Architecture 101

possibly they were erected for astronomical observations or to serve as communal tombs for the upper classes

Vertical supports (posts) were set in the ground and a horizontal structure (lintel) was balanced on top. The posts support the lintel and its loads without crushing or buckling. This method would later be central to ancient Greek architecture and is still used today for doorways set within walls.

Residents would climb over the rooftops and enter their house by a ladder that went through an opening in the roof

The houses were built over the ruins of older houses. Newer buildings were supported by the ones that came before them, raising the houses to different levels. This practice also created open spaces between houses, where citizens could burn their garbage

the houses were densely packed and nestled right next to each other, leaving no gaps. This side-by-side layout of houses formed the perimeter defense wall.

likely inhabited for thousands of years

well-established trading network, agricultural system, and stoneware and ceramics production

vibrant wall paintings

Builders mixed mud and water together with a binder such as reeds or straw and molded them into rectangles. They then set the bricks out in the sun to bake until they were dry. After the bricks were stacked into the desired shape, the walls of the mud brick houses were plastered and painted

They often buried their dead family members beneath the floors of their homes