defining civilizations

Civilization is a term denoting a stage in the evolution of society and it's a term so loaded with arrogant value judgments that it should not be taken too seriously. Who is to say that a complex industrial nation on the brink of nuclear war is more civilized than a simple
agricultural nation?

Today, we tend to judge a civilized society by the way it treats its disadvantaged peoples - and animals - and a civilized person by his or her manners, but none of these fine distinctions were taken into consideration when historians classified civilizations.

While evolution of civilization generally implies an improvement in the behavior, living conditions and social organization of populations, it does not necessarily follow that civilizations always evolve into more harmonious or prosperous communities. Under certain conditions,
civilizations can and do evolve into brutal regimes for controlling populations.

What exactly defines a separate and distinct civilization varies, but major features apart from a sizeable population might include:

• a unique geographic area;




• a unique ethnicity;




• a unique language;




• a unique system of government;




• a unique religion; and




• a unique culture (identified by buildings, education, etc).

There are, however, other classifications that define civilizations by
geographic area and literacy alone, meaning that if a nation does not have a
unique written history then it is not classed as a civilization.