The Americas responses

Claire- I also think it is very interesting that the civilization was not discovered until 1911. It makes you wonder if there is more to discover.

Holli-I like how you included information about the peoples social life. 

India and China responses

Katie- I thought your fact about China being the longest living civilization is interesting.
Hailey- I thought your picture of the current use and application was very fitting for the Chinese design, good choice.

The Americas

Most of Aztec pyramids were constructed with very steep stair cases. On the tops of these structures would sometimes be temples. Pyramids were often sometimes used for things like religious gatherings and human sacrifices. This was a time that was very brutal for people and was very violent. People would often sacrificed or killed for sport. People could compete in sport and the loser of the match would be sentenced to death.

Materials used for the ancient Mexican people would vary. Often times construction for the common house structure would consist of wood, straw, stone, sand, lime and clay. For the roofs they would combine straw and lay it over the structure. Floors would either be dirt or stone. The size of these houses would depend on your economic status. There was often one cut out in the wall per home for the display of a religious symbol or artifact. 

extra credit

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2813097/Filled-artifacts-ancient-Mexican-tunnel-lead-royal-tombs.html

China and India

Most people of ancient china could not afford to live in elaborate houses so they instead lived in simple structures made of mud brick. The houses would often face south so that the door would not let in the cold air.

During the Han Dynasty in 200s BC the religion of Buddhism had first come to China from India. The Chinese people began building "pagodas" to house the scared religious artifacts. Shortly after the 200s architects began building temples that were modeled after the design of the "pagodas".

During the Sond Dynasty people began designing the pagodas taller and thinner, they also had fancier finishes with wooded lattices around them. 

The Buddhist religion on India was practiced in structures called stupas. The oldest stupa that still remains is in central India and is from around 250 BC. (Sanchi Stupa)

Some of the buddhist temples in India were carved into the rock along side of cliffs. The temples would have columns along the front of them to withhold the structure. The rooms in the back of the structure would house statues of Budha in them. 

extra credit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgBA1veRlH0

responses to romansque

Holli- I liked how you went into detail about the different types of vaults that were designed and used during the time period. 

 Lisa- I thought the paragraph about the different colors used in the churches. Compared to the outside of the buildings the colors are much brighter. 

responses

savannah- your discussion about the minbars was nice I was not familiar with what those were.

Madelyn- interesting that the first mosaic was Mohammeds farm. I did not know that.

Islamic

Inside of Islamic architecture there are a lot of very detailed mosaics that line the interiors. These very detailed surfaces are often times many different colors. These mosaics could be made of different materials like glass and marble. The very first religious building with the detailed mosaics was the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It was built between 688-692 of glass on both the inside and outside.

The Dome of the Rock is in the shape of a octagon, which was not a designed that had been frequently if at all been done before its time. One modern day example of similar structure would be the Pentagon in Washington DC. Not exactly the same amount of sides but influence of the geometric shape could be taken from the Dome of Rock. Mosaic designed faded out of fashion in Islamic cultures after the 8th century. Work was sometimes done in tile work that was painted but did not have the same great look of the earlier mosaics. 

Romanesque

One very famous romanesque styled piece of architecture is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore of Florence, Italy. The building sit in the center of Florence and was finished being built in 1436. The cathedral has a large dome at the top of it that was designed by engineer Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the building is covered in green, pink and white marble slabs connected to brick. The cathedral is made of three separate buildings and stretches 502 ft and is 376 ft tall at the highest point. 

Designed much like the Pantheon the done of the cathedral is very large but has no opening.  Designer Brunelleschi had trouble figuring out how he could get such a large structure to stand freely. He decided to build with brick rather than stone in order for it to be light enough. The shell was then made of sandstone in marble.

extra credit: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/sculpture-architecture-florence/v/brunelleschi-dome-of-the-cathedral-of-florence-1420-36

Erin- I thought Erin's extra credit video on the Byzantine Empire was very informative and went well with her information provided.

Emma- I thought your information about the chest was interesting. It is amazing that they were able to construct such strong locks during that time.

Byzantine

The Hagia Sophia is the most famous Byzantine monument to be built. It was once a church and now serves as a museum in Istanbul. It began being built in 537 and has served many different roles since then.  It is famous for its massive dome at the top of the building and was the largest cathedral until the Seville Cathedral was finished in 1520.

 In the building there are four pendentives that support the large dome. On the pendentives there are mosaics that are known to be older than 700 years. In the late 1840s architect Gaspard Fossati was working to restore the Hagia Sophia and covered 4 seraphim mosaics. These seraphim mosaics were of God's protector angels with 6 wings were covered with 6-7 layers of plaster. With the work of experts the layers of plaster were able to be removed and the faces of the seraphim were revealed after many of years.

Another interesting thing about the Hagia Sophia are the hidden tunnels underneath the building and covered the city of Constantinople. In the tunnels were secret rooms were treasures were hidden away for safe keeping over the years. There are also burials underneath and the first person known to be buried in the tunnels was Patriarch Athanasius of the 13th century.