A short history of architecture

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About this book

"A short history of architecture" by Arthur Lyman Tuckerman is a concise architectural history written in the late 19th century. It sketches the origins, principles, and hallmark features of major building traditions across cultures—moving from prehistoric stoneworks through Egypt, Asia, Greece, Rome, and on to medieval and Renaissance Europe—aimed at general readers and students, with minimal technical jargon. The beginning of this volume sets its purpose: to give the main facts of architectural development plainly, defining architecture as the union of utility and beauty, rooted in construction and decoration, and outlining the periods to be covered. It then surveys early evidence—Celtic megaliths (menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs like Stonehenge) as the first clear post‑and‑lintel thinking—and turns to Egypt’s tombs and temples (the Gizeh pyramids, the Sphinx, mastabahs and Beni Hassan “proto‑Doric” columns, Theban rock tombs, Karnak’s hypostyle hall, and Nubian rock temples), praising technical mastery while noting a rigid conventionality.