The First Structures - Building in the Prehistoric Era

INTRODUCTION
The series which will unfold in the following few weeks will trace the history of building construction --- from the first concepts of "building" and "shelter" to contemporary expressions of "architecture". Construction has always been a reflection of the technological and ethical values of a specific society and its values at any given moment of time. This thrust will be the unifying thought through all the discussions to follow. The first in the series is:

The First Structures --- Building in the Prehistoric Era

Over the coming weeks, some of the next few articles will deal with:

The First Civilizations --- Construction in River Valleys around the world
The Greek Period --- Mastering the post and lintel
The Roman Engineering --- Birth of the Arch

And there are more in the series!!

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THE FIRST STRUCTURES --- BUILDING IN THE PREHISTORIC ERA

Stage 1: Man as a Hunter-Gatherer
The first "shelters" built by humankind date back to before 12,000 BC.  Building types characteristic of this period are:

Stone Structures
Tents
Huts

Stage 2: Man begins to cultivate land
Building types characteristic of this period are:

villages of circular (and later rectangular) huts
the communal house

CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS
Construction was based on simple techniques using readily available materials.

The Tent
Hunting generated animal hides and bones. These were used to create tents. Wooden poles and/or animal bones were utilized to erect a framework over which animal hides or leaves were draped. In its crude form, the tent was erected by driving a pole in the ground, and slinging animal hides over it.  The hide was then held down with stones.

The Hut
In its simplest form, wooden branches were stuck into the ground in a circle, and their upper, softer ends were tied together at the top. Over this framework, either hide was used as a cover, or broad leaves were intertwined to form a covering. With the advent of the agricultural revolution, more permanent forms developed. In the Middle East, remains of whole villages of round dwellings have been unearthed. These round dwellings, called tholoi, were built of packed clay. Although all traces of the roofs have disappeared, there were most likely built of dry-laid stone forming domed roofs.

Composite building materials were also used. Clay and wood, in the so-called wattle-and-daub construction, were often used for permanent dwellings. The walls were made of small saplings or reeds driven into the ground, and tied laterally with vegetable fibers. This was then plastered over with wet clay for rigidity and waterproofing. The roofs must have been made of crude thatch bundles or bundled reeds.

The Communal House
Heavier timber buildings were also found. These buildings were restricted in size as the stone tools used by man at this time were not very effective in cutting large trees for timber. Using the post and lintel system, a central row of columns was used to support the ridge pole and similar rows of columns were used for the long walls. Rafters were run from the ridge pole to the wall beams. The columns were buried deep into the ground for lateral stability. The ridge pole and rafters were tied using vegetable fibers. Thatch was used to roof the structure. Light wooden poles were spanned between the rafters to lay out the thatch on top.  The walls were infilled with various materials, including clay, wattle and daub, tree bark (used by the American Woodland Indians), and thatch.

Stone Structures
Some of the first structures built by man were using stone --- by placing 2 stone vertically and one flat stone spanning them across.  These were called dolmens.

Other stone building include granaries and temples. But some, like the Stonehenge, are still a puzzle to us today. The construction of such buildings was based on the post and lintel method, similar to the dolmens.
 

Many of these structures are still being used by tribal populations all over the world. Some examples are the:

• Primitive Shelters of the North American Indians (a must-see site)
• The Zulu Kraal
• Navajo Hogan
• The Igloo
• Teepe
• Mongolian Yurt

Structural Principles
The two main types of forces that had to be dealt with by the primitive builder were tension (the stress generated by stretching forces) and compression (the stress generated through compacting forces).  Wood poles used are good in compression and animal hides are suitable for tension. The post and lintel also counteracts these forces. The vertical posts are good in compression and the horizontal lintel works to fight tension, through bending, and also reinforces the structure against lateral forces of the wind.

Environmental Control
All these buildings created a "membrane" which could protect man from inclement weather conditions, like rain, snow, high speed winds, excessive heat etc. Also this structure blocked out light. Also these structures were very thermally responsive --- heating and cooling very fast.

Social Benefits
In the initial stages, when man was a nomad, these structures needed to be either portable or easily discarded. Tents were easily carried along with the tribe in its travels, and the huts could be left where they were built, for the forest to reclaim them. Also they took very little time to be re-built.  With the advent of agriculture, the structures provided greater privacy, security as wealth increased and storage space for agricultural products.
 
 

Check These Out, too!!
Enigmatic Stone Age Buildings in Malta unearthed
Images of the Neolithic Temples in Malta
Construction Details and Historical Background - Also a list of good links on the same topic.

Circles of stones of monumental proportions dot the world. Read about what they might have been and about their construction.
Megaliths and Stone Circles Directory
The Enigmatic Stonehenge

Some other interesting sites on Prehistory
Images of Prehistory from Around the World
Life in the Prehistoric Era - An Illustration from Europe
A good collection of links on Northern Europe's Prehistoric Wealth
A unique book collection - Novels with Themes of Prehistory !!