Historically, the word “civilization” has been applied to societies that have developed complex institutions, including the division of labor, centralized government, and urbanization. Civilization is also characterized by the presence of writing and the development of religion. A variety of cultural traits may also be considered to be part of a civilization, such as art and music.
Exactly what makes a civilization is a source of great debate. Some historians have proposed a list of characteristics, such as a developed transportation system, written language, standardized measurement and currency, law, architecture, art, mathematics, scientific understanding, metalworking, and organized religion. Others argue that civilizations do not need to have all of these features to be called a civilized society. For example, the Moundbuilders of North America during the Archaic Period did not develop a writing system but were a highly-developed culture.
One characteristic that is widely accepted as being a key to civilization is the need for water. As early peoples began to move from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, they gravitated toward areas with reliable sources of fresh water. This explains why so many ancient civilizations developed near rivers or lakes. It is also why cities developed near such sources, from the Olmec of Mesoamerica to the vast city of Teotihuacan in Mexico to the Inca empire that stretched along the coast and mountains of South America.
As the populations of these civilizations began to grow, complex social institutions emerged to manage the growing numbers of people. Political and religious leaders were among the first to appear, and these groups often developed their own status in society. Writing, in the form of cuneiform tablets in Mesopotamia, or oracle bone inscriptions in Ancient China or quipu-knotted strings in South America, enabled these leaders to keep records and better manage complex economic and political institutions. Literacy and the ability to read and write was usually restricted to elite classes, such as scribes and priests.
It was the combination of these societal developments that led to the rise of civilization. It is thought that the emergence of civilization represents a triumph of mind over matter and reason over instinct. It also symbolizes humankind’s ability to rise above the animal world that is our natural habitat.
As these civilizations grew and diversified, they became more vulnerable to internal or external threats. For example, the burgeoning population of the Roman civilization required greater revenues to equip and maintain an ever-larger army that could fight back against the barbarians across the frontier. This increased vulnerability eventually brought down Rome. Other scholars, like Joseph Tainter in his book The Collapse of Complex Societies, have suggested that civilizations can only achieve a maximum level of complexity before they begin to deteriorate. However, this theory has been contested by other researchers.