One of the interesting developments that is seen in the later Neolithic period in the Middle East is an increased differentiation in domestic architecture, that many archaeologists suggest is symptomatic of an increased desire for privacy.

Now, to break that quite academic statement down…

The Neolithic period in the Near East is defined by the earliest permanent settlements, and 11 000 years ago, these settlements consist of roughly C or U-shaped structures in clusters. Over time though, these structures tend to become rectangular or sub-rectangular, and even start to include internal subdivisions. At some sites, like at Çayönü in Southern Turkey, there are hints that these highly subdivided structures might just have been basements and there were second storey living floors.

Now, around the same time that, more intensive agricultural systems were developing, and sometime in this period, it seems like the idea of private property might have developed. Later periods show households with private storage, while earlier periods seem to have public storage. So, the idea is that increased internal subdivision within houses might have been to provide space for households to store items out of view of their neighbours, or to have work spaces that could not be seen. This might have been to help with community cohesion - if your neighbours can’t compare with you, then they can’t pick a fight!

Archaeologists that are big proponents of this theory include Gary Rollefson, who excavated at the site of ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan, Brian Byrd who worked on the material from the site of Beidha. I would also recommend looking at studies coming out of Catalhoyuk. It is a later time period, but discusses some of the issues of privacy and storage.