At the beginning of the 20th century, the discovery of early cultures exerted a formative influence on modern architecture. This title discusses on civilizations in the South-East Asia, and the pre-Columbian cultures of North and South America as well as perceptions of archaism and primitivism revolutionized the production of art and architecture.

Contents: Thomas W. Gaehtgens: Introduction – Bernd Nicolai/Luis E. Carranza: Modernity and Early Cultures - an outline – Can Bilsel: Architecture in the Museum: Theodor Wiegand and the Reproduction of Antiquity in Berlin’s Pergamon Museum – Johannes Cramer: Rebuilding the Past. The Mesopotamia of Robert Koldewey and Walter Andrae and the Berlin Architecture in the Twenties – Anna Minta: «Gebautes und Gottgeschaffenes». Vorstellungen vom Orient und einem biblischen Hebräertum in der jüdischen Architektur in Palästina – Christian Freigang: Klassik vs. Antiklassik: Zur Rezeption von nichtwestlichen Kulturen in den französischen Architekturdebatten im ersten Drittel des 20. Jahrhunderts – Maria P. Gindhart: Primitive Decoration: Belle Époque Sculpture Programs for Parisian Scientific Institutions – Bernd Nicolai: «Gegenstandslose Architektur». Außereuropäische Hochkulturen im Diskurs der beginnenden klassischen Moderne – Luis E. Carranza: (Mis)readings of Ancient History and Culture in Modern North America – Jorge Francisco Liernur: Native-American Cultures and the Construction of Modern European Architectural Imaginary. Notes for a Preliminary Approach.