Architecture of Ancient
ARCH 131
Civilization
Lecture 01 Introduction
Lecture 02 Early cultures, Ritual centers, 3500 BC
Lecture 03 Indus valley, Mohenjo Daro, Early Mesopotamia, Ziggurat, Domestic
Lecture 04 Egypt Old Kingdom, Giza, Stonehenge, Minoans & Knossos
Class test 1: reading, discussion, thematic QA
Lecture 05 Egypt New Kingdom, Karnak, Abu Simbel, Columns, Design Method
Lecture 06 Mycenae, Ritual center, Aryan Invasion
Lecture 07 Etruscans, Temple, Geometric Greece, Greek Temple, Poseidon
Lecture 08 Neo Assyrian Empire, Babylon, Pasargadae
Lecture 09 Greece & Mediterranean, Temple, Architecture & Language
Class test 2: presentation
Lecture 10 Temple of Apollo Delphi, Ionic Order, Parthenon
Lecture 11 Hellenistic age, Pergamon
Lecture 12 Ptolemies, Temple of Horus, Temple of Apollo Didyma
Class test 3: open book exam
Lecture 13 Review Class
Why is all world map wrong?
Let’s watch
The Middle Stone Age Industries
of the Orange River Scheme Area
at Bloemfontein, South Africa
Proof of ancient settlements
- Cave art in Africa – 25K BCE
- Subterranean houses (artefacts) – 20K BCE
- Tools (hunting, fishing, processing) at Egypt – 17K BCE
- Migration to Americas – 13K BCE
- First permanent settlement/cereal cultiv. – 10K BCE
- Hunting with spears in Americas – 10K BCE
- Flute, rice cultivation in China – 10K BCE
Hand axe: Tanzania & Kenya
Hand axe, needle, ornaments: Africa
Proof of ancient settlements
- Pottery in Japan – 10K-8K BCE
- Walled town at Jericho – 8300 BCE
- Sandstone shelters (decorated) in India – 9K-3K BCE
- Farming in Greece, Agean, Britain – 7K-4K BCE
- Experiment with copper ore at Anatolia – 7K BCE
- Pottery & woollen textile at Catal Huyuk – 6KBCE
- Corn cultivation in Central America – 5K BCE
Two faces
of engraved
Aurignacian
bone plaque
Nez perce long house, nespelem, washington, USA.
Photograph circa 1900.
Significant Rock Art sites in the World
Cave Art: Madhya Pradesh, India & Niger, Africa
Karo tribesmen preparing for ritual, Ethiopia & Cave Art: Petroglyphs, Anbangbang Rock Shelter, Australia
Baobab tree carved out for dwelling in Africa, fire & hearth
The Hunting Tradition: Inner Asia to the Americas
- Villages, hamlets & caves along shores & streams
- Farming, hunting, animals & plants
- Understanding of seasons
- Knowledge handed down through generations
- Mud, reeds, bitumen, stone, wood posts & beams
- Tools & social specialization
- Building arts; specialization for religious/communal purposes
- Crafts associated with elite (patronization)
Early European developments
- Topography & climate delayed development (not before
3500 BCE)
- No history of agricultural domestication, no focus on
family matriarchal histories or temple cultures
- Different clans (due to topo-climatic variety,
segmentation) based mainly on defense and war (to
form a community)
- Two main types of built form: Barrow Tombs & Stone
Circles
Cairn and Cist grave
The Carnac Stone Alignments
Alighnment and Menhir, Drizzlecombe, South Devon, UK
Dolmen for the dead: discovery of parallel walls as a structural and a spatial strategy; evolution from the cave
Tumulus for the dead and alignment and Cursus
- Coves, Trilithon & Dolmen
- Nearly 4,000 found in England alone
- Built near villages or clan compound
- Round or oval in shape used for burial or
cremation (hearth at the centre)
- Used as celestial observatories to follow
movements of the moon and stars (not sun)
- the tombs played the role of both “memory
containers” as well as “ritual clocks”.
Göbekli Tepe: Stone edge Temple, Southeastern Turkey
Calender circle at Nabta Playa: indicates the approximate direction of summer solstice sunrise
