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INTRODUCTION
PRIMITIVE (early age)
ARCHITECTURE
BY:
Ar. Sukhman Chawla.
Need of studying History of Architecture
 History of Architecture is very essential to understand
how we have evolved over years in utilizing buildings
not just for shelter but for many other uses.
 The history talks about the story of our ancestors who
build simple small temporary shelters for protection to
buildings magnificent structures that stand compact
today to tell us the tale of its times.
 The evolution in architecture and construction
technology is phenomenal and unless we don't study
them we cannot appreciate the modern ones. The
pages are filled with how buildings have been
influenced by people, culture, religion, invasion and
technology.
D e v elopment o f E a rly C u lture
 History tells us how we were and how we
changed to survive as the time passed.
 History is a bridge that connects us to our
future.
 Unless we know how our past was , we will
never know how our future is going to be.
Primitive Architecture
 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
Living in caves - hunting
Settlements developed near caves or along
shores and streams – farming & hunting
Understanding of seasons – Cultivation –
Domestication of animals
Specialized tools were developed. Religious
& communal aspects – building arts
developed
Different societies developed differently
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Location Sources of Information

 Not restricted to any particular geographical
region
 Occurred in different localities,
 Usually close to sources of food, near rivers
 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 civilizations
based on studies

Prehistoric Architecture
Stone age
Paleolithic (Old Stone Age )- appeared first in Africa
Savage and are marked by the steady development of stone
tools
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age )- period of the Stone
Age intermediate between the Paleolithic and the
Barbarian
Neolithic periods, characterized by adaptation to
hunting, collecting, and fishing economy based on the
use of forest, lakeside, and seashore environments.
Neolithic (New Stone Age) - characterized by the
development of agriculture and the making of polished
stone implements.
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Vocabulary
Neolithic: the “new” Stone Age (8,000 – 2300 BCE), which marked
the beginnings of monumental (extremely large) architecture
corbeled vault: a vault formed by the piling of stone blocks in
horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the two walls meet in an
arch
post and lintel: one of the earliest methods of architectural
construction in which two posts (sometimes called “uprights”) support
a lintel (horizontal beam which rests across the top)
megalith: a large stone used in the construction of a prehistoric
structure
Cromlech: a circle of megaliths, as at Stonehenge

Early Stone Age New Stone Age

(Before 9000BC) (9000- 3000BC)
 People stopped wandering
 Nomadic, always on the move and settled down in
 Move about in search of food, permanent settlements
water, and good climate  Discovered art of farming and
 Got their food through food
animal husbandry
gathering, hunting and fishing  Discovery result of population
pressure
 Usually moved about in small
bands of less than 15 persons  Neolithic people acquired
confidence in ability to tame
 Their lifestyle made them and control nature
barely able to survive  Period saw interest in natural
 Not much is known about their cycles such as of weather and
beliefs heavenly bodies e.g. that of
the sun and moon

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New Stone Age New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC) (9000- 3000BC)
 People learnt to differentiate
 Learnt to domesticate between spaces and places-
animals, farm and grow Sacred versus everyday
crops, make pottery and
places
weave cloth
 Skills were developed,  Architecture was born
marking start of civilization  Having fulfilled his basic
 Villages were established need, Neolithic man sought
and grew, protected by to conquer fear of the
walls unknown
 Introduction of basic social  Needed to understand
organization of society forces of nature that both
nourishes and destroys

New Stone Age

(9000- 3000BC)
 Sought to understand the
heavenly bodies and
weather cycles
 Sought to control nature
through rituals and magic
 Gradually introduced the Architecture of the Civilization
idea of religion
 Confusion about death and
life after death led to
introduction of tombs
 Tombs are evidence of
social differences in the
society

Architecture of the Civilization Early Stone Age Architecture

 Introduction
 Varied by periods  Nomadic people constantly on the move
 Will be examined according to the periods:  Did not require permanent shelter or settlements

 Architecture of the Early Stone Age  Dwellings consist of simple shelters

 Architecture of the New Stone Age  Examples

 Rock Shelter
 Cave Dwelling
 Temporary structures of plant and animal
materials

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Rock Shelter Cave Dwelling

 Rock shelters and  Caves were, however,
caves provided more popular as
natural protection dwelling
 Reconstructed image  Caves used by Stone
to the right shows the Age people have been
use of rock formation found in many regions
as shelter of the world
 A good example is the
cave at Lascaux in
France

Cave at Lascaux, France Cave at Lascaux, France

 Discovered in 1940
 Interior has elaborate
 Used about ten to paintings of animals
twenty thousand
years ago and hunting scenes
 Used by several  The artwork
generation of people celebrates the hunting
 Entered through one life of the early stone
entry to a large hall age people
 From the hall, cave
braches out into other
spaces

Cave at Lacaux France Cave at Lascaux France

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Cave at Lascaux France
 Question
 Why did early stone
age people adopt art
as a tool of
expression?
 Explanation can be
found in constant
struggle between life
and death for survival
 Art provides a means
to explore the
struggle
Temporary Structures
Hut at Terra Amata, France
 Space inside is
organized for different
uses
 The hut was used by
a band of people for
limited hunting days
 It is left to collapse
after use and new
huts built over by the
next years hunting
season
Temporary Structures
Example from the Modern World
 Bambuti Hut
 The bambutti huts
show evidence of use
of leaves to cover hut
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Temporary Structures
Hut at Terra Amata, France
 Early stone people constructed temporary
shelters using available materials
 One of earliest known example discovered in
1966 at Terra Amata in France
 Dates back to 400,000 years
 Oval in shape and constructed of tree
branches
Temporary Structures
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 primitive societies
of the modern age
 Evidence show improvement in technology
led to covering of buildings
Temporary Structures
Example from the Modern World
 The Tongus Hut
 The Tongus huts show
evidence of use of
grass to make huts
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Temporary Structures
Example from the Modern World
Architecture of the Civilization
 The Lapp Tent  Mud Construction
 The Lapp tenth  Gradual improvement
shows the use of in technology led to
animal skins mud construction and
architecture

Prehistoric Architecture

New Stone Age Architecture New Stone Age Architecture

 Architecture evolved when early Stone Age
man became settled
 Once settled, he learned to build permanent
structures
 Early dwellings were round beehive huts
 Mud was popular material, though
construction system varied by location and
availability of construction materials
 Round huts evolved to rectangular form around
9000 to 7000 BC
 Early villages were simple with no palaces, rich
houses or non-residential buildings
 Once settled Neolithic man sought to satisfy his
spiritual needs
 This led to the construction of monuments

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Neolithic Dwelling & Settlement-

New Stone Age Architecture
Catal Huyuk
 Examples  Neolithic monument in
 Neolithic Dwelling and Settlement- Catal present day Turkey
Huyuk  Occupied between 6300
 Megalithic Monuments BC to 5400 BC
 Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France  Supported a population of
 Stone Alignment, Carnac France up to 6000 people
 Stonehenge, England  It was the largest and
most cosmopolitan city of
its time

Catal Huyuk Catal Huyuk

 It had an extensive  Houses were of one
economy based on story mud
specialized craft and
construction
commerce
 The city was a trading  No streets in
center settlement and
 The size of the city and access to houses was
its wealth are a product of through the roof
its status as a trading  Movement from
center
house to house
through the roof

Catal Huyuk Megalithic Monuments

 Houses had main  Monumental construction by Neolithic man
rooms with in-built particularly in Europe took the form of
clay furniture, fire megalithic monument
places and ladder to  Megalithic means large stone
the roof  Megalithic construction involves setting up
large stone blocks alone or leaning against
each other
 Sometimes post and lintel construction is
used

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Categorization of Meg. Monuments Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France

 Tombs – also called Dolmen
 Non funereal structures
 Single stones – Menhirs
 Stones composed in groups – Henge
Monuments
 Dolmen Tomb Carnac
is a burial structure
 Consist of two upright
stones slabs
supporting a
horizontal cap stone
 All are held together
by their weight

Dolmen Tomb, Carnac France Stonehenge, Salisbury, England

 The remains of a dead  Neolithic ritual
person is place in the
chamber formed by the monument located in
stone blocks Salisbury England
 The entire structure is  Most celebrated
covered with a mound of
earth
Monument in England
 Stone age people built  Most important
tombs because of the prehistoric structure in
belief that dead people Europe
needed shelter

Stonehenge, Salisbury, England Stonehenge, Salisbury, England

Alter
 Well preserved  The plan of
monument Stonehenge is
 Subject of a very arranged in the form
lively controversy and of concentric circles
theories about its  At the center is an
function alter
 Around it five trilithons

Trilithons

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Stonehenge, Salisbury, England Stonehenge, Salisbury, England

Bluestones
 Beyond the
 Beyond trilithons a
monumental circle are
circle of blue stones
56 movable marker
from Wales, 200km
stones in the Aubrey
away
holes
 Beyond blue stones,
 The whole monument
an outer monumental
is isolated from the
circle of large
landscape by a trench
rectangular blocks
capped by continuous  A long avenue cut
lintel through trench to
trilithons

Stonehenge, Salisbury, England Stonehenge, Salisbury, England

Stonehenge - Function Stonehenge - Function

 The Stonehenge  There are two viable theories:
appears to be a  Structure mirrors cosmic eye of lunar goddess
sacred place and outer circle is an elevated walkway for rituals
 The actual function of  An Astronomical computer for the prediction of
the structure is still the eclipse of the sun and moon
not clear  Whatever the case, function is in someway
connected with the cosmos

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Stonehenge - Uniqueness Assignment

 Why is the Stonehenge a remarkable  In groups of 6 each, make models and an A3 sheet
monument? including sketch and features of the following:
1) Terra Amata Hut
 Three possible reasons:
2) Bambutti Hut
 It was not constructed to meet any practical need
3) Tongus Hut
of the people
4) Lapp tent
 The level of accuracy in its construction
5) Mud Hut
 The uniqueness of its geometry and form
6) Stone henge

Date of Submission: 25.08.2017

THANK YOU!!

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