Constructing a Better Dungeon

From 1st Edition AD&D DMG. 
Also a case study in why you don't split the party.

Almost nothing short of a pop culture reference can pull a game group out of the moment than a nonsensical dungeon.  Why are there orcs, goblins, giant beetles, and a wight living in these trees?  Is there a food chain or pecking order here or was this the result of randomly selected from dice rolls on a table a la the original printing of B1: In Search of the Unknown.  Oh good, the giant beetle has a magic scroll and the goblins had a magic sword that they didn't use because it's too nice?

The Evolution of Dungeons and Dragons over the Editions

1st Edition Monster Manual

Grimm and I were chatting about D&D on Twitter recently and it got me thinking about the evolution of the game Dungeons and Dragons.  I had recently commented to a friend that D&D always felt like it was designed around combat and the RPG parts were tacked on later.  I feel like this is an easy argument to make considering it's birth from the Chainmail system.

From Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and the most recent 5th Edition - what's changed?

Well, quite a lot and yet not much.