I was watching the Netflix show Vikings and noticed that a man and women went into a room to have sex with curtains around. A nearby bath was being filled by a maid(?) but the couple wasn’t interrupted.
Made me question when did cultures start having sex “privately” or sneak away from public view for it. Was it because of shame? How was privacy thought of in early and middle history?
The only other contrasting scene coming to mind was the rape/sex in the dothraki tribe in game of thrones which was in public view of others or open space. I know that’s fictional but given other large mammals mate in full view of others, how did humans evolve to have sex in private?
Thank you!
This previously asked question from u/myatomsareyouratoms might shed some light: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/24uikm/when_did_people_start_having_sex_in_private_or_is/
So I have an add-on question that may be its own topic. We know that humans tend to get arosed by observing others having sex. We also know that sexual taboos form a not insignificant part of the porn industry. Given these premises, how frequent are incidents of incest in "pre-private" societies? Compared to ours?