History of Architecture 4:

Primitive Architecture
MAN AND HIS ARCHITECTURE
The study of man and his
architecture goes beyond the period of
existence.
The different architectural characters in
the different periods of architecture is
shown in the interests of man at that
time as shown in their buildings.
In this 20th Century, our social structure
has become so complex that confusion
rather than simplicity is its chief
characteristic.

The automobile has made it

possible for us to live many miles
from our work but has created a
traffic problem.
The movies, radio, t.v. and
transportation have brought us
knowledge of foreign countries.
Standardization is more prevalent
than individualism.
Congestion, economic pressure
requires proximity of allied fields of
endeavor and adds to the problems
of the architect and city planner.

These forces may be called the stimuli or

action.
1. Desire for Preservation - in obtaining
food, shelter, clothing and security,
civilized man must have commerce,
government and religion. These activities
call for their accompanying structures, or
architecture.
2. Desire for Recognition - this is a desire
for prestige, pride and ambition, social
status, physical supremacy, intellectual
attainment, personal or civic, results in
the-struggle for position.
As a result, man build palaces,
skyscrapers, or communities may erect
cathedrals or public buildings and
monuments.
3. Desire for Response - This arises from
the gregarious nature of man, from his
wish for love, friendship, and sociability.
4. Desire for Self-Expression - This is the
urge of man to assert himself as an
individual, to do things in his own
particular way.
SETTLEMENT

In geography, statistics and

archaeology, a settlement,
locality or populated place is a
community in which people live. A
settlement can range in size from a
small number of dwellings grouped
together to the largest of cities
with surroundin urbanized area.
Settlements may include hamlets,
villages, towns and cities.

In the field of geospatial predictive

modeling, settlements are "a city,
town, village, or other
agglomeration of buildings where
people live and work.

This complexity of our social system is

reflected in our architecture.
Two basic characteristics of human life:

Movement
Settlement

MOVEMENT
If life is to exist and civilization is to
develop, there are fundamental impulses
or desires, which must be satisfied.

A settlement conventionally
includes its constructed facilities
such as roads, enclosures, field
systems, boundary banks and
ditches, ponds, parks and woods,
wind and water mills, manor
houses, moats and churches.

the Philippines. The caves are named

after the Tabon scrubfowl. It is bordered
on the south by the town proper of
Quezon, Bgy. Panitian on the west, and
the South China Sea on the north and
east. Out of 215 known caves, 29 have
been explored and seven of these are
open to the public. The seven include

Early stages in development of

human beings tender to gather in groups.
The early prototypes of the most
primitive kind of permanent human
settlement, hamlet or village.

PRE-HISTORIC PHILIPPINE
ARCHITECTURE
The earliest records of pre-colonial
architecture in the Philippines are rock
shelters and caves in Palawan. Early
Filipinos are nomadic since they are
constantly in search for food through
hunting or fishing so they mainly rely on
nature when creating shelter and do not
need to build permanent structures.

Tabon, Diwata, Igang and Liyang Caves.

One of the oldest human bones found in
the Philippines, the Tabon Man, was
found here in 1962. Other excavated,
unexamined remains are stored onsite.

Caves and rock shelters like the Tabon

Cave in Palawan served as shelters for
the early Filipinos.
Cave dwelling gave early man his first
conception of architectural space. This
walled eclosure was made for practical
and material consideration of physical
survival namely;

To intensify spiritual receptivity and

Emotional exaltation

Tabon caves (Palawan)

The Tabon Caves, dubbed as
the Philippines' Cradle of Civilization, are
a set of caves located on Lipuun Point,
north of Quezon municipality, in the
south western part of the province
of Palawan on Palawan Island, in

Duyong Cave
The Duyong cave in the southwest
coast of the Palawan Island is a site of
the earliest intact burial ever discovered
in the Philippines which shows traces of
man's humanity during the New Stone
Age. Excavated in the cave were a 179centimeter skeleton in a flexed position,
bronze tools, glass and gold beads, glass
bracelets, shell adzes and ornaments,
and nut-chewing paraphernalia which
dated between 300 to 500 B.C.

PRIMITIVE DWELLING/BUILDING AND

ARCHITECTURE THEORY
Ancestral Crude Building
The fact that there is not, and
never has been a characteristically
Philippine Architecture, is not necessarily
a reflection upon the genius of the
Filipinos. Geography, religion, and time
were responsible for the admixture of our
ancient culture. Originally a part of the
great continent of Asia, the Philippines
became an archipelago of 7,100 islands
after the postglacial period.
Strategically located, it lies along the
borders of the West Pacific and the South
China Sea. Before the 16th century, it
was an archipelago of independent
kingdoms, intermittently invaded by
Negritos, Indonesians, Proto-Malays,
Malays and swept by the tide of the
Southeast Asian Empires - the ShriVishaya, the Madjapahit, the
Mohammedan-Malay Empire of Malacca,
and the Chinese of the Mings.
Filipino Architecture is not
indigenous. It is an admixture of the
Muslim, Malayan, Chinese, and Spanish
influences. The indigenous tribes of the
Philippines, which were quite a diverse
group, and of nomadic nature had little
art of building to speak of. Their
architectural art was revealed in their
houses of nipa, cogon and bamboo.
Although these simple buildings were not
as enduring as the colossal pyramids of
Egypt or as magnificent as the grand
temple of Greece, yet they were suitable
to the tropical conditions of the islands.
The earliest shelters of human beings
were probably not built by them. They
simply found these shelters or found
themselves in them. It was nature which
fashioned hollows on cliffs and
mountainsides that offered protection
from heat, rain, and wind. Communities
before lived near bodies of water. Houses

were lined across the seas, rivers, lakes,

and bays. Why? This is because:
1. There is food from the water
sources
2. The water source is an easy access
to food
3. It is also a means of transportation
4. It is not easily attacked by
enemies.
Early Shelter
1. Caves - Caves and rock shelters,
like the Tabon
Cave in Palawan, served as shelters
for the early Filipinos. Early Filipinos
lived in caves because they think
caves were safer. The Tabon Cave
in Palawan yielded the earliestknown remains of human beings in
the Philippines.
TRIVIA: In Angono, Rizal, evidence of
ancient cave dwellers exists in carved
figures on cave walls which were
declared the
earliest known
Philippine mural.

But later then

they moved to
plains and coastal
areas for fishing.
2. Lean-to Meanwhile, the
food gatherers,
the fishers, or the hunters, who moved
from one place to another in their search
for food and game, needed a portable
shelter. Thus, they fashioned the lean-to
from a frame made of tree branches and
twigs, using leaves and fronds for
sidings. A screen resting on the ground
and help up at an angle by one or several
poles, the lean-to is both roof and wall,
protecting dwellers from rain the heat of
the sun.
A lean-to is a type of simple structure
originally added to an existing building
with the rafters "leaning" against another
wall. Free standing lean-to structures are
generally used as shelters. It is roof and
wall combination made to protect
dwellers from rain the heat of the sun.
The floor can be the ground itself, or a
bed of leaves, or a platform slightly
above the ground. The lean-to is light
enough to be carried to another site.
However, the dweller can simply
abandon it and build another. A pair of
lean-tos can be joined together to form a
tent-like shelter, or a double-slope roof,
which, in effect, is the beginning of a
house.
TRIVIA: Swidden farming or commonly
called kaingin led to a relatively settled
life. After making a clearing in the forest,
the swidden farmer could cultivate it for
two years, let it lie fallow, the return to it
a few years later. Although dwellings
became larger and were better built,
they were neither permanent nor durable
because sometimes, the kaingin farmer
had to move on.

Modern Lean to

3. Tree Houses - These are platforms

or buildings constructed around, next to
or between the trunk and branches of
one or more mature trees while above
ground level. For added protection from
floods, wild animals, and enemies,
houses were built on trees, anywhere
from 2 to 20 meters above the ground.
Such houses have been found among the
Ilongot, Tinguian, and Gaddang in
northern Luzon, and among the
Mandaya, Manobo, Tiruray, and Bukidnon
in Mindanao. One type of tree house
nestles on the branches of a tree.
Another type rests partly on a tall tree
stump and partly on a cluster of tall stilts.
Moreover, Houses have ladders hoisted
in at night to keep safe from enemies
and wild animals.

waist height to form the lower half of the

wall. The upper half of the wall is formed
by the inner side of the roof.
Wave Migration Theory

Ifugao
Dwellings
The people of the Cordilleras in
northern Luzon are swidden farmers. But
some, particularly the Ifugao, Bontoc,
and Kalinga, are known for their rice
terraces. With massive, towering walls
and a skillfully devised irrigation system,
the rice terraces are a wonder of
primitive engineering. The terrace
builders constructed sturdy dwellings
remarkable for both simplicity and
ingenuity.
Introduced to the Philippines by Late
Neolithic People (Indonesia B), a
seafaring group, came directly to the
archipelago from South China to Northern
Indo-China (2000-1500 BC), the oneroom Ifugao house, known as fale, is a
little marvel of construction. Outside, the
Ifugao house seems to be nothing more
than a pyramidal roofs raised on four
posts. The interior spaceenclosed by
slanting walls, sloping roof, and ceiling
formed by the loftappears nearly
spherical. The dark, windowless chamber
suggests a womb.
Four wooden posts rest on a pavement
and support two wooden girders which,
in turn, support three wooden transverse
joists. On the posts are wooden discs that
prevent rats from entering the house.
The ladder is drawn up at night or is
hung across the front when the
occupants are away. The floor joists, floor
sills, vertical studs, and horizontal beams
at about head level form a cage that
rests on the posts and girders. Floor
boards are fitted between the joists.
Wooden sidings slant outward and rise to

The most widely known version of

the peopling of the Philippines during the
prehistoric times is the theory of Prof. H.
Otley Beyer. The theories of Prof. Beyer
about Philippine prehistory on the waves
of migration are now under attack by the
new breeds of historians and
anthropologists. Indeed the migration of
ancient Filipinos cannot now be held
tenable due to many questions about the
manner in which this theory was
postulated, and the be archaeological
evidence which challenge many of Dr.
Beyers hypotheses. These are presented
below on the ancestors of the Filipinos
came in different waves of migration.
1. The Cave-man Dawn Man
Group
This type was similar to the Java Man,
Peking Man, and other Asian homo
sapiens of 250,000 years ago. Beyer
called the first Filipino the Dawn Man,
for he appeared at the dawn time. It is
claimed that he reached the Philippines
through land bridges.
a. Thickly haired and brawny had no
knowledge in agriculture.
b. He lived by means of gathering
wild plants, by fishing and hunting.
c. Hunting, for that time many
Pleistocene animals such as boars,
deer, and rhinoceros, small and
giant elephants.
2. Negritos Group
The aboriginal pygmy group, who
came between 25,0000 and 30,000 years
ago, again they walked across the land
bridges from the Malay Peninsula,
Borneo, and the Australian connection.
Hence they looked like the aborigines.

After their arrival, the land bridges

became submerged under the seas, and
the Negritos lived permanently in the
archipelago and became its first settlers.
They are also known as Aeta, Ati or Ita.
The Negritos are among the smallest
people on earth. They are usually 5 feet
tall, with black skin, dark kinky hair,
round eyes, and flat noses. The Aetas are
primitive people with culture belonging
to the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic)
a. They had no permanent dwelling
but wandered in the forests, living
by hunting, fishing, and foraging
for wild plants.
b. Their homes consisted of
temporary sheds made of tree
branches and jungle leaves.
c. They wore little clothing.
d. They had no community life and
only practiced the crudest religion,
with a belief in charms, amulets,
fetishes, or even animal and
human sacrifices.
e. They were among the worlds best
archers and herbalists.

Indonesian B was shorter, with bulky

body, dark complexion, thick lips, and
large nose.
It is said that the descendants of
the Indonesians are the terrace-building
tribes of Northern Luzon (Ifugao), and
also Igorots, Apayaos, Gaddangs,
Kanlinga and Ibanags; the Mangyans
of Mindoro; the Tagbanuas of
Palawan; and the Bagobos, Bilaans,
Bukidnons, Manobos, Mandaya,
Subanuns, Tirurays, and other tribes of
Mindanao.
a) They brought a more advanced
culture than the Negritos, for they
belonged to the New Stone
(Neolithic) Age, and they displaced
the Negritos who moved to the
mountains.
b) They had permanent dwellings,
wore clothing and personal
ornaments, and knew agriculture,
mining and copper tools.

Wave Migration Theory: Study of

people migrations gradually coming into
the Philippines from neighboring
countries.
1. First Wave: Indonesia from the
South
These were the maritime
Indonesians, who belonged to the
Mongoloid race with Caucasian feature,
who came about 5,000 -6,00 years ago.
They were the first immigrants to reach
the Philippines by sea. They were tall,
with height ranging from 56 to 62.
According to Beyer, the Indonesian came
in two waves of migration, with type A
arriving about 3,000 to 4,000 BC and the
second about 1,500 to 500 BC.
Indonesian A was tall and slender with
light complexion, thin lips and high
aquiline nose.

2.
Second Wave: Direct from Malaysia
The Malays migrated from 300 BC
to as late as the 14th and 15th centuries
AD. There were several waves of Malay
migration to these islands: (1) The first
group representing the Bontoks, Ilongots
and Tinggian of Northern Luzon;(2) The
second group representing the
alphabet-using Malays who became the
Tagalogs, Bicolanos, Pampangenous,
Visayans and other Christian Filipinos;
and (3) The Third group representing
the Muslim Malays who were
descendants of the present day Muslim.

a. The seafaring, more civilized

Malays who brought the Iron Age
culture and introduced new
industries like iron metal smiting,
pottery making, cloth weaving by
loom and jewelry making.
b. They were the real colonizers and
dominant cultural group in
prehispanic Philippines.
c. They had organized settlements
and better weapons, clothes and
ornaments than the two previous
groups.
d. They had the Mongoloid features
representing an ancient mixture of
Indonesian and mongoloid
elements coming from the south.
The presentation of the waves of
migration was further provided by Beyer
Table of Philippine Ancestry in its result of
population in 1942.
Bahay Kubo/ Nipa Hut
Bahay Kubo/ Nipa Hut- a raised
house on stilt by four posts brought by
the southern Tagalogs from the southern
part of the Philippines. The idea of house
from gradually adopted everywhere
The three-layered structure of the Bahay
Kubo with few exceptions arising only in
modern times, most Bahay Kubo are
raised on stilts such that the living area
has to be accessed through ladders. This
naturally divides the bahay kubo into
three areas: the actual living area in the
middle, the area beneath it (referred to
in Tagalog as the "Silong"), and the roof
space ("Bubungan" in Tagalog), which
may or may not be separated from the
living area by a ceiling ("Kisame" in
Tagalog).

Characteristics of the Bahay Kubo:

Roof - The traditional roof shape of the
Bahay Kubo is tall and steeply pitched,
ending in long eaves. A tall roof created
space above the living area through
which warm air could rise, giving the
Bahay Kubo a natural cooling effect even
during the hot summer season.
Silong - Raised up on hardwood stilts
which serve as the main posts of the
house, the most important of which are
to create a buffer area for rising waters
during floods, and to prevent pests such
as rats from getting up to the living area.
This section of the house is often used for
storage, and sometimes for raising farm
animals, and thus may or may not be
fenced off.
Living Space - The main living area of
the Bahay Kubo is designed to let in as
much fresh air and natural light as
possible. Bahay Kubo may be built
without a kisame (ceiling) so that hot air
can rise straight into the large area just
beneath the roof, and out through
strategically placed vents there.
Walls - The walls are always of light
material such as wood, bamboo rods, or
bamboo mats called "sawali." As such,
they tend to also let some coolness flow
naturally through them during hot times,
and keep warmth in during the cold wet
season.
Windows - In addition, Bahay kubo are
typically built with large windows, to let
in more air and natural light. The most

traditional are large awning windows,

held open by a wooden rod.
Three (3) Study Importance of the House
Form:
1. Replacements of the primitive
structures build ground.
2. Demonstrate persistence, Tenacity
or Form Resilience.
3. Functional and Technical
consideration.

PRIMITIVE BUILDING

Defined as an act of building

practiced in societies based on a
low technological and economic
level.

It also reflects a precise and detailed

knowledge of local climate conditions
and a remarkable understanding of the
performance characteristics of the
building materials locally available.
The first buildings ever constructed were
primitive shelters made from stones,
sticks, animal skins and other natural
materials. While they hardly resembled
the steel and glass that make up a
modern city skyline, these early
structures had the same purpose - to
provide a comfortable space for the
people inside. There was ingenuity and
patient labor in work of this kind; but
there was no planning, no fitting together
into a complex organism of varied
materials shaped with art and handled
with science.

Common ways and means

of primitive building:

1. Body-Heat Shelters
In its simplest form, a shelter is
nothing more than a shell that traps a
pocket of dead air warmed solely by body
heat. In tree belts, such shelters are
constructed of decomposing leaf litter
and other organic debris; in barren, polar
regions, they are made of snow.
Heap up a big mound of duff and detritus
from the forest floor, then excavate a
pocket that is large enough to crawl into.
After getting inside, partially block the
doorway to minimize air circulation. If it
isn't cramped and dirty, you've made the
air space too big for your body to heat it
sufficiently.
2. Open Shelters
Bough structures that reflect a
fire's warmth are the most important
shelters to know how to build. They can
be erected without tools in an hour
provided you are in an area with downed
timber-"less if you find a makeshift
ridgepole such as a leaning or partly
fallen tree to support the boughs.

winds, weatherproof, quickly built for

nomadic hunters, but comfortable
enough to serve as a long-term home. It
can be partially enclosed or fully
enclosed and vented to permit an inside
fire.

Pole and Bough Lean-to

One of the most ancient shelters, the
single wall of a lean-to serves triple duty
as windbreak, fire reflector, and overhead
shelter.

Wigwam - A complex version of the

wickiup, this is built with long, limber
poles bent into a dome-shaped
framework to maximize interior space.

Besides practical and physical

consideration, there are forces of
cultural and superstructure. It is
influenced by the following five
factors:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Beliefs
Myths
Religious
Social Organization
Symbolic and Cosmic
Interpretations

A-frame
The pitched roof of the A-frame
bough shelter offers more protection
against the wind than a lean-to and can
still be heated by fire at the entrance.
One drawback is that the occupant can't
lie down parallel to the fire for even
warmth.

3. Enclosed Shelters
These take more time to build than
open shelters (at least three hours), but
your efforts will be doubly rewarded. Not
only can the shelter be warmed by a
small fire, reducing the need to collect a
huge pile of wood, but the firelight
reflects off the walls, providing cheery
illumination for sitting out a long winter
night.
Wicki-up - This forerunner of the tepee
remains the quintessential primitive
shelter-"sturdy enough to blunt prevailing

Tipi (Teepee) - A conical tent,

traditionally made of animal skins upon
wooden poles. A tipi is distinguished from
other conical tents by the smoke flaps at
the top of the structure. Historically, the
tipi was designed and largely used
by Indigenous people of the Plains in
the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies of
what is now North America. Tipi lodges
are still in use by these peoples, though
now primarily for ceremonial purposes.
Women were in charge of the
teepees: It was up to the women where
to place a tepee. The tepee was their
castle, and they were in charge of
anything to do with it, including building
it, erecting it, breaking it down for
transports. She was in charge of behavior
inside the tepee, as well.

Painted Skins: Men were in charge of

the outside of the tepee. It was up to
them to bring back the skins necessary
to cover the poles. It was up to them to
either bring back horses or hides to trade
for poles, or to make the poles
themselves. The men often painted the
outside of the tepee they called home.
The painting was often symbolic of their
achievements. Each tribe had their own
style.
Inside the Tepee: There was a small
fire in the center for cooking and for
warmth when needed. Tepees had an
open space at the top, a little off center,
to let the smoke out. When it rained or
snowed, the men were sent outside to
wrap an extra piece of hide around the
top of the tepee. The men always left a
little room for the smoke to get out. The
Plains people used little furniture. They
slept on buffalo skins on the floor of their
homes.
Tepee Etiquette: If the entrance flap
was open, it was an invitation to enter. If
the flap was closed, you needed to
announce yourself and wait for an
invitation to enter a tepee, even if you
lived there. A guest always sat to the left
of the head of the family, who always sat
the farthest from the door flap. These
were rules that everyone knew and
everyone followed.

1.
2.
3.
4.

The Foundation of Primitive

Architecture is physical space; its
various cultural relationships
predominates over Four (4)
Concrete Factors such as;
Form
Dimension
Material
Technical Solutions

First Building Act: Made in

reference to check the Four (4)
Elements of Architecture;

1. Human Condition
- Survival in hostile environment
- Geographic Condition (Climate, Social
and Economic)
Human Geography is the
relationship between the man and his
environment. It is the nature of these
relationships, such as conditions,
influences, controls, principles and laws.
2. Architectural Reality

The Pole, marks the surroundings

territory, it defines a space.

Poles supplied the framework; wattles,

skins, or mud the walls; thatching or
stamped earth the
roof.
3.
Form

and
Meaning
- Architectural reality acting in purposeful
way.
- Form is an expression of meaning.
Building first evolved out of the dynamics
between needs (shelter, security,
worship, etc.) and means
(available building materials and
attendant skills). As human cultures
developed and knowledge began to be
formalized through oral traditions and
practices.
4. Function and Technique

-Building materials and methods of

construction

B. A Tent Form Negrito Hut:

Examine the critical role of

materials and methods for the
design and construction of
buildings.

The primary focus is on materials

and systems, their properties and
connections, and their intrinsic
relationship to structural systems
and environmental performance.

PRIMITIVE BUILDING IN THE

PHILIPPINES

Simple act of construction as

observed among the primitives, are in
the following forms;
A. Lean-to/Wind break/Wind
Screen:

Wind is an important climatic

aspect, as such windscreen will
take away its adverse effect, and
gives shade from the sun.
Made mostly off Pala leaves or
woven straw made of tree barks of
the naked earth having a surface
area of 25 to 30 square feet.
Popularly used among the Aeta,
Negrito, Dumagtas, Mamanua and
other native tribes.

Easy to build and nothing lost by

abandoning it. Avoid North West
from storms, face the shelter South
East. It takes an hour less to
construct it.
Consists of several pieces of
bamboo sticks and grass, no
knotting and no nails.
Composed of two-wind screen
brought together to form a gable at
the ridge (114cm) from the ground,
sloping at (25cm) above ground
with a total length of 400cm and no
flooring.
The settlement patterns, typically
located near a good water supply.
And because also of lowland
settlers, has forced the Negritos to
adopt semi sedentary life in
contrast to their previous practice
as bands in mountainous regions.

C. Tree House:

Huts on trees used by the

Mamanua (Surigao and Agusan)
and Semang Tribes (copied from
the Malay) built with the primary
purpose of protection.
Variant High Stilted hut of the
Manobo Tribes.

D. Communal House:

Several families living together and

sometimes used for prayer
meetings.
A gable roof structure with each
section assigned to a family,
leaving a central portion vacant for
dancing and ceremonies.