1. How and why did primitive man decorate caves
From mans earliest beginnings, individuals have aspired to be different and express themselves in unique ways. This could be achieved by decoration, which might include his body, clothing, or his home.
For primitive man, the first and oldest form of decorating caves was rock carving. This was followed by use of sculptures made of bone and wood, cave paintings and ceramic pottery in his cave dwellings. Later, metallurgical crafts such as crude bronze and gold figurines were used to adorn his caves.
To etch into the rock, bone and wood, the prehistoric people used sharp tools such as a sharp stone or a spear. Metals, too, were shaped using these rudimentary tools. For paint or color, they used natural substances such as berries, clay, soot, charcoal and other pigments. The tools used to apply the paint included straw, leaves, moss, hair and sticks. They may have even used hollow bones or reeds to spray the color on. All in all, primitive man made full use of the available resources to him to decorate his home and make it more inhabitable.
Decorating could also include bringing plants into the cave and making a small pool of fresh water in the cave, which are essentially acts to make his life easier but can be viewed as decoration methods. While, as mentioned before, there were many ways to decorate caves, historians have discovered that painting cave walls was a popular method amongst the other options. Primitive man decorated his caves primarily by painting animals and human figures on their walls. He made cave paintings to depict their lives, or record special occasions, becoming the first interior decorator.
Once their basic necessities of food and shelter were fulfilled, humans turned to other things such as beautification of their dwelling. They chose animals as the principal subjects of their paintings as the animals were important to them they depended on these animals for their existence and, at the same time, feared them. The paintings themselves could either be a medium to document their hunting expeditions or merely to signify the importance of the animals in their lives. Cavemen also used drawings to rehearse the events of a hunt. Drawing wild beasts, the cavemen used them as targets to practice their hunting skills. Another theory is that the prehistoric man may have considered this magic to help the hunters. They thought that perhaps if they could capture the image of the animal, they could capture the animal itself in a hunt.
By decorating their caves, humans tried to lend individuality to the caves they stayed in. While they must have always picked practical decoration methods that did not prove to be inconvenient, beautifying their caves allowed them to give a personal touch to their surroundings. Decorating their homes gave humans a feeling of safety and comfort in their otherwise dark and damp dwelling. They tried to satisfy their aesthetic sensibilities by creating colorful and detailed paintings. The paintings and other means of decoration allowed humans to leave behind a mark on inhabited territory.
Now, at that time, humans did not have any language for communication purposes. Through their paintings and other decoration methods, they finally found a way of expressing themselves. So we can infer that humans did not decorate their caves with the sole purpose of making their homes more inhabitable or even for the sake of art. We can consider that, for the primitive man, decoration of his cave was more of a creative activity of self expression rather than for the purpose of decoration. It was a way to communicate their thoughts to people around them and to the generations ahead.
2. How and why did the Ancient Egyptians decorate the interiors of the pyramids
The ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids to serve as royal tombs. These massive structures were built without the use of cranes, pulleys, or lifting tackle and today stand as testaments to the engineering skills of the ancient Egyptians. The interiors of the pyramids were designed to be functional for the departed pharaoh in his afterlife.
The vast majority of the blocks used to build the pyramids weighed a few tons and were transported on a system of wooden sledges, ramps and ropes. The pyramid required a certain amount of interior design and construction for the burial chambers. The blocks that protected the burial chamber internally were huge blocks of granite and the tomb also had a heavy sarcophagus (similar to a coffin), within which the body of the pharaoh was placed. To complete the difficult task of bringing these to the pyramid site, huge teams of men, a system of ropes, wooden sledges and overseers guiding the process was probably used. There are still marks visible on the blocks and in the interior of the pyramid that were used to guide the blocks into position.
The pyramid typically consisted of the kings chamber, the queens chamber and the burial chamber. The interior of Egyptian pyramids consisted of passageways leading to rooms, built either underground or deep inside the pyramid, where the pharaohs body, with rich gifts for the afterlife, was laid to rest. After embalming and mummification, the body of the pharaoh was placed in a sarcophagus and carried to the pyramid on a sledge or ceremonial boat. Once inside the pyramid, priests placed the sarcophagus in the burial chamber and also saw that the pharaoh was provided with all that he might need in the afterlife such as food and wine, and gold or other precious objects.
The pharaoh had a god like image in ancient Egypt and so his burial tomb was expected to be a lavish and intricate structure. The ancient Egyptians decorated the interiors of the pyramids keeping in mind that their pharaoh would see them in his afterlife. The interiors of the pyramids contained texts carved on the walls.
These included a collection of hymns, spells, instructions on how to act in front of the gods, and rituals, now called the Pyramid Texts. The walls of the burial chamber specifically were painted with scenes of daily life, or with spells that the ancient Egyptians believed would ensure the safety of pharaohs soul. References to the latest happenings in Egypt were also engraved on the walls of the pyramids.
The passageways of the pyramids were designed to be confusing, and some led to dead ends. This was to prevent grave-robbers who had managed to break into the pyramid to find the burial chambers and steal the lavish gifts stored for the pharaohs afterlife. So the interior of most huge pyramids contain fantastic life-size mazes complete with secret sliding doors, false passageways, and hidden chambers
Workmen sealed the chamber and as they left the pyramid, they sealed the entrance, hiding it completely by filling it with the same limestone slabs that covered the rest of the pyramid.
The whole concept of burying the pharaoh in the pyramid and consequently at ground level or below is in accordance with a fundamental principle of Egyptian religion the body to earth, the spirit to the sky.
3. How and why do you as future professionals design interiors
The interior of a place has an immense conscious and subconscious effect on a persons mind. It has the ability to inspire and motivate- and yes, saying that would not be an exaggeration at all. The colors, the placement of furniture, the lighting of a place- all play an important role in the overall effectiveness of it.
As a future professional designing interiors, I understand that my first and foremost duty is to identify the objective of my project. Once I clearly understand what is expected, I can go about creating the design for the interior. I realize that every race and every age, acted upon by all sorts of influences- climatic, social, economic, commercial, political, historic, evolves its own ideas of home and comfort and appropriate decorative surroundings as a necessary part of home and comfort. I appreciate this and understand that the very ideas of home and comfort, which one might consider more fixed and permanent, are in fact not.
I design interiors because I like to improve and beautify. It gives me great satisfaction when I design because it allows me to combine my proficiency in judgment and creativity as designing requires a practical and artistic approach.
From mans earliest beginnings, individuals have aspired to be different and express themselves in unique ways. This could be achieved by decoration, which might include his body, clothing, or his home.
For primitive man, the first and oldest form of decorating caves was rock carving. This was followed by use of sculptures made of bone and wood, cave paintings and ceramic pottery in his cave dwellings. Later, metallurgical crafts such as crude bronze and gold figurines were used to adorn his caves.
To etch into the rock, bone and wood, the prehistoric people used sharp tools such as a sharp stone or a spear. Metals, too, were shaped using these rudimentary tools. For paint or color, they used natural substances such as berries, clay, soot, charcoal and other pigments. The tools used to apply the paint included straw, leaves, moss, hair and sticks. They may have even used hollow bones or reeds to spray the color on. All in all, primitive man made full use of the available resources to him to decorate his home and make it more inhabitable.
Decorating could also include bringing plants into the cave and making a small pool of fresh water in the cave, which are essentially acts to make his life easier but can be viewed as decoration methods. While, as mentioned before, there were many ways to decorate caves, historians have discovered that painting cave walls was a popular method amongst the other options. Primitive man decorated his caves primarily by painting animals and human figures on their walls. He made cave paintings to depict their lives, or record special occasions, becoming the first interior decorator.
Once their basic necessities of food and shelter were fulfilled, humans turned to other things such as beautification of their dwelling. They chose animals as the principal subjects of their paintings as the animals were important to them they depended on these animals for their existence and, at the same time, feared them. The paintings themselves could either be a medium to document their hunting expeditions or merely to signify the importance of the animals in their lives. Cavemen also used drawings to rehearse the events of a hunt. Drawing wild beasts, the cavemen used them as targets to practice their hunting skills. Another theory is that the prehistoric man may have considered this magic to help the hunters. They thought that perhaps if they could capture the image of the animal, they could capture the animal itself in a hunt.
By decorating their caves, humans tried to lend individuality to the caves they stayed in. While they must have always picked practical decoration methods that did not prove to be inconvenient, beautifying their caves allowed them to give a personal touch to their surroundings. Decorating their homes gave humans a feeling of safety and comfort in their otherwise dark and damp dwelling. They tried to satisfy their aesthetic sensibilities by creating colorful and detailed paintings. The paintings and other means of decoration allowed humans to leave behind a mark on inhabited territory.
Now, at that time, humans did not have any language for communication purposes. Through their paintings and other decoration methods, they finally found a way of expressing themselves. So we can infer that humans did not decorate their caves with the sole purpose of making their homes more inhabitable or even for the sake of art. We can consider that, for the primitive man, decoration of his cave was more of a creative activity of self expression rather than for the purpose of decoration. It was a way to communicate their thoughts to people around them and to the generations ahead.
2. How and why did the Ancient Egyptians decorate the interiors of the pyramids
The ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids to serve as royal tombs. These massive structures were built without the use of cranes, pulleys, or lifting tackle and today stand as testaments to the engineering skills of the ancient Egyptians. The interiors of the pyramids were designed to be functional for the departed pharaoh in his afterlife.
The vast majority of the blocks used to build the pyramids weighed a few tons and were transported on a system of wooden sledges, ramps and ropes. The pyramid required a certain amount of interior design and construction for the burial chambers. The blocks that protected the burial chamber internally were huge blocks of granite and the tomb also had a heavy sarcophagus (similar to a coffin), within which the body of the pharaoh was placed. To complete the difficult task of bringing these to the pyramid site, huge teams of men, a system of ropes, wooden sledges and overseers guiding the process was probably used. There are still marks visible on the blocks and in the interior of the pyramid that were used to guide the blocks into position.
The pyramid typically consisted of the kings chamber, the queens chamber and the burial chamber. The interior of Egyptian pyramids consisted of passageways leading to rooms, built either underground or deep inside the pyramid, where the pharaohs body, with rich gifts for the afterlife, was laid to rest. After embalming and mummification, the body of the pharaoh was placed in a sarcophagus and carried to the pyramid on a sledge or ceremonial boat. Once inside the pyramid, priests placed the sarcophagus in the burial chamber and also saw that the pharaoh was provided with all that he might need in the afterlife such as food and wine, and gold or other precious objects.
The pharaoh had a god like image in ancient Egypt and so his burial tomb was expected to be a lavish and intricate structure. The ancient Egyptians decorated the interiors of the pyramids keeping in mind that their pharaoh would see them in his afterlife. The interiors of the pyramids contained texts carved on the walls.
These included a collection of hymns, spells, instructions on how to act in front of the gods, and rituals, now called the Pyramid Texts. The walls of the burial chamber specifically were painted with scenes of daily life, or with spells that the ancient Egyptians believed would ensure the safety of pharaohs soul. References to the latest happenings in Egypt were also engraved on the walls of the pyramids.
The passageways of the pyramids were designed to be confusing, and some led to dead ends. This was to prevent grave-robbers who had managed to break into the pyramid to find the burial chambers and steal the lavish gifts stored for the pharaohs afterlife. So the interior of most huge pyramids contain fantastic life-size mazes complete with secret sliding doors, false passageways, and hidden chambers
Workmen sealed the chamber and as they left the pyramid, they sealed the entrance, hiding it completely by filling it with the same limestone slabs that covered the rest of the pyramid.
The whole concept of burying the pharaoh in the pyramid and consequently at ground level or below is in accordance with a fundamental principle of Egyptian religion the body to earth, the spirit to the sky.
3. How and why do you as future professionals design interiors
The interior of a place has an immense conscious and subconscious effect on a persons mind. It has the ability to inspire and motivate- and yes, saying that would not be an exaggeration at all. The colors, the placement of furniture, the lighting of a place- all play an important role in the overall effectiveness of it.
As a future professional designing interiors, I understand that my first and foremost duty is to identify the objective of my project. Once I clearly understand what is expected, I can go about creating the design for the interior. I realize that every race and every age, acted upon by all sorts of influences- climatic, social, economic, commercial, political, historic, evolves its own ideas of home and comfort and appropriate decorative surroundings as a necessary part of home and comfort. I appreciate this and understand that the very ideas of home and comfort, which one might consider more fixed and permanent, are in fact not.
I design interiors because I like to improve and beautify. It gives me great satisfaction when I design because it allows me to combine my proficiency in judgment and creativity as designing requires a practical and artistic approach.
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