Prehistoric Architecture

Overview: Prehistoric architecture refers to structures built by societies prior to recorded history, showcasing advanced techniques and social organization. These structures include various forms such as megaliths, earthworks, and dwellings, which reflect the ingenuity and adaptation of early humans to their environments.

Area A | History & Theory of Architecture (HoA)

  • Rationale

    • Traces architectural manifestations from earliest civilization to contemporary era.

    • Examines environmental, historical, sociocultural influences on art, buildings, structures, settlements.

  • Scope of Study

    • Introduction

    • History, History of Architecture, Historic Style, Origin, Factors influencing style.

    • Pre-Historic Architecture

    • Centers of development; key monument types (Dolmen, Menhir, Cromlech).

    • Historic Styles (chronological succession)

    • Egyptian

    • West Asiatic

    • Greek

    • Roman

    • Early Christian

    • Byzantine

    • Romanesque (Europe)

    • Gothic (Europe)

    • Renaissance (Europe)

    • 19th–20th-cent. Great Britain

    • Africa/Australia/NZ

    • 19th–20th-cent. Continental Europe

    • the Americas.

    • Asia–Pacific & Philippine Architecture

    • Legacies, preservation/conservation/restoration, Pillars of Philippine Architecture.

Key Definitions & Concepts

  • History of Architecture – “a record of man’s effort to build beautifully; it traces origin, growth, decline of architectural styles across lands & ages.”

  • Historic Style of Architecture – “particular method/characteristics/manner of design prevailing at a certain place & time.”

  • Origin & Influencing Factors

    • Geographical, Geological, Climatic, Religious, Historical, Social, Political.

  • Pre-Historic Architecture

    • Built before written history; encompasses earliest shelters to monumental megaliths.

Periods of Pre-Historic Architecture

  • Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)

  • Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

  • Neolithic (New Stone Age)

  • Bronze Age

  • Iron Age

Paleolithic Period (\approx2.5 \text{ M BP} – 12 \,000 \text{ BCE})

  • Materials: wood, stone, bone, animal hides (all natural/unprocessed).

  • Typical shelters:

    • Caves – natural rock formations adapted for habitation.

    • Temporary huts constructed with lightweight elements for nomadic life.

  • Cultural Significance: Reflects hunter-gatherer nomadism, survival-driven construction.

  • Exemplars

    • Lascaux Cave, France

    • Painted & engraved walls; dating \approx 13\,000{-}8\,500\,\text{BCE} .

    • Key evidence of early symbolic/artistic expression.

    • Mammoth Bone Huts, Mezhyrich, Ukraine

    • Winter hunting camp; radiocarbon \approx 20\,000{-}5\,000\,\text{BCE} .

    • Utilised large mammoth bones as load-bearing ribs; hides for cladding.

Mesolithic Period (\approx12 \,000 – 7 \,000 \text{ BCE})

  • Materials: wood, stone, bone, reeds, hides.

  • Architecture shows semi-permanent settlement.

  • Key form – Pit House

    • Semi-subterranean; floor excavated below grade (thermal stability).

    • Timber posts support a reed/thatch roof; earth berms for insulation.

    • Found across Europe, Asia, North America, Middle East.

  • Cultural Context: Transition from strict nomadism to seasonal/incipient farming.

Neolithic Period (\approx7 \,000 – 3 \,000 \text{ BCE})

  • Materials: stone, sun-dried mud-brick, timber, thatch.

  • Major Building Types

    1. Megalithic Monuments (large-stone constructions)

    • Menhir

      • Single standing monolith; may be isolated or aligned in rows.

    • Dolmen (\textit{daul}=table, \textit{maen}=stone)

      • Two + uprights supporting a horizontal capstone; tomb context.

      • Variants:

        • Cove – three uprights (two sides + back).

        • Trilithon – two uprights + one lintel (Stonehenge unit).

    • Cromlech / Stone Circle – ring of menhirs or trilithons.

    1. Longhouses

    • Large elongated communal dwellings; timber frame, wattle-and-daub walls, thatched roof.

  • Cultural Significance: Architecture now reflects sedentary agriculture, ritual, and social hierarchy.

  • Notable Case Studies

    • Kerloas Menhir, Brittany (France) – tallest known in region.

    • Kilclooney Dolmen, County Donegal (Ireland)

    • Exhibits trabeation – structural system with vertical posts + horizontal lintels (precursor to post-and-beam).

    • Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain (England)

    • Four concentric rings: outer Sarsen Circle + inner Bluestone and Trilithon Horseshoe.

    • Key Parts:

      • Sarsen Circle: Outer ring of large sarsen stones.

      • Bluestone: Inner ring of smaller bluestones.

      • Trilithon Horseshoe: Inner formation of three-stone structures.

      • Altar Stone: A large stone located at the center of the monument.

      • Lintel System: Horizontal stones placed across the tops of the upright trilithons.

      • Heelstone: A single sarsen stone standing outside the main entrance.

    • Open to the east aligning with summer solstice sunrise & winter solstice sunset – implies astronomical ritual or sun cult.

    • Construction sequence spans \approx 3\,100{-}1\,600\,\text{BCE} .

    • Göbekli Tepe, Southeastern Anatolia (Turkey)

    • Pre-Pottery Neolithic; circular enclosures with T-shaped megalithic pillars up to 5{-}6\,m tall; earliest large ritual architecture (>11 000 BCE).

Bronze & Iron Ages

  • Emergence of metallurgy influences tooling, masonry precision, and settlement fortification.

Evolution Toward Proto-Urbanism

  • Drivers: permanent agriculture, surplus storage, social stratification, ritual spaces.

  • Archetypal Early Cities/Villages

    • Jericho (Tell es-Sultan, Jordan)

    • Continually inhabited; stone houses with plaster floors; defended by 8{-}10\,m high walls + tower (early urban fortification).

    • Khirokitia (Cyprus)

    • Planned Neolithic village; circular limestone houses (\phi=2{-}9\,m); reflects centralised social organisation.

    • Çatalhöyük (Anatolia, Turkey)

    • Largest, best-preserved Neolithic town; contiguous flat-roofed rectilinear houses forming a honeycomb; roof-top circulation (no streets).

Additional Pre-Historic Building Types & Forms

  • Tipi – conical tent (wooden poles + animal hide); mobile cultures (Plains Indians).

  • Beehive Hut – corbelled-stone, circular; e.g., Skellig Michael (Ireland).

  • Trullo – Apulian dry-stone hut with conical roof (Italy).

  • Wigwam – domed framework of saplings, bark/skins (Algonquian peoples).

  • Hogan – Navajo earth-covered timber lodge; east-facing entrance for sunrise.

  • Tumulus – earthen/stone burial mound; passage graves.

  • Igloo – hemispherical snow-block shelter (Inuit); showcases thermal insulation via compacted snow.

Importance & Contemporary Relevance of Pre-Historic Architecture

  • Provides insight into early human life, social organisation, and belief systems.

  • Demonstrates technological & engineering ingenuity with limited tools (levering, trabeation, corbelling).

  • Illuminates cultural symbolism (sun worship, ancestor veneration, cosmology).

  • Traces evolution of settlement patterns – from temporary camps to walled proto-cities.

  • Displays environmental adaptation (climate-responsive shelters: pit houses, igloos, tipis).

  • Serves as continuity & influence on later architectural traditions (post-and-lintel, stone circles → classical orders, ritual layouts).

Connections to Later Architectural History

  • Trabeated system of dolmens/Stonehenge foreshadows Greek post-and-beam temples.

  • Corbelled hut forms inform Mycenaean tholos tombs & Mediterranean vernacular (trulli).

  • Urban fortifications at Jericho anticipate city walls of Mesopotamia and Medieval Europe.

  • Solar/astronomical alignments prefigure Egyptian pyramids, Mayan temples, & Gothic cathedrals aligned to liturgical east.

Ethical & Conservation Considerations

  • Megalithic sites are non-renewable cultural resources—necessitate protection against tourism, erosion.

  • UNESCO listings (Stonehenge, Çatalhöyük, Göbekli Tepe) highlight global responsibility for preservation.

  • Study fosters respect for indigenous knowledge systems and discourages destructive excavations.

Quick Reference Glossary

  • Menhir – solo standing stone monolith.

  • Dolmen – prehistoric stone table-tomb (uprights + capstone).

  • Trilithon – pair of uprights + lintel.

  • Cromlech/Stone Circle – ring of megaliths.

  • Trabeation – structural system using posts + beams (no arches/vaults).

  • Corbelling – structural technique where successive courses of masonry project slightly beyond the one below, creating a vault or arch-like form.

  • Pit House – part-underground dwelling for thermal regulation.

  • Tell – artificial mound created by successive human occupation (e.g., Jericho).

Numerical / Statistical Highlights (LaTeX)

  • Lascaux Cave paintings dated \approx 13\,000{-}8\,500\;\text{BCE} .

  • Mammoth Bone Hut chronology \approx 20\,000{-}5\,000\;\text{BCE} .

  • Stonehenge construction span \approx 3\,100{-}1\,600\;\text{BCE} ; tallest trilithon \approx 7.3\,m .

  • Jericho tower height \approx8{-}10\,m above plain.

Study Tips for Examination

  • Memorise chronological order & centers of development for each historic style.

  • Link influencing factors (climate, religion, politics) to stylistic outcomes.

  • Use case studies (Stonehenge, Jericho) to illustrate broader concepts.

  • Practice sketching megalithic typologies (menhir vs. dolmen vs. trilithon) & annotate structural