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DEPARTMENT of ARCHITECTURE
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ARCH 170A |
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Study Aid 19: November 4 LECTURE 20: MASONRY STRUCTURES IN NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, AND AFRICA Stone masonry types: undressed rubble-work; dressed rubble work, ashlar (cut stone) laid in horizontal courses (coursed ashlar) or without continuous joints (broken ashlar). Roman types: ex. Opus quadratum. Anasazi Civilization of southwest United States, c. 500-1300 CE. Greatest masons of ancient North America.[Map of North American Indian Tribes] Sandstone structures. Mesa Verde, overlooking Montezuma and Mancos Valleys, Four Corners, abandoned around 1300 CE. First settlers lived in pit houses on mesa about 500 then moved to cliff dwellings around 1200 CE. Example of cliff dwellings: Cliff Palace, 217 rooms, 23 kivas, pop. of 200. Faces south, water nearby. [aerial view, reconstruction of exterior, ruins of exterior, general view from ruins, general view c. 1100-1300, general view c. 1200-1300, Spruce Tree House Kiva, 1200-76 (interior)] Kiva: round underground sacred structure. In kivas note: ventilator shaft, ventilator opening, deflector, firepit, sipapu, banquettes or niches, pilasters, cribbed ceiling, ladder entry. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: Group of 400 settlements with a population of about 5000, occupied beginning 900s. Ecology of canyon dependent on dry and irrigated farming, drought in 1130-1180 may have ended site occupation. Totally abandoned 1300. Extended trading outposts and roads indicating canyon was hub of political and economic system. Masonry architecture, walls made of rubble cores with mud mortar and outer surfaces of coursed ashlar masonry walls. [prototypical pueblo structure, road into site view of the mountains, National Park (brochure), water storage system] Example of settlement: Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, 900s-1200. Semicircular design facing south, five-story height at rear, 600 rooms, population of around 1000. Masonry construction with wooden supports, vigas, holding up roofs. Doors, wind vents, and roof entrances present. Metates and manos found on plaza, indicating it was work place. Great kivas for large ceremonials, and 37 small kivas.[aerial view of Great House Complex, exterior ruins of masonry walls, plan, reconstruction, aerial view, distant view with Pueblo Alto from Casa Rinconada; also The Tower Canyon de Chelly, AZ] Tiwanaku, South America near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Occupied 400 BCE, peak occupation 375-700 CE, collapse 1000. On altiplano, raised beds for intensive agriculture and canals for water made occupation possible. Pop. 30,000-60,000. Site note: shallow non-defensive moat, giant pyramid (Akapana), sunken courtyard (semi-subterranean temple), shrine enclosure (Kalassaya) outside moat Puma Punka. Gateways (Sun Gate) mark transitions between monuments. [Puerta del Sol relief] Masonry of fine ashlar, dressed andesite and sandstone. Ethiopia, Africa: Ethiopia’s strategic position and distinctive geography makes it both a crossroads and an isolated place at various times in its history. The Axumite state, 1c ce-, with major port at Adulis and capital at Axum. Ethiopian building traditions already in evidence at Axum: “palaces” (exs.: Enda Mika’el, “Dongur Mansion,” ca. 7c ce) with indented plans, stepped bases, stelae [elevation granite stelae, detail fallen stelae] ; monolithic stone building. Conversion to Coptic Christianity ca. 333 under King Ezana makes church building an important state enterprise of the post-Axumite Ethiopia. The Zagwe dynasty (12-13c), with its “mobile capitals” and its holy city at Roha, renamed Lalibela. Monolithic stone churches carved from volcanic tufa: [Beta Maryam (House of Mary)], Bet Giorgis/Saint George, ca. 11-13c, Lalibela. Note construction techniques, decoration, cruciform plan. [plan ground level, isometric, exterior, exterior surrounded by priests, another exterior, and another exterior, interior dome, flat ceilings, aerial view, Church of Abba Libanos] Southern Africa: Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe begun 1130 CE. Height of power 14th century. Civic center of ancestors of modern Shona people. Population of around 10,000. Multiple coursed granite walls enclose perishable thatched dakha huts. Great enclosure (dzimbahwe; madzimbahwe, plural) probably royal palace, Africa's largest masonry structure outside Egypt. Pastoral people raising cattle trading with east coast of Africa. Villages, regional centers, and capital in GZ. Note: Hill Ruin [interior conical tower Hill Ruin, site plan] (West Enclosure interior, East Enclosure), Elliptical Building/Great Enclosure, valley homesteads, towers and monoliths.[site plan, aerial view, masonry steps Eliptcal building, outer wall, exterior reconstruction drawing, with conical tower] |
