Pre-Historic Architecture

HOA 1
Central Colleges of the Philippines
1st Semester SY 2016-17
History of Architecture
It is a record of man’s effort to building beautifully.
History of Architecture
It traces the origin, growth and decline of architectural styles which
have prevailed land and ages.
Influencing Factors
• Geographical

• Geological

• Climatic

• Religion

• Historical/ Contextual

• Socio-Political
“Megalithic Architecture”
Preserve remains of monument made partially or wholly of giant
stones are found on island or near the sea coast of the mainland.
Dolmen
• a megalithic tomb with a large flat stone laid on upright ones, found
chiefly in Britain and France.

• Consists of several large stones

Set on end with a large covering slab.

Dolmen ruins
in Portugal
Tumulus
• An ancient burial ground.
Menhir
• A menhir (French, from Middle Breton: maen, "stone" and hir,
"long"), standing stone, orthostat, lith or masseba/matseva

• is a large upright standing stone.

• Menhirs may be found solely as monoliths, or as part of a group of

similar stones.
Menhir
Menhir (Monoliths) --> accdg. to Salvan
• Are single great stones set on end and arranged in parallel rows, some
of which run for several miles and consists of thousands of stones.

• Purpose: religious in nature.

• Sometimes huge stones were arranged in a circle and partially

covered with horizontal slabs of stone. These are known as Cromlech.
 EAST
Cromlech
Ring of Brodgar
• The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar, or Ring o' Brodgar) is a Neolithic
henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on the
Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland.

• It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of

Neolithic Orkney.
The site has resisted attempts at
scientific dating and the monument's
age remains uncertain.

It is generally thought to have been

erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC,
and was, therefore, the last of the great
Neolithic monuments built on the Ness.
Ring of Brodgar
The stone circle is 104 metres (341 ft) in diameter, and the third largest
in the British Isles.

The ring originally comprised up to 60 stones, of which only 27

remained standing at the end of the 20th century.
Woodhenge
TENT DWELLERS OF “EAST EUROPE”

Groups of hunting people in

Parts of Eastern Europe 20,000 years ago
Lived in tents set in hollows in the ground.

The tents were made from animal skins

Stretched over a frame of wood or mammoth
Tusks.

The bones of the mammoths were used

To keep the roof in place and to pindown the
Tent as its base.

Other bones were ground down to provide

Fuel for warmth and cooking.
Pre-Historic Lifestyle
Animism
Animism
• Animism (from Latin anima, "breath, spirit, life")
Animism
• is the worldview that non-human entities—such as animals, plants,
and inanimate objects—possess a spiritual essence.

• Animism is used in the anthropology of religion as a term for the

belief system of some indigenous tribal peoples,[6] especially prior to
the development of organized religion
A tableau presenting figures
of various cultures filling in
mediator-like roles

often being termed as

"shaman" in the literature.
Animism
• Animism entails the belief that "all living things have a soul", and
thus a central concern of animist thought surrounds how animals can
be eaten or otherwise used for humans' subsistence needs.

• Animism can also entail relationships being established with non-

corporeal spirit entities
Pantheism
Animism is different from Pantheism