THIS LANDMARK STUDY TRACES THE BEGINNINGS OF ARCHITECTURE BY LOOKING AT THE LATEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH

From the dawn of human society, through early civilizations, to pre-Columbian American societies, Architecture of First Societies traces the different cultural formations that developed in various places throughout the world to form the built environment. It is the first book to explore the beginnings of architecture from a global perspective.

Viewing ancient cultures through a lens of both time and geography, this history of early architecture brings its subjects to life with full-color photographs, maps, and drawings. The author cites the latest discoveries and analyses in archaeology and anthropology and discovers links to the past by examining how indigenous societies build today. “Encounters with Modernity” sections examine some of the political issues that village life and its architectural traditions face in the modern world.

This fascinating and engaging tour of our architectural past:

• Fills a gap in architectural education concerning early mankind, the emergence of First Society people, and the rise of early agricultural societies
• Presents the story of early architecture, written by the coauthor of the acclaimed A Global History of Architecture
• Uses the most current research to develop a global picture of human interaction and migration
• Features color and black-and-white photos and drawings that show site conditions as well as huts, houses, and other buildings under construction in cultures that still exist today
• Highlights global relationships with color maps
• Analyzes topics ranging in scale from landscape and culture to building techniques
• Helps us come to terms with our own modern approaches to historical conditions and anthropological pasts

Architecture of First Societies is ideal reading for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of the strong relationships between geography, ecology, culture, and architecture.

MARK JARZOMBEK is Associate Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning and Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture at MIT. He is the author of several books, and coauthor with Francis D.K. Ching and Vikramaditya Prakash of A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part One: Foundations

Chapter 1: the South African Cultural Emergence

Chapter 2: Late Pleistocene - Early Holocene

Chapter 3: Savanna- and Forest Peoples Today

Chapter 4: the Great Northern Continuum: Part 1

Chapter 5: the Great Northern Continuum: Part 2

Chapter 6: the Mound and Plaza Societies of the Americas

Part Two: Plants, Animals and Rituals

Chapter 7: Introduction: Village Worlds

Chapter 8: Agro-Pastoral Transitions

Chapter 9:  Expansion into Europe

Chapter 10: Cattle-Tending Societies

Chapter 11: Emergence of Central and South American Agriculture Societies

Part Three: Global Expansions

Chapter 12: Africa and Eurasia Transformed

Chapter 13: the World of Portable Architecture

Chapter 14: East Asian Rice Continuum

Chapter 15: African Transformations

Chapter 16: the Arrival of Agro-Centrism in the North America Coda