architecture


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Historical Background


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Period

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

Sub-Division of Period: 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


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Location

Not restricted to any particular

geographical region

Occurred in different localities,

Usually close to sources of food, nearrivers


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Sources of Information 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 civilizationsbased on studies


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Social Characteristics & Beliefs

Ways of life differed between the Early

Stone Age period and the New Stone AgePeriod

We will examine each of the periodsindependently to understand the people

and their society


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Early Stone Age

(Before 9000BC)

Nomadic, always on the move

Move about in search of food,water, and good climate

Got their food through foodgathering, hunting and fishing

Usually move about in smallbands of less than 15 persons

Their lifestyle made thembarely able to survive

Not much is known about theirbeliefs


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New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC) People stopped wandering

and settled down inpermanent settlements

Discovered art of farming andanimal husbandry

Discovery result of population

pressure Neolithic people acquired

confidence in ability to tame

and control nature Period saw interest in natural

cycles such as of weather andheavenly bodies e.g. that of

the sun and moon


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New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC)

Learnt to domesticate

animals, farm and growcrops, make pottery andweave cloth

Skills were developed,marking start of civilization

Villages were establishedand grew, protected by

walls

Introduction of basic socialorganization of society


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New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC) People learnt to differentiate

between spaces and places-

Sacred versus everydayplaces

Architecture was born

Having fulfilled his basicneed, Neolithic man soughtto conquer fear of the

unknown

Needed to understandforces of nature that bothnourishes and destroys


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New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC) Sought to understand the

heavenly bodies and

weather cycles Sought to control nature

through rituals and magic

Gradually introduced theidea of religion

Confusion about death andlife after death led to

introduction of tombs Tombs are evidence of

social differences in thesociety


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Varied by periods

Will be examined according to the periods:

Architecture of the Early Stone Age

Architecture of the New Stone Age


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Early Stone Age Architecture

Introduction

Nomadic people constantly on the move

Did not require permanent shelter orsettlements

Dwellings consist of simple shelters Examples

Rock Shelter Cave Dwelling

Temporary structures of plant and animalmaterials


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Rock Shelter

Rock shelters and

caves providednatural protection

Reconstructed image

to the right shows theuse of rock formationas shelter


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Cave Dwelling

Caves were, however,

more popular asdwelling

Caves used by Stone

Age people have beenfound in many regionsof the world

A good example is thecave at Lascaux in

France


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Cave at Lascaux, France

Discovered in 1940

Used about ten totwenty thousandyears ago

Used by severalgeneration of people

Entered through oneentry to a large hall

From the hall, cavebraches out into otherspaces


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Cave at Lascaux, France

Interior has elaborate

paintings of animalsand hunting scenes

The artwork

celebrates the huntinglife of the early stoneage people


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Cave at Lacaux France


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Cave at Lascaux France


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Cave at Lascaux France

Question

Why did early stone

age people adopt artas a tool ofexpression?

Explanation can befound in constantstruggle between life

and death for survival Art provides a means

to explore the

struggle

T St t


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Temporary Structures

Hut at Terra Amata, France Early stone people constructed

temporary shelters using availablematerials

One of earliest known examplediscovered in 1966 at Terra Amata inFrance

Dates back to 400,000 years Oval in shape and constructed of tree

branches

T St t


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Hut at Terra Amata, France Space inside is

organized for differentuses

The hut was used by

a band of people forlimited hunting days

It is left to collapse

after use and newhuts built over by thenext years hunting

season

T St t


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Example from the Modern World Degradable materials means buildings

cannot last long Few have survived for us to study them

We can learn by looking at primitivesocieties of the modern age

Evidence show improvement intechnology led to covering of buildings

T St t


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Example from the Modern World

Bambuti Hut

The bambutti huts

show evidence of use

of leaves to cover hut

T St t


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The Tongus Hut

The Tongus huts showevidence of use of

grass to make huts



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The Lapp Tent

The Lapp tenth showsthe use of animal skins


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Mud Construction

Gradual improvementin technology led to

mud construction and

architecture


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Module 2 Lecture 5



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Outline of Lecture

Lecture 5 New Stone Age architecture

Architectural Characteristics Buildings and other architectural elements

Building materials, construction and technologies

Principles of Architectural Organization


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New Stone Age Architecture

Architecture evolved when early StoneAge man became settled

Once settled, he learned to buildpermanent structures

Early dwellings were round beehivehuts

Mud was popular material, thoughconstruction system varied by location

and availability of construction materials


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Round huts evolved to rectangular formaround 9000 to 7000 BC

Early villages were simple with nopalaces, rich houses or non-residentialbuildings

Once settled Neolithic man sought to

satisfy his spiritual needs

This led to the construction of monuments


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Examples

Neolithic Dwelling and Settlement- CatalHuyuk

Megalithic Monuments

Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France Stone Alignment, Carnac France

Stonehenge, England

Neolithic Dwelling & Settlement-


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Neolithic Dwelling & Settlement

Catal Huyuk Neolithic monument in

present day Turkey

Occupied between 6300BC to 5400 BC

Supported a population of

up to 6000 people

It was the largest andmost cosmopolitan city of

its time


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Catal Huyuk

It had an extensiveeconomy based on

specialized craft andcommerce

The city was a trading

center The size of the city and

its wealth are a product of

its status as a tradingcenter

l k


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Catal Huyuk

Physically CatalHuyuk was highlyorganized withelaborate

architectural features Houses were packed

in one continuous

block punctuated bycourtyards

C l H k


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Catal Huyuk

Houses were of onestory mudconstruction

No streets in

settlement andaccess to houses wasthrough the roof

Movement fromhouse to housethrough the roof

C t l H k


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Catal Huyuk

Houses had mainrooms with in-builtclay furniture, fireplaces and ladder to

the roof

C t l H k


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Catal Huyuk

Many houses havecult rooms decoratedwith bull heads

Some houses appear

to be shrines forworship

M lithi M t


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Megalithic Monuments

Monumental construction by Neolithicman particularly in Europe took the formof megalithic monument

Megalithic means large stone

Megalithic construction involves settingup large stone blocks alone or leaning

against each other Sometimes post and lintel construction

is used

Method of Megalithic Const


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Method of Megalithic Const.

Very similar to the Egyptian pyramids

Stone is quarried from rocks,transported by rollers pulled by people

Lever action is used to lift and placestone in position

The secret of the construction lies inabundance of labor, endurance ofeffort and availability of unlimited time

Categorization of Meg Monuments


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Categorization of Meg. Monuments

Tombs also called Dolmen

Non funereal structures Single stones Menhirs

Stones composed in groups HengeMonuments

Dolmen Tomb Carnac France


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Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France

Dolmen Tomb Carnacis a burial structure

Consist of two uprightstones slabs

supporting ahorizontal cap stone

All are held together

by their weight

Dolmen Tomb Carnac France


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Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France

The remains of a deadperson is place in the

chamber formed by thestone blocks

The entire structure iscovered with a mound ofearth

Stone age people builttombs because of the

belief that dead peopleneeded shelter

Stone Alignment Carnac France


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Stone Alignment, Carnac France

In Carnac is found a uniquestone monument- the stone

alignment The structure consist of

more than 3000 large

stones of local granite limelined up for severalkilometers in

The structure runs east bynorth east in ten to thirteenrows towards a circle

Stone Alignment Carnac France


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Stone Alignment, Carnac France

As objects in space, theheight and mass of the stones

made them visible from adistance and encouragemovement towards them

The structure affords anintermediate experiencebetween openness andenclosure, between

boundless space and a wall The structure represents the

first instance of a principle oforganizing space

Stonehenge Salisbury England


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Stonehenge, Salisbury, England

Neolithic ritualmonument located inSalisbury England

Most celebrated

Monument in England Most important

prehistoric structure in

Europe



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Well preservedmonument

Subject of a verylively controversy and

theories about itsfunction



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Alter

Trilithons

The plan ofStonehenge isarranged in the formof concentric circles

At the center is analter

Around it five trilithons



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Beyond trilithons acircle of blue stonesfrom Wales, 200kmaway

Beyond blue stones,an outer monumentalcircle of large

rectangular blockscapped by continuouslintel

Bluestones



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Beyond themonumental circle are

56 movable markerstones in the Aubreyholes

The whole monumentis isolated from thelandscape by a trench

A long avenue cutthrough trench to

trilithons



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Stonehenge - Function


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Stonehenge Function

The Stonehengeappears to be a

sacred place

The actual function of

the structure is stillnot clear

Stonehenge - Function


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Stonehenge Function

There are two viable theories:

Structure mirrors cosmic eye of lunar

goddess and outer circle is an elevatedwalkway for rituals

An Astronomical computer for the predictionof the eclipse of the sun and moon

Whatever the case, function is in

someway connected with the cosmos

Stonehenge - Uniqueness


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g q

Why is the Stonehenge a remarkable

monument? Three possible reasons:

It was not constructed to meet any practicalneed of the people

The level of accuracy in its construction

The uniqueness of its geometry and form


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Architectural Characteristics

Bldg Mat., Const & Technologies


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g g

We have explored prehistoric architecture

It is now time to review and extract the unique

characteristics of prehistoric architecture

Characteristics will be examined under three

headings: Buildings and other architectural elements

Building materials, construction an technologies

Principles of architectural organization

Build. and other Arch Elements


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Prehistoric buildings can be categorizedinto three groups

Dwellings and settlements

Funereal and Religious buildings

Ritual structures



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Residential building and settlementsvaried between early and new StoneAge periods

Early Stone Age:

Always on the move

Used temporary structures

Provided basic shelter and protection forshort periods of time

Dwellings and Settlements


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g

New Stone Age

Established permanent dwellings and

settlements- Catal Huyuk, J ericho 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

Funereal and Religious Buildings


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Funereal and religious buildings wereintroduced during new Stone Age

Funereal Buildings Were structures such as tombs used for rituals and

burial for the dead

Example we studied is the Dolmen Tomb

Religious Buildings Evidence of the first practices of religion

buildings used for rituals related to worship andreligion

Example is found in the shrines that we sawembedded within Catal Huyuk

Ritual Buildings


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Buildings whose functions are not entirelycertain

Usually associated with ritual ceremonialactivities

Activities may be related to religion Examples are the Stone alignment Carnac

and the Stonehenge, England

Materials, Const Syst & Tech


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Most popular construction materials werewood 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 newstone age periods



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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 animalskins

There is no evidence of the use of technologies tomodify the interior of the hut



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New Stone Age

More diversified construction materials

Adobe and Stone most popular materials for houses Large stone was used for monuments

Construction method also improved over time

Significant improvement in Adobe construction withtime

In Stonehenge is also evidence of ability to quarry,

shape, transport and join large stones to createmonuments

No evidence of the technology to modify interior

conditions

Principles of Arch. Organization


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Possible to categorize principles that giveform to architecture of period into two:

Principles and forces that determine form ofdwellings and settlements

Principles and forces that determine the formof monuments

Principles of Arch. Org.Dwellings and Settlements


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Two forces shaped the form of Dwellings andsettlements- functional need and available

construction materials and technology Early Stone 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

Principles of Arch. Org.Dwellings and Settlements


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New Stone Age

Became settled requiring permanent dwellings

Also required durable construction

Desire to improve dwellings and settlements to meetneeds

Desire resulted in change in form of house,introduction of furniture and differentiation of space

Also account for improvement in village form

including introduction of streets

And to improvement in construction technology

Principles of Arch. Org. -Monuments


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Monuments

Function was not an important issue inmonuments

Product of desire to achieve higher emotionaland spiritual needs

Also a symbol of the achievement of society Understanding monument requires

understanding meaning to its creators

Monuments also display an understanding ofarchitectural principles including:

Principles of Arch. Org. -Monuments


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Monuments

Role of geometry in organizing architecturalform

The differentiation of space for differentactivities and uses

Principles of locating objects in space and ofchanneling movement

Principles of space enclosure, including

difference between boundless space and fullenclosure

Monuments represent the first instance of a

principle of organizing space

files_lecture_slides_module_2_prehistory.pdfv

Documents

outline of lecture lecture

outline lecture

bc new stone age

early orpaleolithic

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