HOUSES IN THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD

● INTRODUCTION:

The Neolithic Period, or New Stone Age (roughly 8,000 B.C.E - 3,000 B.C.E.) is
characterized by the beginning of a settled human lifestyle. That coincided with
the use of more sophisticated stone tools, which were useful for their daily
livelihood such as farming and animal herding. The gradual development of the
ancient community can be noticed in this period. In this age, people used
composite tools that were made out of materials such as wood, twine, and animal
hide. These materials were used to connect the stone tools making them finer and
sharper than the tools in the previous ages. With the given resources, these made
the people have a well defined perspective of making a house during the Neolithic
period.

● THE ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE MODEL

This kind of house that we are presenting originated in Catal Huyuk which is
located near the modern city of Konya in south central Turkey. It was occupied
9,000 years ago by up to 8,000 people who lived together in a large town. Catal
Huyuk, across its history, witnesses the transition from hunting and gathering
subsistence to increasing skill in plant and animal domestication.

Catal Huyuk had no streets or footpaths: the houses were built right up against
each other and the people who lived in them traveled over the town’s rooftops and
entered their homes through holes in the roofs, climbing down a ladder.
Communal ovens were built above the homes of Catal Huyuk and we can assume
that group activities were performed in this elevated space as well.

● NEOLITHIC ARCHITECTURE

The houses in this period are called Mud-brick houses. Mud brick is mud shaped
into bricks and dried, which could then be moved and stacked to form walls and
other structures. Timber also helped in the construction, in the form of logs and
sturdy branches that have been used for supporting the roof. Other simple
materials such as stone, clay, reeds are also used in the making.

The houses have simple structures, often rectangular in shape. They have
“hearths” so they don’t get cold. Their doors were on the roof. The squared
shaped hole also served as “ventilation” for the smoke from the hearth. They use
ladders to get in and out of their houses. At the beginning of the Neolithic Period,
houses did not have rooms, but as time went on, such ideas came to their mind of
 making rooms for kitchen and storage. Sometimes, there is also a grave or
“mural” found in the houses. It is said that they did it so that the person who was
buried was with them. Because of this, it can be said that they also have beliefs
about the afterlife and worship.

● CONCLUSION

As a final point, the Neolithic Period has provided a significant development to

structures and shelters of the people before. We also have seen how resourceful
and ingenious they really were in making houses. Those simple structures thrived
and flourished into different areas and generations up until this present time.
WIthout them, such large buildings and infrastructures such as malls,
supermarkets, subdivisions, companies and more, won’t even exist. Let us never
forget to put love and joy in everything we do no matter how hard it is.
REFERENCES:

Author: Steve Aiken

Year: 06/28/22
Title of page: Neolithic Architecture, Shelter and Structures.
URL: https://study.com/learn/lesson/neolithic-houses-architecture.html:

Author: Dr. Senta German

Year: No date indicated
Title of Page: Catal Huyuk
URL:https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/prehistoric-art/neolithicart/neolithic-sites/a/atalhy
k

Author: Cheryl Roberts

Year: 06/29/22
Title of page: Stone Age Weapons
URL: https://study.com/learn/lesson/stone-age-weapons-spears-arrows.html