The document discusses the emergence and characteristics of civilizations. It provides theories on how civilizations emerged, such as due to population growth and the need for intensified food production, the benefits of stratified societies with specialized roles, and the need to obtain resources from outside areas. The characteristics of civilizations include urban societies, religion, literacy, government, specialization, social classes, tool-making, concepts of time, leisure, and education. The three greatest civilizations are described as the Aztec, Maya, and Inca empires, which all existed in Central and South America and had advanced societies, empires, and cultures.
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The document discusses the emergence and characteristics of civilizations. It provides theories on how civilizations emerged, such as due to population growth and the need for intensified food production, the benefits of stratified societies with specialized roles, and the need to obtain resources from outside areas. The characteristics of civilizations include urban societies, religion, literacy, government, specialization, social classes, tool-making, concepts of time, leisure, and education. The three greatest civilizations are described as the Aztec, Maya, and Inca empires, which all existed in Central and South America and had advanced societies, empires, and cultures.
The document discusses the emergence and characteristics of civilizations. It provides theories on how civilizations emerged, such as due to population growth and the need for intensified food production, the benefits of stratified societies with specialized roles, and the need to obtain resources from outside areas. The characteristics of civilizations include urban societies, religion, literacy, government, specialization, social classes, tool-making, concepts of time, leisure, and education. The three greatest civilizations are described as the Aztec, Maya, and Inca empires, which all existed in Central and South America and had advanced societies, empires, and cultures.
Copyright:
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
The document discusses the emergence and characteristics of civilizations. It provides theories on how civilizations emerged, such as due to population growth and the need for intensified food production, the benefits of stratified societies with specialized roles, and the need to obtain resources from outside areas. The characteristics of civilizations include urban societies, religion, literacy, government, specialization, social classes, tool-making, concepts of time, leisure, and education. The three greatest civilizations are described as the Aztec, Maya, and Inca empires, which all existed in Central and South America and had advanced societies, empires, and cultures.
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CIVILIZATIO
SUBMITTED BY:
Ceevee Ann Esmero Meryl Encarnacion
BSN3C
SUBMITTED TO:
MR. TISOY AGUILAR
1. What is a civilization and how did it emerge?
Civilization is a term used to describe a certain kind of development of a human society. A civilized society is often characterized by advanced agriculture, long-distance trade, occupational specialization, and urbanism. Aside from these core elements, civilization is often marked by any combination of a number of secondary elements, including a developed transportation system, writing, standards of measurement (currency, etc.), contract and tort-based legal systems, great art style, monumental architecture, mathematics, sophisticated metallurgy, and astronomy. "Civilization" is often used as a synonym for the broader term "culture" in both popular and academic circles. Every human being participates in a culture, defined as "the arts, customs, habits... beliefs, values, behavior and material habits that constitute a people's way of life". However, in its most widely used definition, civilization is a descriptive term for a relatively complex agricultural and urban culture. Civilizations can be distinguished from other cultures by their high level of social complexity and organization, and by their diverse economic and cultural activities. In an older but still frequently used sense, the term "civilization" can be used in a normative manner as well: in societal contexts where complex and urban cultures are assumed to be superior to other "savage" or "barbarian" cultures, the concept of "civilization" is used as a synonym for "cultural (and often ethical) superiority of certain groups." In a similar sense, civilization can mean "refinement of thought, manners, or taste". This normative notion of civilization is heavily rooted in the thought that urbanized environments provide a higher living standard, encompassed by both nutritional benefits and mental potentialities. Civilization requires advanced knowledge of: science, trade, art, government, and farming, within a society.
Theories of the emergence of civilization
1. The “economics of population growth” theory (Allen Johnson and Timothy Earle) Human populations tend to rise. As population rises in a finite environment (that is, any real place), there are fewer resources to go around. The response is to produce more food (and other goods) using the same resources. This process is called “intensification of production”. In agriculture, it means getting more food per acre typically by expending more labor per acre to irrigate, weed, fertilize, etc.
2. The “managerial benefits” theory (Elman Service)
This theory assumes a slightly stratified, "chiefdom-level" society as its starting point. That is, certain individuals and their relatives have already come to be important in their societies and that their roles become institutionalized. T role of “chief” exists apart from a particular person, and may be filled by new person when the previous one vacates it. Those roles are usually hereditary. This could have occurred for any of a variety of reasons (military success, religious reasons, conflict resolution, etc.)
3. The “resource-deficient core” theory (William Rathje)
his theory was developed for the lowland Maya, but might also apply to other cases. It depends on the relationship between a core area where civilization first emerges, and a periphery where civilization arises later. Rathje claims that the tropical forest of the lowland Maya core area lacks key resources necessary for survival So they need to get these resources from relatively distant areas outside the Maya core
4. The “individual and class strategy” approach (Elizabeth Brumfiel and others) People formulate goals and strategies based on the opportunities available to them. These may be affected by ecological circumstances social circumstances their current social position, gender, class, etc. When a person has the opportunity to advance his or her economic or political standing, he or she will often devise and carry out strategies to do so.
2. What are the characteristics of a civilization?
The Ten Characteristics of Civilization
1. Urban society: Living together in communities. 2. Religion: Beliefs that provide answers to “unanswerable” questions. 3. Literacy: The ability to read and write. 4. Government: Having a set of rules, leaders or organization to society 5. Specialization: Using unique skills to benefit all. 6. Social classes: Groups of people with common characteristics. 7. Tool-making: The ability to problem-solve. 8. Concept of time: Understanding of patterns like the seasons, sunrise and sunset or tides can be used to your benefit. 9. Leisure: Recognizing the value of the arts and entertainment. 10. Education/criticism: Striving to improve as an individual or as a culture.
3. What are the three greatest civilizations in the history of the world? What made them the greatest civilizations?
Throughout history many people have formed together to create civilizations. Some civilizations were quickly eliminated. Others lasted for centuries. Three prime examples of long lasting civilizations were the Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires. All existed in Central and South America. All thrived, which resulted in advancements in many fields that were equal, and often better than those made in Europe. All three could be called great civilizations.
The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including large parts of modern Ecuador, Peru, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and north-central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of the Old World. The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology. In other contexts, Aztec may refer to all the various city states and their peoples, who shared large parts of their ethnic history as well as many important cultural traits with the Mexica, Acolhua and Tepanecs, and who like them, also spoke the Nahuatl language. In this meaning it is possible to talk about an Aztec civilization including all the particular cultural patterns common for the Nahuatl speaking peoples of the late postclassic period in Mesoamerica. From the 13th century Valley of Mexico was the core of Aztec civilization: here the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the city of Tenochtitlan, was built upon raised islets in Lake Texcoco. The Triple Alliance formed its tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica. At its pinnacle Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions, as well as reaching remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments.
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD), according to the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c. 250 AD to 900 AD), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them. Maya influence can be detected from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625 miles) from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture, which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.
