Civilization is a term that describes an advanced stage of human culture. Although historians, archaeologists and anthropologists differ about how to define civilization, most agree that it is a complex human society that can support large numbers of people living together in urban areas. This type of society also exhibits cultural traits like organized religion and a variety of artistic developments.
Achieving social equity is a key factor for a thriving civilization. Addressing issues of poverty, education inequality and access to healthcare can help all people participate fully in a community’s civic life. This can foster a sense of shared responsibility and build a foundation for cooperation, creativity and harmony.
Historically, people began to develop civilizations when food became abundant and a community was able to devote time and effort to other pursuits. This shift away from foraging allowed people to concentrate on converting small agrarian settlements into vibrant cities that could support large populations. The division of labor led to the production of artifacts and surplus food that could be traded for other goods. This in turn fostered the development of more sophisticated forms of government and a body of literature dedicated to gods.
As the number of people in urban centers grew, the need for complex institutions to keep order increased. It was at this point that a centralized form of government emerged along with a specialized bureaucracy to run the city and govern its citizens.
The emergence of civilizations also helped create new artistic and scientific pursuits. The first written languages arose from the need to record legal and business contracts, for example, and early societies developed metallurgy to make metal tools and weapons. People also cultivated agriculture and built monumental temples and palaces.
Some scholars, including some anthropologists and historians, have argued that the word “civilization” is problematic because it sets up harmful oppositions between world societies with regard to their cultural level. The word also carries with it an implicit value judgment that “civilized” cultures are superior to non-civilized ones.
Most big historians, however, continue to use the word without a problem, while carefully defining it as a certain type of human society that has specific features.
These features include a developed economy that relies on urban centers to sustain its population, a complex division of labor that includes the production of surplus artifacts and food, a system of trade that involves multiple communities, a writing system and the ability to communicate with each other over long distances, a monetary system with standardized measures and currencies, contractual and tort-based legal systems, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, scientific understanding, metallurgy, political structures and organized religion. Some societies, such as the Moundbuilders of North America, never developed a written language but still count as civilizations because they created large towns that were surrounded by the homes of workers and often defended by walls. These urban societies also had a developed transportation system, standardized measurements and a system of accounting.