the.com/civilization
a fragile agreement to not eat each other, dressed up as cities and tax law
means The advanced stage of human social development marked by cities, organized government, writing, and shared cultural achievement.
from From Latin civis, 'citizen,' and its kin civilis, 'pertaining to citizens,' which gave us civitas, 'the city as a community of citizens.' These passed through French civilisation into English as an 18th-century coinage — born in an age fond of contrasting 'polished' urban life with what it smugly called 'savagery.' At its root, then, civilization is simply the condition of being a city-dweller, someone bound by the shared rules of the polis rather than the open wild.
- origin word
- from Latin civis, meaning city-dweller
- oldest city
- Jericho, inhabited for over 11,000 years
- early invention
- writing began mostly to track beer and grain
- fragility
- complex societies often collapse within centuries of peaking
- sewage truth
- plumbing predates most philosophy and gods
ancient rome — lasted 1,000 years from 27 bce, spanning three continents at its peak
ancient egypt — thrived for 3,000 years along the nile river, building the pyramids around 2580 bce
indus valley civilization — urban centers like harappa and mohenjo-daro existed 2600-1900 bce across modern pakistan and india
ancient china shang dynasty — established written language and bronze technology around 1600 bce, continuous civilization to today