Textiles in History and Architecture
Silently as a dream the fabric rose, no sound of hammer or saw was there.
--William Cowper, English poet, from "The Task," 1785.
--William Cowper, English poet, from "The Task," 1785.
Construction using textiles or hides is one of the oldest architectural forms in human history. The origins of fabric structures can be traced back over 44,000 years to the ice age and the Siberian Steppe, where remains have been found of simple shelters constructed from animal skins draped between sticks. It is likely that structures of this type were the first dwellings actually constructed by humans. Initially associated with nomadic peoples, one of the earliest and most successful types of fabric structure was the loosely woven tent.
The lightweight portability of fabric structures inevitably brought about a long and close association with the military. By the first century BC the leather tents of the Roman Legions were commonplace, and the later Byzantine armies of the seventh century were recognized specifically by their simple tented shelters.
From these nomadic origins, more permanent urban shading systems evolved. These were initially used to provide cover over streets and domestic courtyards. In more recent times, simple fabric structures are still used to provide decorative shelter for special events, such as circuses and festivals.
Until relatively recently, tent material tended to be highly degradable, and so little physical evidence of early fabric structures remains today. Records of the actual appearance of primitive tents dates from the first century AD when early Persian kibitkas were depicted in a wall painting.
Fabric and hide structures developed and thrived predominately in regions where materials were scarce, or where survival required mobility; both conditions which tend to be brought about by low rainfall. Changing climates brought about slow transition from tents to huts and vice versa, and it was from the resultant process of intermediate modification that an enormous range of composite dwellings evolved. Many of these basic generic forms of structure are still used in remarkably unevolved forms throughout the world today.
The lightweight portability of fabric structures inevitably brought about a long and close association with the military. By the first century BC the leather tents of the Roman Legions were commonplace, and the later Byzantine armies of the seventh century were recognized specifically by their simple tented shelters.
From these nomadic origins, more permanent urban shading systems evolved. These were initially used to provide cover over streets and domestic courtyards. In more recent times, simple fabric structures are still used to provide decorative shelter for special events, such as circuses and festivals.
Until relatively recently, tent material tended to be highly degradable, and so little physical evidence of early fabric structures remains today. Records of the actual appearance of primitive tents dates from the first century AD when early Persian kibitkas were depicted in a wall painting.
Fabric and hide structures developed and thrived predominately in regions where materials were scarce, or where survival required mobility; both conditions which tend to be brought about by low rainfall. Changing climates brought about slow transition from tents to huts and vice versa, and it was from the resultant process of intermediate modification that an enormous range of composite dwellings evolved. Many of these basic generic forms of structure are still used in remarkably unevolved forms throughout the world today.