History of Architecture: Prehistory to Neolithic Settlements

Introduction to Architecture and Prehistory

• Architecture involves more than just the construction of buildings; it encompasses interior spaces and the art that decorates them.
• In early historical periods, art and architecture are inextricably linked. Architecture serves as the primary canvas for most artistic production, including relief sculptures and wall paintings.
• Art and architecture together function as tools for conveying cultural messages and propaganda.
• Between approximately $5,000 \, BCE$ and $3,000 \, BCE$, the concept of architecture emerged through two recurring themes: Symbol and Shelter.
• Shelter is the most fundamental aspect of architecture, providing protection. Symbolism followed closely, as architecture became a medium to convey messages through scale, size, and public accessibility.

Theoretical Foundations: The Primitive Hut

• Marc-Antoine Laugier’s "Primitive Hut" represents architecture at its most basic and theoretical level.
• The Primitive Hut illustrates the search for the "ideal form" of architecture and the relationship between form and function.
• Laugier, a minimalist, argued that the best architectural forms are those provided by nature without unnecessary embellishment.
• The construction of the primitive hut consists of:
  • Four trees that function as living columns.
  • A post and lintel system (one of the most basic architectural forms).
  • A gabled roof constructed from sticks.

Nature as the First Architect

• Before humans began designing buildings, architectural spaces existed in nature.
• Nature shapes the land through forces like erosion and water, creating spaces such as the Grand Canyon (over a mile wide and a mile deep in places).
• Caves served as the earliest form of shelter for humans. They were ideal because they protected against the elements and animals, and their entrances could be easily guarded.
• A prominent example of persistent cave habitation is found in Matera, Italy. These "Grotto homes" were originally natural caves shaped by nature and later adapted by humans using tools. They have been updated with contemporary features like electricity but retain their original carved stone interiors.

Timeline of Early Hominids and Human Construction

• $2,500,000 \, BCE$: Lucy, one of the earliest known hominids.
• $1,500,000 \, BCE$: Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania shows evidence of the earliest simple toolmakers.
• $500,000 \, BCE$: Neanderthals begin to use fire, which facilitates habitation.
• $400,000 \, BCE$: The earliest known constructed huts appear at Terra Amata in France. This marks the transition from occupying natural shelters to building environments.

Tensile Architecture: Terra Amata and Modern Applications

• The huts at Terra Amata are examples of tensile architecture, where tension holds the structure together.
• Construction process of a Terra Amata hut:
  • A perimeter is established using large boulders.
  • Long sticks are shoved into the ground near the boulders or placed in post-holes.
  • The sticks are bent toward the center and interlaced, creating tension that supports the structure.
  • Two central posts provide additional support for the roof.
• Features of the hut interior include a hearth (fire allows for habitation) and workspaces. A hole is placed in the roof to allow smoke to escape.
• Modern parallels to tensile architecture include the Geodesic Dome, popularized by architect Buckminster Fuller. These structures use pipes and sockets held together by tension, allowing for large, open interior spaces without supporting walls. They are often used for temporary exhibitions.

The Stone Age and Cave Art

• $40,000 \, BCE$: Cro-Magnon humans emerge as Neanderthals die out. They use advanced stone tools, projectile points, and axes.
• $30,000 \text{ to } 15,000 \, BCE$: The peak of the Stone Age cave paintings at sites such as Chauvet, Lascaux, and Altamira.
• $25,000 \text{ to } 14,000 \, BCE$: The Glacial Age (Mesolithic period). Surviving evidence is scarce as humans were focused on survival.
• Lascaux Caves (France):
  • The "Hall of the Bulls" is the most famous cave painting gallery. The largest bull depicted is $11 \, feet$ long.
  • The placement of paintings deep within caves suggests intentionality and spiritual significance; they were not meant for general viewing.
  • Accessing these sites required torches and navigated difficult terrain, symbolizing a return to a "womb-like" opening in the earth.
• Chauvet Cave (France):
  • Features intricate trails and a high density of paintings, including animals like bears and now-extinct woolly mammoths and rhinos.
  • The layering of paintings over centuries and millennia indicates the caves were sacred sites revisited repeatedly.

Neolithic Revolution and Permanent Settlements

• Around $16,000 \, BCE$, climate warming led to the development of agriculture and animal domestication.
• Stable food sources eliminated the need to follow migratory herds, leading to the creation of permanent settlements.
• Settlements were invariably built near freshwater sources (e.g., the Tigris and Euphrates for Mesopotamia, the Nile for Egypt).
• Permanent settlements spurred the evolution of architecture beyond domestic needs to include defensive walls and religious structures.

Early Neolithic Sites: Göbekli Tepe and Jericho

• Göbekli Tepe (Turkey):
  • Consists of circular spaces with "sack walls" (two exterior stone layers filled with rubble and dirt).
  • Features large T-shaped piers pushed into the walls and central piers.
  • This is considered a ritualistic or spiritual space rather than a domestic one.
  • Circular forms were easier to build with rough, uncut stones than 90-degree angles.
• Jericho (Palestine):
  • Considered by many as the oldest city in the world ($7,500 \, BCE$).
  • Little remains of the earliest city because of constant rebuilding on the same site.
• Khirokitia (Cyprus):
  • Built around $6,000 \, BCE$, providing a model for what Jericho might have looked like.
  • Features a stone wall that was eventually repurposed as a road as the city expanded.
  • Consists of circular structures of various sizes used for rituals or storage.

Çatalhöyük: The Dense Urban Model

• Located in modern-day Turkey, Çatalhöyük was built using mud-brick, wood, and plaster.
• Because they used manufactured bricks and straight timbers, the residents adopted rectangular and square forms.
• Urban design features:
  • No roads or ground-level streets.
  • Homes were joined together; movement occurred across roofs.
  • Entrance to the home was through a hole in the roof using a ladder, which also served as a chimney for the hearth. This provided a defensive advantage against invaders.
  • Living units were organized around shared courtyards.
• Iconography: The site shows evidence of a "Mother Goddess" earth deity, often depicted seated on a lion throne, symbolizing human dominance over the animal kingdom.

Vernacular Architecture

• Vernacular architecture refers to building using local materials, local knowledge, and techniques specific to a culture.
• Examples of Vernacular Design:
  • Cameroon: Semi-domes made of woven branches and covered in leaves.
  • Tuareg Huts (Sahara): Tensile structures using stones, interlaced sticks, and local fabric.
  • Tipi (North America): Portable tensile architecture used by Native American tribes. Poles are interlaced and covered with animal hides. The skin creates tension that stabilizes the entire structure, allowing for quick assembly and transport.
  • Hakka Tulou (Fujian Province, China): Large multi-family circular homes made of rammed earth and adobe brick. They feature high windows ($3^{rd}$ and $4^{th}$ stories only) for defense and a central shared courtyard.
  • Yemen Mud-brick Houses: High-rise structures with decorative gypsum plaster carvings.
  • Longhouses (Europe and North America): Built where wood is abundant. They feature a series of internal columns to support large roofs and house multiple families and livestock.

Stone Construction and Durable Memory

• Early stone construction was often reserved for foundations, hearths (due to fireproofing), and significant religious sites.
• Skara Brae (Orkney Islands, Scotland):
  • A Neolithic village built of flat, naturally occurring rectangular stones.
  • Includes stone-built furniture like shelves and beds.
• "Building as Memory": Architecture transitioned from temporary shelter to a way of communicating with future generations. This is seen in megaliths (large stones) used to mark graves or important sites.
• Spanish/Italian Corbelled Structures (Trulli): Beehive-shaped roofs made of stacked, cantilevering flat stones that step inward until a capstone seals the top.

Megalithic Europe and Monuments

• Carnac (France): Thousands of standing stones (megaliths) arranged in lines, potentially serving as funerary markers or astronomical calendars.
• Dolmens: Simple tombs consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal lintel, sometimes referred to as orthostats.
• Newgrange (Ireland):
  • A massive burial mound with a corbelled stone dome.
  • Features a "roof box" above the entrance that allows sunlight to illuminate the interior chamber only during the summer solstice.
• Ħaġar Qim (Malta):
  • Temple complex featuring stones weighing up to $50 \, tons$.
  • The layout creates a mystical experience, including hidden cracks where "oracles" could whisper to visitors.

Stonehenge

• Located in England, Stonehenge is the most famous prehistoric monument in Europe.
• It achieved its final form through advanced geometry and astronomical knowledge.
• Engineering details:
  • Uses mortise and tenon joints (a nub on the post fits into a hole in the lintel) to link stones into a continuous circle.
  • The Sarsen circle is the exterior ring; the interior features larger "trilithons" ($3$ stones).
  • Some stones were transported from $200 \, miles$ away.
  • Stones weigh between $45 \text{ to } 50 \, tons$ and stand up to $24 \, feet$ tall.
• Functions: Likely served as a religious altar, a funerary site, and an astronomical observatory. The "Heel Stone" aligns with the summer solstice.
• The scale and permanence of the massive stones make Stonehenge an enduring symbol of human ingenuity.