Chapter Ten: Indigenous Architecture in the Americas and Africa

1. ©2014 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Buildings across Time, 4th Edition
Chapter Ten: Indigenous Architecture in the Americas
and Africa
Introduction
Pre-Columbian refers to those cultures in place in the Americas at the time of initial contact
with European explorers, specifically Christopher Columbus, an Italian sent west by the
Spanish.
These cultures extended from the Arctic, where Aluits built iglus, to Peru, where the Incas
terraced the Andes, with countless tribes in between, from the Apache in the American
Great Plains to the Maya in the jungles of Guatemala.
Unfortunately, as a result first of conquest and communicable diseases and later of
relentless pressure from European and American settlement, these indigenous cultures
were most often disrupted and displaced from their ancestral lands.

3. The Great Plains and the Great Lakes
Teepee
Great Plains Teepee. A
response to both
numbing cold and blazing
heat, the teepee was also
portable. It was the best-
known of the nomadic
Native American
structures, a cone-
shaped skeleton of poles
covered with bison hides.
It was preferred by the
Arapaho, Blackfeet,
Cheyenne, Comanche,
and Crow tribes.

4. The Northeast
Wigwam
Midwest Wigwam. The
wigwam was made by bending
enough saplings into arch-
shaped cross-sections to form
a vault or dome-like volume,
then covering it with mats or
bark. In the northeast, various
Algonquin tribes, including the
Chippewa, Kickapoo, and
Winnebago, favored the
wigwam. This domical
structure is covered with reed
mats, which overlap like
shingles to prevent the entry of
moisture.

5. The Mississippi River Basin
Serpent Mound
Serpent Mound, Ohio, before 400 B.C.E. Meandering some 600 feet in an oscillating curve, this
earthwork is one among many in the Ohio River Valley. The effort required to complete such a
project speaks to the high level of organization and common vision among the Adena culture,
builders of the mound. A full explanation of the motivations that inspired these ancient builders
has not yet been developed.

6. The Mississippi River Basin
Earth Mound
Earth Mound, Moundville,
Alabama, 1200-1500. This
earth mound in west-central
Alabama was situated on a
high bluff above the Black
Warrior River, and constructed
as a base for a temple or
residence of an important
person. A 1930s exhibition of
excavated skeletal remains at
Moundville has been closed
because they were considered
societally intrusive.
Consequently, the excavation
has been sealed off from
public view.

7. Arctic and Subarctic
Iglu
Inuit Iglu. While the
iglu is shaped like a
dome, it is actually
made of spiraling
courses, with the bed
of each block sloping,
or canted, inward. The
blocks are cut from
packed snow, rather
than solid ice, meaning
ice crystals with
miniscule pockets air
trapped between
provides insulation
from the cold exterior.

8. Northwest and Northern California
Shed House
Along the northwest Pacific
coast, the Quinault built shed
houses, log frames sheathed
in cedar planks and covered
with single-sloped shed roofs
or double-sloped gable roofs.
Shed houses could be quite
large, with eaves rising to 20
feet and main rooms up to
100-feet across. The
production of individual
planks by splitting and
finishing logs with an adze
was a technological
challenge.

9. Northwest and Northern California
Pit House
The Nez Perce, famous
for their hospitality to
the Lewis and Clark
expedition in 1805,
occupied pit houses,
timber frames set
above three to four-
foot-deep pits and
covered with pine
needles, reed or grass
mats, and earth.
Such environments
took advantage of the
insulating qualities of
surrounding, earthen
walls. Entry to the
house was from above.

10. The Southwest
Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde, Southwest Colorado, 1100-
1275. Ancestral Pueblo structures were
compact, permanent settlements and
consisted of extensive alcove dwellings
beneath protective mesas and agricultural
and trading townships. The Mesa Verde
site was chosen for habitation for practical
reasons; it offered protection from winter
winds out of the north and security against
potential invaders.

11. The Southwest
Mesa Verde
In around 1000, the
Ancestral Pueblo began to
transform their pit houses
into sunken, circular kivas,
sacred and social spaces
that celebrated their clan-
oriented society. Each kiva
contained a sipapu, or
ceremonial opening to the
world below. Around a
kiva, the Ancestral Pueblo
distributed several suites
of living spaces. As their
population increased, they
added second and third
stories to their already
dense housing complexes,
called Pueblos.
The vast Ancestral Pueblo alcove dwelling or cliff palace
at Mesa Verde contains some 200 rooms and 23 kivas.

12. The Southwest
Mesa Verde
Because the cavity beneath the Mesa faces south, it allowed the low winter sun to
enter and warm the dwellings, but not the high, hot summer sun. It is unclear why
these extended settlements were abandoned. One hypothesis is that climatic change
led to inadequate water supplies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsl-tD5c1UQ

13. The Southwest
Hogan
Southwest Hogan. The Navajo
nation, which represents some of
the descendants of the Ancestral
Pueblo, traditionally lived in
hogans, various configurations of
log frames covered with earth. This
produced a living environment
compatible with climatic extremes.
Wood provided the structural
integrity, while the earth covering
provided the insulation. Some of
these structures were cone-shaped,
and some had notched log walls
and corbeled log roofs.

14. The Southwest
Olmecs
Olmec Stone Head, before
900 B.C.E. The earliest
evidence (roughly 1500
B.C.E.) of a sophisticated
culture in Mexico comes
from the Gullf Coast in the
northern portion of the
state of Vera Cruz. This was
the land of the Olmecs.
This Olmec colossal head,
from La Venta, this head is
2½ m high (9 ft) and is
officially known as
Monument 1. It displays
the distinctive Olmec
ceremonial headdress.

15. The Southwest
La Venta
La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico, 1100-400 B.C.E. The most important Olmec ceremonial
center is La Venta, where the oldest known earthen pyramid in Mexico, almost 100
feet tall, served as one terminus for an axis defined by an orthogonal arrangement
of a conical earthen pyramid on axis with earthen platforms and walled enclosures.
Conical earthen
pyramid
Earthen
platforms
Walled
enclosures

16. The Southwest
La Venta
One of the three buried Mosaics or Pavements from La Venta, consisting of nearly 500 blocks
of serpentine.

17. The Southwest
La Venta
Monument 19, from La Venta, the
earliest known representation of a
feathered serpent in Mesoamerica.

18. Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico
Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán, Valley of Mexico,
ca. 200 B.C.E. - 900 C.E. This
vast site covers some 13
square miles and once served
a population of up to 200,000
people. As at La Venta, the
principal forms are pyramids
and platforms, here stretched
out beside a long causeway.
The city’s major monuments
were continuously under
construction until about 250
C.E. The city may have lasted
until sometime between the
7th and 8th centuries, but its
major monuments were
sacked and systematically
burned around 550 C.E.

19. Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico
Talud and Tablero
The battered walls of the terraces and pyramids of
Teotihuacan display the Talud and Tablero motifs that
would be repeated with many variations throughout
Mesoamerica. The Talud is a sloping plane and the
Tablero is a frieze of random stones framed by plain
moldings. These motifs appear as pyramid tiers, building
walls, and even roofs.

20. Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico
Teotihuacan
Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán, begun ca. 100 B.C.E. Made of earth with a stone-veneer
covering, the Pyramid of the Sun has a profile of ascending, sloping taluds. The platforms in the
foreground, which once supported temples, have more complex talud-tablero arrangements.

21. Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico
Atetelco
Palace of Atetelco,
Teotihuacán.
This pattern of
interlocking
orthogonal
geometries attests
to the sophisticated
design ideas of the
people of
Teotihuacan.
Notable are the
cross-axial
organization, the
column screens, and
the resulting rich
sequence of spaces.

22. Monte Albán in Oaxaca
The Zapotecs
Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico, 600 B.C.E.-1000 C.E. Unlike Teotihuacan’s axial organization,
Monte Albán’s is spatial and centrally-planned. Platforms once capped by temples define a plaza
in which the Zapotecs placed two structures, one certainly an observatory that was angled in
plan to align it with significant stars or planets.

23. Monte Albán in Oaxaca
Ball Court
Mesoamerican ball court,
Copán, Honduras, before
800.
This ball court, like that at
Monte Albán, has sloping
talud walls resembling
modern stadium seating.
However, these slopes
were a part of the playing
field, with onlookers
standing on the platforms
above. The game was not a
sport but a ritual, in which
the consequence of losing
was death.

24. Monte Albán in Oaxaca
The Mixtecs
Talud-Tablero wall at Mitla,
Oaxaca, Mexico, ca. 800.
The Mixtecs followed the
Zapotecs in Oaxaca, around 800
C.E. Their sacred city of Mitla
includes the Palace of the
Columns. Here the tablero motif
took on a much more intricate
character than any seen before.
A plain talud serves as the base,
from which, rise tiers of tablero
elements framed by corbeled
bands. The tablero is formed of
inlaid panels of geometric
ornamentation in both
orthogonal and diagonal
patterns.

25. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Tikal
Tikal, Guatemala, 600 B.C.E.-ca. 900 C.E. The most impressive Maya city is Tikal, set within the
lowland jungles in Guatemala. The city was not only a ceremonial site, but also a true urban
center with a permanent population of 45,000 inhabitants and contained thousands of
structures and stone monuments.

26. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Tikal
North Acropolis at Tikal, ca. 700. The portion of the city seen here included the great plaza in
the foreground, with stelae and the pyramid bases of the north Acropolis beyond. The Maya
used temples and their bases to shape outdoor spaces intended for ritual spectacle.

27. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Tikal
Pyramid at Tikal, ca. 650.
Most striking about Tikal’s
pyramids is their verticality.
However, they were once
part of a densely developed
urban fabric rather than
being isolated towers amid
a dense jungle tree canopy
as they are today. They rise
like great stalagmites from
the jungle floor in a
dramatic fashion.

28. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Copán
Stelae at Copán, Honduras, 600-800.
Copán lies to the southeast of Copal
and was famous for its periodic
gathering of Mayan astronomical
experts. Perhaps its most distinctive
features are its many stelae: upright
stone slabs carved with inscriptions.
Upright stone objects have
appeared in cultures around the
world, the most obvious type in the
west being the familiar tombstone
or grave marker. The Maya erected
them for various purposes, including
the commemoration of significant
events.

29. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Palenque
Exterior view of a corbel-vaulted temple
at Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, completed
by 683. This stepped pyramid at
Palenque is notable for its wide temple
with five openings. Inside, the structural
system is a corbeled vault. The Pre-
Columbian cultures never discovered the
true arch or vault.
In the interior of the temple, stone lintels
complement the corbel vault in this
space. The carved images on the
sarcophagus lid depict a Mayan king
descending the trunk of the world-tree
to the netherworld, from which, he was
to arise like the hero twins of Mayan
mythology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYc
Ws7qJeCI

30. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Uxmal
Masks at the Nunnery, Uxmal, Yucatan,
Mexico, ca. 900. Here, the ornament is
both highly geometric and highly organic,
the latter reflecting the Puuc style
developed in northwest Yucatan. While
the individual stones are modular, the
images, dominated by the masks of the
rain god Chac, are boldly sculpted.

31. Tikal and Other Maya Sites
Caracol
The Caracol or “Observatory,”
at Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, after
900. This unusual structure
displays not only the Maya-
inspired masks of the rain-god
Chac, but also depictions of
the plumed serpent brought
south by Toltec invaders. The
Caracol may have been used
as an astronomical
observatory; Maya
astronomers made use of the
concept of zero.

32. The Toltecs, Aztecs, and Incas
Tenochtitlán
Map of Tenochtitlán, location of present-day Mexico City, Mexico, after 900. Focused on the
skull-rack at its center, this orthogonal layout makes use of the same platform and pyramid
types seen centuries earlier at nearby Teotihuacán.

33. The Toltecs, Aztecs, and Incas
Tenochtitlán
What sets this city apart and what first amazed Spanish explorers was its dramatic location at
the center of a lake. The lake has long since disappeared as have the remains of Tenochtitlan
beneath the modern-day city.

34. The Toltecs, Aztecs, and Incas
Tenochtitlán
When the conqueror Hernán Cortés appeared with his small army, some of the Aztecs may have
believed him to be the god Quetzalcóatl, returned from a mythical journey, which, in turn, may
have caused their king Moctezuma to act indecisively in the face of the Spanish threat.

35. The Toltecs, Aztecs, and Incas
Tenochtitlán
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nS6MpVbB_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ABoaAyhMZQ

36. Peru
Sechin Alto
Map of Sechin Alto, Peru, 1800-900 B.C.E. Sechin Alto, located in the Casma Valley, become the
largest architectural complex in the Americas, at the time. The ceremonial center’s U-shaped
plan consists of a granite-veneered stepped pyramid, 300 feet on its long sides, facing a sunken
court flanked by low buildings and establishing an axis that united a series of terraces. It’s strong
central axis has cosmic significance, and its enclosing of space with repetitive building elements
creates a sacred precinct.

37. Peru
Huaca del Sol
Huaca del Sol, Peru, before 100 C.E. At the coastal capital of Cerro Blanco, located just south of
the Moceh River’s entry into the Pacific, the Moche people built two great, adobe-brick
structures by 100 C.E.: the Huaca del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun) and the Huaca de la Lun (Pyramid
of the Moon), both now much deteriorated due to erosion. These two enormous platformed
temple mounds faced each other across the remains of residences and workshops were, at
times, the setting for human sacrifice.

38. Peru
Huaca del Sol
Reconstruction drawing of how Huaca de el Sol may
have appeared when initially constructed. It
measures 1130 feet by 525 feet, occupying a larger
area than the largest Egyptian pyramid, that of
Khufu (755 feet by 755 feet).

39. Peru
The Nazca
The Nazca, on the
Peruvian South
Coast, constructed
enormous glyphs
laid out across the
hillsides above the
Pacific. On flat
terrain, the glyphs’
lines appear to
have been used as
ritual pathways,
running for
distances greater
than ten miles and
depicting humans,
animals, and
geometric shapes.

40. Peru
The Incas
No culture in the Pre-Columbian Americas occupied an environment more dramatic than the
Incas. They organized the precipitous terrain of the Andes by terracing the rugged mountainsides
and by providing sophisticated irrigation systems for agriculture. The Incas eventually controlled
an area stretching 2500 miles throughout much of modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and
Bolivia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRWAhEJtczg

41. Peru
The Incas
The Incas located their capital at Cuzco, between the Huatany and Tullumayo rivers.
While the construction there does not exceed one story in height, the site is impressive
for the rigor of its great stone fortress of Saqsaywaman, where enormous blocks were
exquisitely set without the use of mortar.

42. Peru
The Incas
In Inca stonework,
each stone was
dressed and cut,
then placed
adjacent to its
neighbors without
the use of mortar.
No other
contemporary
culture in the
western
hemisphere was
so skilled at
fashioning and
laying cyclopean
stone masonry.

43. Africa
Asante Home, Ghana
A traditional Asante home, Ghana.
Notice here that the access to the
courtyard is made along its edges rather
than toward its center, a non-axial and
therefore less formal and hierarchical
arrangement.
The Asante Kingdom had its golden age in the
18th century, fell during the British occupation
of the area from 1806 to 1901, and most
Asante buildings of the period were destroyed
during the area.

44. Africa
Fali Compound, Cameroon
Layout of a
typical Fali
compound,
Cameroon, in
which, forming
a circle of
permanent
structures is
formed, for
the purpose of
security.

45. Africa
Gedi, Kenya
Gedi, Kenya, 15th century and after. Another courtyard house, this time part of a palace
complex. The site of Gedi includes a walled town and its outlying area. All of the standing
buildings at Gedi, which include mosques, a palace, and numerous houses, are made from
stone, are one-story, and are distributed unevenly in the town. There are also large open areas
in the settlement which contained earth and thatch houses. Stone "pillar tombs" are a
distinctive type of Swahili Coast architecture found at Gedi as well.

46. Africa
Gedi, Kenya
Gedi, Kenya, 15th century and after. Another courtyard house, this time part of a palace
complex. The site of Gedi includes a walled town and its outlying area. All of the standing
buildings at Gedi, which include mosques, a palace, and numerous houses, are made from
stone, are one-story, and are distributed unevenly in the town. There are also large open areas
in the settlement which contained earth and thatch houses. Stone "pillar tombs" are a
distinctive type of Swahili Coast architecture found at Gedi as well.

47. Africa
Endé, Mali
The toguna, or village meeting house of the Dogon people of Mali, is usually a rectangular (but
sometimes round) freestanding structure, oriented to the cardinal points, open on one side, and
raised up on wooden uprights or stones. The uprights are sometimes embellished with fetish
images, which often represent Dogon fertility beliefs.

48. Africa
Kabao, Libya
Qasr, Kabao, Libya. Individual family storehouses have been agglomerated as storage fortresses,
or qasr. With walls made of rubble stone and adobe, and an inner structure of wood that
frequently penetrates to the outside to support balconies, they have been constructed over
time as places of security for crops but also for families in times of danger.

49. Africa
Ait-Benhaddun, Morocco
Kasbah, Ait-Benhaddun, Morocco. The Kasbah, a fortified multi-family house with a square plan
anchored to its corners by square, projecting battered towers. These dwellings are constructed
of stone, brick and adobe and sometimes rise up ten or more stories.

50. Africa
Djenne, Mali
Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali, 1906-07. The walls of the Great Mosque are made of sun-baked
earth bricks, and sand- and earth-based mortar, and are coated with a plaster which gives the
building its smooth, sculpted look. The walls of the building are decorated with bundles of
rodier palm sticks, called toron, that project about 2 feet from the surface. The toron also serve
as a readymade scaffolding for annual repairs. Ceramic half-pipes also extend from the roofline
and direct rain water from the roof away from the walls.

51. Africa
Lalibela, Ethiopia
St. George’s Church, Lalibela, Ethiopia, 13th century. The church was carved from a single mass
of volcanic tuff. It has been dated to the late 12th or early 13th century AD, and thought to have
been constructed during the reign of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, of the late Zagwe dynasty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=me2onCyMxJQ