Introduction to World Civilization

What is Civilization
The English word Civilization came from the
16th century French word civilis (means
civilized) and the Latin word civilis connected
to civis(citizen) and civitas (city).
 Is Civilization a society?
Then, what type of?
Generally civilization means an area, group or
period
Civilization also denotes process of collective
self-differentiation form a world characterized,
implicitly or explicitly as barbaric.
Civilization also denotes stage or phase.
 Civilization, Nature and environment
Arnold J Toynbee
 Reputed social scientist V Gordon Childe has
pointed some traits to distinguish civilization
from other kind of society. These are
subsistence, types of livelihood, settlement
patterns, forms of government, social
stratification, economic system, literary and
other cultural system.
 For Peter N. Stearns, Civilization has two
meanings in world history:
Firstly, it describes a form of human
organization.
Secondly, Civilization describes certain
coherences that develop in certain regions as
the basis for particular civilization.
Traditional Checklist of Civilization
1.Civilization began when agriculture and
definite form of organized village life became
established.
2. Cities
3.Preference for trade and industry over the
food production.
4. Writing
 5. Division of labor, economical structure class
system.
6. State or state like institutions.
7. Language
8. Coherence
 The Emergence of Homo sapiens
CHRONOLOGY The First Humans
Australopithecines Flourished c. 34 million years
ago
Homo habilis Flourished c. 14 million years ago
Homo erectus Flourished c. 100,0001.5 million
B.C.E years ago
Neanderthals Flourished c. 200,00030,00 0 B.C.E.
Homo sapiens Emerged c. 200,000 B.C.E.
 The Hunter-Gatherers of the Paleolithic Age:
One of the basic distinguishing features of the
human species is the ability to make tools. The
earliest tools were made of stone, and so this
early period of human history (c.2,500,000-
10,000B.C.E.)has been designated the
Paleolithic Age(paleolithic is Greek forold
stone).
 For hundreds of thousands of years, humans
relied on hunting and gathering for their daily
food. Paleolithic peoples had a close
relationship with the world around them, and
over a period of time, they came to know
which animals to hunt and which plants to eat.
They did not know how to grow crops or raise
animals, however.
 They gathered wild nuts, berries, fruits, and a
variety of wild grains and green plants. Around
the world, they captured and consumed
various animals, including buffalo, horses,
bison, wild goats, reindeer, and fish.
 The Neolithic Revolution, c. 10,0004000
B.C.E.
The end of the last ice age around 10,000
B.C.E. was followed by what is called the
Neolithic Revolution, a significant change in
living patterns that occurred in the New Stone
Age. Although Neolithic peoples made a new
type of polished stone axes, this was not the
most significant change they introduced.
 A REVOLUTION IN AGRICULTURE
The biggest change was the shift from hunting
animals and gathering plants for sustenance
(food gathering) to producing food by systematic
agriculture. The planting of grains and vegetables
provided a regular supply of food, while the
domestication of animals, such as sheep, goats,
cattle, and pigs, added a steady source of meat,
milk, and fibers such as wool for clothing.
 NEOLITHIC FARMING VILLAGES
The growing of crops on a regular basis gave
rise to relatively permanent settlements,
which historians refer to as Neolithic farming
villages or towns.
Neolithic life
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEOLITHIC
REVOLUTION
The Neolithic agricultural revolution had far-
reaching consequences. Once people settled in
villages or towns, they built houses for
protection and other structures for the storage
of goods. As organized communities stored
food and accumulated material goods, they
began to engage in trade.