File in wrong format?

I am trying to build SDL for Linux on ARM architecure for an embedded
system.

I get this error message:

main/.libs/libarch.a(arch.o): could not read symbols: File in wrong format
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [libSDL.la] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory /home/a0271087/SDL/temp/SDL-1.2.9/src' make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1 make[1]: Leaving directory/home/a0271087/SDL/temp/SDL-1.2.9/src’

How do I set the the type of architecture that I am trying to compile for.

Could you also advice me on how to tell it where to look for X11 includes
and libs?
X11 is not currently on the linux server I am compiling from, but rather on
one of my dirs on my home directory…

Thanks,