A civilization is a society with social institutions that are functionally interrelated. The characteristics of a civilization include a centralized government, a ruling class, and social hierarchies. There is also specialized labor. Whether a society is advanced or not depends on the level of sophistication of its societies. Robert M. Adams defines civilization as a society with a complex division of labor and a central administrative structure.
Early human civilizations emerged in river valleys, where there was good land for agriculture. The rivers provided access to food and water for transportation and trade. Early civilizations originated in the Nile valley in Ancient Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley in modern Pakistan. Later, the Jomon of Japan established a complex civilization and a sophisticated society, although they never developed agriculture. In southeastern Asia and eastern North America, civilizations also emerged.
Once humans had access to food, they learned how to domesticate animals. These animals provided milk and wool for clothes, fertilizer, and muscle power to pull plows. These practices eventually led to the development of agriculture and cities. This type of economic development has led to an increase in the number of people and their size.
As a result, cities began to become demo slot important centers of social, religious, and political institutions. These cities were the precursors of states. A state is an organized community under a single political system, such as a country. States were a key element in the rise of civilizations because they made it easier to mobilize large amounts of resources.
Writing emerged in many early civilizations. Initially, it was created by government officials to keep records of economic exchanges. Later, people started using writing for many other purposes. In ancient Mesopotamia, for example, scribes kept records of receipts and transactions. They did not anticipate that writing would be used in such many other ways.
After civilizations developed, they spread out from their main centers to other parts of the world. The first settlements of civilizations were in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Central and South America. By the first millennium BCE, these civilizations had spread across the world. By the beginning of the second millennium, civilizations were found in every continent except Antarctica.
Up until the 20th century, many slot demo civilizations remained largely unrecognized. The African Kingdom of Zimbabwe had its Great Zimbabwe, which was built between 1100 and 1550. In addition, other West African kingdoms were overlooked as they didn’t meet the definition of civilization. However, with new discoveries and research, these civilizations are now better understood.
As a result of division of labor and the development of long distance trade, many people were able to accumulate surplus artifacts and trade them with other communities. As a result, writing systems developed, and rudimentary governments began to consolidate. These societies also had religious components. These cultures developed written literature about their gods and created temples.