A Roof Over One's Head

While the majority of publications on the history of architecture begin with the Egyptian pyramids or Neolithic Mesopotamia, anthropologist Jan Jelínek (1926-2004) explores the true roots of architecture. The author introduces readers to archaeological evidence of the earliest human building activity from 300,000 years ago, to the structures of the first farmers of the later Stone Age, and to the architecture of subsequent prehistoric periods, namely the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Attention is also devoted to elements of so-called primitive architecture that survive in certain places to this day, or that are of interest for their inventiveness - in terms of materials, form, and other qualities - even in the modern era, when we so often look back in order to understand our needs and interests, and to know ourselves and contemporary humanity as fully as possible. The book brings together a wealth of material, much of it published here for the first time. It is the result of the author's lifelong experience and extensive knowledge of the subject and its literature. The outcome is a work of fundamental significance for all those with an interest in architecture and its origins, in how human beings managed to protect themselves against the adversity of their environment in a wide variety of conditions, in who we are and how we have developed culturally.