Dwellings of ancient people. What did the dwelling of the ancient man look like? How did ancient people build dwellings? How did ancient people defend their homes?

Agree, in the distant childhood of all of us somehow interested in the homes of ancient people. We read about them in books and popular science magazines, watched in the movies, and therefore, willy-nilly at least once in my life, but still imagined how great it would be for them to exchange roles with them for a few hours, finding themselves in that distant world , Full of uncharted and unprecedented.

However, despite the abundance of information, we sometimes can not answer seemingly quite simple questions. For example, about how ancient people protected their homes , where and how they extracted food, whether they made stocks for the winter and whether they had any pets.

The article is aimed at acquainting readers with the topic. After reading carefully all sections, everyone will have more than a detailed idea of what the dwellings of the ancient people of the Stone Age were like.

general information

In order to more clearly imagine what happened many centuries ago, let us reflect on the principle that modern houses are being built and modernized. Many will agree that the choice of material is primarily affected by the climate. In hot countries you are unlikely to find buildings with thick brick (or panel) walls, double glazed windows and additional means of warming. In turn, in the northern regions there are no bungalows and open villas.

The primitive dwelling of ancient people was also built taking into account the weather conditions of this or that region. In addition, of course, the presence of nearby water bodies and the characteristic features of local flora and fauna were taken into account.

Thus, modern specialists say that hunters of the Paleolithic times, in most cases, settled on a slightly intersected, if not even flat terrain, in close proximity to lakes, rivers or streams.

Where can you see the ancient sites?

We all know that caves are parts of the upper part of the earth's crust, located, as a rule, in the mountain regions of the planet. To date, found that most of them once represented the dwellings of ancient people. Of course, regardless of the continent, people settled only in horizontal and flat caves. In vertical, called mines and wells, the depth of which can reach up to one and a half kilometers, it was inconvenient to live and establish a life, or even very dangerous.

Archaeologists have discovered the dwellings of ancient people in different parts of our planet: in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

On the territory of Russia, too, many caves have been discovered. The most famous are Kungur, Big Oreshnaya, Denisova and the whole complex of Tavdinsky.

What did the dwelling of the ancient man look like from within?

There is a fairly common misconception that in the caves the inhabitants of that time were warm enough and dry. Unfortunately, this is not so, but rather the opposite. As a rule, in the fracture of rocks is very cold and humid. And in this there is nothing surprising: such areas are slowly warmed by the sun, and it is impossible to heat a huge cave in this way.

The prevailing around the moist air, which in most cases under the open sky is barely felt, has the property of condensing, falling into a confined space surrounded on all sides by a cold stone.

As a rule, the air in the cave can not be called stale. On the contrary, constant drafts are observed here, formed under the influence of the aerodynamic effect created by the presence of numerous aisles and cracks.

As a result, we can conclude that the very first dwellings of ancient people were small cool caves with constantly wet walls from condensate.

Was it possible to keep warm while spreading a bonfire?

In general, to make a fire in the cave, even with the availability of modern means - a fairly troublesome and not always productive work.

Why? The thing is that, initially, it will take him a long time to choose a place protected from the wind, otherwise the fire will simply go out. Secondly, to heat this way a cave - it's like if you set yourself a goal to heat the whole stadium, armed with a conventional electric heater. It sounds absurd, right?

In this case, one fire is really small, especially if you consider that the cold air will constantly move to your parking place from somewhere inside the stone bag.

Security measures

How did ancient people defend their homes, and was this in principle necessary? Obtain an unambiguous answer to this question scientists have been trying for a long time. It was found that in a warm climate parking lots, as a rule, were temporary. Their man found, pursuing along the paths of wild animals and collecting various kinds of roots. Nearby ambushes were set up and the dead carcasses were fresh. Such houses were not guarded: raw materials were collected, recreation was arranged, thirst was quenched, simple belongings were collected, and the tribe rushed on.

On the territory of present-day Eurasia, most of the land was covered with a thick layer of snow. There was already a need for improvement of a more permanent abode. Dwelling often by persistence, cunning or cunning was won from a hyena or a cave bear. During the winter cold, the entrances to the cave were often piled with stones and branches from inside. This, first of all, was done with the aim of preventing the penetration of the former owner.

Section 6. What was inside the house of the first person?

The dwellings of ancient people, photos of which can often be found in modern popular science literature, were rather unpretentious in their landscaping and content.

Most often inside it was round or oval. According to scientists, on average, the width rarely exceeded 6-8 meters with a length of 10-12 meters. Inside, according to experts, up to 20 people were accommodated. For the upgrading and warming, tree trunks, cut down or broken in the neighboring forest, were used. Often such material descended down the river.

Often the dwellings of ancient people were not a place in the cave, but real huts. The skeleton of the future house was represented by tree trunks inserted in previously excavated depressions. Later on, overlapping branches were superimposed. Of course, because of the constantly walking wind inside it was quite cold and damp, so the fire had to be maintained, day and night. By the way, scientists were surprised to find that tree trunks, playing a key role in construction, were fortified with heavy stones for safety reasons.

There were no doors at all. They were replaced by a fireplace built out of the debris of rocks, which not only heated the dwelling, but also served as a reliable protection against predators.

Of course, in the process of evolution, not only people, but also the places of their parking have changed.

Houses of ancient Palestinians

In the territory of Palestine, modern scientists managed to unearth the most important in the archaeological plan of the city.

It is established that these settlements were mainly built on hills and well fortified both from the outside and from the inside. Very often one of the walls was protected by a cliff or a fast water stream. The city was walled up.

Like many others, this culture in choosing a place was guided by the presence of a nearby source, the water from which was suitable for drinking and for irrigation of crops. In the event of a siege, local residents arranged peculiar underground reservoirs located beneath the dwellings of more prosperous townspeople.

Wooden houses were considered a great rarity. In general, preference was given to stone and adobe buildings. In order to protect the room from soil dampness, the structure was built on a stone foundation.

The hearth was located in the central room directly under a special hole in the ceiling. The second floor and the presence of a large number of windows could afford only the most prosperous citizens.

The dwellings of the upper Mesopotamia

Not everyone knows that here some houses were two or even several stories high. For example, in the chronicles of Herodotus, one can find a mention of buildings in three or even four tiers.

The dwellings were covered by a spherical dome, which was sometimes very high. Above there was a hole allowing air to penetrate inside. By the way, it should be noted that on the first floor there were almost never any windows. And there can be several explanations for this factor. First, the local people tried to protect themselves from external enemies in this way. Secondly, religion did not allow them to flaunt the characteristics of their private lives. Outside, only narrow enough doors and loopholes were located, located at the level of human growth.

Above, terraces were built on brick columns, which performed two functions at once. First of all they were built in order that the owner could rest there, hiding away from human eyes. But that's not all. Such a site allowed to protect the roof from direct sunlight, and hence from overheating. On the top terrace most often were open galleries, planted with flowers and exotic plants.

In this area, the main building material was clay, reed and bitumen. Sometimes in wooden supports made special brick or mosaic tabs, protecting the tree from the ubiquitous ants.

The dwelling of ancient Indian culture

The ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro, located in India, was once a powerful walled city. There was also a sewer system, which from individual houses was sent to the city sewage channel, arranged under the pavement.

In general, houses were preferred to be built from burned bricks, which was considered to be the most durable, and therefore reliable. The outer walls were more than massive, and also had a slight slope inward.

Documents telling about how ancient people built houses, indicate that in the houses of wealthy local residents there was a pylorus's room. Almost always there was a small central courtyard, in which, for the purpose of additional lighting, there were certainly numerous windows of the first and second floors.

The yard was paved with brick, immediately passed the sewage channel. On a flat roof of the house, as a rule, a luxurious terrace was arranged.

Ancient Greek House

Scientists have established that during the Trojan culture most of the dwellings were a square or rectangular structure. In front could be a small portico. In the room or part of the common room, which served as a bedroom, for the beds made special raised platforms.

Foci, as a rule, were two. One was needed for heating, the second for cooking.

The walls were also not quite ordinary. The lower 60 cm laid out of stone, and a little higher used brick-raw. The flat roof was not supported in any way.

The poor preferred to settle in round or oval houses, because They were easier to heat, and the need to have several rooms was missing. The rich in their dwellings assigned space not only to the bedrooms, but also to the dining room and storerooms.