Ancient Architecture - Anita

• Ancient Egyptians are primarily known for their architecture creation of pyramids. There are over eighty pyramids in Egypt, all older than 3,000 years. Pyramids are three-dimensional triangular shapes, and are proven to be he strongest types of structures. In Ancient Egypt, they were used as burial grounds for pharaohs, or Egyptian rulers. Riches were buried with the king, so many thieves attempted to rob the pyramids. Architects designing the pyramids were skilled mathematicians, technical drawings, and knowledgeable in he position of the stars and constellations. Their goals were to carefully design the pyramids to align with specific constellations and sunrises. 
• Ancient Greeks were primarily known for their "post and lintel" style of architecture, because it has been extremely influential on the current styles of architecture. The "post and lintel" system is based off of a combination of roofs supported by columns. The column styles vary from Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian designs. Greek architects created precise rules on how to make a building, such as how large it should be, where columns should be located, and how many columns were needed to support the structure. 
• Similar to Ancient Egyptians, Mayans are also know for the styles of pyramids they built, but they have also been known to erect some of the most ancient palaces and other public buildings. There were two types of pyramids, but they were both similar, in the aspect that they both honored God, and consisted of numerous steps. The first type of pyramid is used by priests to climb and make sacrifices to the gods from a designated temple, where the most religious ceremonies were held.. The second type of pyramid was built as a sacred palace to honor a god. Just like Egyptian pyramids, Mayans also built secret doors, tunnels, and traps.
• Unlike all other races, Ancient Chinese followed exactly three styles of architecture: Imperial  Architecture, Commoner's Architecture, and Religious Architecture. There are distinct features used to identify Imperial Architecture for Chinese Emperors, such as yellow tiled roofs and dragons, both royal symbols. The less fortunate would use the Commoner's Architecture, with a shrine to honor deities and ancestors which would also be used during festivals. Other featured rooms were bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. Along with that came farm land. Lastly, the Religious Architecture consisted of Imperial Architecture designs, just with Buddhist features included. There was a front hall consisting of a statue of Buddha, along with a great hall filled with Buddha relics.
• In ancient India, every town would have a walled fortress, along with official buildings, gathering places, and an area dedicated to building homes, which was arranged into blocks. Some houses had one room, whereas others had multiple ones, sometimes even having staircases. There were no grand castles or palaces, so rulers sometimes lived within the towns. These houses also surprisingly had plumbing, with running water from wells. Later on, the architecture became more religious, with more Buddhist, Hindu and temple like designs. Each temple had four sections, and an alter, one for gatherings, one for festivals, and one for offerings. There were 50 shrines built to honor these gods. But the most interesting architecture of this time were the cave-buildings, which were amazing temples and houses carved into the mountains. Lastly, Indian Architecture was inspired by the Islamic, which resulted in the Taj Mahal.