Week 1: Prehistory

 This week we learned about design in prehistory. 

First, we learned about the stone age. We covered how the homes were semi-permanent, and consisted of three types of structures, cliff dwellings, mud and thatch, and stone. We learned about the Lascaux Caves, a network of caves near Montagne's village in France containing over 6000 figures. 

We also learned about Menhirs and Dolmens built in the Neolithic period that was giant post and lintel stone structures. Different residential homes in this period featured mud and brick walls with small openings for light and circulation and fireplaces in the center of the home. One of the most well-known architectural monuments during this period was the stone hedge, which was a place for ritual on the British Isles. 

We also covered the Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Scotland that were built of stone without mortar. Next, we covered the Catal Huyuk, which is a large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, Turkey. The society in which this was was quite advanced and each home had its own sewer system that brought the water into the ocean. 

These different designs can be seen in today's designs with the sewer systems bringing the dirty water out of the building. This is a bit of a stretch but many people still tell stories through their art, such as with the Lascaux Caves, where we see their many stories told on the walls. Buildings now are built with so many different materials but that doesn't mean that the old ways are completely unused. there are still stone houses and mud and brick houses being build all over the globe.