Megalithic buildings. primitive architecture

Architecture of the era of the primitive communal system

The beginning of construction activity dates back to the Paleolithic era and is associated with the first human experience in building a dwelling with the help of primitive stone tools. In areas where there was a tree, dugouts were usually built, covered with twigs and branches, as well as free-standing gable or conical huts.

The origin of architecture, apparently, should be attributed to the Late Paleolithic, when construction from a purely technical activity, solving utilitarian tasks, gradually began to turn into a more complex activity, aimed at satisfying the primitive spiritual needs of people. Aesthetic understanding of the simplest structural systems and their elements is associated with the beginnings of tectonic thinking, and in the subsequent development of a certain ideological and figurative content, it marked the beginning of artistic and technical construction, that is, architecture in the full sense of the word. With the time of the late Paleolithic, the emergence of a completely new sphere of human activity, the fine arts, was also associated.

During the Neolithic period, more advanced stone tools appeared, and the material possibilities of man increased significantly. During this period, a dwelling made of wood took the form of a relatively large rectangular building, the walls of which were a wattle fence on log posts. A similar dwelling was found on the territory of the USSR in the Dnieper region in the Trypillia settlement of Kolomiyshchina-1 (III - II millennium BC). Large houses up to 30 m long and 150 m2 in area were located in two concentric circles: on the outer circle with a diameter of 170 m there were large houses, on the inner circle - small ones. This settlement is one of the earliest examples of a regular organization of a residential complex, taking into account the characteristics of community life and defensive functions.

The most developed type of buildings of the Neolithic period were buildings built on wooden piles, which were usually erected over rivers and lakes in swampy areas. The spread of this type of settlements is explained by defensive considerations, as well as the convenience of fishing in reservoirs. Pile structures are found in Central Europe, they were also found on the territory of the USSR. In a pile settlement on the river. Modlon in the Vologda region (II millennium BC), a number of houses were placed on a log deck supported by piles by means of girders. The walls were erected from vertically placed poles intertwined with rods. The middle poles were higher than the others and had a fork at the ends, on which the ridge run of a sloping gable roof was strengthened. The roof was made of birch bark, pressed down with stones, the floor was covered with clay.

In the Bronze Age, metal tools made it possible to dramatically increase labor productivity. By this time, megalithic structures, which originated in the late Neolithic era, were widely used - buildings made of large stone blocks, slabs, and vertical supports. The purpose of these structures was mainly associated with religious rites and memorable events. Among the megalithic structures that have been preserved in various places on the globe, including the territory of the USSR, there are three main types: menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs.

Menhirs are vertically placed stones, sometimes reaching very large sizes. These are ritual monuments or monuments erected alone or in groups. Sometimes menhirs are found in combination with dolmens - structures of several vertical stones supporting a horizontal stone slab. Dolmens served most often as burial chambers and at the same time as tombstones.

Menhirs sometimes reached 20 m in height and 300 tons in weight. Dolmens were originally small in size - about 2 m long and about 1.5 m high, but later they were given large sizes and sometimes they were approached in the form of a stone gallery.

The most complex type of megalithic structures is the cromlech.

Cromlech in Stonehenge (England) - a circle with a diameter of 30 m from vertically placed stones, covered with horizontal slabs. Inside - two rings of small stones, and

between them - high blocks with slabs placed in pairs, organizing the center of the space. A clear compositional idea with symmetry, rhythm and subordination of elements has already appeared here.

Log buildings deserve special attention, in particular - mounds - a common type of memorial structures. Their prototype was residential log houses. During the construction of the barrow, first a powerful frame with a wooden floor was built in the pit, inside which a second chamber was arranged for burial. The chambers were blocked by rolls of logs coated with birch bark. Backfilling with earth formed a mound, often of considerable height. An example of a log mound is the Pazyryk mound in the Altai Mountains.

Along with memorial and ritual buildings, a new type of architectural structures appeared at the later stages of the development of primitive society - stone and wooden fortresses.

The so-called cyclopean fortresses are characteristic, the walls of which are lined with huge blocks of stone. In areas poor in stone, but abundant in forests, settlements spread - "fortifications", fortified with log fences, earthen ramparts and ditches. Initially, the fortresses had one defensive wall, later a second wall could be built inside the fortress around the citadel - the seat of the leader of the community and the tribal nobility.

With the division of labor and the separation of craft from agriculture, the contradictions of tribal society become more acute. With the advent of private property, property differences become more and more significant. The importance of slave labor is growing. All this leads to the disintegration of the tribal system, the emergence of an early class society, and the appearance of the first slave-owning states.

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In the era of savagery, primitive man, overwhelmed by the difficulty of fighting nature, in search of protection from the weather and from enemies, at first used only what he found in nature suitable for shelter: overhanging mountain ledges, caves, grottoes, etc. Only at a certain stage in the development of methods and tools of labor did man begin to build artificial dwellings: wind barriers, huts, dugouts, semi-dugouts, and, finally, above-ground dwelling houses. One of the oldest types stone buildings are structures built of large stone blocks or slabs, called megalithic (from the Greek megas - large, cast - stone). Among them are: menhirs, dolmens and cromlechs.

Menhirs are single large boulders, dug into the ground with their lower part in the form of a pillar. There are many menhirs and dolmens in France. On the territory of the USSR, menhirs are found in the Caucasus and Siberia. There are especially many menhirs in the Khoshun-Dash tract

It is believed that the menhirs marked the burial place of significant persons - the ancestors or leaders of the tribes.

Dolmens are a chamber consisting of several vertically stacked stone blocks, which are horizontally covered with one or two stone slabs. Dolmens are usually considered tombs; it was established, however, that some dolmens served as housing. It is possible that they began to use them as a dwelling later. Many dolmens have been preserved in the North Caucasus. The most complex of the megalithic structures are cromlechs - a ring-shaped fence of one or more rows of menhirs. Alleys of stones usually lead to large cromlechs. The largest and most complex of the cromlechs is the so-called Stonehenge. Stonehenge has some artistic significance, it has a geometric correctness of construction and a large scale of huge well-crafted stone pillars and stone beams that unite each pair of pillars. Cromlechs already had a cult purpose, probably being a place of worship for the annually resurgent power of the sun.

Strongly expanded tribal associations caused the appearance of huge collective dwellings and large tribal settlements. Such are the settlements of the Trypillia culture, widespread mainly on the territory of the right-bank Ukraine along the course of the lower and middle Dnieper, Bug and Dniester. The settlements of the Trypillia culture consisted of large (from 70 to 140 m2) and small (20-30 m2) dwellings, located more often in concentric circles, with free space in the center. It is possible that rituals were performed on it.

Such, for example, are the settlements of the Dyakovo type, widespread since the second half of the first millennium BC, in the region of the middle and upper Volga, along the Oka and in the upper reaches of the Dpepr.

The monuments of Scythian architecture in the south of the USSR include a group of underground-type dwellings (Varvarov settlement near the city of Nikolaev, on the Bug River), built in the 4th-3rd centuries. to p. e. The Scythians were also aware of log buildings, which is proved by the numerous burial log cabins in the Scythian burial mounds. The Scythians also created large burial mounds, often surrounded at the base by a stone ring, and divided inside into several parts. The Scythian tribes had a relatively highly developed art. In a later time, the Scythians also created significant cities.

Summarizing what has been said, it is important to note that during the period of the primitive communal system, some elementary structures were created: a wooden frame made of racks covered with wattle, a hipped ceiling and log cabins made of logs with a gable covering.

At the end of this period, man learned to use natural, and then rough-hewn stone and raw brick for laying walls. The creation of early types of structures laid the foundation for the gradual formation of architecture.

Along with architecture, decorative as well as fine arts appeared very early.

The history of human construction activity, which served as the basis for the emergence of architecture, begins from the time when ancient people (Neanderthals), not content with shelters created by nature (grottoes, rock canopies and caves; Fig. 1 and 2), began to adapt these shelters for temporary and permanent habitation, i.e., to build dwellings. Among such structures are: paved with stone parking lots of La Ferrasi and Castillo, circular fences made of stones with internal stone hearths - Ilskaya parking lot, artificial residential depressions, fenced along the edge with a blockage of stones - Wolf Grotto parking lot, etc. (Fig. 3 ).

This is what the dwellings of the Middle Paleolithic looked like. According to the latest data, the Middle Paleolithic of Europe ended about 35 thousand years ago.

The Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian culture) is characterized by the following main changes that have taken place in people's lives: the acquisition of skills and the improvement of methods for making fire, the manufacture of clothes from skins, the improvement of flint processing techniques, and hence the general improvement of tools and hunting, which due to this becomes more productive. A person has the opportunity to create stocks of food for the future and use free time for the creation of highly specialized tools, the manufacture of wood and bone products. The rudiments of art and house-building appear.

The specific reason for the emergence of construction was a sharp climate change associated with the maximum Dnieper (Ris) glaciation and necessitated a more thorough mastery of fire, the manufacture of warm clothes and the creation of permanent dwellings.

The warm climate of the Shellic period of the early Paleolithic made it possible not to worry about housing and clothing at all, but already in the Acheulian stage that followed it, glaciation began, which then, in the Mousterian period (Middle Paleolithic), forced people not only to actively develop caves and adapt them for housing , but also to create artificial residential structures (see Fig. 1).

5. Paleolithic dwelling in Pushkar I (reconstruction by V. Zaporozhskaya) and the remains of the bones that formed the structural basis of the Paleolithic dwelling

The need to build gave rise to another need - to create the tools necessary for this. In this regard, the two main types of tools characteristic of the Mousterian culture - flint pointed and scraper, necessary in hunting production, were supplemented with a scraper. With the help of this tool, it was possible not only to butcher an animal carcass, but also to peel off the bark from a log and plan it.

At that time, such chopping tools as an ax did not yet appear (Fig. 4), and a hand ax similar to it in its main function, which came in this period from the era of the Shellic and Acheulean culture, was of little use for its construction purposes, since it was impossible to cut a thick tree with it. Therefore, branches and thin trunks of trees, as well as bones of large mammals, mainly mammoths, were used as structural elements of dwellings at that time (Fig. 5).

According to the Dniester archaeological expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1955-1958), at the Molodovo I site, located near the village of Molodova in the Chernivtsi region, the remains of 15 bonfires were traced inside the fences of large mammoth bones. Skulls, shoulder blades, pelvic bones, tusks, lower jaws and limb bones of mammoths were used as building material. “The dwellings of their ichthyophages,” says Strabo, “off the coast of Ethiopia are built mainly from bones big fish and from shells, using ribs for beams and supports, and jaws for doors ”(XV, 2, 2).

People of that time arranged their camps not only in grottoes, caves and under the canopies of rocks. They also had to live on the plains, where it was necessary to build not only summer, mostly light and temporary dwellings, such as wind barriers and huts, but also winter, more permanent dwellings - dugouts, which were small depressions in the ground of a roughly oval shape.

The heat in such dwellings was maintained by bonfires, which were built in special hearth pits, arranged directly in the dirt floor, in recesses lined with stones.

All this was facilitated by the elementary division of labor by sex, age and experience that had already appeared among the Neanderthals, which was the result of a natural complication of the labor process itself and the tools associated with it.

The appearance of a skebel, characterizing the beginning of specialization, a construction tool, at the same time clearly indicates what kind of structures and what construction and technical level could be implemented with its help (Fig. 6). Judging by the nature of this instrument, they were not large and were very rough in decoration and primitive in shape, depressions in the ground or fences made of large mammoth bones, stone and earth (Molodovo V), covered with poles, branches, grass and skins. The most primitive ground structures of that time, huts, should have looked the same (Fig. 7).

At the stage of the early Mousterian culture, the primitive team of hunters numbered - as can be judged, in particular, from the population density of the Kiik-Koba cave (Crimea) - from 30 to 50 people and occupied an area of about 70 m 2. These calculations were made by the archaeologist G.A. Bonch-Osmolovsky (1940). According to P.P. Efimenko (1953), such a group could reach up to 100 units, and according to Yu.I. Semenov (1966), its minimum composition was 35-40, maximum 75-90 and optimal 50-60 people. In accordance with these data, an idea should be formed about the size of the dwellings of interest to us, which existed during the period of the Mousterian culture.

Probably, the earliest of them, while the influence of glaciation did not yet have a significant effect, were open camps, then sheds, niches, grottoes, crevices, caves, depressions, dugouts appeared, and, finally, ground, initially very small, then larger, and by the end of this period, large dwellings of the Molodovo I type also appeared. The 15 fireplaces found here indicate that in this case we already have signs of the appearance of a significant communal dwelling, which then became characteristic of residential buildings of the Upper (Late) Paleolithic.

The latter circumstance is explained by the fact that by this time, i.e., in the later Mousterian period, when the Neanderthals were on the verge of becoming people of a modern physical type, their collective was a primitive tribal commune of considerable numerical composition. Thus, the Neanderthals were not only the first hominids to create the earliest social collective, but also the first human builders to create the earliest human habitation.

From what has been said, it follows that the appearance of dwellings among European Neanderthals was associated mainly with the need to hide from the cold. But this reason cannot be considered the only one, since this type of people at the indicated time spread throughout the globe, including the African continent, the tropics and subtropics, where, as you know, the general cooling did not have a significant impact on climate change. The glacial epoch of the countries of the temperate zone in the tropics and subtropics corresponded to an epoch associated with frequent and heavy rains.

In this region of the world climatic conditions could not serve as a direct motive for the emergence of house-building and the intensification of people's activities in this direction, as well as in the warm periods of the Shellic and Acheulean culture. Here, the development of construction, of course, proceeded at a slower pace and was determined by specific, peculiar forms. natural environment, production (hunting), life and family and tribal organization; they could not help but differ from the conditions in which there were hunting groups of their brethren, who lived in the area surrounded by a glacier, earned their livelihood in areas with cold, damp, rainy summers and rather frosty winters, needed warm, roomy, durable and permanent permanent dwelling.

10. Novakh earthen house and Yokuts huts made of magnolia

On the African continent, even in the Sahara, during the period of the Mousterian culture, full-flowing rivers flowed, flora and fauna were rich and diverse. It is natural that among the inhabitants of these places, thanks to the abundance of ready-made gifts of nature, gathering in relation to hunting continued to maintain a large share, and therefore there could not be a special incentive to intensively improve hunting, and therefore others, including those associated with construction. , tools. To protect yourself from rain and wind, it was enough to arrange a light wind barrier, similar to the one that has survived among the Vedda tribe to our time (Fig. 8), or to make a canopy of large palm leaves, sticking them with cuttings into the ground, or to build a flooring on branches of a large tree, covering it overhead with smaller branches and grass (Fig. 9), or, finally, build a small hut on the ground from poles stuck into the ground, covered with branches, leaves, grass or bark, and sometimes also sprinkled on top of this land, approximately as it was done among the Novakhs, who lived among the Indians of the southwest North America(Fig. 10).

Larger scale residential buildings in these latitudes appeared when overall balance not only vegetable, but also animal food began to decrease significantly and hunters were forced to significantly modify and improve the nature of their hunting and labor tools. We will talk about this later, but for now, in order to complete the description of the earliest stage of the emergence of construction activity, it should be noted that at the same time the earliest and most primitive types of memorial structures appeared - Neanderthal burials.

It has been established that Neanderthals deliberately created special grave pits to bury their dead. So, in France, in the Mustier cave (department of Haute-Garonne), the skeleton of a young man was discovered, buried in a recess in a sleeping position on his right side. At his outstretched left hand lay a scraper and a hand axe. In France, in the cave of La Ferrassi, six skeletons were found lying in artificial recesses; one of these graves was covered with a stone slab. These recesses in the ground, made for the purpose of burial, suggest that at the same time Neanderthal man could make the same recesses for the construction of dwellings (dugouts).

Let us now turn to the next stage in the development of the construction activity of primitive man - the Upper (Late) Paleolithic.

This era of the most ancient history of mankind, if we use its traditional periodization, consists of three periods, including the Aurignacian, Solutrean and Madeleine cultures.

The early period of the Upper Paleolithic - the Aurignacian, like the Mousterian, covers a period of time from about 40 to 14 thousand years. During this period, for the first time, permanent winter communal dwellings appeared and were widely distributed, both in the form of large dugouts and in the form of large ground structures. The nature of land-based Paleolithic dwellings can be judged not only by archaeological data, but also by schematic representations left to posterity by primitive artists on the walls of caves. Such ground dwellings (see Fig. 9) were, apparently, mainly frame-type structures - huts made of twigs, or tent-type, made of poles and having a conical shape, as well as semi-dugouts covered with two slopes.

The climate of this time, initially cold and dry, gradually, as the glaciers retreated, became more and more humid, and by the end of the Upper Paleolithic period was relatively close to modern.

By the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, the Neanderthal was replaced by the Cro-Magnon man, a new type of man who, according to his anthropological data, does not differ from modern people (Fig. 11).

The dwellings of these people, the remains of their stone industry, which characterizes their main occupation, were also found in especially large numbers in France in the departments of Dordogne (La Combe cave, Blanchard canopy, De la Rochette canopy) and Charente (Fontechevade, La -Chez, La Quina, Vashon Canopy, Des Roi Cave).

Also known are the sites of people from the period of the Aurignacian culture, found in Spain, Germany, Czechoslovakia, the USSR and other European countries, as well as in Southwest Asia - the sites of Kzar-Akil, Jebel Kafzeh, Mugarel el wad, etc.

This early period of the Upper Paleolithic, or the period of the Aurignacian and Solutrean cultures, can be socially regarded as the period of the formation of an early tribal society, which is characterized by the presence of exogamy, matriarchy, a strong settled way of life, and the improvement of the chipping technique in the manufacture of stone tools. Primitive realistic art appears: drawing, painting, high relief, round sculpture. Then, in the late time of the Upper Paleolithic (Madleian culture), jewelry (various bracelets and necklaces) and various household items were widely distributed.

Compared with the period of the Mousterian culture, the tools of labor became very diverse, but the most important of them remained the chisel and scraper; the first was intended for the processing of hard, and the second - for the processing of soft materials. Nuclei from disk-shaped became prismatic, i.e., correctly faceted, and knife-shaped plates, which, being larger, used to serve only as material for the manufacture of various tools, now began to serve as very good cutting tools.

The early pores of the Upper Paleolithic are characterized by their prevalence of dwellings that are roughly oval in plan and have one hearth. Most often, such structures are dugouts; a significant number of them were found in different parts of the territory of the USSR. The remains of such a structure were discovered by P.P. Efimenko (1937) at the so-called Telman site near the village of Kostenki near Voronezh. It was round in plan, had a diameter of 5.2-5.6 m and was deepened by 50-70 cm. Eliseevichi and Yudinozo) and in other places.

It should be noted here that a great merit in the discovery, study and description of Paleolithic dwellings belongs to Soviet archaeologists, who put all these studies on a truly scientific basis.

At the site of Kostenki II P.I. Boriskovsky (1953) discovered the remains of a larger dwelling than the Telman one. Its diameter is 7-8 meters. At the bottom of the dwelling were mammoth bones, some of which were dug into the ground and formed the structural elements of the walls and roof. There was a hearth in the center of the dwelling. A.P. Okladnikov (1940) at the Buret site (Irkutsk region) studied the remains of an entire Late Paleolithic settlement, which consisted of four small oval dwellings.

In addition to the above-mentioned round and oval dwellings, in the Late Paleolithic era there were also elongated dwellings, larger in size than the first ones. They were, as it were, oval dugouts with several hearths attached to one another and connected to each other. The last circumstance, as P.I. Boriskovsky, points out that the primitive house-building technique that existed at that time had not yet developed the most convenient form of a large communal dwelling.

The remains of two such elongated dwellings were discovered by A.N. Rogachev (1938) in the lower cultural layer of the Kostenki IV site. The southern of these dwellings was 34, and the northern 23 m long; the width of both was 5.5 m, and the floor was deepened by 20-30 cm. Hearths were located on the floor of each dwelling along its longitudinal axis; in the north there were 9, and in the south - more than 10. In this dwelling no accumulations of large bones were found, which could indicate their use as structural elements. This suggests that in Kostenki IV not only a new layout of housing took place, but also a certain type of structure characterizing its three-dimensional construction was applied.

On the territory of the USSR, there was another type of structures of the late Paleolithic, from which there were residential areas 500-800 m 2 in size. They were not deepened into the ground and, apparently, served as a habitat for a whole family. Similar areas, probably covered with a hut, in Kostenki I were 35 m long and 16 m wide. Hearths were located along their long axis at a distance of 2 m from each other.

The remains of such dwellings were found in the village. Andeevo near Kursk in 1946-1949. The length of the residential area in this case was 45 m, and the width was 20 m. it was already a large ground dwelling, the basis of which was a post-and-beam structure.

In the Late Paleolithic, temporary hunting camps existed simultaneously with the indicated types of dwellings.

At the very end of this era, during the periods of the late Solutrean and Madeleine culture, permanent dwellings on the modern territory of the USSR disappeared. Their place was taken by seasonal camps located along the banks of the rivers, which, in the time following the Late Paleolithic, began to serve as the main source of obtaining a livelihood.

Large dugouts, semi-dugouts and ground dwellings, which had walls with a frame made of bones of large mammals, were replaced by small dwellings such as modern summer houses and huts.

It should be noted here that the Late Paleolithic is significant not only because during this period the entire appearance of our distant ancestors finally changed and a certain type of dwellings created by them appeared, but also because at that time a completely new sphere of human activity arose - fine arts. . The latter deserves a few special words about it, since without the mastery of art, a person could not so quickly rise to that stage of building activity, which is called architecture.

The leading subjects of this entire period, which included Aurignacian, Solutrean and Madeleine art, were images of animals in drawing and painting, and the image of a woman mother in sculpture. The first is explained by the fact that the daily need to know the main object of his hunt well in order to master it easier, and the second, naturally, was associated with the role that belonged to a woman at that time as in economically and physiologically. Abundant material confirming what has been said has been collected by archaeologists in all, almost without exception, countries of the world.

The art of the Aurignacian period is characterized by numerous images of animals found in the Castillo Cave (Spain). Most of them are made in the form of linear silhouettes applied with red paint; two contour drawings of horses are made with fine engraving. An interesting engraved image of a horse in the Horne de la Peña cave (Spain). By the end of this period, the ability to accurately grasp and convey not only the basic outlines of the general shape of the animal, but also its proportions, as well as the characteristic movements of its body, is observed.

Among the best statuettes of this era, depicting a female body, with sharply emphasized signs of gender, along with those found in Willendorf (Lower Austria) and some other places in Europe, can be attributed ivory figurines found in Kostenki I and in the village of Gagarino, Voronezhskaya areas.

In the subsequent - Solutrean - and the beginning of the Madeleine period, the linear image of the animal is supplemented by shading along the contour, revealing individual parts of its body: ears, eyes, nostrils, mouth, etc., and modeling of the entire form begins, turning it from a planar into a three-dimensional one.

Polychrome painting reached its greatest flourishing in the Madeleine period, when the primitive artist learned to model the form with the help of not only a stroke, but also color. Excellent examples of such primitive realistic painting are found in large numbers in the caves of France: La Madeleine, Font de Gome, Lascaux, etc. and Spain: Castillo, Altamira, Horne de la Peña (Fig. 12).

The main object of the image was large mammals and herbivores (mammoth, deer, bison, horse), as well as often large predators, the habits and mode of action of which could not but be in the field of view of the primitive hunter artist (Fig. 13). But the time came when the plains began to overgrow with forests and these large animals (especially the mammoth) began to die out relatively quickly, and the herds of bison and wild horses greatly decreased. At the same time, the art associated with their images gradually sank into oblivion, which, due to the change in the object of the image, could no longer serve the goals of knowledge so actively and therefore lost its sharpness of perception, and hence the reflection of reality, which we will talk about separately.

Of course, this does not mean at all that all the experience accumulated by people in mastering color, line and form was completely lost. It came in handy when creating decorations related to household items, weapons, clothing, shoes and housing. But this did not happen soon.

Mankind has entered a new phase of its existence - the middle stone Age(Mesolithic). This period lasted only a few thousand years (from 12 to 5 thousand years BC), but had its own characteristics both in economic and purely technical terms.

In connection with the changes that have taken place in the fauna of Europe, as well as in other places affected by glaciation, the very object of hunting has changed significantly, and, consequently, the tools necessary for it should have changed. With a change in the number of large animals, the hunter's attention naturally began to attract smaller animals, as well as fish and birds. Bows, arrows, spears and microliths appeared, i.e. tools made from small stones, and then the so-called insert technique for their use: a person began to put a stone in a specially prepared socket-sleeve (holder) of a handle made of durable wood or bone.

Driven hunting on a large scale, associated with the need to have a large hunting team, has lost its meaning. Now, under the new conditions of a sharp reduction in the possibility of obtaining a large amount of food at once for one trip to the fishery, it was difficult for such a team to feed itself, and it was forced to decrease in its composition and become more mobile. Therefore, during this period, areas convenient for driven hunting, i.e., located near cliffs, clefts and rocks, ceased to serve as a place for long-term habitation. This is reflected in multilayer sites with a number of thin lenses of the cultural layer, for example, in a number of sites near the Dnieper rapids, etc. The areas of these sites are small, which indicates the fragmentation of communities. The same is evidenced by the disappearance of large communal houses, which are now being replaced by small dugouts and huts. These are the sites of Elin Bor, Gremyache, Gorki (USSR), Dufort (France), a number of sites in Czechoslovakia and other countries.

New economic and purely technical opportunities that arose during this period had a direct impact on construction. The appearance of special tools (microliths) and the insertion technique for their use led to significant progress in primitive construction and made it possible to erect the necessary buildings much faster than before.

The next and, moreover, the most significant step in this direction was taken at the beginning of the era of the new Stone Age - the Neolithic. It was associated with the appearance of such a tool as a stone ax, which radically changed all the methods of wood processing used before it. In addition, this tool played a significant role in the development of agriculture, making it possible to clear the land needed by the farmer from the forest (“slash-and-burn agriculture”).

The ax began to play a particularly important role when the technique of grinding stone tools was mastered. This role is well revealed by the Soviet researcher S.A. Semenov. “In the Neolithic,” he writes, “society begins to process axes and adzes with a grinding technique. This fact, of course, is regarded as a progressive achievement. But the researchers, stating this fact and noting the improvement in the processing of wood, do not note what consequences this leads to. In fact, this narrowly technical achievement opens a new era in the history of mankind. Huge expanses of the globe, still uninhabited, become available for settlement and development thanks to the polished ax and adze. The development of the forest regions of the northern hemisphere, the tropics and the island world in the Pacific Ocean occurs not only because polished axes were much more productive than unpolished trees for cutting houses, boats, pile structures, in slash-and-burn agriculture, but also because the grinding technique made it possible to manufacture these tools from rocks "(S.A. Semenov. Primitive technology. M., 1957, p. 229.).

Polishing at this time was mainly subjected to woodworking tools, which significantly benefited from this in terms of their productivity. The polishing of stone tools made their forms more distinct, and this led to their differentiation.

15. Pueblo Bonito. General view (reconstruction) and plan

16. Trypillia culture: sectional dwelling and painted ceramics (v. Zhura)

17. Longhouse of the Seneca-Iroquois tribe. General view and plan (according to L.G. Morgan)

At the end of the Neolithic, polished tools were sometimes subjected to drilling. Such a tool, having a drilled hole, could be mounted on a handle. Most often, such an attachment was made with polished axes (Fig. 14).

The main occupations of the Neolithic people, where the tribal system was already flourishing, were developed hunting and fishing, which competed with it, as well as pottery that arose at that time. Cattle breeding, which owes its origin to the domestication of wild animals, and agriculture, genetically associated with gathering, were at that time still in their infancy.

Both hunting for animals and birds and fishing required a fairly large team of people, but not to the extent that it was in the Mesolithic, since now, thanks to the appearance of the bow and arrows, perfect tools for fishing (harpoon, spear, net and hook), the overall productivity of hunting in the forest and fishing on the water has increased significantly. This allowed hunting tribal groups to gather again in large camps and build huge dwellings (up to 300 m 2 in area) such as a huge round hut found in the village of Kelteminar, which could accommodate more than 100 people under one roof at the same time. (This site dating from the 4th millennium BC was found in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya, in the Turtkul region, Uzbek SSR). In such a huge hut, most likely, a team of a whole family was placed.

Simultaneously with this type of settlement of a whole family, there were other types of them, for example, campsites, consisting of 10-12 separate small dugouts covered with a hut, with a hearth in the middle, in which 5-6 people were accommodated, which usually testified to surviving phenomena associated with previous construction period.

The round well-shaped underground dwellings built by the Indians of the south-west of North America - kiva, which were probably older, since they had a flat roof with a light-smoke opening, which simultaneously served as an entrance, can also be attributed to a similar type of structures; it was possible to get through it into the dwelling by a ladder. Apparently, from here this way of using the stairs then passed, according to tradition, to all Indian pueblos (Fig. 15).

Probably, the ancient structures of the Mexican Estufa Indians, which later took on a different form, had a similar shape.

The main building material from which these dwellings were built was wood.

Closed dwellings of this type, inaccessible from the outside, were built at that time in other parts of the world, wherever people used a polished stone axe, and they used it everywhere in the Neolithic.

A characteristic feature of the large dwellings of that time, which had a centric plan, was that they had several small domestic hearths inside and one large one - a common central hearth for cult purposes.

We note, by the way, that in general the gradual appearance of a cult hearth (altar), its isolation for use only for ritual purposes, and in connection with this, the appearance in the future of separate places of worship(altars) and buildings (temples) marked the emergence of not only property, but also general social inequality, the development of which was facilitated in every possible way by the leaders of the tribes who gradually strengthened not only their military, but also economic power, as well as clergy who contributed to this in every possible way.

By the same time as the dwelling in the village of Kelteminar, that is, by the 4th millennium BC. e., also include the early houses of the Trypillia culture, found on the territory of the right-bank Ukraine, along the lower and middle Dnieper, Bug and Dniester (Fig. 16). These houses are gradually replaced by very large multi-hearth dwellings, divided into several rooms (Fig. 17).

In the tract Kolomiyshchina, which is located at a distance of half a kilometer from the village of Khalepye on the Dnieper, a whole settlement was discovered in 1938, consisting of 39 dwellings of the Trypillia type. They are arranged in two concentric circles. The diameter of the inner circle is 50-60 m, and the outer one - 170 m. Some of these houses (8) are small, and the rest are medium and large, multi-hearth; they could accommodate 20-30 people. The entire village had a population of over 500 people.

The presence of a large number of hearths in dwellings was associated with the division of the matriarchal clan into several paired families. “These families,” says L. G. Morgan, referring to similar principles of housing planning among the Iroquois, “built large houses, large enough to accommodate several families, and it can be considered that in all parts of America of the native period people did not live in separate families in individual houses, but in large, multi-family households.”

Appearance in the IV millennium BC. e. clay wall and floor made of baked clay in the dwelling, as well as ceramic products (Fig. 16) speaks of the homogeneous nature of these phenomena related to the Neolithic. In the process of laying the foundations of architecture, this period was marked by the appearance of not only more perfect than before, ground dwellings, but also a more perfect type of their decor - ornament.

At the beginning of the Neolithic, pottery was reduced mainly to the manufacture of vessels: large ones for storing supplies, medium ones for cooking food, and small ones for eating (Fig. 18). They were made by hand (without a potter's wheel), by laying clay bundles in layers on top of each other in a spiral. To apply the ornament, comb tiles were used - stamps, with the help of which a pattern was created from rows of lines and dimples. Later, ceramics appeared with a geometric curvilinear pattern and, finally, with a painted colored ornament applied with a brush.

The emergence and development of ornamental creativity was also facilitated by the weaving of various baskets and other products from thin, flexible branches or reeds. From here, for the first time, the penetration of ornamental motifs into the sphere of construction began.

The appearance of painted pottery is usually associated with the emergence of settlements, the most typical of the Eneolithic - a period of transition between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. Such settlements in the 4th millennium BC become widespread everywhere and are characterized by the following four features, which simultaneously determine the essence of the Eneolithic era itself, that is, the period when copper and stone tools coexist; hoe agriculture begins to dominate other types of economy; the presence of a large number of female figurines, characteristic of the existence of the maternal clan, is noted; large, usually adobe residential buildings are becoming widespread.

There were very few copper tools, mostly axes, largely repeating their stone prototype. According to all its data, the copper ax could not withstand the bronze ax, which soon replaced it; however, the same fate befell many other tools associated with the Eneolithic era.

Among the early stone dwellings of the Neolithic era in Europe are also round, oval and rectangular houses in the Aegean basin.

The most ancient round house was discovered in Orchomenus (Boeotia); its diameter reached 6 m. The lower part of its walls (1 m thick) was built of small stone on clay mortar, the upper part - of raw brick. It was probably covered with a dome. In the houses of the late period, one of the walls was straight, due to which an elongated semi-oval was formed in the plan. Rectangular houses in Orchomenus appeared only together with tools made of bronze (Fig. 19). Similar houses are found in the Neolithic period (a house in Seruzzi, Italy; Fig. 20) and later - in Ancient Greece on about. Argos (Fig. 21).

The Bronze Age covers the III and II millennium BC. e., but it did not immediately spread throughout the globe. And when in the whole Aegean world, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, China and India, the slave-owning society had already flourished, in most European and Asian countries the primitive communal system was still preserved.

The climate change, which began in the Late Neolithic and became increasingly dry, led to the fact that forests gave way to steppes over a significant area. Thanks to this, the development of cattle breeding accelerated and agriculture spread to areas previously occupied by the few communities of hunters and fishermen.

With the growth of cattle breeding, the nature of agriculture also changed significantly, which from hoeing became arable, plow, based on the use of livestock as draft power.

By the end of the Bronze Age, a patriarchal-tribal system had developed in Europe. A developed cult of ancestors and complex rituals arose, which led to the creation of religious buildings such as a mound, a cromlech and a row megalithic structures.

Here one cannot fail to mention other continents, which also made their significant contribution to the overall development of both religious buildings and arts, especially plastic ones, directly related to architecture.
Let us dwell in this connection on Ancient Africa.

Foreign science paid little attention to the achievements material culture"dark continent", but thanks to the later objective studies of its own figures, it was established that, just like in the territory of the future France and England, the most ancient inhabitants of South Africa used the same hand axes. The stone grinding technique also made great progress here, which predetermined a significant leap in construction.

Evidence of the relatively high culture of South Africa can serve, in particular, the fact that mummification (as established by the famous Italian scientist Fabrizio Mori) was practiced much earlier than in the most ancient period of cultural development in the Nile Valley.

Returning to the Bronze Age, we note that the beginning of this era in Central Europe was characterized by two types of dwellings that made up small settlements: dug in the loess, round in plan, beehive-shaped in section, and ground rectangular houses with wattle walls coated with clay.

In Brittany during this period, there were also two types of dwellings: dug out in the ground, covered with conical roofs, and ground round with walls made of stone. Near the settlement, which consisted of such houses, a fence was arranged to drive cattle. The inhabitants of such a village were engaged in cattle breeding and growing cereals.

In what is now southeastern Spain, dwellings sometimes had two floors, and settlements were surrounded by high stone walls.

Piled buildings became widespread in the Bronze Age, the Italian variety of which was the so-called terramaras - wooden log cabins filled with stones and clay, on which platforms were arranged, which served as the basis for usually round huts (Fig. 22).

Piled buildings were also built in other places: in Oceania, near the northern Dayaks on about. Borneo, in Switzerland, etc. The large settlement of Morsch on stilts was established in the Bronze Age on Lake Geneva. It was up to 360 m long and 30 to 45 m wide.

Significantly changed by this time their character and Tripolye settlements. In connection with the development of cattle breeding, large large-family ground buildings disappeared, they were replaced by small adobe houses and semi-dugouts.

In the II millennium BC. e. there is almost no painted pottery typical of the earlier Trypillia culture. It becomes monochromatic. Ceramics with a corded ornament, with an imprint of a rope on the surface of the product, is widespread. Whorls are increasingly found during excavations, which indicates the development of spinning and weaving. Occasionally there are iron products.

At the very end of the Eneolithic and in the Bronze Age, fortified settlements appeared, which later, at the beginning of the Iron Age, became more widespread, as wars became a constant phenomenon.

An example of this kind of Iron Age settlements is the ancient settlement of Tushemlya in the Smolensk region, the excavations of which began in 1955 (Fig. 23). The site of this settlement has a shape close to an oval. Its length is 35 m, width (in the middle part) is 32 m. It occupies a cape on the root bank of the Tushemlya River, the left tributary of the Sozha. From the side of the coast, this site was protected by five earthen ramparts and ditches. The height of the largest rampart above the site of the settlement was 3 m.

The general nature of residential buildings, their fences and design scheme, as well as the place of the cult site are visible in the Bereznyaki settlement (Fig. 24).

Along with settlements such as Tushemlya, which served as a place of temporary shelter from the enemy, there were also the so-called Pilyakalnis (Latvian and Lithuanian SSR) - small settlements that were intended for permanent habitation. The log structures of this time (the second half of the 2nd millennium BC and the beginning of the 1st millennium) deserve special attention. This includes mounds, which we have already mentioned as memorial structures. As usual, in the history of the development of memorial structures, residential buildings served as their prototype, in this case, a log house.

The mounds were built in the following way.

First of all, a large rectangular hole was dug in the ground, then a log house with a wooden floor was built in it. In this log house, another log box was installed, which served as a burial chamber. The space between both chambers was sometimes filled with stones. Then they were covered with two rolls of logs and, covered with birch bark and bark, covered with earth, which formed a hill. A stone was thrown on top of this hill. So, in particular, the Pazyryk mound was built, located in the Pazyryk valley of the Altai mountains.

The wooden core of these structures is a log house. Like the Italian terramaras, they should be considered the first step towards the creation of a ground chopped log building, which owes its appearance to the metal ax, but has not yet been structurally brought to the technique of diverse modern cuts. Timber dwellings were also common among the Baltic, Finnish and Turkic tribes.


25. Menhirs: a - menhirs in Brittany; 6 - statue-menhir near Saint-Germain (Averon, France)

26. Dolmen near Maykop (USSR) and a group of dolmens near Salisbury (England)	27. Megalithic structures

In the Bronze Age, structures made of huge stones, which appeared as early as the Neolithic, reached their highest development, the so-called megaliths: menhirs, dolmens, alinemans, covered passages, cromlechs, etc. (Fig. 25, 26).

All types of these structures are usually associated with one or another cult of veneration of ancestors (menhir, dolmen), fire or sun (cromlech), totem (betil), etc.

Megalithic structures are very widespread almost everywhere - from Scandinavia to Algeria, from Portugal to China, Korea and India. A lot of them are found in France, Belgium, the USSR (especially in the North Caucasus), Sweden, England and Scotland, Greece, along the Mediterranean coast, Tunisia, Egypt and many other countries (Fig. 27).

The fact that this type of structure was almost ubiquitous indicates that they served as an expression of ideas that were common to all people of this era, regardless of their geographical location. Such an idea, it seems to us, could be the desire to materialize the consciousness of the significance of one's personality, to affirm its power and inviolability, to preserve the memory of it for posterity for centuries. It is no coincidence that these stones had a huge (especially for lifting equipment of that time) weight and size. If we keep in mind their historical relationship with later structures that have architectural features, then a menhir is a tombstone or monument similar in idea to a memorial votive column, a dolmen is a crypt, a simple tomb, or a sarcophagus, and a cromlech in Stonehenge is already a temple, although very primitive (Fig. 28).

In the latter type, we have reason to see a structure in which the technical problem not only found a certain type of solution, but also received a certain aesthetic embodiment, indicating that the builders mastered a sense of space, rhythm, proportions, scale and form. Other megaliths do not have such qualities, since all of them, according to the indicated characteristics and their own appearance closer to the amorphous creations of nature than to the work of human hands.

But the cromlech in Stonehenge is not yet an established architectural structure, although it already has some of its features that we have indicated. He is too massive, his verticals are heavy in relation to the horizontals. The technicality of the image here prevails over its artistry, as in all, without exception, other structures that preceded the creation of the cromlech: dugouts, semi-dugouts, huts, ground adobe and other structures that had only a purely utilitarian purpose. The art form arises when the utilitarian form reaches a certain perfection. So it was at the final stage of the Bronze Age, and in the Early Iron Age, when handicrafts and the art industry began to emerge especially actively. Strings of stones speak of more elementary forms of development of spatial representations preceding the cromlech (Fig. 29).

The improvement of building and technical forms could not but be affected by the improvement of the tools themselves, which at that particular time became more durable, sharper, and more convenient, due to which the material processed by them also became less rough, more beautiful. This, of course, was facilitated by the wider specialization of tools, which allowed for finer processing of both the main building materials - wood and stone, and metal (Fig. 30).

Improved iron tools, advanced metalworking, turning into an artistic craft, raising the general level of material, and at the same time spiritual production, as F. Engels pointed out [ F. Engels. The origin of the family, private property and the state. M., Gospolitizdat, 1945, pp. 33-34.], that's what made civilization possible. The achievements of this primitive civilization allowed the ancient builder to rise to a higher level in achieving the artistic quality of his buildings (Fig. 31-32).

So, from the solution of a purely technical (constructive-building) problem and the subsequent aesthetic understanding of building structures and their details, as well as giving the structure created with their help a certain ideological content, artistic and technical construction arose, capable of satisfying not only utilitarian, but also spiritual needs of people, - architecture.

A clear example confirming the above can be the Greek megaron, which, if we consider it at the stage of development dating back to the 3rd millennium BC, was an elementary technical structure designed to shelter from rain and wind, heat, cold, etc. etc., i.e. for housing. There were rough walls, a valley, a doorway, and instead of a window there was a light-smoke opening above the simplest type of hearth.

But centuries passed, and this interior space of the Greco-Italian house (which once had a sooty ceiling and walls) began to look not only bright, clean, but also beautiful, since instead of the rough four pillars that stood at the corners of the light-smoke opening, an elegant colonnade appeared , which formed the architectural core of the atrium. Instead of a hearth, an artistically designed altar appeared.

Everything here was made in pleasing to the eye forms, scales, proportions, color, texture, etc., that is, it was aesthetically ennobled, and began to represent, along with the solution of a certain technical problem, its artistic embodiment - an architectural work.

A more complete and comprehensive consideration of the paths taken by construction and the architecture born by it, having entered the second socio-economic formation - the slave-owning society, is the content of the subsequent chapters of this work.

The chapter “The Origin of Architecture” of the book “The General History of Architecture. Volume I. Architecture of the Ancient World. Author: V.Yu. Tsirkunov; edited by O.Kh. Khalpakhchna (responsible editors), E.D. Kvitnitskaya, V.V. Pavlova, A.M. Pribytkova. Moscow, Stroyizdat, 1970

Lecture 2

The beginning of construction activity dates back to the Paleolithic era and is associated with the first human experience in building a dwelling with the help of primitive stone tools.

Example: (dable or conical huts, dugouts).

The origin of architecture should be attributed to the late Paleolithic era, when construction from a purely technical activity solving utilitarian tasks gradually began to turn into a more complex activity aimed at satisfying the primitive spiritual needs of people.

Aesthetic comprehension of the simplest constructive systems and their elements is associated with the beginnings of tectonic thinking, and subsequently giving knowledge of a certain ideological-figurative-technical construction, i.e. architecture in the full sense of the word.

During the Neolithic period, more advanced stone tools appeared, and the material possibilities of man increased significantly.

During this period, a dwelling made of wood took the form of a relatively large rectangular building, the walls of which were a wattle fence on log posts. A similar dwelling was found on the territory of the Dnieper region (II-III thousand years BC). (see sketch 1).

Sketch 1.

Large houses S=150m 2

small houses

This settlement is one of the earliest examples of a regular organization of a residential complex, taking into account the characteristics of community life and defensive functions.

The most developed type of buildings of the Neolithic period are buildings based on wooden piles, which were usually erected over rivers and lakes in wetlands. The spread of this type of settlements is explained by defensive considerations, as well as for convenient fishing in reservoirs with fish.

Piled buildings were found on the river. Modlon in the Vologda region (II millennium BC). A number of houses are placed on a log deck, supported by piles by means of girders. The walls were erected from vertically placed poles intertwined with rods. The middle poles were higher than the others and had a fork at the ends, on which the ridge run of a sloping gable roof was strengthened. The roof was made of birch bark, pressed down with stones, the floor was covered with clay. (See Sketch 2.)

(Cross section of the building) ridge run

birch bark stones poles twigs clay floor log flooring beam purlin wooden piles

There are three main types of metal structures: menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs. (See Sketch 3).

Menhirs- vertically placed stones, sometimes reaching very large sizes. They sometimes reach 20m in height and 300t in weight. These are tombstones or monuments erected alone or in groups. Sometimes menhirs are found in combination with dolmens- structures of several vertical stones supporting a horizontal stone slab.

Dolmens most often served as burial chambers and at the same time tombstones. The dolmens were originally small in size - about 2 m long and about 1.5 m high, but in the next they reached such sizes that sometimes they arranged an approach to them in the form of a stone gallery.

The most complex type of megalithic structures - cromlech. Cromlech in Stonehenge (England) - a circle with a diameter of 30 m of vertically placed stones, covered with horizontal slabs. Inside there are 2 rings of small stones, and between them there are high blocks with slabs placed in pairs, organizing the center of the space. A clear compositional idea with symmetry, rhythm and coherence of elements has already appeared here.

Log buildings deserve special attention, in particular - barrows- a common type of memorial structures. During the construction of the barrow, first a powerful frame with a wooden floor was built in the pit. Inside the log house, a burial chamber was arranged, which was interrupted by a run-up of logs covered with birch bark. Backfilling with earth formed a mound, often of considerable height. An example is the Pazyryk log mound in the Altai Mountains.

At the later stages of the development of the primitive communal system, a new type of architectural structures- wooden and stone fortresses. In areas poor in stone, but abundant in forests, settlements (hillforts) were spread, fortified with log palisades, earthen oars and ditches. Initially, the fortresses had one defensive wall, later a second wall could be erected inside the fortress to protect the clan nobility and the leader of the community.

Architecture of a primitive society

Paleolithic era

The most ancient images are the Paleolithic Venuses. Primitive female figurines. A generalized image of a woman-mother, a symbol of fertility and the keeper of the hearth.

Mesolithic era(Middle Stone Age)

Rock art is dominated by multi-figured compositions.

Neolithic era

rock painting becomes schematic and conditional.

megaliths- these are huge stone structures

Menhir- this is a free-standing stone, more than 2 meters high

Dolmens- these are several stones dug into the ground, covered with a slab.

Cromlech- This is a complex building in the form of circular fences, with a diameter of up to 100 m.

The most famous cromlech is Stone henge in england built of 120 stone blocks, up to 7 tons each, with a diameter of 30 m.

Architecture of Ancient Egypt

Religion plays a major role in the life of society.

The burial place of noble people is mastaba- This is a low parallelogram shape. The lower ones form a stepped pyramid. The mother of the Egyptian pyramids is considered Pyramid Zhdoser. The construction of the pyramids reflects 3 main principles: gigantic size, pyramidal shape and the use of stone as the main building material. The most famous and highest the Pyramid of Cheops, 147 m high, the outside of the pyramid was usually covered with slabs polished to a mirror finish. The impressive size, mirror shine evoke feelings of awe and fear. Feeling of monumentality (a person feels worthless).

Temples of Luxor and Kornak

The temples are connected by a three-meter alley of sphinxes.

The scheme of the temple: an alley of sphinxes approaches the entrance, which is decorated pylons. The entrance leads to an open courtyard surrounded by walls, columns and statues. Through the second entrance we get into hypostyle hall supported by rows of columns. In the hall, more than 120 columns form 16 rows. The height of the columns is 20 m, the diameter is 3.5 m, the capital (the upper part of the columns) is presented in the form of lotus or papyrus flowers. The columns were painted, the ceiling was also dark blue with soaring birds. From the hypostyle hall it was possible to go to a small sanctuary, where only the pharaoh and priests could enter. In front of the entrance to the temple there were usually obelisks symbolizing a ray of light.

Palace of Queen Hatshepsut

The temple stands at the foot of the rocks, which serve as a background and merge with it into a single whole. The temple is located on three terraces connected ramps(inclined platforms)

City of Thebes

The city has served as the capital of Egypt for many centuries. The city is located on two banks of the Nile. On the east coast, where the sun rises, lies city of the living, on the western shore were the tombs of kings and nobles - City of dead.

Architecture of Ancient Western Asia

In the interfluve there was neither stone nor wood suitable for construction. The buildings were built of unbaked bricks. Buildings were built on a rammed clay platform that protected from floods. Here it was developed new form temple called Ziggurat.

A ziggurat is a stepped tomb, a symbol of a stairway to heaven. The number of tiers could be different, the tiers were painted in different colors: the lower tier is black, the middle tier is red, the upper tier is white. At the very top was a sanctuary. At that time it was built Ziggurat Etemenanke, which became the prototype of the Tower of Babel.

Temple in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar 2. The palace housed hanging gardens - Babylon, considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. The only thing that has survived to our time is Ishtar Tower Gate, are located in Berlin.

Architecture of Ancient Greece

The Cretan-Mycenaean civilization has become an exemplary art workshop for a large region - from Balkan Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea to the coast of Asia Minor.

Crete architecture

In Crete, palaces were mainly built, designed for secular and religious needs. The palace could serve simultaneously as the residence of the ruler of the city and as a fortress. Palaces were usually associated with mountain shrines set in caves. Each palace was oriented towards a specific sacred mountain.

sacred gardens.

The sacred garden was usually located in southeast corner palace complex. There was a "theatrical platform" for ritual stage performances and a paved area with stone-lined pits (for storing grain, or sacred trees were planted in them).

The main eras of ancient Greece:

1. Geometrics of the 9th-8th centuries BC e.

2. Archaic 7-6 century BC

3. Classic: early 490-450 BC

High 450 BC

Late 400-323 BC

4. Hellenism 3-1 century BC

geometry, the name of the style according to the decorative paintings of vessels, such patterns as rhombus, square, circle prevailed there ... each vessel had a body, throat, neck, rim, handles, legs. The main thing in the vessel is its extraordinary stability, called tectonics.

Age of the Archaic. The temples repeated the idea of the Cretan megaron- this is a rectangular building with an entrance on a narrow end wall with columns that either framed the entrance, or divided the interior space along, or stood against the walls.

Archaic created a single architectural language - order system. oorprp

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Order - an architectural composition consisting of vertical bearing supports in the form of columns and horizontal bearing parts. The most common in ancient architecture:

1. .Doric- Identified the body of a man. Powerful, minimum decorations, no base. Named after the Dorians.

2. Ionic- identified a woman, it is more elegant than Doric, has a base, named after the Ionian tribe.

3.
Corinthian- identifies a girl, more elegant, maximum jewelry.

Later, architects began to choose an order for temples depending on the gender, spirit and Olympic authority of the deity.

Age of the Classics.

Great shrines are being built: Apollo at Delphi, Hera at Olympia. The most famous ensemble is Athens Acropolis, who stood on high rock above the city. This is a unique architectural complex, which included temples, a pinakothek (art gallery), statues of gods. The main temple is the Parthenon temple. There are 8 columns on the end walls, 17 on the side walls. The outer columns of the Doric order, the walls of the temple itself were crowned with an Ionic frieze. It was designed for perception from the outside.

The most beautiful Temple on the Acropolis - Erechtheion with a portico of caryatids. Figures of a woman – caryatids, men - Atlanteans. An even number of columns is required.

Greek art created a special genre memorial steles- This is a tomb relief. Above the graves, memorial tombstones with high relief were placed, which were placed in aedicules- these are niches framed by two small columns with entablature and a pediment above them.

Architecture ancient rome

By ancient Rome is meant not only the city of Rome, but also all the countries and peoples conquered by it, from the British Isles to Egypt.

Having adopted from the Etruscans and Greeks the rationally organized strict planning of cities, the Romans improved it. The planning of cities corresponded to the conditions of life: trade on a huge scale, the spirit of military and discipline, the attraction to entertainment and splendor. The Romans first began to build "model" cities, the prototype of which was the Roman military camps. The city had the shape of a square, which was crossed by two perpendicular streets (cardo and decumanum) at the intersection of which the center was erected.

Republican period. Late 6th-mid 1st century BC formation of a world slave-owning power. Common types of structures: amphitheaters (Coliseum), terms(baths), triumphal arches, aqueducts- a bridge with a laid water pipe, palaces, villas, theaters, temples, monuments ...

Passion for Greek art manifested itself in the appeal to the order system, but here it performed mainly a decorative function. The supporting function was performed by the wall. The Romans invented monolithic shell system building a wall. The basis was made up of two narrow brick walls, between which crushed stone with concrete was poured. Outside, the walls were faced with marble or other stone. Magma powder was used instead of cement. A large place belonged to the arch, based on pillars. This made it possible to build multi-storey structures with vaulted and domed ceilings. The main form of the ceiling was the vault, it was made of stone. At the intersection of two cylindrical vaults, a cross vault is obtained. With equal spans, a square. The inner surface of the vaults of the intersection is formed by ribs in which the pressure of the vault is concentrated. This made it possible to cut through the supporting walls with semicircular arches.

Of all the Roman orders, the Tuscan one is the simplest in decoration and the heaviest in proportion.

Roads were of great strategic importance; they were paved with concrete with rubble, lava and tuff slabs. Bridges are being built aqueducts.

Public life proceeded on the market square - forums(similar squares were built in ancient Greece, they were called agoras). All major city events were held at the forum. The architectural ensemble included temples - basilicas- a public building in the form of an elongated rectangle, shops of merchants - taberns, squares were decorated with statues, porticos, rostral columns - columns to which the bows of defeated ships were attached. Also here was the "sacred road". The main type of public buildings was the temple. It was formed as a result of crossing Italian and ancient Roman traditions with Greek ones. Mainly built pseudoperiptory with entrance only from the main facade, as well as monopters consisting of a cylindrical base surrounded by a colonnade with an entrance from the end side.

City of Pompeii. The city had a regular layout. The streets were decorated with the facades of houses, at the bottom of which tavern shops were arranged. The population of Pompeii is 10,000 people, and the amphitheater, built, like the Greeks in a natural depression, accommodated 20 thousand people. Construction of Pompeian houses domus. These were rectangular structures that stretched along the courtyard, and faced the street with blank end walls. The main room was the atrium (from lat. smoky), that is, rooms that performed a sacred function. The atrium repeated the model of the Greek cult pit "mundus". Rectangular hole in the roof compluvium, the pool below it - impluvium. The atrium served as a "pillar of the world", that is, it connected the house with heaven and the underworld. The atrium also contained valuables, a chest with family valuables, an altar-type table, and a cupboard for storing ancestral wax masks. The walls inside the house were painted

First Pompeian style. Second end of the 1st century BC this is a geometric ornament that resembled lining the walls with semi-precious stones. The style is named inlaid.

Second Pompeian style. 1st century BC - architectural. The interior turned, as it were, into a semblance of a city landscape. Images of colonnades, porticos, and facades ran along the entire height of the walls.

Third Pompeian style – candelabra, late 1st century BC 50 AD It was distinguished by ornamental architectural motifs, the predominance of light openwork structures.

Fourth Pompeian style 63 AD - 1st century AD - fantastic architecture. Dynamic spatial composition, an abundance of unevenly lit figures, being in motion, variegation of color.

In contrast to the houses with their luxury and comfort were multi-storey houses for the plebeians.

Empire period. It began with the reign of Augustus 27 BC. - 14 AD, the golden age of the Roman state. Rome acquired a look corresponding to the prestige of the world capital. Mausoleum of Augustus. A round building 90 m in diameter, consisting of two concentric walls, raised on an artificial hill. Emperor Neuron erects the famous "golden house", which was a palace and a villa at the same time. The embodiment of power was triumphal arches, which he erected in honor of the victory over the enemy and as a sign of the consecration of new cities.

Example, arch of Titus, in memory of the victory of the Romans in the Jewish war. The height of the arch is 15.4 m, the width is 5.33 m. The arch served as the basis for the sculptural group - the emperor on a chariot. Decorates the arch with an attic dedicated to Emperor Titus. A large place in the life of the Romans is occupied by spectacles. Flavian amphitheater - Colosseum(from lat. rough). Built in 70-80s. AD On sunny days, a blue canvas canopy (velu, velarius) was pulled over the pins.
. The Colosseum accommodated 50,000 spectators, height 48.5 m. The building is divided into 4 tiers, each of which is decorated with warrants. The lower tier is Doric, the second is Ionic, the third is Corinthian, the fourth is pilasters of the Corinthian order. There were statues in every doorway famous people Rome. There are several basements where animals and utilities (pipes with water) were housed. The building evoked a sense of rugged energy through its vast scale, generalized forms, and solemn rhythms.

The Tuscan order - invented by the Romans, looks like a Doric, but there are no flutes, a minimum of decorations, only a column and a capital.

Age of Emperor Hadrian. Adrian was an adherent of everything Greek. Under him, the most spiritual monument of world architecture was created Pantheon- the temple of all the gods. It was a classic example of a central-domed building. The proportions of the building are perfect - the diameter of the dome is 43.5 m, almost equal to the height of 42.7 m, that is, a ball can be entered into the dome space. Light penetrates through holes in the dome, diameter 9 m (the eye of the pantheon), this is the only source of light, the space is divided into tiers, the walls are lined with colored marble. The interior is dissected by columns of the Corinthian order with niches with statues, the attic floor with false windows and pilasters ends with an entablature. The dome is divided by 5 circular rows of cassettes, decreasing upwards. The building evokes a feeling of peace, tranquility, inner harmony, departure from the earthly at eta to the world of spirituality.

In the 1st century A.D. a new type of building appears - giant baths- This public baths designed for 2-3 thousand people. It was a complex of premises of various purposes, intended for the all-round development of a person. The halls of cold and warm rooms, which form the center, the core of the composition, adjoin numerous rooms for gymnastic exercises and mental exercises. The premises were striking in the luxury of decoration, most The famous Baths of Caracalla.

Byzantine architecture

On the site of the old Greek colony of Byzantium, the city was founded by Emperor Constantine - Constantinople, which on May 11, 330 was officially declared the capital of the Roman Empire. Subsequently, the empire was divided into 2 parts: western and eastern. The first fell under the onslaught of the Germanic tribes, and the eastern one lasted for another millennium.

The first Christians of the Roman Empire were forced to hide, they gathered in catacombs- labyrinths of caves for the burial of the dead. The catacombs were for them both a church (from lat. meeting) and martyrium- construction over the grave of the martyr, and the cemetery. The walls were whitewashed and decorated with paintings. Christ was portrayed as a young shepherd surrounded by nature. Later, Constantine legalized Christianity as one of the state religions.

Constantinople(Second Rome). The city was not like traditional Roman cities. The city was located on a triangular-shaped peninsula. The center was the imperial palace, located in the least accessible part of the peninsula. The palace overlooked a large square, from which the main street began, framed by rows of arches, through them to main street as if the fan of the side streets was drawn in. Such a layout was determined not only by the shape of the island, but also revealed the exclusive role of the imperial power. Walls protected the city from enemies. The enemy from land was met by a moat filled with water 10 m deep. Behind it rose a wall with a height of 3 human heights, behind it a second wall with towers twice as high as the first, and then a third 6-7 m high with a very deep foundation. A similar wall ran along the seashore. The main exit was a golden gate with three openings.

Christianity inherited 2 types of buildings: 1- centric buildings that served mainly as martiriya and baptismal. They were small, and in plan they represented a square, a circle, an octagon or an equal (Greek) cross. The inner space of the centric temple gathered the worshipers in the middle, where they were at rest.

2 - basilica is an elongated rectangle. The building was divided by longitudinal rows of supports into several rows - naves. The middle nave is usually wider and taller than the rest, most often it ended with a semicircular ledge - apse. The interior of the basilica orients the visitor to action, movement.

The most successful type of church turned out to be a shortened basilica, with the altar oriented to the east and crowned with a dome.

In terms of the basilica, a transverse nave appears - transept. A dome was erected in the center of the resulting cross. This scheme became known as the cross-dome. The Christians decided that the apse should correspond to the Bethlehem cave, where Christ was born and where he was buried.

The largest and most famous Christian temple in Constantinople Church of Hagia Sophia. The main task of the architects was the problem of building a grandiose size. To erect a building of almost 100 meters in length, and even to cover it with a dome, without having raw materials for the production of concrete, was an impossible task. It was decided to make the "skeleton" of the dome from numerous arches and vaults: two large semi-domes adjoined the central dome, and smaller domes, in turn, adjoined them. The thrust force spreads and splits until it is taken over by special column pylons. Due to the light penetrating the arches along the perimeter of the base of the dome, it seems that the dome "floats" in the air.

The height of the building is 54.8m. Dome diameter - 32.6m

Later, when the Turks captured Constantinople, the cathedral was rebuilt as a mosque - 4 minarets were attached to it, mosaics were removed. This cathedral served as a model for the construction of the Hagia Sophia in Kyiv. Served as the basis for the construction of temples in Rus'.

France

Church of St. Paul and Peter in the monastery of Cluny. Length 127m,

Germany.

Basically the so-called. "transitional style", which combined Romanesque and Gothic features.

Italy.

Antique features predominate (architecture of ancient Greece and Rome), an example Cathedral and tower in Pisa.

Gothic architecture

The Romans considered Gothic art to be barbaric. By the end of the 12th century, cities became the center of culture, politics, and economic life. Cities have significant privileges, they had a body of self-government. In the center of the city, a town hall was formed - the modern city hall. A tower was erected above the town hall, which symbolized the symbol of freedom. Cathedrals were supposed to accommodate more people than before, so the design of the building is changing: the vault now rests on arches, and not on walls, which, in turn, on pillars, lateral pressure is transferred flying buttanam– outdoor semi-arches and buttresses- crutches of the building, pillars. Due to this design, it became possible to reduce the thickness of the walls and cut windows into them. The smooth surface of the walls disappears, stained-glass windows, various sculptures, and so on appear instead. gothic cathedral light and uplifting. The boundaries between the parts of the temple were erased. The space of the cathedral - with numerous decorations, light pouring through stained-glass windows - created an image of the heavenly world, embodying the dream of a miracle.

France. Notre Dame de Paris Or Notre Dame Cathedral. Time of construction 11-14 centuries. 5-aisled basilica on an island in the Seine. Length 129 m. Three entrances - portals, there are niches with statues French kings, called the "Royal Gallery". The western façade is decorated with a “rose” window; chimeras, fantastic creatures, are located on the towers.

Cathedral in Chartres characteristics of French Gothic. Relatively low towers and a rose window is a must.

The largest cathedral is in Amiens, height 42.5 m, length 145 m.

England. Gothic architecture is mainly associated with monasteries. Building gothic style have not been preserved.

Germany.

Cathedral in Cologne. Height 46 m, in comparison with France, the towers are taller and pointed, there is no rose window. Lots of lancet windows.

Italy. Doge's Palace in Venice.

Once there was a prison. A vivid example of "flaming" Gothic is due to decorations in the form of tongues of flame.

Asian architecture

Arab countries Iran and Türkiye

In the first third of the 7th century in the city of Mecca (Arabian Peninsula) a new religion arose - Islam, the founder was Muhammad. His sermons were written down and concentrated in the Qur'an. In the 8th century, the state Arab Caliphate was created. The architecture of Islam was formed in accordance with local building traditions. In the campaign, the Muslims outlined the territory on the sand, determining by the shadow of a spear stuck in the ground, the direction to Kaaba(Arabic cube) - sanctuaries in the form of a rectangular stone fence. The Kaaba has become the sacred center of Islam, and Muslims pray facing it.

The first mosques built appeared in 665-670. AD They are a square courtyard surrounded by galleries on pillars. On the side facing the Kaaba, 5 or more columns were placed, which created a prayer hall.

Over time, mosques began to be distinguished by purpose, a small - masjid served as a place of individual prayer. Jami and Cathedral- for collective prayers on Friday, and the main jami is called (big mosque) Jami il - Kabir. Country mosque - musawa.

The hallmark of the mosque is mihrab - a sacred niche oriented to the Kaaba (flat, conditional or concave). The lancet end of the mihrab means a dot on "sacred axis of Islam", thanks to which the mental connection of the prayer with the earthly Kaaba is carried out, reflecting his spiritual connection with the heavenly Kaaba.

Since the 8th century, mosques have been added minarets- the towers from which they call for prayer, usually there are 4 of them. In the west of the Muslim world they are 4-sided, in the east they are round-barreled, sometimes they are spiral.

An example of Islamic palace architecture - This is the Alhambra Palace in Grenada (Spain). The massive walls of the fortress with towers and bastions, traps and secret entrances hide the "treasure" - the palace, luxurious and comfortable. This is typical Muslim architecture - a pearl hidden in a shell.

Arabesques. This is a complex pattern, characteristic of Arabic art, created on the basis of an accurate mathematical calculation. The arabesque is built on the repetition and / or multiplication of several elements of the pattern. Inscriptions, floral motifs, images of birds and w

animals or other fantastic creatures. The walls of the mosque were painted with such arabesques.

Architecture of India

3rd century BC In India, Buddhism is spreading as the state religion. The first buildings - memorial columns, on which the decrees of the rulers are carved - stambha, height 10 m. completed with capitals with images of animals. Later, burial monuments appeared - stupa. The stupas are shaped like a hemisphere, which means the symbol of the sky and infinity. The central pole of the stupa is the axis of the universe connecting heaven and earth, a symbol of the world tree of life. "Umbrella" at the end of the pole - this is a stepwise ascent to nirvana, also a symbol of power. The stupa is surrounded by a fence, on 4 cardinal points, in which there are gates decorated with a relief.

Popular in India cave temples – chaityas, that is, carved directly into the rock. Stupas are placed inside in the widest corridor. The only source of light was a large horseshoe-shaped window. Sculptural pairs on the facade personified two principles in nature - male and female, and their union gives rise to all life on earth.

Kandarya Temple. 10-11 centuries. Parts of the building: sanctuary, prayer hall, vestibule, entrance located on the same axis and tightly adjacent to each other. Each part of the building is separated by a tower superstructure, the highest part is the sanctuary.

The famous 19th century philosopher Rabindranath Tagore described the art of India as follows: "India has always had one unchanging ideal - merging with the universe."

An example of Muslim architecture in India - the mausoleum of the Taj Mahal.

Asian architecture

There are two main religions in Indochina: Buddhism and Hinduism. In southeast Asia, Hindu ideas about the center of the universe were identified with Mount Meru, the dwelling place of the gods. The king acted as the viceroy of God on earth or as the incarnation of God from Mount Meru, therefore temples and royal palaces were built in accordance with this concept, that is, the buildings resembled mountains.

Angor Wat Complex. 12th century AD, on a stepped mountain surrounded by a wall, there were 5 temples - towers, as well as many other superstructures, a patio, stairs, galleries. In plan, the complex was a rectangle 1300 - 1500 m. A canal was laid around it. A road with statues of lions and nagas leads through the canal to the main entrance.

Architectural complex Borobudur. 8th - 9th century. The temple was built on the top of a hill, on a huge stone platform above it tapering pyramidally, 5 terraces with bypass corridors rise. Above there are 3 round terraces, on which 72 stupas are placed. Each stupa has a statue of Buddha. The whole building is crowned in the center with a large bell-shaped stupa. Steep stairs lead to the top of the temple from each of the four sides.

The symbolism of the temple: the temple personifies Mount Meru, a stepwise ascent upward to truth and enlightenment. The relief depicted the assistants of the Buddha. Buddha statues personified spiritual perfection. The crowning composition - a large stupa symbolized the highest level of knowledge of the world.

Ancient China

According to the ancient Chinese, the earth is a square. China itself is in the center, the sky has the shape of a circle, so they call themselves the middle kingdom or under heaven. These forms take on symbolism in sacrificial altars. Round altars are for heaven, and square ones for earth. In the 3rd century BC. after the wars, small kingdoms united into a single empire, the city of Sanyang became the capital of the empire.

By order of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, from the remnants defensive structures kingdoms, the most powerful fortification was created - The great Wall of China. The length at that time was 750 km, height 10 m, width 5-8 m. The wall runs along the tops of the rocks.

Emperor's Tomb. The tomb is surrounded by two rows of walls, forming a square in plan. On top of a cone-shaped hill. The walls of the tomb are lined with marble and jade, a map of the empire is drawn on the stone floor, and there was also a sculptural image 5 sacred mountains, and the ceiling looks like a firmament with stars. In 1974 at a distance of 1.5 km from the tomb, 11 parallel underground tunnels were found with a giant clay army, where each warrior is endowed with individual features, made in full size and painted.

In the 4th - 6th centuries AD. Buddhist monasteries play an important role. Towers in which Buddhist relics have been preserved - pagodas, the number of tiers in the pagoda is necessarily odd.

« iron pagoda" is a 50 m tower with 13 m tiers, lined with rust-colored ceramic plates.

Beijing has been the capital of China since 1421. In plan, the city consisted of two adjoining and walled rectangles with connecting gates. The whole city is crossed by the large Beijing Highway, which ends at the northern wall, where the most important events in the life of the country take place. The highway had rather a symbolic meaning, it was impossible to walk along it, since the path was blocked by artificial hills, up to 60 m high. Such hills are protectors from evil spirits, which, according to legend, could only move in a straight line. The hill belonged to every pagoda, because, according to the ancient Chinese, "a city without a peak is the same as without walls, it was threatened with imminent death."

The roofs of buildings and structures began to be covered with colored tiles. In accordance with the symbolism: golden color - the power of the emperor; blue - sky, peace, rest; green - tree foliage.

In the center of Beijing, the main ensemble is forbidden city . The city is surrounded by red walls 10 m high and a moat with water. There is an imperial palace, consisting of several parts: front rooms, various halls, corridors, living rooms, theaters, gardens, pavilions ... in the northern part there is an imperial garden with an artificial reservoir, rare tree species and so on. Each building has its own poetic name. For example, the hall of higher harmony, the temple of prayers for the harvest, the temple of heaven.

A characteristic feature of the ensemble: simplicity and clarity of forms, combined with elegance, brightness, solemnity.

Tibetan architecture

Religion is Buddhism. The secular and spiritual ruler is the Dalai Lama (the ocean of wisdom).

Tibetan monasteries- these are large architectural ensembles, usually located on the slopes of the mountains and rise in ledge terraces to the peaks, so their silhouette seems to be a natural continuation of the mountains.

The monasteries include: the dwelling of the monks, the repository of manuscripts, temples, workshops, a large area for religious performances.

The roofs of the temples are crowned with gold, bronze symbols of Buddhism zhaptsany- these are cylindrical vessels with lists of prayers inside.

Example, Potala Palace(16 - 17 centuries) - this is the residence of the Dalai - Lama.

Japanese architecture

Religion - Buddhism came from China.

Traditional Japanese house. The house is made of wood frame. Raised on wooden posts, about 30 cm - this is necessary for ventilation.

The house has one stationary wall with a hearth, and the other three walls can move apart (to merge with nature). The walls are covered with paper or silk. The perimeter of the building is surrounded by a veranda.

The building is low, as the proportions are designed for a seated person. An essential element in every home is tokonama- a niche in a fixed wall where a picture could hang or a flower arrangement could stand – ikebana.

Each house must have a garden or a fragment of nature (with stones, a hill, trees, ponds) or a symbolic “dry garden”. The basis is sand and a composition of stones.

Example , Ryoanji garden in Kyoto(garden of 15 stones) is a platform 19×23 m. The platform is covered with sand, consisting of a composition of stones. When observing from any point, only 14 stones are visible.

Palaces of Italy

Palazzo( hence the Russian "chamber") - the city mansion of the nobility. Characteristic features of the manifestation of tectonics on the facades:

1st tier is processed with a roughly processed stone "rust" (stones with geometrically processed edges - diamond rustication),

2nd tier (in the form of a brick wall) was faced with brick with jointing,

3 tier - the surface is smooth.

Powerful overhanging cornice.

The presence of a courtyard with arches around the perimeter. This type of building served as a model for the buildings of the nobility throughout the world (except America).

Andrea Palladio

The pseudonym arose from the Greek goddess Pallas Athena, because this young man was considered capable of reviving the beauty and wisdom of the ancient Greeks.

Palladio outlined his ideas in the work "Four Books on Architecture". His compositions are distinguished by strict orderliness, naturalness, peace in that his buildings fit into the environment.

Example, Palazzo Rotunda. The building is almost cubic in shape, where porticos are attached from four facades.