People began constructing homes with right angles much earlier than previously thought.

For a long time, archaeologists were convinced that Stone Age architecture evolved according to a simple pattern: from round and oval huts of hunter-gatherers to rectangular houses of early farmers. This conclusion was drawn from studying ancient structures worldwide—from the Middle East to South America.

When people began to cultivate the land and transitioned to a settled lifestyle, rectangular designs seemed like a logical choice. They utilize space more efficiently and allow for the creation of multi-room buildings.

However, the authors of a new study from Israel have challenged this linear scenario of “first round, then rectangle.” The researchers discovered that the shapes of buildings from the Middle Stone Age were much more diverse, and the transition from round dwellings to rectangular ones was far more complex than previously assumed.

When studying ancient structures, researchers typically relied on manual measurements and visual assessments. This rendered analyses more subjective, leading to oversimplifications in describing the shapes of buildings. Even irregularly shaped structures could be characterized by scientists as “round” or “rectangular.”

The situation began to change with the development of 3D scanning. Thanks to algorithms, it became possible to measure the shapes of buildings mathematically—through angles and lines.

Recently, a team of Israeli archaeologists led by Hadas Goldgeier from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem developed a method that transforms plans of ancient dwellings into digital models. By analyzing the direction of walls and angles, the algorithm helped assess how closely the shape resembled a perfect circle or square.

In this way, Goldgeier and her colleagues studied 118 ancient structures in 23 Levantine settlements, dating back to 15,000 to 8,500 years before our era.

After analyzing the obtained data, archaeologists found that many of the dwellings on the list were not round but had various shapes, including D-shaped forms and irregular pentagons. The layout of some of these structures even included right angles (90 degrees).

The oldest of the studied buildings were constructed by hunter-gatherers of the Natufian culture approximately 12,500 to 12,000 years ago. This means their architects were already using right angles in buildings two thousand years before rectangular constructions became dominant in the region.

Researchers have debated for decades about the reasons for the shift to rectangular architecture. Many consider practicality to be a key factor: rectangular houses are easier to build, save materials (adjacent houses can share a common wall), and allow for the creation of organized settlements. But if right angles were already in use 12,000 years ago, why didn’t they become the standard right away?

“The answer lies in the complexity of cultural processes. Perhaps the first right angles in dwellings were an experiment, and a mass transition required a change in the entire way of life. For example, rectangular houses are more convenient for storing supplies, which is crucial for agricultural societies. But the Natufians, being hunter-gatherers, did not require this,” explained Goldgeier.

According to the archaeologist, the transition to rectangular buildings was likely the result of trial and error, rather than a sudden insight.

The discovery of the use of right angles in structures long before the rise of agriculture calls into question the idea that the geometry of houses is solely linked to the transition to a settled lifestyle. It is possible that constructing such dwellings required collective efforts, which could have accelerated social changes in hunter-gatherer societies.

The conclusions of Goldgeier's team necessitate a reevaluation not only of the history of ancient architecture but also of our understanding of human development. Hunter-gatherer societies were more inventive than they appear. Right angles in their dwellings are not just a detail but a sign of complex thinking capable of breaking patterns long before the emergence of cities and writing.

The scientific work has been published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia.