A civilization is a group of people living in cities, sharing advanced forms of culture and government. These cities are surrounded by farmland that produces enough food to keep everyone alive. The city dwellers develop writing systems that help them keep track of trade, and they create transportation networks to carry goods between farms and cities. People in the cities also develop specialized skills, such as making pottery and weaving cloth. In addition, they have complex religious practices and laws to govern the society.
The word civilization is derived from the Latin word civitas, meaning “city.” The first humans to achieve civilization arose in river valleys throughout the world, including Mesopotamia and Egypt in the Middle East, the Indus Valley of what are now Pakistan and India, the Huang He (Yellow River) valley of China, and the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. Besides their urban centers, all of these societies had other features in common. These included advanced forms of art and architecture, a standardized religion, and sophisticated political structures with hierarchies and class systems. The cities were ruled by powerful elites, or rulers.
Civilization has brought a higher standard of living to human groups, but it has also introduced problems like warfare and environmental degradation. Scientists are now analyzing the overall trends of human evolution to see if there is a way to identify what has caused civilizations to succeed or fail.
Researchers have two broad theories to explain how civilizations developed. One theory is that they developed as a result of the development of agriculture. Another theory is that they developed as a result
of conflict. Both of these theories are still debated by scholars, however. The debate focuses on the relative importance of agricultural development and conflict in the rise of civilizations.
Some scholars believe that agriculture is not necessary for the development of civilizations, while others argue that it is essential. Agriculture enables the development of large cities, which are necessary for the development of civilizations. Cities allow civilizations to develop a variety of other complex systems, such as transportation networks, communication systems, and administrative infrastructure.
The most common feature of civilization is the existence of cities, and the emergence of a system of ruling – government – that keeps order in the city. Some scholars have also pointed out that other features, such as the use of specialized labor and social codes that encourage self-restraint or good manners, are signs of civilization. Whether or not these are true, the fact is that civilizations require an extensive system of administrative bureaucracy to function properly.