Civilization is a complex way of life that requires shared methods of communication, urban areas, administrative infrastructure and division of labor. In addition, there are many facets of a civilization that make it distinct from other human societies, including religion, government, writing systems and science. It is important to note that the term “civilization” does not necessarily mean that a society is culturally advanced or superior. Civilization is an abstract concept, and it has different meanings for people in different cultures.
It is often difficult to define what civilization is, since it is an ephemeral phenomenon that occurs when a group of humans develops social relations based on the creation and sharing of culture. The term may be used to describe the entire social structure of a group, including its religious, political, economic, military and gregarious aspects. It can also be applied to particular periods in history when a certain level of development has been reached, such as the Abbasid Caliphate that controlled most of the Middle East and North Africa during the ninth century CE.
The development of a civilization typically involves the establishment of urban areas, which are populated by people who have access to goods and services that allow them to live sedentary lives and focus on a specific type of work, such as craftsmen, soldiers or religious leaders. These people may be ranked according to their importance in the society, and the resulting rank may determine their access to food or other resources. This hierarchical system of organization can lead to the emergence of cultural institutions such as religion and law, which can provide stability in the midst of changing circumstances.
In addition, the emergence of cities allows for an increased concentration of people and creates the opportunity to develop shared forms of communication, such as language and writing, that can increase efficiency in the production of goods and services. This process is what distinguishes a civilization from a hunter-gatherer community, which must spend a great deal of time traveling to obtain the food and other resources they need.
Some scholars believe that civilizations tend to grow until they reach a critical mass of population and then collapse, while others, such as Arnold J. Toynbee in his A Study of History, argue that civilizations usually decline because of the rise of a parasitic elite.
Despite the difficulties in defining the term, most historians agree that there are some clear signs of a civilization when it first appears, such as the moundbuilders of Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, Shang China and Maya-period Mesoamerica. However, other groups may have a civilization even though they lack these features, such as the Inca and the African kingdom of Great Zimbabwe (c. 1100 to c. 1550). These groups did not have a writing system, but they did form towns that were surrounded by a wall and inhabited by a large number of people who engaged in specialized work. Their existence is a testament to the power of cultural traditions.