What makes a civilization a civilization? A civilization is a complex and highly organized social order, and it must have certain characteristics in order to be considered a civilization. There are eight features of civilization, all of which work together to build a civilization. Initially, there are eight attributes that all civilizations possess. The first feature of all civilizations is cities. Next, all civilizations had organized governments. In early civilizations, the government dealt with flooding of the rivers and maintaining a steady food supply. When governments became too big, bureaucracies were created so rulers could know what was happening in their civilization. This increased efficiency. The government also oversaw construction projects that would …show more content…
An example of this is Sumer. To begin, Sumer had city-states, and within those city-states were governments. These governments oversaw public works. The governments were also ruled by priests, meaning government and religion were incorporated with one another. In addition, religion developed civilization because it affected things such as rituals and offerings they would give to their Gods and the sort of buildings they would build to pray and honor their Gods. Those buildings also show the art and architecture of the civilization. For instance, the Sumerians’ ziggurats demonstrated their religion and architecture. Moreover, job specialization and social hierarchy relate to each other, for people in a civilization were ranked based on their importance, which was determined by their jobs. Lastly, the writing system is an important part of a civilization. It was used to keep track of specific information, and was significant in the government because scribes would keep records for rulers and priests. Therefore, all eight features of civilization are significant, as they all work together to develop a
Without the Mesopotamians we would not have all the luxury we have today. Could you ever imagine a world without writing? You may think, life would not be so bad without it, but without writing we would not have stories, we could not write to the bank, we could not text. Two major contributions made to society were the first forms of writing known as Cuneiform and Hammurabi’s Code.
Religion has greatly influenced western civilization. Religion is a way to express ourselves in our own way. To be able to choose who or what we believe in freely. This gives us a sense of individualism and helps our civilization to grow and develop each religion. Just about every ancient culture practiced religion in some way. They were either monotheist, polytheist, atheist, or believed in “magic”. Western civilization was impacted by religion in more ways than one. Every religion contributed in their own way. Some religions even worked together to help create a stronger, more structured civilization.
Early civilization remains permits us to observe how life was lived in earlier times. Until the Neolithic Era humans were fairly nomadic. When they became knowledgeable of farming they began to realize that they would not have to be nomadic anymore thus forming civilizations. These early civilizations were typically polytheistic, which means that they believed in many gods. During these civilizations they also learned to tame animals and their technologies grew more and more advanced. Almost all early civilizations have failed but they all left a lasting mark that will continue forever. The Nile River Valley Civilization and the Mesopotamia Civilization are both amazing but they both have their differences in their political and social aspects.
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
When analyzing ancient civilization and how it began, there are many elements and aspects that should be considered. Questions such as how did civilization begin? What lead to its creation? Where did it begin, and why in that particular location? Many of these questions can be examined and answered by researching what many believe is the world’s earliest civilization, Mesopotamia. It is widely believed that this region was chosen and supported one of the world’s first civilizations. This area was settled over 10,000 years ago by a group of people known as the Sumerians (Cunningham & Reich, 2010).
Around 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E., civilizations emerged in many places. Egypt and Mesoamerica are distinctive two of them. Considering the different aspects of civilization, historians can find some same characteristics and differences which are valuable for historians to understand civilization in-depth.
One of the biggest parts of any civilization would be religion. In the Maya civilization and the Roman civilization religion played a big part in their culture. Both of these civilizations had polytheistic religions, but later the Romans became monotheistic which is something the Maya didn’t do. The Romans had the same gods as the Greeks but the Maya had a unique religion and unique practices. In the Maya civilization they practiced human sacrifice for religion purposes, however in the Roman civilization they watched gladiators fight to the death for
All the way from the start of civilization through to the Early Christianity there has been a pantheon of; destruction, recognition, wars, cultural diffusion, religious breakthroughs, laws that have been established, kings and queens crowned and dethroned. The Mesopotamian Civilization it was the land between two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers that civilization first began.
Sid Meier’s original Civilization, commonly abbreviated as CIV I or just simply CIV, is well known as the turn based strategy game. CIV was published by MicroProse in 1991, and in the decade since it has turned into a phenomenon complete with sequel games, expansion packs, spinoffs, and a cult following that rivals that of any other game one could care to name. The basic concept is deceptively simple and yet dangerously addictive. You begin the game with one Settler unit, and from there you go on to build a worldwide civilization with the ultimate aim of conquering the planet and/or building and launching a spaceship to Alpha Centauri. One of the many sequel games entails settling Alpha Centauri once you’ve gotten there. As good as the sequel games are, though, CIV I will always have a special place in my heart.
Most of the civilizations developed alongside a state. The political structures provided by states contributed to the rise of civilizations because they made it possible to organize large amounts of resources and tied communities together. Early civilizations were often united by religion. As more people shared the same beliefs and practices they developed mutual trust and respect. Social Hierarchies were created, which are clear distinctions in status different people.
The Neolithic Revolution made government more important for three reasons; property ownership, public works, and a military. Property ownership caused people to argue over who owned certain land and without any laws put in place to distinguish people owned. As civilizations grew, there was a high demand for public works for the people, so the government created them. Before civilizations and forms of government, there were not any active and organized militaries leaving people to fight for themselves against others, so government created a military.
Civilization is a term defined by perspective, complex, with multiple sides to decipher in order to perceive a true definition. One definition of civilization is a “culture, society, etc., of a specific place, time, or group” (Dictionary.com). However, what is the true definition of civilization? In the Burrough’s Tarzan, Limerick’s The Legacy of Conquest, Hoganson’s Private Lives/ Public Moments, and Bederman’s Manliness & Civilization, civilization is a state that a group achieves when it has developed its own sense of ethics, structured itself based on its own beliefs, and is brave enough to defend those beliefs, and maintains this state.
Cities are the central feature of a civilization. The first cities emerged shortly after farmers began cultivating fertile lands along river valleys and producing surplus foods. These surpluses allowed the population to expand. As population grew, some villages expanded into cities. These cities rose independently in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Religion helped establish nations in the case of religious theocratic governments. In many of the ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and even Mesopotamia, the priests and other religious leaders played prominent roles in helping shape the laws and government of these civilizations. As history progressed many times, it was these classes of people who helped teach others literacy and were scholars and scientists.... ... middle of paper ...
For thousands of years, people all over the world have developed, progressed, and eventually formed civilizations. A civilization is a community characterized by elements such as a system of writing, a development of social classes, and cities. Early civilizations such as ancient Greece, classical Rome, Mesopotamia, and classical China have made many contributions to society that still affect people in the modern world. The inventions, progress, and contributions of the people of these ancient civilizations and others have shaped the world that we all live in today.