2011 AR 103

History of

Architecture
CLASS 2

Nipun George
SCMS School of Architecture, Karukutty, Kochi.

MESOLITHIC AGE
20,000 BC 9000BC

9000 B.C.
BRONZE AGE
3000 BC 1300 BC

PALEOLITHIC AGE
NEOLITHIC AGE
9000 BC 3000BC

20,000 B.C.

IRON AGE
1300 BC 0 A.D

3000 B.C.

1300 B.C.

0 A.D
2014 A.D

800 A.D

MODULE 1

Understanding Architecture of Early Cultures

Paleolithic age, Ice Age, Neolithic Age
25,000BC to 23,000BC Apollo 11 cave in Africa,
17,000BC to 15,000BC Wadi Kubbaniya in Egypt,
10,500BC to 8000BC Jomon Culture in Japan,
10,500BC to 9500BC Monte Verde in South America
10,000BC to 8200BC Eynan / Ain Mallaha in Africa,
10,000BC to 9000BC Clovis Culture in North America
9000BC to 3000BC Pachmarhi hills in India

Stone Age
Paleolithic Age

Mesolithic Age

Neolithic Age

25,00,000 BC
20,0000 BC

20,000 BC 9000 B.C

9000 BC 3000 BC

Ice Age
1,00,000 10,000 B.C
(last glacial period)

MODULE 1

Understanding Architecture of Early Cultures

Paleolithic age

25,000BC to 23,000BC Apollo 11 cave in Africa,

17,000BC to 15,000BC Wadi Kubbaniya in Egypt,
10,500BC to 8000BC Jomon Culture in Japan,
10,500BC to 9500BC Monte Verde in South America
10,000BC to 8200BC Eynan / Ain Mallaha in Africa,
10,000BC to 9000BC Clovis Culture in North America
9000BC to 3000BC Pachmarhi hills in India

APOLLO 11 CAVES (25,000 BC23,000BC)

NAMIBIA,AFRICA

APOLLO 11 CAVES

The Apollo 11 Cave excavation site.

The Apollo 11 Cave is an archeological site in the Karas Region

of southwestern Namibia.
was given its name by German archaeologist Wolfgang Erich
Wendt who was working in the cave when he heard of the
Apollo 11 crew's successful return to Earth on July 24, 1969.
The cave contained some of the oldest pieces of mobile art
ever discovered in southern Africa.
In total, 7 greybrown quartzite slabs were excavated from the
cave.
the cave also had several white and red paintings.
The subject of paintings ranged from simple geometric
patterns, animals and bees.
Originally brought to the site from elsewhere, the stones were
painted in charcoal, ochre, and white.

 Art was also found near the cave in the form of

engravings, on the banks of a riverbed, and on a large
limestone boulder located 150 metres from the cave.
The engravings consisted of depictions of animals as
well as simple geometric patterns.
More recent finds include 2 rib pieces (one with 26
notches the other with 12 notches) dated to 80,000 BC

The characteristic profile view of an animal (here a

quadruped of uncertain species) is the equivalent of a
"pictorial definition", providing the most complete
information for prompt identification of the depicted
being.
stresses the idea of the structural unity of the thing
depicted, rather than a relative and dynamic view of an
object or phenomenon.
The frontal and lateral views combined into one
characteristic form.
This sort of conceptual approach to form
knowledge of what is represented, rather than the
actual optical experience also seen in later
civilizations.

ICE AGE
Long term temperature reduction of the Earth's
surface and atmosphere, which results in the presence
of extensive ice sheets and glaciers in the northern and
southern hemispheres.
Within an Ice age, individual phases of cold climate
are termed "glacial periods" (colloquially as "ice age"),
and intermittent warm periods are called "interglacials".
There have been at least five major ice ages in the
Earth's past.
We are in an interglacial period of the ice age that
began 2.6 million years ago because the Greenland,
Arctic, and Antarctic ice sheets still exist.

FACTORS FOR ICE AGE:

atmospheric composition, such as the concentrations
of carbon dioxide and methane.
changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
the motion of tectonic plates resulting in changes in
the relative location and amount of continental and
oceanic crust on the Earth's surface, which affect wind
and ocean currents.
variations in solar output
the orbital dynamics of the EarthMoon system.
impact of relatively large meteorites, and volcanism
including eruptions of supervolcanoes.

THE LAST GLACIAL PERIOD

(popularly known as the Ice Age)
the most recent glacial period within the current ice
age occurring, from approximately 1,10,000 to 12,000
years ago.
Scientists consider this "ice age" to be merely the
latest glaciation event in a much larger ice age, one that
dates back over two million years and has seen
multiple glaciations.
The maximum extent of glaciation within this last
glacial period was approximately 22,000 years ago.
From the point of view of human archaeology, it falls
in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods.

When the glaciation event started, Homo sapiens was confined

to Africa.
The retreat of the glaciers allowed spread to Europe, America
and populate them.

ARCHITECTURE DURING ICE AGE

Mammoth Bone Dwellings
Mammoth bone dwellings
are a very early type of
housing constructed by
Upper Paleolithic hunter
gatherers in central Europe.
During this period
mammoths provided meat
and skin for human hunter
gatherers, fuel for fires.
In the Upper Paleolithic of
central Europe, mammoth
bones used as building
materials for houses.

 A mammoth bone
dwelling is typically a
circular or oval structure
with walls made of
stacked large mammoth
bones, often modified to
allow them to be lashed
together or implanted
into the soil.
Within the interior is
typically found a central
hearth or several
scattered hearths.
The hut is generally
surrounded by
numerous large pits.

The dwellings are domeshaped but built from mammoth bone

and hide.
Each has an imposing entrance formed by two tusks, up
ended to form an arch.
The walls use massive leg bones as vertical supports, between
which jawbones have been stacked chindown to create a thick
barrier to the cold and wind.
Skulls are used as furniture, and animal hides line the floor
and walls.
External hearths, butchering areas and flint workshops are
often found in association with the hut these combinations
called Mammoth Bone Settlements
eg. Molodova site (in Ukraine)and Mezhirich.
Some mammoth bone dwellings are isolated structures
others have up to six dwellings

MESOLITHIC AGE
Middle stone age period in human development
between the end of the paleolithic period and the
beginning of the neolithic age.
It began with the end of the last glacial period over
10,000 years ago and evolved into neolithic period.
The change involved the gradual domestication of
plants and animals and the formation of
settlements communities at various times & places.
While mesolithic cultures lasted in europe until
almost 3000 b.c, neolithic communities developed
in the middle east between 9000 and 6000bc.

 Mesolithic cultures represent a wide variety of

hunting, fishing, and food gathering techniques.
This variety may be the result of adaptations to
changed ecological conditions associated with
the retreat of glaciers, the growth of forests in
Europe and deserts in N.Africa and
disappearance of the large game of the ice age.
Charachteristic of the period were hunting and
fishing settlements along rivers and on lake
shores where fish and mollusks were abundant.
Pottery and the use of the bow developed
Domestication of the dog as hunting
companion probably dates to this period.

 Microliths, the typical stone implements of the mesolithic

period are a smaller and more delicate than those of the
late paleolithic period

 Hafted axes, an improvement hand axe and bone tools are

found.