Architecture is the art of building. Sometimes people build small buildings like sheds or their own houses. Other times people build very large buildings. These are sometimes temples or churches for the gods, or tombs for important kings or heroes, or palaces for kings and queens, or public buildings like theaters or sports stadiums.
ancient housing | 
temple |
The first houses were built around 7000
BC in
West Asia, but the first big buildings were built much later, around 3000 BC. In
West Asia the first big buildings were the
ziggurats, and in Africa, in Egypt they were the Pyramids.
Pyramids
A little later on, about 1800 BC, both the Egyptians and the Babylonians began to build big royal palaces, richly decorated. Soon the people of Crete and Greece began to imitate these palaces for their own kings and queens. In Egypt, the Pharaohs also built big temples for their gods.
egyptian temple
