History Lecture 2

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT -I
LECTURE-2
Man's early attempts to colonize and
personalize space….
1st Semester B .Arch, August - December 2013

PART ONE
RECAPITULATION
OF
LECTURE 1

RECAPITULATION- HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT -I
METHODOLOGY OF STUDY / ANALYSIS
WHO + WHERE+WHEN -- This refer to the people who built the building / site / town
being studied. This aspect refers also to the socio-cultural conditions -- which age, how
the people lived, their beliefs, how far was technology developed, etc.
WHY -- The reason for building or the function for which the structure / town was built
WHAT -- The physical form of the structure / town
HOW -- The method (technology) used -- which material, which construction method,
which structural system

WHAT IS HISTORY?
The study of past events
These include not just
written documents, but also
through objects such as
buildings, artifacts and
paintings.
WHAT IS ARCHITECTURE ?
The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings
The style in which a building is designed and constructed,
especially with regard to a specific period, place, Or Culture:
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENT ?
The setting or condition in which a particular activity is carried on.

HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE
Traces the changes in
Design of various
building types &
functions , Structure,
Construction methods
and other
architectural
elements
Through
Various Traditions,
Regions, Stylistic
trends…from The
Primitive Phases till
the present day.
Traces the changes in Design of various building types & functions
Traces the changes in Structures

HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE
Traces the changes in
Design of various
building types &
functions , Structure,
Construction methods
and other
architectural
elements
Through
Various Traditions,
Regions, Stylistic
trends…from The
Primitive Phases till
the present day.
Traces the changes in Construction Methods
Traces the changes in other architectural elements

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
&
BUILT
ENVIRONMENTS
Group of
BUILDINGS
Includes a
Therefore we must understand that history of architecture
doesn’t end with the single building or element but includes the
surroundings as well…

RECAPITULATION- BEGINNING OF HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
They sheltered in caves
PROTECTION
WATER
They learnt to make
containers that can
store water
FOOD
They learnt to farm
the land
They learnt to shape
stones into tools or
weapons
They learnt to take
care of animals
In Neolithic people became SEDENTARY

RECAPITULATION- BEGINNING OF HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• World population grew
• People began to grow more
food than they would need –
allowed people to do things
other than farming
• Trade increased
• Establishment of Towns/Cities
• Cities become centers of trade,
politics and culture
• Men became superior
• Formalized religion
Ceremonies, rituals, and
worship
Built large temples
Changes in society..
• Based on occupations,
wealth, and influence
– rulers, priests, and
nobles
– merchants and
artisans
– farmers and unskilled
workers – majority
– slaves
Social classes .. Organized Government
• Projects need
planning-decision
making
• created laws
• established
systems of justice
• supervised food
production and
building projects
• gathered taxes
• organized defense

NEED TO STUDY HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & BUILT ENVIRONMENTS
To locate our self , that we are not individual, we are connected to
the entire world.
Experience from the past , largely influence today's decision.
We get to know that each era since the beginning of time formed its
own unique style ..
Every action is sequel to another , so without studying past we cant
move further..
Thus we need to study about our past and to know how
change has happens through time

Unit-I
• Definition and scope of Architecture. Interdependence of various components of the built
environment. Need for a holistic approach.
• Man’s early/prehistoric attempts to colonise and personalize space. Examples of
early shelters, Stonehenge, tumuli, etc. as expression of man’s physical and
spiritual needs
• Determinants of Built Form - geo-physical, societal, political and technological, etc.
Global examples of vernacular architecture.
• Introduction to the River Valley Civilizations. Comparative study of different
manifestations with reference to location, materials and techniques, socio-cultural
influences and other contextual factors
Unit-II
• Egyptian Civilization: Concept of the Royal Necropolis, locational context and architectural
characteristics of public buildings, e.g. mastabas, pyramids and temples(rock-cut &
structural) -one example of each type to be chosen. Worker’s settlement- city of Kahun.
• Mesopotamian Civilization; the urban context and architecture of public buildings
(ziggurats and palaces). Examples of the city and Ziggurat of Ur, city and palace and of
Khorsabad.
Unit-III
• Indus Valley Civilization: Form of the Harappan City, location and role of public buildings.
• Architecture of the typical Harappan dwelling, Granary and Bath.
• The Vedic Village, Building typology and construction

PART -2
Man's early attempts to colonize and
personalize space….

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ‘COLONIZE’ ?
According to man’s need -- how he moulds and how he starts to inhabit space
"to inhabit”

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ‘PERSONALIZE’ ?
Personal needs , Someone's individual requirements
Modify spaces as per personal requirements

How Man starts inhabitation and modifies space as per his needs…
Examples : Caves of Lascaux, France
Lascaux Caves is the world's most
famous prehistoric cave located in
France.
Discovered in 1940 , there is a series
of spaces which displays vast amounts
of imagery paintings by Paleolithic
(Stone Age) humans.
Dated around 10,000 BC, the beautiful
paintings on cave walls represent the
earliest surviving examples of the
artistic expression of early people.
MAN'S EARLY ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE AND PERSONALIZE SPACE….

Using the natural rock contours, these 'primitive' people of the Paleolithic (Old
Stone Age) painted accurate representations of the animals that were such an
important part of their lives.

Cows, bulls, horses, bison, and deer are among the animals seen on the walls of
these caves.
'HALL OF BULLS,' Cave Painting from Lascaux, France

Through sympathetic magic, perhaps these early humans believed that by drawing these
images, they would increase hunting luck.
Another theory is that it was believed that man had to paint these images to 'replace' the
animals that he would hunt and kill.
he

Examples : Bhimbetka Caves , M.P., India
Bhimbetka owes its name to the characters of the longest epic in
the world, the Mahabharata. It is believed that when the five
brothers, called Pandavas, were banished from their kingdom,
they came here and stayed in these caves. These caves were
discovered and revealed in 1957 ,are 15,000 year old.

Since these caves actually formed dwellings for primitive people belonging to various ages, the
paintings here demonstrate their lifestyle and everyday activities.
These are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge figures of animals, such
as bison's and boar beside stick like human figures.
In addition to animals, there are human figures and hunting scenes giving a
clear picture of the weapons used in those times
Fantastic animal seeming to chasing a manWhite dancers in a row

Other examples :
Chauvet caves France
(12,000 years old )
Altamira caves Spain
10,000 years old
World heritage sites

Prehistoric people believed that all natural objects, including living creatures,
had a soul or spirit, which existed separately and independently of its physical
being.
BELIEF IN SUPER NATURAL POWERS….
It was this force, controlled the activities of the natural world.

The natural events such as wind, storms, the transition from day to night, could be
attributed to the actions of the spirits.
Prehistoric communities firstly revered and then later worshipped these spirits, because
the natural phenomena which these spirits produced were often so impressive and
completely beyond normal human capacities.
Prehistoric people began to worship these spirits as these natural phenomena's affected
their day-to-day life.

Religion did not begin simply as a result of prehistoric people observing the
awe-inspiring might of the natural world.

When primitive people dreamt about people or animals that had already died
they may have formed the idea that these dead people had spirits, otherwise
these dead people or animals would not have come to them in dreams.
This belief in the spirits of the departed led to an awareness of the presence of
spirits in all aspects of the natural world.
After observing the power of the natural forces, an additional element was
required :
that is
Awareness by prehistoric people of the existence of "animae" which came
about as a result of witnessing events such as death and dreams.
Worship spirits - So they need to give a physical expression to all beliefs
Expressions of beliefs - Translate into architectural form

RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES….
MENHIRS: Stones set vertically into the ground (one third below the surface and
two thirds above) ranging in height from a few centimeters to several meters
Menhirs , are an even stranger constructs since they are designed
not only to bury the dead, but also to help us remember where
they were buried long after they are gone.

DOLMENS : Also known as stone tables, these typically consist of two vertical
stones set in the ground supporting a horizontal stone balanced across them.
These were burial places. Some have been found buried under ground and full
of human remains (up to 70 people in one dolmen), others are standing in the
landscape and are empty.

TUMULUS : Is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves.

Religious structures to respect the dead

Stonehenge is a monumental circular
setting of large standing stones
surrounded by a circular earthwork,
built in prehistoric times beginning
about 3100 BC .
RESPECT THE SUPER NATURAL POWERS - STONEHENGE ….
STONEHENGE
HENGE
The word henge refers to a
particular type of earthwork of the
Neolithic period, roughly circular or
oval-shaped flat area over 20m in
diameter which is enclosed and
surrounded by a boundary
earthwork that usually comprises a
ditch with an external bank.

RESPECT THE SUPER NATURAL POWERS - ‘STONEHENGE’ ….
There are several such example, henge
being the most complex, best known,
best preserved.
The three aligned henges of the
Thornborough Henges complex,
yorkshire

RESPECT THE SUPER NATURAL POWERS - ‘STONEHENGE’ ….
Avebury stone henge - is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone
circles

STONEHENGE, SALISBURY
Located about 13 km (8 miles)
north of Salisbury, Wiltshire,
Eng.

Stonehenge has been subjected to many theories about its origin:
A place of worship of some kind.
Religious and ritual ceremonies ..

The northeast axis aligned with the sunrise at the summer solstice,
leading other scholars to speculate that the builders were sun worshipers.

One of its functions was the determination of the summer solstice date using the summer
solstice sunrise. At the 21st of June the rising sun in the North East shines its light in
between the Heel Stone onto the Alter Stone at the center of the Trilithons or horseshoe of
Stonehenge.
It is an established fact that Stonehenge was an astronomical observatory.

Archaeologists have found numerous cremation burials dating to this time and the
centuries that followed.
Ritualized funerary procession for treating the dead,

STAGE I: EARTHWORK
The first stage, The earthwork monument, had no stones involved.
The native Neolithic
people, excavated a
roughly circular ditch
about 98 m (320 feet) in
diameter; the ditch was
about 6 m (20 feet) wide
and 1.4 to 2 m (4.5 to 7
feet) deep, and the
excavated rubble was
used to build the high
bank within the circular
ditch.
Archaeological excavations since 1950 suggest three main periods of building--Stonehenge
I, II, and III, the last divided into phases.
STONEHENGE … EVOLUTION OF DESIGN
Circular ditch
Bank around
ditch

STAGE I: EARTHWORK
They also erected two
parallel entry stones on the
northeast of the circle (one
of which, the Slaughter
Stone, still survives).
N
S
EW
Slaughter
stone

STAGE I: EARTHWORK
Inside the bank, fifty-six
varying Aubrey holes were
dug . Dark deposits suggest
the holes once held timber
posts, which were either
deliberately burnt or taken
away

STAGE II:
During Stonehenge II, about 2100 BC, the complex was radically remodeled. About 80
bluestone pillars, weighing up to 4 tons each, were erected in the center of the site.
Bluestone
pillars
The entrance way of this earliest setting of bluestones was aligned approximately upon
the sunrise at the summer solstice, the alignment being continued by a newly built and
widened approach, called the Avenue, together with a pair of Heel stones.

The initial phase of Stonehenge III, starting about 2000 BC, saw the erection of the
linteled circle of Sarsen stones
STAGE III:
Linteled
circle
Of Sarsen
stones
Horseshoe five
great trilithons
and horseshoe shape five great trilithons , each of which
Consisted of a pair of large stone uprights supporting a stone lintel.
In the focus of the trilithon horseshoe is a large flat stone known as the Altar Stone
Altar
Stone

The remaining unshaped 60-odd bluestones were set as a circle of pillars within the sarsen
circle (but outside the sarsen horseshoe).
Bluestones
6 in no.

Two small stones, the Station Stones,
and two low mounds, the North and
South Barrows, are located near the
inner edge of the bank from the first
stage. It is believed that there used to
be two more Station Stones within the
North and South Barrows (Souden).

STONEHENGE … EVOLUTION OF DESIGN( construction method )

This Awe-inspiring creation getting lost in the mists of time. Was Stonehenge a temple for sun
worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar.. How did our ancestors manage to
carry the mighty stones , using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure..
Surrounded by mystery, Stonehenge never fails to impress.

History Lecture 2

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