54 architecture: Africa which were both homes and military fortresses, and, again, enhanced the prestige of their owners In Europe early medieval architecture often continued to reflect the building styles of ancient Rome and therefore is called Romanesque architecture The Romanesque style was later replaced by the Gothic style; over the centuries, however, many buildings had to be refurbished or expanded, so many reflect both of these styles Architecture served religious purposes in other parts of the world as well In medieval China pagodas—built to look like mountains ascending to heaven—reflected a Buddhist influence Similarly, in India numerous cave temples and monasteries were built under the influence of Hinduism Many of these cave temples were carved out of the rock rather than built with individual stones Stupas were stone structures built to honor the Buddha In Burma (now called Myanmar), some 13,000 temples were built, and in Cambodia the magnificent temple called Angkor Wat remains as a monument to Asian architecture At the same time, Africa constructed numerous religious edifices Among the most prominent are the monasteries of Lalibela in Ethiopia, built by the Ethiopian king of the same name who wanted his city to be a major religious center Lalibela is particularly known for its dozen churches hewn out of rock The city is also home to numerous chapels and other religious structures, all fashioned and arranged to reflect the major events of Christianity in the Holy Land of the Middle East Meanwhile, as Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and southern Europe as far as Spain, its adherents constructed numerous mosques, along with hospitals, schools, and other structures, all designed to give honor to Allah, the God of Islam In the Americas, particularly in Mesoamerica and South America, great templepyramids were built Not all medieval architecture, of course, served religious purposes A great deal of architectural skill was applied to government and other public buildings—and to what today would be called urban planning Few such buildings could be found in North America, but Mesoamerica and South America were the sites of numerous palaces and palace complexes that served government and administrative purposes The Maya of Mesoamerica, for example, were noted for their architectural achievements in such places as the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Guatemala, parts of Honduras, El Salvador, and the Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco Mayan architecture features large, stepped platforms topped by stone structures; one-story palaces that were administrative centers or royal residences Later, both the Aztec in Mesoamerica and the Inca of South America built large and impressive stone structures for these purposes Similar public structures can be found in Africa, such as the Palace at Ife in Nigeria In Asia the Chinese built numerous palaces and other public buildings as imperial centers The medieval period saw the emergence of distinctive styles of architecture and the development of new architectural techniques In the early centuries of the period the Romanesque style was marked by rounded arches, thick walls to support the arches, barrel vaults, and cross-shaped piers Later, the Gothic style made use of innovative techniques such as the pointed arch, ribbed vaults, and the flying buttress Many churches and other buildings throughout Europe reflect both styles because Romanesque buildings were later expanded or portions of them were rebuilt Asia, too, developed distinctive architectural styles, which were found not only in public buildings but in homes as well Chinese architects relied primarily on wood rather than stone Thus, Chinese buildings, from small homes to grand imperial palaces, tended to be frame structures, so that the load-bearing parts were frames consisting of posts with beams laid across Walls rarely bore any weight other than their own, which meant that builders could experiment with materials and ornamentation Also, posts needed to be thick and sturdy, and the interiors of large buildings often needed many posts to bear the weight not only of the stories above but of the typically very heavy Chinese roof Other Asian countries, such as Japan and India, made use of Chinese styles and techniques but adapted them to their own tastes In contrast, the Mesoamericans, like the Europeans, relied on stone The city of Teotihuacán influenced the development of architecture throughout Mesoamerica, especially through the talud-tablero style This architectural technique is often used in pyramid construction, where a platform (talud) sits on and juts over a sloping wall (tablero) Ornamentation became important to the architecture of many parts of the medieval world In Europe this ornamentation typically took the form of iconography, referring to statues, paintings, and stained-glass windows that depicted important people and events in the history of Christianity In the Islamic world, though, depiction of human figures was generally forbidden in many contexts, so Islamic architects relied on abstract geometric designs and intricate mosaics to ornament their buildings Throughout the world, formal gardens and landscape architecture added beauty to the functionality of buildings Africa by Bradley Skeen The architecture of the Nile Valley and Ethiopian plateau saw dynamic development and the transformation of tradition into new forms Over most of the continent architectural