Architectural History

The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelter and protection. The term "architecture" generally refers to buildings, but in its essence is much broader, including fields we now consider specialized forms of practice, such as urbanism, civil engineering, naval, military, and landscape architecture.

Trends in architecture were influenced, among other factors, by technological innovations, particularly in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The improvement and/or use of steel, cast iron, tile, reinforced concrete, and glass helped for example Art Nouveau appear and made Beaux Arts more grandiose.

Paleolithic

Humans and their ancestors have been creating various types of shelters for at least hundreds of thousands of years, and shelter-building may have been present early in hominin evolution. All great apes will construct "nests" for sleeping, albeit at different frequencies and degrees of complexity. Chimpanzees regularly make nests out of bundles of branches woven together; these vary depending on the weather (nests have thicker bedding when cool and are built with larger, stronger supports in windy or wet weather).McLester, E. (2018, July 26). Chimpanzee ‘nests’ shed light on the origins of humanity. ''The Conversation''. Orangutans currently make the most complex nests out of all non-human great apes, complete with roofs, blankets, pillows, and "bunks".

It has been argued that nest-building practices were even more important to the evolution of human creativity and construction skill than tool use, as hominins became required to build nests not just in uniquely adapted circumstances but as forms of signalling.Verpooten, Jan, and Yannick Joye. "Evolutionary interactions between human biology and architecture: insights from signaling theory and a cross-species comparative approach." ''Naturalistic approaches to culture'' (2014): 101-121. Retaining arboreal features like highly prehensile hands for the expert construction of nests and shelters would have also benefitted early hominins in unpredictable environments and changing climates. Many hominins, especially the earliest ones such as '' Ardipithecus'' and ''Australopithecus'' retained such features and may have chosen to build nests in trees where available. The development of a "home base" 2 million years ago may have also fostered the evolution of constructing shelters or protected caches. Regardless of the complexity of nest-building, early hominins may still have still slept in more or less 'open' conditions, unless the opportunity of a rock shelter was afforded. These rock shelters could be used as-is with little more amendments than nests and hearths, or in the case of established bases —especially among later hominins— they could be personalized with rock art (in the case of Lascaux) or other types of aesthetic structures (in the case of the Bruniquel Cave among the Neanderthals) In cases of sleeping in open ground, Dutch ethologist Adriaan Kortlandt once proposed that hominins could have built temporary enclosures of thorny bushes to deter predators, which he supported using tests that showed lions becoming averse to food if near thorny branches.

In 2000, archaeologists at the Meiji University in Tokyo claimed to have found 2 pentagonal alignments of post holes on a hillside near the village of Chichibu, interpreting it as two huts dated around 500,000 years old and built by ''Homo erectus''. Currently, the earliest confirmed purpose-built structures are in France at the site of Terra Amata, along with the earliest evidence of artificial fire, c. 400,000 years ago. Due to the perishable nature of shelters of this time, it is difficult to find evidence for dwellings beyond hearths and the stones that may make up a dwelling's foundation. Near Wadi Halfa, Sudan, the Arkin 8 site contains 100,000 year old circles of sandstone that were likely the anchor stones for tents. In eastern Jordan, post hole markings in the soil give evidence to houses made of poles and thatched brush around 20,000 years ago. In areas where bone — especially mammoth bone — is a viable material, evidence of structures preserve much more easily, such as the mammoth-bone dwellings among the Mal'ta-Buret' culture 24–15,000 years ago and at Mezhirich 15,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic in general is characterized by the expansion and cultural growth of anatomically modern humans (as well as the cultural growth of Neanderthals, despite their steady extinction at this time), and although we currently lack data for dwellings built before this time, the dwellings of this era begin to more commonly show signs of aesthetic modification, such as at Mezhirich where engraved mammoth tusks may have formed the "facade" of a dwelling.

File:Chimp's Nest.jpg, Chimpanzee nest. Later hominins may have developed shelter-building traditions from such earlier nest-building practices.
File:Bilzingsleben, Steinrinne, in der Ausgrabungshalle-2.jpg, Bilzingsleben, possibly built by Homo heidelbergensis, 400–350.000 BCE.
File:Terra-Amata-Hut.gif, Reconstruction of a Terra Amata dwelling, possibly built by Homo heidelbergensis, 380–230,000 BCE.
File:Mammoth House (Replica).JPG, A mammoth bone dwelling like those constructed at Mezhirich 15,000 years ago
File:Urfa museum Shelter in caves Palaeolithic Age in 2024 0347.jpg, Museum expositon of a palaeolithic shelter, technology and culture

10,000–2000 BC

Architectural advances are an important part of the Neolithic period (10,000-2000 BC), during which some of the major innovations of human history occurred. The domestication of plants and animals, for example, led to both new economics and a new relationship between people and the world, an increase in community size and permanence, a massive development of material culture and new social and ritual solutions to enable people to live together in these communities. New styles of individual structures and their combination into settlements provided the buildings required for the new lifestyle and economy, and were also an essential element of change.

Although many dwellings belonging to all prehistoric periods and also some clay models of dwellings have been uncovered enabling the creation of faithful reconstructions, they seldom included elements that may relate them to art. Some exceptions are provided by wall decorations and by finds that equally apply to Neolithic and Chalcolithic rites and art.

In South and Southwest Asia, Neolithic cultures appear soon after 10,000 BC, initially in the Levant ( Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. There are early Neolithic cultures in Southeast Anatolia, Syria and Iraq by 8000 BC, and food-producing societies first appear in southeast Europe by 7000 BC, and Central Europe by c. 5500 BC (of which the earliest cultural complexes include the Starčevo-Koros (Cris), Linearbandkeramic, and Vinča).

Neolithic settlements and "cities" include:
* Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, ca. 9,000 BC
* Jericho in Palestine, Neolithic from around 8,350 BC, arising from the earlier Epipaleolithic Natufian culture
* Nevali Cori in Turkey, ca. 8,000 BC
* Çatalhöyük in Turkey, 7,500 BC
* Mehrgarh in Pakistan, 7,000 BC
* Herxheim (archaeological site) in Germany, 5,300 BC
* Knap of Howar and Skara Brae, the Orkney Islands, Scotland, from 3,500 BC
* over 3,000 settlements of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, some with populations up to 15,000 residents, flourished in present-day Romania, Moldova and Ukraine from 5,400 to 2,800 BC.

Göbekli Tepe, Urfa.jpg, Göbekli Tepe (Turkey), 9500-8000 BC

Goseck Circle 1.jpg, Goseck circle, Germany 4900 BC

Hemudu Site Museum, 2017-08-12 13.jpg, Reconstructed wooden house ( Hemudu, China), 5000-4500 BC

2018 07 12 Schottland (90) Skara Brae.jpg, Skara Brae (Scotland), 3200-2200 BC

Ireland 2010 etc 079.jpg, Decorated stone, Newgrange (Ireland), 3200-3100 BC

Antiquity

Mesopotamian

Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin 048.jpg, Columns with clay mosaic cones from the Eanna precinct in Uruk (southern Mesopotamia), Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany, unknown architect, 3600-3200 BC

File:Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005.jpg, Ziggurat of Ur, Tell el-Muqayyar, Dhi Qar Province, Iraq, unknown architect, 21st century BC

Glazed Tile.jpg, Tile with a guilloche border from the North-West Palace at Nimrud (now in modern Iraq), British Museum, London, unknown artisan, 883-859 BC

File:Ishtar gate in Pergamon museum in Berlin..jpg, Reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany, unknown architect, 605-539 BC

Assyrian palaces had a large public court with a suite of apartments on the east side and a series of large banqueting halls on the south side. This was to become the traditional plan of Assyrian palaces, built and adorned for the glorification of the king. Massive amounts of ivory furniture pieces were found in some palaces.

Mesopotamia is most noted for its construction of mud-brick buildings and the construction of ziggurats, occupying a prominent place in each city and consisting of an artificial mound, often rising in huge steps, surmounted by a temple. The mound was no doubt to elevate the temple to a commanding position in what was otherwise a flat river valley. The great city of Uruk had a number of religious precincts, containing many temples larger and more ambitious than any buildings previously known.

The word ''ziggurat'' is an anglicized form of the Akkadian word ''ziqqurratum'', the name given to the solid stepped towers of mud brick. It derives from the verb ''zaqaru'', ("to be high"). The buildings are described as being like mountains linking Earth and heaven. The Ziggurat of Ur, excavated by Leonard Woolley, is 64 by 46 meters at base and originally some 12 meters in height with three stories. It was built under Ur-Nammu (circa 2100 B.C.) and rebuilt under Nabonidus (555–539 B.C.), when it was increased in height to probably seven stories.

Ancient Egyptian

File:Sakkara 02a.jpg, The Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, by Imhotep, 2667–2648 BC

Kheops-Pyramid.jpg, Great Pyramid of Giza, Giza, Egypt, by Hemiunu, 2589-2566 BC

Beni Hassan 16.jpg, Interior hall of the rock-cut tomb of Amenemhat, Tomb 2 (BH2), Beni Hasan, Egypt, unknown architect, 1900 BC

File:Pillars of Great Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Luxor Egypt.JPG, Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple Complex, Luxor, Egypt, unknown architect, 1294–1213 BC

File:Abu Simbel Main Temple (2346939149).jpg, Great Temple of Abu Simbel, Egypt, unknown architect, 1264 BC

Luxor-Tempel Pylon 08.jpg, Entrance of the Luxor Temple complex, unknown architect, 1279-1212 BC

File:Philae temple at night.jpg, Temple of Philae, unknown architect, 380 BC–117 AD

File:Examples of Historical Ornament, Egyptian by Boston Public Library.jpg, Illustrations from 1874 of ornaments and patterns used by ancient Egyptians

Modern imaginings of ancient Egypt are heavily influenced by the surviving traces of monumental architecture. Many formal styles and motifs were established at the dawn of the pharaonic state, around 3100 BC. The most iconic Ancient Egyptian buildings are the pyramids, built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms (2600–1800 BC) as tombs for the pharaoh. However, there are also impressive temples, like the Karnak Temple Complex.

The Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. They also believed that in order for their soul (known as '' ka'') to live eternally in their afterlife, their bodies would have to remain intact for eternity. So, they had to create a way to protect the deceased from damage and grave robbers. This way, the mastaba was born. These were adobe structures with flat roofs, which had underground rooms for the coffin, about 30 m down. Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest and architect, had to design a tomb for the Pharaoh Djoser. For this, he placed five mastabas, one above the next, this way creating the first Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (2667–2648 BC), which is a step pyramid. The first smooth-sided one was built by Pharaoh Sneferu, who ruled between 2613 and 2589 BC. The most imposing one is the Great Pyramid of Giza, made for Sneferu's son: Khufu (2589–2566 BC), being the last surviving wonder of the ancient world and the largest pyramid in Egypt. The stone blocks used for pyramids were held together by mortar, and the entire structure was covered with highly polished white limestone, with their tops topped in gold. What we see today is actually the core structure of the pyramid. Inside, narrow passages led to the royal burial chambers. Despite being highly associated with the Ancient Egypt, pyramids have been built by other civilisations too, like the Mayans.

Due to the lack of resources and a shift in power towards priesthood, ancient Egyptians stepped away from pyramids, and temples became the focal point of cult construction. Just like the pyramids, Ancient Egyptian temples were also spectacular and monumental. They evolved from small shrines made of perishable materials to large complexes, and by the New Kingdom (circa 1550–1070 BC) they have become massive stone structures consisting of halls and courtyards. The temple represented a sort of 'cosmos' in stone, a copy of the original mound of creation on which the god could rejuvenate himself and the world. The entrance consisted of a twin gateway ( pylon), symbolizing the hills of the horizon. Inside there were columned halls symbolizing a primeval papyrus thicket. It was followed by a series of hallways of decreasing size, until the sanctuary was reached, where a god's cult statue was placed. Back in ancient times, temples were painted in bright colours, mainly red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and white. Because of the desert climate of Egypt, some parts of these painted surfaces were preserved well, especially in interiors.

An architectural element specific to ancient Egyptian architecture is the cavetto cornice (a concave moulding), introduced by the end of the Old Kingdom. It was widely used to accentuate the top of almost every formal pharaonic building. Because of how often it was used, it will later decorate many Egyptian Revival buildings and objects.

Harappan

Moenjodaro - The Great Bath 1 - by nadzir81.jpg, The Great Bath, in the raised citadel area of the city, Mohenjo Daro, Sindh Province, Pakistan, unknown architect, 2600-1900 BC

Moenjodaro(a) by Usman Ghani.jpg, View of Mohenjo Daro, showing the walls and main streets of the city, unknown architect, 2600-1900 BC

The first Urban Civilization in the Indian subcontinent is traceable originally to the Indus Valley civilisation mainly in Mohenjodaro and Harappa, now in modern-day Pakistan as well western states of the Republic of India. The earliest settlements are seen during the Neolithic period in Merhgarh, Balochistan. The civilization's cities were noted for their urban planning with baked brick buildings, elaborate drainage and water systems, and handicraft ( carnelian products, seal carving). This civilisation transitioned from the Neolithic period into the Chalcolithic period and beyond with their expertise in metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). Their urban centres possibly grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and the civilisation itself may have contained between one and five million individuals.

Greek

File:Ναός του Ηφαίστου.jpg, Temple of Hephaestus on the Agoraios Kolonos Hill, Athens, Greece, 449 BC, unknown architect
File:Erechtheum Acropolis Athens.jpg, Erechtheion, Athens, with its Ionic columns and caryatid porch, 421–405 BC, unknown architect
File:Parthenon (30276156187).jpg, Parthenon, Athens, Greece, 447–432 BC, by Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias
File:Delphi tholos cazzul.JPG, Tholos of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, Delphi, Greece, 380–360 BC, by Theodoros of Phocaea
File:The great theater of Epidaurus, designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC, Sanctuary of Asklepeios at Epidaurus, Greece (14015010416).jpg, Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Epidaurus, Greece, 3rd century BC, unknown architect
Torre dels Vents d'Atenes.JPG, Tower of the Winds, Athens, 1st century BC, unknown architect
File:Schema Saeulenordnungen.jpg, Illustration of Doric (left three), Ionic (middle three) and Corinthian (right two) columns and entablatures
File:Examples of Historical Ornament, Greek by Boston Public Library.jpg, Illustrations from 1874 of ornaments and patterns used by ancient Greeks and Romans
Antike Polychromie 1.jpg, Illustration from 1883 that shows the colour scheme of the Doric order

Since the advent of the Classical Age in Athens, in the 5th century BC, the Classical way of building has been deeply woven into Western understanding of architecture and, indeed, of civilization itself. From circa 850 BC to circa 300 AD, ancient Greek culture flourished on the Greek mainland, on the Peloponnese, and on the Aegean islands. However, Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, many of which are found throughout the region, and the Parthenon is a prime example of this. Later, they will serve as inspiration for Neoclassical architects during the late 18th and the 19th century. The most well-known temples are the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, both on the Acropolis of Athens. Another type of important Ancient Greek buildings were the theatres. Both temples and theatres used a complex mix of optical illusions and balanced ratios.

Ancient Greek temples usually consist of a base with continuous stairs of a few steps at each edges (known as '' crepidoma''), a cella (or ''naos'') with a cult statue in it, columns, an entablature, and two pediments, one on the front side and another in the back. By the 4th century BC, Greek architects and stonemasons had developed a system of rules for all buildings known as the orders: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. They are most easily recognised by their columns (especially by the capitals). The Doric column is stout and basic, the Ionic one is slimmer and has four scrolls (called '' volutes'') at the corners of the capital, and the Corinthian column is just like the Ionic one, but the capital is completely different, being decorated with acanthus leaves and four scrolls. Besides columns, the frieze was different based on order. While the Doric one has metopes and triglyphs with guttae, Ionic and Corinthian friezes consist of one big continuous band with reliefs.

Besides the columns, the temples were highly decorated with sculptures, in the pediments, on the friezes, metopes and triglyphs. Ornaments used by Ancient Greek architects and artists include palmettes, vegetal or wave-like scrolls, lion mascarons (mostly on lateral cornices), dentils, acanthus leaves, bucrania, festoons, egg-and-dart, rais-de-cœur, beads, meanders, and acroteria at the corners of the pediments. Pretty often, ancient Greek ornaments are used continuously, as bands. They will later be used in Etruscan, Roman and in the post-medieval styles that tried to revive Greco-Roman art and architecture, like Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical etc.

Looking at the archaeological remains of ancient and medieval buildings it is easy to perceive them as limestone and concrete in a grey taupe tone and make the assumption that ancient buildings were monochromatic. However, architecture was polychromed in much of the Ancient and Medieval world. One of the most iconic Ancient buildings, the Parthenon ( 447–432 BC) in Athens, had details painted with vibrant reds, blues and greens. Besides ancient temples, Medieval cathedrals were never completely white. Most had colored highlights on capitals and columns. This practice of coloring buildings and artworks was abandoned during the early Renaissance. This is because Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo, promoted a color palette inspired by the ancient Greco-Roman ruins, which because of neglect and constant decay during the Middle Ages, became white despite being initially colorful. The pigments used in the ancient world were delicate and especially susceptible to weathering. Without necessary care, the colors exposed to rain, snow, dirt, and other factors, vanished over time, and this way Ancient buildings and artworks became white, like they are today and were during the Renaissance.

Celtic

Heuneburg.jpg, Reconstructed walls and building at the Heuneburg by the Danube, Germany, , the oldest city north of the Alps

Palais Lassois07.jpg, Vix palace (reconstruction), Mont Lassois, France, unknown architect, late 6th century BC

Glauberg oppidum Stockheim Gate (reconstruction).jpg, alt=Glauberg oppidum main entrance gate (reconstruction), Glauberg oppidum, Germany, main entrance gate (reconstruction), unknown architect,

Celtic architecture, in its broadest sense, refers to the styles and structures associated with the Celtic peoples who once inhabited a large part of Europe, including parts of modern-day France, Germany, the British Isles, and beyond. This architecture is difficult to define strictly because the Celts did not have a unified, standardized architectural style across the different regions they inhabited. However, general characteristics of Celtic architecture are shared, for example, in structures of central Europe like from Germany and France, which provide insights into the material culture and architectural forms of the Celts in these regions.

Many Celtic structures, particularly in the earlier periods, were made of wood, which has not survived as well as stone or other materials.
The Celts often built round houses and settlements, with circular huts (or roundhouses) being the most common residential structures.
The Celts were skilled in creating defensive structures, such as hillforts, which included ditches, ramparts, and palisades.
In later periods, especially during the Iron Age, some Celtic groups began constructing stone buildings, such as temples, shrines, and more permanent dwellings.

One of the most famous Celtic sites is the Heuneburg, located on the Swabian Jura in Germany. Heuneburg was a large Celtic settlement and a key center of power in the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods. The site is famous for its fortifications, including large earthworks and timber palisades, indicative of the Celtic emphasis on defensive architecture.
The Mont Lassois is another important Celtic archaeological site located in the Burgundy region of eastern France, near the town of Montbard, in the Côte-d'Or department. The site is notable for being one of the largest and most significant Celtic oppida (fortified settlements) of the La Tène period (approximately 450 BCE to 1 BCE). Mont Lassois offers crucial insights into Celtic urban planning, architecture, and the socio-political organization of the Celtic tribes in Gaul just before the Roman conquest.
The Glauberg Celtic hillfort or oppidum in Hesse, Germany, is consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place the site among the most important early Celtic centres in Europe. It provides unprecedented evidence on Celtic burial, sculpture and monumental architecture.

Roman

File:Colosseo 2020.jpg, Colosseum, Rome, unknown architect, 72–80 AD
File:Pont du Gard BLS.jpg, Pont du Gard, Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Gard

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