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Prehistoric Architecture Overview

The document summarizes pre-historic architectural styles from around the world. It describes common building materials like animal skins, wood, and stone. It then categorizes and describes different types of pre-historic dwellings like beehive houses, trullos, wigwams, and tepees. Finally, it discusses religious monuments and burial sites such as menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs, and tumuli. Key examples highlighted include Stonehenge and its massive upright stones.

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August Ponge
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914 views3 pages

Prehistoric Architecture Overview

The document summarizes pre-historic architectural styles from around the world. It describes common building materials like animal skins, wood, and stone. It then categorizes and describes different types of pre-historic dwellings like beehive houses, trullos, wigwams, and tepees. Finally, it discusses religious monuments and burial sites such as menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs, and tumuli. Key examples highlighted include Stonehenge and its massive upright stones.

Uploaded by

August Ponge
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Pre-Historic Architecture
  • Classifications of Early Known Types of Architecture

PRE-HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Materials

Animal skins, wooden frames, thatch, animal bones, stones

Construction System

Existing or excavated caves

Megalithic, most evident in France, England and Ireland

Trabeated (Post & Lintel) and corbelled

II. Classifications of Early Known Types of Architecture


II.A. Dwellings

Mostly had one room

Development of more complex civilizations led to division of the room into smaller ones for
eating, sleeping, socializing

In places where no industrial revolution has occurred to transform building methods and
increase population density, houses show little difference from primitive ones

Natural or Artificial Caves

BEEHIVE HOUSE

Primitive type of residence designed by enlarginf a simple stone hemisphere,


constructed out of individual blocks, to provide greater height at the center; the form
resembles a straw beehive, hence, its name.

The beehive houise is typical of Celtic dwellings from 2000 BC in Scotland and Ireland

TRULLO

Dry walled rought stone shelter with corbelled roof

A trullo (Plural, trulli) isa a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof. Their
style of construction is specific to t he Itria Valley, in the Murge area of the Italian region
of Apulia.

WIGWAM

It is an American Indian dwelling usually round or oval shape, formed of poles overlaid
with bark, rush mats, or animal skins.

TEEPEE

Conical tent with wooden poles as framework


Covered with rush mats and an animal skin door

HOGAN

Dome-shaped building with log, or occasionally stone, frameworks.

Once framed, the structure was then covered with mud, dirt, or sometimes sod.

Door is usually oriented facing East

IGLOO

Innuit (Eskimo) house constructed of hard-packed snow blocks built up in a circular form

Igloos are mostly identified with the Inuit people of Canada’s Artic (although they can
also be found in Greenland)

IRAQI MUDHIF

Covered with split reed mats, built on a reed platform to prevent settlement

SUMATRAN HOUSE

For several families, built of timber and palm leaves, the fence pen underneath is for
livestock

II.B. Religious Monuments / Burial Grounds


MENHIR

A Single, large upright monolith

Serves a religious purpose

Sometimes arranged in parallel rows, reaching several miles and consisting of thousands
of stones

Sometimes arranged in parallel rows, reaching several miles and consisting of thousands
of stones

DOLMEN

Tomb of standing stones usually capped with a large horizontal slab

CROMLECH

Enclosure formed by huge stones planted on the ground in circular form

Opening and Heel stone is Facing East

Stonehenge, England (2800 – 1500 BC)

Most spectacular and imposing of monolithic monuments


Outer ring, inner ring, innermost horseshoe-shaped ring with open end
facing east

Largest stones weigh 45 to 50 tons, came from Wales 200km away

Stones transported by sea or river then hauled on land with sledges and
rollers by hundreds of people, raised upright into pits, capped with
lintels

TUMULUS or PASSAGE GRAVE

Dominant tomb type

Corridor inside leading to an underground chamber

A mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves

II.C. Community

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