History ofarchitectureThis article describes the history of building types and styles what things were built. See History of construction for the history of construction tools and techniques how things were built.The Architect's Dream, 1840, by Thomas ColeThe history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates.Neolithic architectureExcavated dwellings at Sara !rae"eolithic architecture is the architecture o# the "eolithic $eriod. %n Southwest &sia, "eolithic cultures a$$ear soon a#ter 10000 !C, initially in the 'evant ()re*)ottery "eolithic & and )re*)ottery "eolithic !+ and #rom there s$read eastwards and westwards There are early "eolithic cultures in Southeast &natolia, Syria and %ra, by 8000 !C, and #ood*$roducing societies #irst a$$ear in southeast Euro$e by -000 !C, and Central Euro$e by c. ..00 !C (o# which the earliestcultural com$lexes include the Star/evo*0oros (Cris+, 'inearbanderamic, and 1in/a+. 2ith verysmall exce$tions (a #ew co$$er hatchets and s$ear heads in the 3reat 'aes region+, the $eo$le o# the &mericas and the )aci#ic remained at the "eolithic level o# technology u$ until the time o#Euro$ean contact.The neolithic $eo$les in the 'evant, &natolia, Syria, northern 4eso$otamia and Central &sia were great builders, utili5ing mud*bric to construct houses and villages. &t 6atalh7y8, houses were $lastered and $ainted with elaborate scenes o# humans and animals. The 4editerranean neolithic cultures o# 4alta worshi$ed in megalithic tem$les.%n Euro$e, long houses built #rom wattle and daub were constructed. Elaborate tombs #or the dead were also built. These tombs are $articularly numerous in %reland, where there are many thousand still in existence. "eolithic $eo$le in the !ritish %sles built long barrows and chamber tombs #or their dead and causewayed cam$s, henges #lint mines and cursus monuments.Ancient Near East and MediterraneanAncient MesopotamiaAncient Egyptian architectureCeiling decoration in the $eristyle hall o# 4edinet 9abu, an exam$le o# ancient Egy$tian architecture%n &ncient Egy$t and other early societies, $eo$le believed in the omni$otence o# 3ods, with many as$ects o# daily li#e were carried out with res$ect to the idea o# the divine or su$ernatural and the way it was mani#est in the mortal cycles o# generations, years, seasons, days and nights. 9arvests #or exam$le were seen as the benevolence o# #ertility deities. Thus, the #ounding and ordering o# the city and her most im$ortant buildings (the $alace or tem$le+ were o#ten executed by $riests or even the ruler himsel# and the construction was accom$anied by rituals intended to enter human activity into continued divine benediction.&ncient architecture is characteri5ed by this tension between the divine and mortal world. Cities would mar a contained sacred s$ace over the wilderness o# nature outside, and the tem$le or $alace continued this order by acting as a house #or the gods. The architect, be he $riest or ing, was not the sole im$ortant #igure: he was merely $art o# a continuing tradition.Greek architectureTem$le o# Concordia in &grigento, Sicily.The architecture and urbanism o# the 3rees and ;omans were very di##erent #rom those o# the Egy$tians or )ersians in that civic li#e gained im$ortance. #rom S$anish to 3ree, 4acedonian to Carthaginian > ;oman rule had extended itsel# across the breadth o# the nown world and the myriad $aci#ied cultures #orming this ecumene $resented a new challenge #or =ustice.?ne way to loo at the unity o# ;oman architecture is through a new*#ound reali5ation o# theory derived #rom $ractice, and embodied s$atially. Civically we #ind this ha$$ening in the ;oman forum (sibling o# the 3ree agora+, where $ublic $artici$ation is increasingly removed #rom the concrete $er#ormance o# rituals and re$resented in the decor o# the architecture. Thus we #inally see the beginnings o# the contem$orary $ublic s,uare in the @orum %ulium, begun by Aulius Caesar, where the buildings $resent themselves through their #acades as re$resentations within the s$ace.&s the ;omans chose re$resentations o# sanctity over actual sacred s$aces to $artici$ate in society, so the communicative nature o# s$ace was o$ened to human mani$ulation. "one o# which would have been $ossible without the advances o# ;oman engineering and construction orthe newly #ound marble ,uarries which were the s$oils o# war: inventions lie the arch and concrete gave a whole new #orm to ;oman architecture, #luidly enclosing s$ace in taut domes and colonnades, clothing the grounds #or im$erial rulershi$ and civic order. This was also a res$onse to the changing social climate which demanded new buildings o# increasing com$lexity> the coliseum, the residential bloc, bigger hos$itals and academies. 3eneral civil constructionsuch as roads and bridges began to be built.The ;omans widely em$loyed, and #urther develo$ed, the arch, vault and dome (see the ;oman &rchitectural ;evolution+, all o# which were little used be#ore, $articularly in Euro$e.B1C Their innovative use o# ;oman concrete #acilitated the building o# the many $ublic buildings o# o#ten un$recedented si5e throughout the em$ire. These include ;oman tem$les, ;oman baths, ;oman bridges, ;oman a,ueducts, ;oman harbours, trium$hal arches, ;oman am$hitheatres, ;oman circuses $alaces, mausolea and in the late em$ire also churches.;oman domes $ermitted construction o# vaulted ceilings and enabled huge covered $ublic s$acessuch as the $ublic baths lie !aths o#