Architecture & Town
Planning AE-301
Neolithic Architectural Style
Introduction to Neolithic Architecture
• Architecture of the Neolithic Period
• In South-west Asia, it soon appeared after 10000 B.C.
• In Europe, it appeared between 8000 – 7000 B.C.
• In the Middle-East by 8000 B.C.
Introduction to Neolithic Architecture
• Architectural Styles of this era doesn’t vary much.
• Construction Materials varied according to their
Availability.
• Building materials consisted of thick timber posts, reeds,
clay (hay clay or mud-bricks) and stone for the
foundations and the upper structure (walls).
• for roofing, tree trunks, reeds, clay and hay were used.
Introduction to Neolithic Architecture
Introduction to Neolithic Architecture
• Can be distinguished by Two Phases.
1. Paleolithic Phase
• This Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the
development of the first stone tools.
• Also characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at
the time humans also used wood and bone tools.
Introduction to Neolithic Architecture
• Can be distinguished by Two Phases.
1. Mesolithic Phase
• By the end of the Aurignacian, gradual changes took place in
stone industries.
• Small stone tools called Microliths and retouched blade-lets can
be found for the first time.
Tools used during Mesolithic
Period
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
• Different types of structures of the Neolithic era were
uncovered and found.
1. Natural Caves
• Among the first shelters to be used by the prehistoric man was
the natural cave.
• The natural caves gave the idea of supporting a roof slab by
walls of stones which led to the construction of other types of
dwellings.
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
2. Mud-Brick Structures
• Mud-Brick Structures were also found in this style
• Roofs of these buildings were also constructed out of local
materials, such as a hard grass or wood.
• Circular, Rectangular and square shaped dwellings were found.
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
3. Megalithic Structures
• Comprised of two Greek words (megas lithos) meaning "great
stone."
• Aside from houses, other structures made up of large stones
• Found all over the world
• Famous example: Stone Henge ,UK.
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
4. Stone Circles
• Stones of different kinds are assembled in circles.
• It seems more than likely that prehistoric tombs and stone circles
were temples for some kind or kinds of augury,
• even the interpretation of clouds.
• Found in many Areas
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
5. Dolmens
• Dolmens (Bret. dol = table + maen stone)
• Dolmen is the name sometimes applied to two or more upright
stones supporting a horizontal slab
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
6. Pile Dwellings
• Neolithic pile dwellings have been excavated
• Consists of Piles supporting wooden or other light materials
roofs
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
7. Wattle-and-Daub Dwellings
• Neolithic settlements included wattle-and-daub structures with
thatched roofs and floors made of logs covered in clay.
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
8. Sweathouses
• Sweathouses were resorted to as a sauna-treatment for aches and
pains
• For a start, the entrance is as little as 75 cms high.
• No easy task to heat up the sweathouse
• Light a fire, maintain it and sweep out the ashes
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
9. Other Famous Examples include
• Catal Hayuk
• 32 acre town located in the south of Turkey known as Catal
Huyuk
• Well Preserved homes and structures
• Also contains rectangular buildings with “windows”.
• However, none of the homes have doors, entrance appears to be
through roofs.
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
Dwellings & Misc. Structures
• Temple of Tarxien, Malta
• Archaeological complex in Tarxien, Malta
• Date back to approximately 2800 BC.
Habitat
• first farming and stock-rearing settlements were situated in
coastal or inland areas, lowlands or hilly, close to water sources
(lakes, rivers, streams, springs)
• Majority were open-settlements but cave dwelling also observed
Habitat
1. Density
• Different according to regional characteristics
• For Example, large fertile plains were more densely populated
than the semi-mountainous regions and the islands
• the density of the settlements did not remain the same
throughout all the Neolithic phases.
• geomorphological changes, such as a rise in the sea level, as well
as natural disasters, such as the overflowing of rivers, had a
direct impact on settlement density
Habitat
2. Settlements
• During the Early Neolithic, settlements consisted of huts with
walls made of posts
• From the Middle Neolithic onwards houses with stone
foundations and walls from mud-bricks (unfired bricks from a
mixture of clay and hay) were built
• There are indications that two-storey dwellings existed as well
• Several settlements were surrounded by ditches or stone
enclosures, whose function is not entirely clear: for defense or to
demarcate the limits of the settlement?
Habitat
2. Settlements
• Open settlements had usually the form of a low hill, 2-4 meters
high, with a diameter of 100-200 meters
Political Organization
• During the early phases of the Neolithic, communities of at least
50-100 individuals were organized with the clan or extended
family as the basic unit
• From the Late Neolithic onwards, an increase in the number of
settlements and differentiation in their architectural structure and
form has been observed
• The number of community members reached 100-300
individuals.
Misc.
Tarxien Temple
Mud and Clay Dwelling
Misc.
Tabon Cave, Phillipine
Mehrgarh Dwellings, Balochistan
Misc.
Sweet Track, England
Nevali Cori, Turkey
Misc.
Ring of Brodgar, Scotland
Skara Brae House, Scotland
Misc.
Pada Lin Caves, Myanmar
Knap of Howar, Scotland
