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The Neolithic Era is famous for Megalithic monuments, where the construction involves placing of huge stone
structures in a typical form. Examples include Stonehenge in England, the dolmens in Western Europe, and
Menhirs (standing stones). These structures were likely used for religious, ceremonial, or astronomical purposes.

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• Neolithic structures like Stonehenge were inspired by circular
shapes such as the sun and the moon or are possibly a reference to
the cyclical nature of prehistoric life.
• The passing of the seasons and the godlike appearance of the sun
and moon each day and night were likely to be central to the
religious beliefs of Neolithic people.

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Şanlıurfa Province, Southeast
Turkey
Age: 9600- 8000 BCE
Discovered: 1963 survey |
Systematic excavation: 1994–2014
by Klaus Schmidt
UNESCO World Heritage Site:
2018

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• The world's first known deliberately constructed sacred interior
• Built by HUNTER-GATHERERS- before agriculture, before permanent settlement in
the standard sense
• Multiple circular/oval enclosures, each 10–30 metres in diameter
• T-shaped limestone pillars up to 5.5 metres tall, weighing up to 10 tonnes
• The pillars have carved arms, belts, and hands- they are anthropomorphic
• Animal reliefs on every surface: foxes, snakes, boars, cranes, vultures, spiders
• NO hearths found in the main enclosures
• NO habitation debris: this was not a living space
• Thousands of animal bones in fill: communal feasting outside the enclosures

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SPATIAL LOGIC OF EACH ENCLOSURE:
• Perimeter: ring of smaller T-pillars set
in stone walls
• Interior: two central monumental T-
pillars, taller than perimeter pillars
• Entrance: a narrow gap in the
perimeter wall

THE EXPERIENCE OF ENTRY:

• You step through a narrow opening
• The two central pillars face each other-
5.5 metres tall
• You are standing between them,
looking up at carved surfaces
• The animal reliefs are at and above eye
level
• The enclosure walls, with their ring of
pillars, surrounds you

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99
DIMENSIONS:
• Height: 5.5 metres
• Weight: approximately 10
tonnes each
• Quarried from limestone
bedrock approximately 500
metres away
• An unfinished pillar (33m ×
3m) left in the quarry:
project was abandoned
before completion
THE PILLARS AS BODIES:
• The T-shape: a stylised
human torso with a head
(the horizontal T)
• Arms carved in relief on
the lower shaft- running
down to the front
• Hands carved at the end of
the arms- meeting at the
midline
• A belt and clothing are
carved around the shaft

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THE ANIMAL CARVINGS:
Fox: the most common;
associated with cunning in
Anatolian tradition
Snake: descending from upper
sections; threat and underworld
Vulture: associated with death
and transformation
Crane: associated with seasonal
movement, migration
Scorpion, spider, boar, aurochs,
gazelle, donkey, ducks, etc.

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LIGHT
The enclosures had no permanent roof (current best
evidence)
They were open to the sky- but enclosed by stone walls
and pillars
Light came from above: sun, stars, moon
Ceremony likely at dawn, dusk, and night: astronomical
alignment possible
The T-pillars cast long shadows as the sun moved
Different animals revealed and concealed by moving
light and shadow
THE SACRED & SYMBOLIC
NO domestic debris, NO cooking, NO habitation in
enclosures
This is a space exclusively for non-ordinary experience
The anthropomorphic pillars: beings, not architecture
The animal reliefs: every surface carries symbolic cargo
It is the first building whose entire purpose was
the creation of sacred experience- not shelter, not
storage
THRESHOLD & TRANSITION
Narrow entrance gap: controlled access to the enclosure
interior
The gap forces single-file entry: a bodily threshold
experience
Step through - step between the T-beings
- immediate confrontation with the sacred
Outside the enclosure: feasting, community, everyday
Inside: something else entirely
STRUCTURE AS INTERIOR
The T-pillar IS the spatial, structural, and symbolic
element simultaneously
No separation between what holds the roof up and what
means something
The ring of smaller pillars creates the boundary
The central pair creates the axis

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Structure and symbolism are identical
EUROPE / AFRICA / NEAR EAST
Blombos Cave, South Africa ............ 75,000 BCE (ochre engravings:
EARLIEST known)
Sulawesi Cave Art, Indonesia ........... 51,200 BCE (oldest figurative art)
Chauvet Cave, France .................. 36,000 BCE (oldest in Europe)
Altamira Cave, Spain .................. 18,500 BCE
Lascaux Cave, France .................. 17,000 BCE
Mezhirich mammoth-bone structures ...... 15,000 BCE (Ukraine)
Göbekli Tepe, Turkey .................. 10,000 BCE (FIRST constructed sacred
interior)

INDIA / ASIA / REST OF WORLD

Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, India ......... 30,000+ BCE
Australian Aboriginal rock art ......... 30,000+ BCE
Mungo Man burial, Australia ............ 40,000 BCE (earliest ritual burial)
Early Fertile Crescent settlements ..... 12,000 BCE
First pottery, Japan (Jomon) ........... 14,000 BCE

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c. 3100–30 BCE
Over 3,000 years of continuous civilization
Stable design language
Religion, climate & materials
Exceptional preservation
Foundation for later Western architecture & interiors

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• Ancient Egyptian civilization shows the beginning of the trend to
settle and stay in one place as opposed to pursuing nomadic
wandering.
• Settling allowed the civilization to become skilled in arts,
agriculture, and architecture.
• Skilled tradesmen made items to assist in making everyday life
more comfortable.
• Examples have come out of the excavated tombs of Pharaohs,
queens, and nobility. Much is known about ancient Egyptian
furniture and decor because it was included with burials in cool,
dry tombs.

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• Nile - lifeline
• Predictable annual flooding
• Mud-brick construction
• Stone for monuments
• Courtyard planning
• Passive cooling
• Local materials

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How religious beliefs determined spatial
organization and interior symbolism:

• Ma'at (order)
• Ka & Ba
• Afterlife
• Temples - houses of gods
• Tombs - eternal homes
• Ritual movement
• Sacred hierarchy

Cross- section of the Great Pyramid at

Giza, Egypt, c. 2550–2480 B.C.E.

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• Belief systems influence spatial organization.
• Hierarchy can be communicated through movement.
• Symbolism strengthens interior identity.

Geometric construction of a Derivation of pyramid angle

golden rectangle. from a golden rectangle.

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Upper class citizens would have The middle/lower class would only
homes surrounded by a courtyard, have a simple house, but used the
with lots of features in it. space effectively. They would even
The homes would have decorative sleep on the roof at night.
colors, or pigments along the
outside
The homes would have decorative
colors, or pigments along the
outside

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Ancient Egyptian homes of the poor consisted of a living room, a sleeping room and a kitchen, with
perhaps one or two cellars for storage. These were built with sun-dried bricks, or reed matting
smeared with clay.

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The houses of the elite followed a similar layout to the small houses, although they consisted of a
number of small suites of rooms joined by interlinking corridors.

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These gave the elite owners the privilege of separating the public from the private family quarters.
• Most Ancient Egyptian furniture was
made of wood (often imported as it was
not plentiful in the desert environment
of much of Egypt)
• The furniture was lower to the ground as
most Egyptians worked, ate, and played
games lower to the ground than today.
Higher chairs would have indicated a
higher and more powerful social status.
• Poor often used stools. Three-legged
stools were common with artisans. Those
in wealthier classes would have had
beds, tables, chairs, and chests.
• Poorer classes owned furniture that they
made themselves out of materials they
could obtain, often reeds and rushes.
The wealthy could afford imported
woods, stone, and embellishments like
gold and ivory.

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Ancient Egyptian furniture included two types:
1) Platform furniture, consisting of beds, benches, chairs, stools, and
tables.
2) Box-like furniture consisting of chests and cupboards. Low tables
were used for games, and Egyptian furniture shows the use of
drawers to hold game pieces.

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Viollet-le-Duc,
“Interior of Egyptian
Palace” from The
Habitations of Man
in All Ages, 1876.

A ceremonial throne
from the tomb of
Tutankhamen, c.
1345– 25 B.C.E.

Egyptian bed and

box, c. 1314–1158
B.C.E.

Egyptian chair, c.
1400–1295 B.C.E.

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The beds were rectangular, slanted at an angle with Fabrics and animal skins were used to upholster the
a footboard so that the user would not slip off. bed.
The legs were often carved in the shape of a lion or Beds often featured symbols related to the rising of the
bull. sun. These symbols connected the function of the bed
Ancient Egyptian bed style changed little over its to the religious significance of the sun's journey

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periods and dynasties. happening daily.
• Gold sheathing, ivory inlays, intricate marquetry, inset jewels and fine stones were used
to decorate ancient furniture that was often carved to represent animal forms.
• Chairs sometimes had feet in the shape of lion's paws or crocodile feet;
• Legs and feet were sometimes carved to simulate the legs of a gazelle.
• High backed chairs are seen in many paintings. These were supplemented with cushions
for comfort.
• Commonly incorporated carvings of flowers, animals or birds.

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Stools were the most common items of furniture in Egyptian homes
Egyptians invented the folding stool.
Since these were much used by army commanders in the field, they
became a status symbol, and were often heavily carved and
decorated.
Stools commonly had woven rush seats

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Chests, boxes and cabinets formed an important part of Egyptian
bedroom furnishings. These were highly decorated and were
designed for many different purposes:
• Large chests for storing household items and linen,
• Small compartmentalized ones for storing cosmetics, and miniature
chests with sliding lids and drawers made to hold jewellery.

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Tables were also an important item of Egyptian furniture.
• They were used for eating, writing and playing games.
• They were usually low and easily moveable.
• In many cases, the tops were decorated with marquetry or with
inlaid ivory.
• Carved legs, gold sheathing and ivory inlays were used to decorate
table legs.

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