What is civilization?


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	What is civilization? My recent interest in Native American history reminded me that I haven't taken a history class since high school, and I could use some brushing up on the bigger picture. So I checked the 1980 edition of Arthur Cotterell's The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations out of the library to put North American prehistory in perspective. The book begins with a discussion of what "civilization" means, which I found intriguing. All civilizations came about after agriculture stabilized the food supply, but the presence of cultivated crops isn't enough to give an early society the label "civilization". Instead, other tell-tale marks of civilization include urbanization, a complex centralized state with large distinctions between the rich and poor, division of labor, trade and money, religion, writing, and advances in the arts and sciences. Interestingly, all of the features of civilization aren't found in every location --- for example, Cotterell notes that Mayan culture has been described as a "civilization without cities." So where am I going with this technical description? As someone who has turned down some of the major advances of recent civilization, I'm curious about whether the good parts of civilization could have come about without some of what I consider civilization's evils. Specifically, civilization seems to have evolved as a way to put a lot of power in the hands of a few. Could we have developed complex arts and sciences without sending tribute to a central leader? Were the environmental and behavioral problems created by cities really worth the cultural advances created there? I have no answers, but maybe you do. Step outside conventional society with Microbusiness Independence. Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed. Add a comment