Emergence of Civilizations

1. Emergence of Civilizations

3. The Dawn of Civilization: • The conditions which help beginning civilizations are : • fertile soil • warm climate • a good supply of water for home use, irrigation, even transport • a good supply of wood or stone for construction • some natural barriers against invaders - mountains, deserts, major water barriers to keep enemies away • Many of these above were present in the areas where the first civilizations grew. People who lived in an area where living was easy had free time to think, invent, and to improve their culture.

4. There are 6 Elements to a civilization: • 1. Permanence: living in permanent cities and towns • 2. Government: an organized system that united people • 3. Laws: rules that people follow • 4. Writing: a system to record laws and pass on information • 5. trades people: specialized trades • 6. System: a way goods and services can be exchanged

5. Culture: • a group's culture is the group's total way of life • every individual in the culture participates and shares more or less in the group's total culture • all groups have culture. • we can compare different cultures and judge any one to be higher or lower on specific things in terms of the efficiency with which they can do specific tasks

6. What Culture Consists Of: • Material things - the items made of matter that the group uses • Ideas - the concepts and the beliefs that are common in the group (ex. right, wrong, politics, religion) • Institutions - groups set up within the culture; organizations like schools, churches and governments

7. How Culture Grows and Spreads: • Inheritance - cultural knowledge is passed on (mostly) from the older to the younger people in a culture • Invention - something new is injected into the culture and may cause significant change, which may/may not lead to progress • Interchange - different cultures meet and learn from each other