Prehistoric Architecture – Quick Review

Definition & Periodization

• No written records; knowledge derived from built remains.
• Two main eras:
  • $\text{Paleolithic}$ (Old Stone Age)
  • $\text{Neolithic}$ (New Stone Age)

Prehistoric People & Motives

• $1$ Survival: hunter-gatherers
• $2$ Agriculture: early farmers
• $3$ Spirituality: religious practitioners

Design Philosophy

• Shelter focused on protection, efficiency, ritual needs.

Key Architectural Features

• Simple, functional forms
• Adaptable to site & climate
• Rudimentary engineering techniques
• Symbolic / ritual intent

Principal Materials

• Stone (unshaped blocks)
• Mud (wall coating/insulation)
• Wood (branch framing)
• Bones (large-scale framing)
• Leather (weatherproof skin)

Basic Typologies

• Stone caves
• Pit shelters & early huts
• Tumulus (elongated burial mounds)
• Stone circles / roundhouses

Megalithic Structures

• Menhir: single standing stone
• Dolmen: stone table tomb
• Cromlech: group of menhirs forming circle

Exemplary Sites

• Stonehenge – Salisbury Plain, UK
• Skara Brae – Orkney, Scotland
• Göbeklitepe – Örencik, Turkey
• Çatalhöyük – Küçükköy, Turkey

Lasting Legacies

• Post-and-lintel system
• Orientation planning (solar, ritual alignments)
• Archetypal shelter forms influencing later architecture