Ancient traditional dwellings of different peoples. National types of housing of the peoples of the world

Shutterstock Wigwam, North America

The ball from the cartoon "Winter in Prostokvashino" actually imagined the wigwam, the national dwelling of the forest Indians of North America, incorrectly. This is a hut on a frame, and it is covered with a mat, bark or branches and most often has a domed shape. Most often it is small, but 25-30 people could live in the largest ones. Now wigwams are mainly used as ceremonial premises.

And what Sharik drew is a tipi, it is really a conical shape, the nomadic Indians of the Great Plains live in such structures.

Igloos / Eskimos

Shutterstock Igloos, Eskimos

Another recognizable image is the ice houses of the Eskimos, which are called igloos. Eskimos live on the territory from Greenland to Alaska and the eastern edge of Chukotka. An igloo is built from wind-compacted snow or ice blocks, the height of the structure is 3-4 m.

You can, of course, just “cut out” the house in a suitable snowdrift, and they do it too.

The entrance can be arranged in the floor, a corridor breaks through to the entrance - this is done if the snow is deep. If the snow is shallow, the entrance is arranged in the wall, and an additional corridor is attached to it from the outside of the blocks.

When the entrance is located below the floor level, it is easier to exchange between carbon dioxide and oxygen flows, while warm air does not leave the premises. The light comes either straight through the walls or through windows made of seal gut and ice. Inside the room is usually covered with skins.

Tent / Sahara

Shutterstock Tent, Sahara

And this type of housing, it would seem, is generally incomprehensible how it does not fall apart. However, if you look closely, you can see a lot of strengthening sticks inside. The African Bedouin tent, also sometimes referred to as the felij, is essentially a blanket of camel or goat hair spread over poles. The wealth of a Bedouin is determined by the number of these poles, the maximum number of such props is 18.

With the help of a canopy, it is divided into two parts, one is assigned to women, the second is occupied by men.

Inside the tent is covered with mats. Despite the apparent simplicity of the design, it takes two to three hours to assemble it. During the day, the tent is completely open: the covers are lifted up, at night the makeshift house is closed, it does not have a single gap - this is the only way to protect yourself from the cold and winds that come to the desert with the onset of darkness.

Minka / Japan

Shutterstock Minka, Japan

Another transforming housing - traditional japanese minka. Such a house was the dwelling of peasants, artisans and merchants, now such huts, as a rule, are found in rural areas.

In different areas, the minka has its own characteristics, but there are also general rules, in particular the use of a rectangular frame structure made of load-bearing pillars and crossbars. In the construction of such houses, cheap and available materials, they are often made from wood, bamboo, grass, straw and clay.

Instead of walls - movable cardboard panels, they allow you to "play" with the layouts.

Earthen floor, with wooden deck, they sleep and eat on it.

Pallazo / Spain

Wikimedia Commons

This is a much more solid building. spanish houses pallazos are made of stone, their height is 4-5 m, diameter is from 10 to 20 m. The house itself is round or oval, the roof is conical, made of a wooden frame sheathed with straw.

There may be no windows at all, or one, purely symbolic, may be made.

This type of housing is especially popular in the Sierra de los Ancares area. Pallazos were used as permanent residences until the 1970s.

Saklia / Caucasus

Shutterstock Saklya, Caucasus

One more stone house- saklya, such structures are used by the inhabitants of the Caucasus. The very first saklis were one-room and without windows, the floor was earthen, in the middle of the room there was a hearth, the smoke came out through the roof.

Now the saklis are more comfortable. Often such houses adjoin closely one to another in the form of terraces, this is precisely due to the peculiarities of the mountainous area.

The roof of the lower building becomes the floor or courtyard of the higher one.

Sakli are often made multi-storey: they could be entire fortresses with numerous loopholes.

Shutterstock Izba, Russia

Well, where without Slavic hut. Houses familiar to everyone are assembled from logs - this is what is called a log house. Initially, the hut was partly underground: part of the log house was underground, part above.

The log cabins could be disassembled and reassembled in another place.

Inside, the oven must be laid out. The familiar chimney on the roof did not appear immediately: at first, the houses were heated “in a black way”, the smoke began to be removed from them later.

A dwelling is a building or structure in which people live. It serves for shelter from the weather, for protection from the enemy, for sleeping, resting, raising offspring, and storing food. The local population in different regions The world has developed its own types of traditional dwellings. For example, among nomads these are yurts, tents, wigwams, tents. In the highlands they built pallasso, chalets, and on the plains - huts, huts and huts. The national types of dwellings of the peoples of the world will be discussed in the article. In addition, from the article you will learn which buildings remain relevant at the present time and what functions they continue to perform.

Ancient traditional dwellings of the peoples of the world

People began to use housing since the time of the primitive communal system. At first it was caves, grottoes, earthen fortifications. But climate change forced them to actively develop the skill of building and strengthening their homes. In the modern sense, "dwellings" most likely arose during the Neolithic, and in the 9th century BC, stone houses appeared.

People sought to make their homes stronger and more comfortable. Now many ancient dwellings of this or that people seem completely fragile and dilapidated, but at one time they served faithfully to their owners.

So, about the dwellings of the peoples of the world and their features in more detail.

Dwellings of the peoples of the north

The conditions of the harsh northern climate influenced the features of the national structures of the peoples who lived in these conditions. The most famous dwellings of the northern peoples are the booth, chum, igloo and yaranga. They are still relevant and fully meet the requirements of the completely difficult conditions of the north.

This dwelling is remarkably adapted to harsh climatic conditions and a nomadic lifestyle. They are inhabited by peoples engaged mainly in reindeer herding: Nenets, Komi, Enets, Khanty. Many believe that the Chukchi live in the plague, but this is a delusion, they build yarangas.

Chum is a tent in the form of a cone, which is formed by high poles. This type of structure is more resistant to gusts of wind, and the conical shape of the walls allows snow to slide over their surface in winter and not accumulate.

They are covered with burlap in summer and animal skins in winter. The entrance to the chum is hung with burlap. So that neither snow nor wind gets under the lower edge of the building, snow is raked up to the base of its walls from the outside.

In the center of it, a hearth is always burning, which is used for heating the room and cooking. The temperature in the room is approximately 15 to 20 ºС. Animal skins are laid on the floor. Pillows, feather beds and blankets are sewn from sheepskins.

Chum is traditionally installed by all family members, from young to old.

• Balagan.

The traditional dwelling of the Yakuts is a booth, it is a rectangular structure made of logs with a sloping roof. It was built quite easily: they took the main logs and installed them vertically, but at an angle, and then attached many other logs of a smaller diameter. After the walls were smeared with clay. The roof was first covered with bark, and a layer of earth was poured over it.

The floor inside the dwelling was trampled sand, the temperature of which never dropped below 5 ºС.

The walls consisted of a huge number of windows, they were covered with ice before the onset of severe frosts, and in summer - with mica.

The hearth was always located to the right of the entrance, it was smeared with clay. Everyone slept on bunks, which were installed to the right of the hearth for men and to the left for women.

• Needle.

This is the housing of the Eskimos, who did not live very well, unlike the Chukchi, so they did not have the opportunity and materials to build a full-fledged dwelling. They built their houses from snow or ice blocks. The building was domed.

The main feature of the igloo device was that the entrance had to be below the floor level. This was done so that oxygen enters the dwelling and volatilizes. carbon dioxide in addition, such an arrangement of the entrance made it possible to retain heat.

The walls of the igloo did not melt, but melted, and this made it possible to maintain a constant temperature in the room of about +20 ºС even in severe frosts.

• Valcaran.

This is the home of the peoples living off the coast of the Bering Sea (Aleuts, Eskimos, Chukchi). This is a semi-dugout, the frame of which consists of whale bones. Its roof is covered with earth. An interesting feature dwelling is that it has two entrances: winter - through a multi-meter underground corridor, summer - through the roof.

• Yaranga.

This is the home of the Chukchi, Evens, Koryaks, Yukaghirs. It is portable. Tripods made of poles were installed in a circle, inclined wooden poles were tied to them, and a dome was attached on top. The whole structure was covered with walrus or deer skins.

Several poles were placed in the middle of the room to support the ceiling. Yaranga with the help of canopies was divided into several rooms. Sometimes a small house covered with skins was placed inside it.

Dwellings of nomadic peoples

The nomadic way of life has formed a special type of dwellings of the peoples of the world who do not live settled. Here are examples of some of them.

• Yurt.

This typical view buildings of the nomads. It continues to be a traditional home in Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Altai.

This is a domed dwelling covered with skins or felt. It is based on large poles, which are installed in the form of lattices. There is always a hole on the roof of the dome for smoke to escape from the hearth. The dome shape gives it maximum stability, and the felt retains its constant microclimate inside the room, not allowing heat or frost to penetrate there.

In the center of the building is a hearth, the stones for which are always carried with them. The floor is laid with skins or boards.

Housing can be assembled or dismantled in 2 hours

The Kazakhs call a camping yurt an abylaisha. They were used in military campaigns under the Kazakh Khan Abylai, hence the name came from.

• Vardo.

This is a gypsy wagon, in fact, it is a one-room house, which is installed on wheels. There is a door, windows, a stove, a bed, drawers for linen. At the bottom of the wagon there is a luggage compartment and even a chicken coop. The wagon is very light, so one horse could handle it. Vardo received mass distribution at the end of the 19th century.

• Felij.

This is the tent of the Bedouins (Arab nomads). The frame consists of long poles intertwined with each other, it was covered with a cloth woven from camel hair, it was very dense and did not let moisture through during the rain. The room was divided into male and female parts, each of them had its own hearth.

Dwellings of the peoples of our country

Russia is a multinational country, on the territory of which more than 290 peoples live. Everyone has their own culture, customs, and traditional forms dwellings. Here are the brightest ones:

• Dugout.

This is one of ancient dwellings peoples of our country. This is a pit dug to a depth of about 1.5 meters, the roof of which was tes, straw and a layer of earth. The wall inside was reinforced with logs, the floor was coated with clay mortar.

The disadvantages of this room were that the smoke could only escape through the door and the room was very damp due to the proximity ground water. Therefore, living in a dugout was not easy. But there were also advantages, for example, it fully provided security; in it one could not be afraid of either hurricanes or fires; it maintained a constant temperature; she did not miss loud sounds; practically did not require repair and additional care; it was easy to build. It was thanks to all these advantages that the dugouts were very widely used as shelters during the Great Patriotic War.

• Hut.

The Russian hut was traditionally built from logs, with the help of an axe. The roof was double pitched. To insulate the walls, moss was placed between the logs, over time it became dense and covered all the large gaps. The walls outside were coated with clay, which was mixed with cow dung and straw. This solution insulated the walls. A stove was always installed in a Russian hut, the smoke from it came out through the window, and only starting from the 17th century did they begin to build chimneys.

• Kuren.

The name comes from the word "smoke", which means "smoke". Kuren was the traditional dwelling of the Cossacks. Their first settlements arose in floodplains (river reed thickets). The houses were built on piles, the walls were made of wattle covered with clay, the roof was made of reeds, a hole was left in it for smoke to escape.

This is the home of the Telengits (the people of Altai). It is a hexagonal structure made of logs with a high roof covered with larch bark. In villages there was always an earthen floor, and in the center - a hearth.

• Kava.

The indigenous people of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Orochs, built a kava dwelling, which looked like a gable hut. The side walls and the roof were covered with spruce bark. The entrance to the dwelling has always been from the side of the river. The place for the hearth was laid out with pebbles and fenced wooden beams which were coated with clay. Wooden bunks were erected against the walls.

• Cave.

This type of dwelling was built in a mountainous area, folded soft rocks(limestone, loess, tuff). In them, people cut down caves and equipped comfortable dwellings. In this way, entire cities appeared, for example, in the Crimea, the cities of Eski-Kermen, Tepe-Kermen and others. Hearths were equipped in the rooms, chimneys, niches for dishes and water, windows and doors were cut through.

Dwellings of the peoples of Ukraine

The most historically valuable and famous dwellings of the peoples of Ukraine are: mud hut, Transcarpathian hut, hut. Many of them still exist.

• Mazanka.

This is an old traditional dwelling of Ukraine, unlike the hut, it was intended for living in areas with a mild and warm climate. It was built from a wooden frame, the walls consisted of thin branches, outside they were smeared with white clay, and inside with a solution of clay mixed with reeds and straw. The roof consisted of reeds or straw. The hut house had no foundation and was not protected from moisture in any way, but served its owners for 100 years or more.

• Kolyba.

In the mountainous regions of the Carpathians, shepherds and lumberjacks built temporary summer dwellings, which were called "kolyba". This is a log cabin that had no windows. The roof was gable, and covered with flat chips. Wooden loungers and shelves for things were installed along the walls inside. There was a hearth in the middle of the dwelling.

• Hut.

This traditional look dwellings of Belarusians, Ukrainians, southern Russian peoples and Poles. The roof was hipped, made of reeds or straw. The walls were built from semi-logs, coated with a mixture horse manure and clay. The hut was whitened both outside and inside. There were shutters on the windows. The house was surrounded by a mound (a wide bench filled with clay). The hut was divided into 2 parts, separated by passages: residential and household.

Dwellings of the peoples of the Caucasus

For the peoples of the Caucasus, the traditional dwelling is the saklya. This is a one-room stone building with earthen floors and no windows. The roof was flat with a hole for smoke to escape. Sakli in the mountainous area formed entire terraces, adjoining each other, that is, the roof of one building was the floor for another. This type of structure served a defensive function.

Dwellings of the peoples of Europe

The most famous dwellings of European peoples are: trullo, palyaso, bordey, vezha, konak, kulla, chalet. Many of them still exist.

• Trullo.

This is a type of dwelling of the peoples of central and southern Italy. They were created by dry laying, that is, the stones were laid without cement or clay. And if you pull out one stone, the structure collapsed. This type of building was due to the fact that it was forbidden to build dwellings in these areas, and if inspectors came, the building could easily be destroyed.

Trullos were one-room with two windows. The roof of the building was conical.

• Pallazo.

These dwellings are characteristic of the peoples who lived in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. They were built in the highlands of Spain. They were round buildings with a cone-shaped roof. The top of the roof was covered with straw or reeds. The exit was always on the east side, the building had no windows.

• Bordei.

This is a semi-dugout of the peoples of Moldova and Romania, which was covered with a thick layer of reed or straw. This is the oldest type of housing in this part of the continent.

• Klochan.

The dwelling of the Irish, which looks like a domed hut built of stone. The masonry was used dry, without any solutions. The windows looked like narrow slits. Basically, such dwellings were built by monks who led an ascetic lifestyle.

• Vezha.

This is the traditional dwelling of the Saami (Finno-Ugric people of northern Europe). The structure was made of logs in the form of a pyramid, in which a smoke hole was left. A stone hearth was built in the center of the vezha, the floor was covered with deer skins. Nearby they built a shed on poles, which was called nili.

• Konak.

A two-story stone house built in Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia. This building in plan resembles the Russian letter G; it was covered with a tiled roof. The house had a huge number of rooms, so there was no need for outbuildings for such houses.

• Kula.

It is a fortified tower built of stone with small windows. They can be found in Albania, the Caucasus, Sardinia, Ireland, Corsica.

• Chalet.

This is a country house in the Alps. It is distinguished by protruding cornice overhangs, wooden walls, Bottom part which was plastered and lined with stone.

Indian dwellings

The most famous Indian dwelling is the wigwam. But there are also such buildings as tipi, wikiap.

• Indian wigwam.

This is the dwelling of the Indians living in the north and northeast of North America. Today no one lives in them, but they continue to be used for various kinds rituals and initiations. It has a domed shape, consists of curved and flexible trunks. In the upper part there is a hole - for the exit of smoke. In the center of the dwelling there was a hearth, along the edges - places for rest and sleep. The entrance to the dwelling was covered with a curtain. Food was cooked outside.

• Tipi.

Home of the Indians of the Great Plains. It has a cone-shaped shape up to 8 meters high, its frame consisted of pines, it was covered with bison skins from above and strengthened at the bottom with pegs. This structure was easily assembled, disassembled and transported.

• Wikipedia.

The dwelling of the Apaches and other tribes living in the southwestern United States and California. This is a small hut covered with branches, straw, bushes. Considered a type of wigwam.

Dwellings of the peoples of Africa

The most famous dwellings of the peoples of Africa are the Rondavel and the Ikukwane.

• Rondavel.

This is the home of the Bantu people. It has a round base, a cone-shaped roof, stone walls, which are fastened with a mixture of sand and manure. Inside the walls were coated with clay. The top of the roof was covered with thatch.

• Ikukwane.

This is a huge domed thatched house, which is traditional for the Zulus. Long rods, reeds, tall grass were intertwined and strengthened with ropes. The entrance was closed with special shields.

Dwellings of the peoples of Asia

The most famous dwellings in China are diaolou and tulou, in Japan - minka, in Korea - hanok.

• Diaolo.

These are multi-storey fortified houses-fortresses that have been built in southern China since the Ming Dynasty. In those days, there was an urgent need for such buildings, as gangs of bandits were operating in the territories. In a later and calmer time, such structures were built simply according to tradition.

• Tulou.

This is also a house-fortress, which was built in the form of a circle or a square. On the upper floors left narrow openings for loopholes. Inside such a fortress there were living quarters and a well. Up to 500-600 people could live in these fortifications.

• Minka.

This is the dwelling of Japanese peasants, which was built from improvised materials: clay, bamboo, straw, grass. Functions internal partitions performed screens. The roofs were very high so that the snow or rain rolled down faster and the straw did not have time to get wet.

• Hanok.

This traditional house Koreans. Clay walls and tiled roof. Pipes were laid under the floor, through which hot air from the hearth went throughout the house.

When our prehistoric ancestors sought the refuge they would later call home, they used Natural resources around you as a means of hiding.

Ancient people lived in caves. But man is the most ingenious creation of nature. And over time he learned to build his own cloisters.

For centuries, people have had to live underground, in trees and under rocks. Over time, a person began to develop skills, he began to use auxiliary means in the construction of his house: wood, metal, brick, stone, ice and animal skins.

Nowadays, in most cases, houses are built of brick and concrete, with a few exceptions, such as change houses, prefabricated buildings and wooden sheds.

However, there are some civilizations in the world that still live in dwellings used by their ancestors hundreds of years ago.

This article talks about some of the most unusual types of dwellings that a person calls home, just like hundreds of years ago (since they were first built).

bamboo houses

Bamboo is a fast growing, evergreen grass that grows in many places around the world.

Bamboo has been used to build homes for thousands of years. This is special durable material which makes it ideal for building.

Constructions modern houses made of bamboo, based on ancient technologies, designed for fast erection housing especially in the disaster areas of Southeast Asia.

Earth houses, as their name suggests, are dwellings built underground and, along with caves, are probably the oldest building method on the planet.

The centuries-old idea of ​​such a design has found acceptance all over the world, and today there are many buildings that are called eco-earth dwellings.

Timber house

Log cabins are well known and are generally used in the construction of holiday homes. erection log houses roots go back many years, to the time when man was able to first cut off large branches of trees. But even today such houses are very popular.

The log house has found its application in the mountains and forests. Such houses were especially common in areas inhabited by settlers in the new lands, such as America and Australia. Today they are a landmark of the European Alps and Scandinavia, here these buildings are called "chalets".

For many centuries adobe houses were used as fast way building dwellings.

These types of dwellings are commonly found in dry and hot countries around the world, but most of all on the African continent.

To build them, soil or clay is mixed with water, sometimes grass is added. Then the fashioned squares are dried in the sun to the required rigidity. After that, they are ready to use just like any other building brick.

tree houses

Did you think that such houses are built only for children?

In fact, the treehouse is quite common in jungle regions around the world, where the area is infested with snakes, dangerous wild animals, and crawling insects.

They are also used as temporary shelter in areas where floods and heavy monsoon rains occur.

tent house

Tents are a popular means of refuge for outdoor enthusiasts and are also regularly used for quick erection.

Large tents were usually made from animal skins and were used as common dwellings by many civilizations over the centuries. The most widespread among nomadic peoples.

Today, tent-like dwellings are used mainly by nomadic peoples, such as the Bedouin tribes of Arabia and the Mongolian pastoralists, whose shelter - yurts have existed for several generations.

Cabana (beach house)

The illustration of a wild boar is located on the territory of a hotel in Ecuador. This small house, which currently functions as a hotel room, is a bamboo frame topped with a grass roof and is a typical representative native Indian architecture of South America.

Huts of Toda

These bamboo and rattan houses come from a village located in South India, where locals have lived in such houses for over a thousand years.

Half a dozen of these buildings will be installed in one of the villages, where each of the buildings is used for some specific purpose, such as living people, keeping animals, cooking, and so on.

Houses of the Toba Batak tribe

These impressive structures, built in the likeness of a boat, are the huts of the indigenous people on the island of Sumatra.

The dwellings are called jabu and have been used by fishing communities for centuries.

Agree, in early childhood, all of us were somehow interested in dwellings. We read about them in books and popular science magazines, watched movies, which means, willy-nilly, at least once in our lives, but still imagined how great it would be on switch roles with them for several hours, finding yourself in that distant world, full of the unknown and unseen.

However, despite the abundance of information, we sometimes cannot answer seemingly completely simple questions. For example, about how they defended their homes, where and how they got food, whether they stocked up for the winter, and whether they had any domestic animals.

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

general information

In order to more clearly imagine what happened many centuries ago, let's think about the principle by which modern houses are built and ennobled. Many will agree that the choice of material is primarily influenced by climate. In hot countries, you are unlikely to find buildings with thick brick (or panel) walls, and additional funds insulation. 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 weather conditions one region or another. In addition, of course, the presence of nearby water bodies and characteristics local flora and fauna.

So, modern experts argue that the hunters of the Paleolithic times in most cases settled on slightly rugged, or even completely flat terrain, in the immediate vicinity of lakes, rivers or streams.

Where can you see ancient sites?

We all know that caves are areas of the upper part earth's crust located, as a rule, in the mountainous regions of the planet. To date, it has been established that most of of which once represented the dwellings of ancient people. Of course, regardless of the continent, people settled only in horizontal and gentle 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 improve life, if not very dangerous.

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

Many caves have also been discovered on the territory of Russia. The most famous are Kungurskaya, Bolshaya Oreshnaya, Denisova and the whole Tavdinsky complex.

What did the dwelling of an ancient person look like from the inside?

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

The prevailing moist air around, which in most cases is under open sky barely felt, tends to condense, falling into a closed space, surrounded on all sides by a cold stone.

As a rule, the air in a cave cannot be called stale. On the contrary, constant drafts are observed here, which are formed under the influence of the aerodynamic effect created by the presence of numerous passages and slots.

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

Could you warm up by lighting a fire?

In general, making a fire in a cave, even with modern means, is a rather troublesome and not always productive task.

Why? The thing is that initially it will take a long time to choose a place protected from the wind, otherwise the fire will simply go out. Secondly, heating a cave in this way is the same as if you set yourself the goal of heating an entire stadium, armed with an ordinary electric heater. Sounds absurd, right?

In this case, one fire is actually not enough, especially considering that cold air will constantly move towards your parking place from somewhere inside the stone bag.

Security measures

How did ancient people protect their homes, and was there a need for this in principle? Scientists have been trying to get a definitive answer to this question for a long time. It was found that, in warm climates, camps were, as a rule, of a temporary nature. A man found them by chasing wild animals along the paths and collecting various kinds of roots. Ambushes were set up nearby and dead carcasses were skinned. Such houses were not guarded: raw materials were collected, rest 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 the improvement of a more permanent monastery. The dwelling was often won back from the hyena by perseverance, cunning or cunning. During the winter cold, the entrances to the cave were often blocked from the inside with stones and branches. This, above all, was done in order to prevent the former owner from getting inside.

Section 6. What was inside the house

The dwellings of ancient people, photos of which can often be found in modern popular science literature, were rather unpretentious in terms of their amenities 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 m. Inside, according to experts, up to 20 people fit. For ennoblement and insulation, tree trunks were used, cut down or broken in a nearby forest. Often such material went down the river.

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

There were no doors at all. They were replaced by a hearth built from rock fragments, which not only heated the dwelling, but also served reliable protection from predators.

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

Houses of ancient Palestinians

On the territory of Palestine, modern scientists have managed to unearth the most important cities in archaeological terms.

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

Like many others, this culture, when choosing a place, was guided by the presence of a nearby source, the water from which was suitable for drinking and for irrigating crops. In case of a siege, local residents arranged a kind of underground reservoirs located under the dwellings of more prosperous citizens.

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

The hearth was located in the central room directly under special hole in the ceiling. Second floor and availability a large number Only the richest citizens could afford windows.

Dwellings of the upper Mesopotamia

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

Dwellings overlapped spherical dome which was sometimes very high. There was a hole at the top to let air in. By the way, it should be noted that there were almost never windows on the first floor. And there can be several explanations for this factor. Firstly, the locals in this way tried to protect themselves from external enemies. Secondly, religion did not allow them to flaunt the features of their private lives. Only rather narrow doors and loopholes, located at the level of human growth, went outside.

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

In this area, clay, reed and bitumen were considered the main building materials. Sometimes special brick or mosaic inlays were made in wooden supports to protect the tree from the ubiquitous ants.

Dwelling of ancient Indian culture

The ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro, located in India, was once surrounded by a powerful wall. There also existed sewer system, which from individual houses was directed to the citywide sewage canal, equipped under the pavements.

In general, they preferred to build houses from burnt bricks, which were considered the most durable and therefore reliable. The outer walls were more than massive, and also had a slight inclination inward.

Documents describing how ancient people built dwellings indicate that there was a porter's room in the homes of wealthy local residents. Almost always there was also a small central courtyard, into which, for the purpose additional lighting, by all means there were numerous windows of the first and second floor.

The yard was paved with bricks, and a sewage channel passed right there. On the flat roof of the house, as a rule, a luxurious terrace was landscaped.

ancient greek house

Scientists have found that during the Trojan culture, most of the dwellings were a structure of a square or rectangular shape. There might have been a small portico ahead. In a room or part of a common room that served as a bedroom, special raised platforms were made for beds.

There were usually two centers. One was for heating, the other for cooking.

The walls were also unusual. The lower 60 cm were laid out of stone, and a little higher, raw brick was used. The flat roof was not supported by anything else.

The poor preferred to settle in round or oval houses, because. they were easier to heat, and there was no need to have several rooms. The rich, in their homes, allotted space not only for bedrooms, but also for the dining room and pantries.

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The house is the beginning of beginnings, in it we are born and go through our life path. Native dwelling gives a feeling of comfort and warmth, protects from bad weather and troubles. It is through him that the character of the people, its culture and features of life are revealed. Appearance dwellings, building materials and method of construction depend on environment, climatic conditions, customs, religion and the occupation of the people who create it. But no matter what housing is built from and no matter how it looks, among all peoples it is considered the center around which the rest of the world is located. Get to know the dwellings different peoples that inhabit our planet.

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Izba is a traditional dwelling of Russians. Previously, the hut was made of pine or spruce logs. The roofs were covered with silver aspen plowshares. A four-walled frame, or cage, was the basis of any wooden building. It consisted of rows of logs stacked on top of each other. The house was without a foundation: repeatedly sorted and well-dried cages were placed directly on the ground, and boulders were rolled to them from the corners. The grooves were laid with moss, so that dampness was not felt in the house. The top had the form of a high gable roof, a tent, an onion, a barrel or a cube - all this is still used in the Volga and northern villages. In the hut, a red corner was necessarily arranged, where there was a goddess and a table (a place of honor for the elders, especially for guests), a woman's corner, or kut, a male corner, or a horse, and a zakut - behind the stove. Furnaces were given a central place in the entire space of the dwelling. A live fire was maintained in it, food was cooked and slept here. Above the entrance, under the ceiling, between two adjacent walls and the stove, a floor was laid. They slept on them, kept household utensils.

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An igloo is an Eskimo dwelling built from blocks of snow, which, due to its porous structure, is a good heat insulator. For the construction of such a house, only the snow is suitable, on which a clear imprint of a person's foot remains. big knives blocks are cut in the thickness of the snow cover different sizes and stack them in a spiral. The building is given a domed character, due to which it retains heat in the room. They enter the igloo through a hole in the floor, to which a corridor dug in the snow below the floor level leads. If the snow is shallow, a hole is made in the wall, and a corridor of snow slabs is built in front of it. Thus, cold winds do not penetrate inside the dwelling, heat does not go outside, and the gradual icing of the surface makes the building very durable. Inside the hemispherical igloo, a canopy of reindeer skins is hung, separating the residential part from the snowy walls and ceiling. The Eskimos build an igloo for two or three people in half an hour. Home of the Eskimos of Alaska. Incision.

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Saklya (Georgian sakhli - “house”) is the dwelling of the Caucasian highlanders, which is often built right on the rocks. To protect such a house from the wind, the lee side of the mountain slope is chosen for construction. Saklu is made of stone or clay. Its roof is flat; with a terraced arrangement of buildings on a mountain slope, the roof of the lower house can serve as a courtyard for the upper one. In each sakla, one or two small windows and one or two doors are cut. Inside the rooms suit small fireplace with a clay pipe. Outside the house, near the doors, there is a kind of gallery with fireplaces, floors covered with clay and covered with carpets. Here, in the summer, women prepare food.

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Stilt houses are built in hot, damp places. Such houses are found in Africa, Indonesia, Oceania. Two- or three-meter piles, on which houses are erected, provide the room with coolness and dryness even during the rainy season or during a storm. The walls are made from woven bamboo mats. As a rule, there are no windows; light penetrates through the cracks in the walls or through the door. The roof is covered with palm branches. In interior spaces usually lead steps decorated with carvings. The doorways are decorated in the same way.

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Wigwams are built by North American Indians. Long poles are stuck into the ground, the tops of which are tied. The structure is covered from above with branches, tree bark, and reeds. And if the skin of a bison or a deer is pulled over the frame, then the dwelling is called a tipi. A smoke hole is left at the top of the cone, covered with two special blades. There are also domed wigwams, when tree trunks dug into the ground are bent into a vault. The skeleton is also covered with branches, bark, mats.

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Dwellings on trees in Indonesia are built like watchtowers - at six or seven meters above the ground. The building is erected on a site prepared in advance tied to the branches of poles. A structure balancing on the branches cannot be overloaded, but it must withstand a large gable roof crowning the building. Such a house is arranged with two floors: the lower one, made of sago bark, on which there is a hearth for cooking, and the upper floor, made of palm boards, on which they sleep. In order to ensure the safety of residents, such houses are built on trees growing near the reservoir. Get into the hut long stairs connected from poles.

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Felij - a tent that serves as a home for the Bedouins - representatives of the nomadic Tuareg people (uninhabited areas of the Sahara desert). The tent consists of a blanket woven from camel or goat hair, and poles supporting the structure. Such a dwelling successfully resists the effects of drying winds and sand. Even such winds as burning Samoum or Sirocco are not afraid of nomads who have taken refuge in tents. Each dwelling is divided into parts. Its left half is intended for women and is separated by a canopy. The wealth of a Bedouin is judged by the number of poles in the tent, which sometimes reaches eighteen.

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Japanese house in the Land of the Rising Sun, from time immemorial, they have been built from three main materials: bamboo, mats and paper. Such a dwelling is most secure during the frequent earthquakes in Japan. The walls do not serve as a support, so they can be moved apart or even removed, they also serve as a window (shoji). In the warm season, the walls are a lattice structure, pasted over with translucent paper that transmits light. And in the cold season they are covered with wooden panels. The inner walls (fushima) are also movable frame-shaped shields covered with paper or silk and help to break large room into several small rooms. Mandatory element The interior is a small niche (tokonoma), where there is a scroll with poems or paintings and ikebana. The floor is covered with mats (tatami), on which they walk without shoes. A tiled or thatched roof has large canopies that protect the paper walls of the house from rain and the scorching sun.

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Yurts are a special type of dwelling used by nomadic peoples (Mongols, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Buryats, Kirghiz). Round, without corners and straight walls, a portable structure, perfectly adapted to the way of life of these peoples. Yurt protects from the steppe climate - strong winds and temperature fluctuations. wooden frame assembled within a few hours, it is convenient to transport. In summer, the yurt is placed directly on the ground, and in winter, on a wooden platform. Having chosen a place for parking, first of all they put stones under the future hearth, and then they set up the yurt according to the routine - the entrance to the south (for some peoples - to the east). The skeleton is covered with felt from the outside, and a door is made from it. Felt coverings keep the hearth warm in summer and keep it warm in winter. From above, the yurt is tied up with belts or ropes, and some peoples - with colorful belts. The floor is covered with animal skins, and the walls inside are covered with cloth. Light enters through the smoke hole at the top. Since there are no windows in the dwelling, in order to find out what is happening outside the house, you need to carefully listen to the sounds outside.

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Yaranga is the home of the Chukchi. The camps of the nomadic Chukchi numbered up to 10 yarangas and were stretched from west to east. The first from the west was the yaranga of the head of the camp. Yaranga - a tent in the form of a truncated cone with a height in the center of 3.5 to 4.7 meters and a diameter of 5.7 to 7-8 meters. The wooden frame was covered with reindeer skins, usually sewn into two panels with straps, the ends of the straps in the lower part were tied to sleds or heavy stones for immobility. The hearth was located in the center of the yaranga, under the smoke hole. Opposite the entrance, at the rear wall of the yaranga, a sleeping room (canopy) was made of skins in the form of a parallelepiped. The average size canopy - 1.5 meters high, 2.5 meters wide and about 4 meters long. The floor was covered with mats, on top of them - with thick skins. The bed headboard - two oblong bags stuffed with scraps of skins - was located at the exit. In winter, during periods of frequent migrations, the canopy was made from the thickest skins with fur inside. They covered themselves with a blanket sewn from several deer skins. To illuminate their dwellings, the coastal Chukchi used whale and seal fat, while the tundra Chukchi used fat melted from crushed deer bones that burned odorless and soot in stone oil lamps. Behind the canopy, at the back wall of the tent, things were kept; at the side, on both sides of the hearth, - products.