What are three differences between ancestral housing and modern housing?

Housing has changed and evolved over the last few millenia and if we take a closer look, we will see that there is one major difference between how ancestral homes were constructed versus how modern homes are constructed. That difference lies in the choice of material. For example, ancestral homes were often built from natural materials, particularly with what was available in the immediate environment of the people who were constructing the homes. In contrast, modern homes are often built out of synthetic materials or a combination of both synthetic and natural materials. Some of the most popular modern building materials include cement composites, glass, fabrics, plastics, and foam. 

Another difference, which is related to the use of natural materials, is that ancestral homes were usually worked into the landscape of the surrounding land, as opposed to modern homes, which work against the natural landscape and require people to make extensive changes to the land that they wish to build on. Ancestral Puebloans, for instance, were an ancient Native American people who built defensive homes carved from the sides of cliffs in Arizona. These people also constructed apartment-like complexes out of stone, adobe, and other local materials. 

The last and most obvious difference would be the fact that ancestral homes would often house more than one generation of a family, perhaps even with different units attached for aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. These dwellings were often part of a larger community of compact dwellings in which the communities resided. Modern housing, however, tends to be mostly separate and private, whether we are talking about apartments, condos, or homes. These dwellings are constructed with smaller family units in mind: a mother, a father, and a few children. They tend to be more spacious as well, with more square foot per person than ancient dwellings might have had.