History of architecture 1 - Lecture-3 part 1

1. A GLOBAL HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE
Grains, animals and the village world
Page 11-16
History and Theory of Architecture (1) - 0902241
University of Jordan
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Architecture
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2. MESOPOTAMIA(COMES FROM THE GREEK
WORD FOR MIDDLE RIVER)
• It refers to the rivers between the Tigris and Euphrates river. (
‫الفرات‬ ‫و‬ ‫دجلة‬
)
• The crescent runs along the foot of the Taurus and Zagros mountains in a broad
arc from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean to present-day Iraq.
• Some of the interior wall surfaces were decorated with gypsum plaster, which had
been developed as early as 7000 BCE and which was to remain a central part of
building construction
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3. • by 4000 BCE, a vast network of villages had formed in
the highland in the areas of the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers.
• The inhabitants had transformed the valleys into
productive grain-breading regions.(These areas are
now divided by the borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey,
Lebanon, and Jordan).
• The climate was different back then therefore the
Tigris and Euphrates valleys were far different than
deserts today.
Tigris river
Euphrates river
…
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4. • 9000 BCE Hilltop cities evolved (Example: Tell Aswad-
Syria)
• 7000 BCE. The Zagros Mountains settled from Jarmo to
Ganj Dareh.
• 6000 BCE. A dense network of villages and small
cities,(Example:Tell Hassuna), reached to the south along
the Euphrates.
• 5000 BCE. Mesopotamian area became the largest network
of villages and cities worldwide with the exception of the
Indus River valley. Khirokitia in Cyprus and settlements
along the Nile completed the picture.
…
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5. TELL MEGIDDO.
(TELL: AN ARABIC WORD TO DESCRIBE A
HILLOCK)
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6. 3500 BCE
One of the most important groupings of
villages dating from this period (6000–2500
BCE) were located just to the east of a rain-fed
agricultural zone that arches northeastward from
the northern tip of the Persian Gulf along the
flanks of the Zagros Mountains.(Tell Hassuna, Tell Maghzaliyah,
Tell es-Sawwan, Jarmo, Ganj Dareh.
These settlements started as villages of about two hundred
people, growing over time into substantial communities. 12/23/2022 6
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7. • The basic materials were mud and
timber. The walls were laid out in a
honeycomb pattern to make them
more durable. (last longer) Roofs were
made of timber.
• They were Rectilinear 1.5x2.00 meters
• Roofs consisted of adjoining beams of
oak on which were placed a layer of
branches and reeds sealed with mud,
bitumen, and gypsum.
• Some of the interior wall surfaces were
decorated with gypsum plaster, which had been
developed as early as 7000 BCE and which was
to remain a central part of building construction
• The outcrops of rock gypsum were formed into
white powder which was exported.
The development of trade in crafts, pottery,
building materials, and metal objects stimulated
the economies and played a part in its drift toward
craft urbanization.
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8. KHIROKITIA
On the island of Cyprus, a large Neolithic village (4000 and 2500
BCE) exhibited a well-organized architectural tradition.
Spread in a semicircle of a steep hill. Khirokitia had a population
of about five hundred people and was protected by a massive
stone wall (3 meters thick). A gate provided access into the
village.
Over time the village grew, and a new wall running roughly
parallel to the old one was added. Houses, built in limestone, had
a circular plan, the exterior diameter varied from about 2 - 9
meters.
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9. • The exteriors and interiors were covered with whitish gypsum and roofs were made of reeds and
mud.
• A family unit consisted of several circular structures combined around a small open space which
was used for socializing.
• The compounds were crowded next to each other with passages between them.
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10. • Although the theme of the village was rather religious: they did
not have a central religious site instead, burials took place
within the space of a family unit’s house.
• Since the village was away from the sea, the main economy
was farming and hunting. Fish were brought up from the sea or
traded in exchange for agricultural products.
• For reasons unknown, the site, and indeed all of Cyprus, was
abandoned at sometime and only reoccupied much later.
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11. • In Euphrates and Tigris people built mines and some
raised grains which were mutually reinforcing activities.
• Copper-producing areas stretched from the Caspian Sea
through Anatolia and around the Black Sea into the
Balkans.
• An early Copper Age society, known as the Vinca Culture,
flourished from 5500 to 4000 BCE from Bosnia to
Romania. Another export was salt (mined in Austria)
Some objects from the copper age.
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12. THE TAURUS
Mountains in eastern Anatolia, were important in the
Asian economy, since tin was needed, along with
copper, to make bronze.
Tin was more rare unlike copper.
An tin mine was discovered at a site named
Göltepe, which was a large village from
around 3290 to 1840 BCE. Cassiterite
was crushed, with charcoal
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13. CATAL HÜYÜK
Catal Hüyük in central Anatolia lay at the center of
the metal trade. The city goes back to 7400 BCE; it
had a population of about eight thousand. Metal
objects found there are the oldest in the Near East.
Other local commodities were traded—in
particular volcanic glass. The city was located in
the center of a large, valley,
What has been recovered is a small part of the city
that followed the slopes of the hill.
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14. Ladder leads to roof opening,
which
served as the entrance to the
house as
well as a vent for smoke.
Reconstructed shrine at Catal Hüyük
Typical house in Catal
Hüyük
Bull design on a shrine wall at Catal Hüyük
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15. • Catal Hüyük is at the northern end of a zone of developing urbanization that
reach from Jericho (in Israel) to Tell Aswad (in Syria) and Susa (in Iran).
• Jericho was a major city and the largest in the country.
https://youtu.be/jzXZ4UooHto
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16. Mehrgarh, Pakistan
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17. EARLY INDUS SETTLEMENTS
3500 BC
Early Indus Settlements Though evidence of the Neolithic occupation of India dates back to
10,000 BCE, settled cultures began to emerge around 7000 BCE in the eastern hills of the
Baluchistan Mountains in today’s Pakistan.
By 3500 BCE, its occupants had not only mastered extensive grain cultivation, but they had
made it the center of their culture.
Dominating the urban landscape were square mud-brick buildings, presumed to be granaries
designed as multi-roomed, rectangular structures with a narrow corridor running down the
center.
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18. MEHRGARH
Mehrgarh have emerged as the most important site. This
area was strategically located overlooking
the Kachi Plain southeast of modern Quetta
near the Bolan Pass, an important gateway
connecting South Asia to the rest of the
continent.
Mud-brick granaries
 This period is characterized by the
elaboration of ceramics, the beginning
of copper metallurgy, stone-bead
making, and seal-bone carving.
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