ABSTRACT
Whatever one’s beliefs about the origin of humans, anthropological and archaeological evidence reveals we always lived together for mutual support and survival, with rare hermitic individuals choosing to live alone in pursuit of what they believed to be spiritual perfection, ever long after the emergence of organized religions. The family unit, clan, tribe, and other social groupings provided powerful impulses to reinforce themselves by dwelling together as an expression of their relationships. Groups with common interests, from defense to task-sharing, have led to housing and communities of many types.
