Mankind has come a long way in the development and formation of the world as it is now. In order to designate this complex phenomenon of development and formation, the concept of civilization is used. The term, however, is contentious and has a political meaning, indicating a hierarchy of success and value judgements.
The earliest civilizations emerged between 4000 and 3000 B.C.E (Smil, 2018). The advancement of trade and agriculture enabled people to have an abundance of food and a stable economy. Mesopotamia was the first-place civilizations emerged, followed by Egypt (Smil, 2018). By around 2500 BCE, China had a thriving society, while Central America had a culture by approximately 1200 BCE (Smil, 2018). According to Huntington (2013) people’s cultural and religious identities will be the leading cause of conflict in the post-Cold War world. According to Huntington (2013), civilizations are “cultural units” that can be distinguished from one another based on their history, languages, customs, and—most significantly—religions.
Nevertheless, even among modern anthropologists, there is fierce debate over what constitutes a civilization and which societies fit that description. Often, the term “civilization” was used in an ethnocentric sense, with “civilizations” being seen as morally upright and culturally developed while other societies were seen as ethically backward and “uncivilized” (Smil, 2018). The term “civilization” refers to a complicated way of life that evolved as a result of the development of urban settlement networks. In terms of its explanatory power and utility for history, the term is broad and needs to provide more specificity. It covers a wide range of concepts and concerns not only the structure of society but also cultural and technological development. It can be considered Eurocentric since it refers to the regionally dominant centers that have developed an egocentric worldview. The term was Harrington’s ordering principle for world history, since each civilization creates the prospect of a normative ordering of its world. However, “civilization” is not an ordering principle, since the usual binary system of civilized and uncivilized nations is unfair and limits the views and approaches to the study of history.
To argue that one culture is better than another or that some other culture is somehow imperfect is unacceptable in the modern world. A certain degree of depreciation is inherent in this concept, therefore its fundamental importance in the study of history is deservedly criticized. Because of this convoluted history, it is difficult for academics to define a civilization, and the current definition is continually evolving.
References
Smil, V. (2018). Energy and civilization: A history. MIT Press.
Huntington, S. P. (2013). The Clash of Civilizations? In G. Rose (ed.) Foreign affairs: The clash at 20 (pp. 3–27). Foreign affairs.