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7 Some civilizations in human history
Civilizations can be distinguished from one another in several ways, and the number of distinct civilizations, their duration, and extent, are the subject of some debate. Historians may emphasize cultural distinctiveness, or may distinguish civilizations by degree of economic, political, and diplomatic integration. The list below includes a number of civilizations commonly identified by historians. Many cultures evolve through the fusion of elements from other cultures, so discerning sharp divisions between civilizations on the basis of culture is difficult indeed, and subject to varying interpretations. Civilizations may be lumped or split.
Most of the civilizations below possess cities, specialized occupations, political entities larger than a single settlement, extensive trade networks, and writing, but not all of the civilizations include all of these criteria. A number of cultures that possess certain of these characteristics are not included here.
Most of these civilizations are now gone; some disappeared, their people returning to a pre-urban way of life; others were conquered by or merged into other civilizations. How many distinct civilizations exist at present is also a subject of some debate.
- Mesopotamian civilization (also called the Fertile Crescent civilization): begins with Sumerian city-states c. 3500 BCE, which developed cuneiform writing. Elements of the civilization were transmitted to neighboring and conquering states and peoples, including Akkad, Elam, Mitanni, Assyria, Babylonia. After sixth century BCE Mesopotamian civilization dominated by Hellenic-Roman and Iranian civilizations.
- Levantine/West Semitic civilization: includes the urbanized Northwest Semitic cultures of the eastern Mediterranean, including Ugarit, Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, Kingdom of Israel. Developed alphabetic (strictly speaking, abjad) writing, and, in Israel, monotheism.
- Hittite civilization: The Hittites were an urbanized nation of eastern Anatolia from third millennium BCE to c. 600 BCE. their culture fused Mesopotamian (i.e. cuneiform writing), Indo-European, and autochthonous ( Hattian?) cultural elements.
- Persian civilization: developed on the plateau of Iran after 1000 BCE. Includes Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, Bactrian, Sogdian, and Sassanian states and empires. Culture combined Mesopotamian and Indo-European elements. Iranian religions were distinct, and included Magism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeanism, Mithraism. Iran dominated much of western and central Asia from c. 600 BCE to Islamic conquest after 636 CE.
- Egyptian civilization: developed in the Nile valley c. 3000 BCE. Includes Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, as well as neighboring Nubia. After fourth century BCE dominated by Hellenic-Roman civilization.
- Indic civilization: consisted of two distinct societies.
- Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations: emerged c. 2000 BCE around the Aegean sea and on its islands. Minoan writing has not been deciphered. Mycenaean culture took hold after the collapse of Minoan culture, and went into decline after 1100 BCE. The degree to which Aegean civilization is autochthonous, having emerged from the culture of Old Europe, or is derived from Afroasiatic cultures of Egypt and the Levant is subject to debate.
- Chinese (Sinic) civilization: emerged in the second millennium BCE in northern China, later spread to the rest of China, Korea, and Japan. Indigenous religions, Confucianism and Taoism, later supplemented by Buddhism, introduced from India.
- Greco- Roman civilization: emerged around the Aegean after the Greek dark ages, 1000 CE. Greek settlement around the Mediterranean and Black seas, and Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire in the fourth century, spread Hellenic civilization around the Mediterranean, where it was absorbed by non-Greek peoples, including the Romans. The Roman Empire adopted Christianity after the fourth century CE, and collapsed around the western Mediterranean during the sixth century.
- Western civilization: evolved from the Christian Latin-speaking portion of the Roman Empire, which grew to include most of western and central Europe during the Middle Ages. Generally understood to include Roman Catholic and Protestant nations of Europe, and the areas they later settled such as North America, Latin America, and Australia. This civilization was the first to develop into an industrial society.
- Byzantine civilization: the Greek-speaking portion of the Roman Empire continued after its collapse in the west, fusing Hellenic and Christian elements, and its culture was adopted by neighboring peoples. Historians who characterize Byzantium as distinct from Western civilization usually focus on the institution of Caesaropapism, which fused religious and state authority. Byzantine culture spread to eastern Slavic peoples, including Russia. Byzantium itself was conquered by Turkish armies in 1453.
- Southeast Asian civilization: includes the urban cultures that emerged in Southeast Asia and Indonesia during the first millennium CE, including Mon, Khmer Champa, Thailand, Burma on the mainland, and Srivijaya and Majapahit in Indonesia. Southeast Asian civilization absorbed cultural influences from India, including Hinduism and Buddhism, and from China, and later from Islam.
- Mesoamerican civilization: emerged with the first Olmec cities in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico in the first millennium BCE. Later developed in two centers: the Valley of Mexico , home to Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, and Aztecs, and the Maya civilization of Guatemala and the Yucatan. Conquered in the 16th century by Spanish colonists.
- Andean civilization: developed in the first millennium CE in the central Andes and the central Pacific coast of South America, including the urbanized cultures of Chimu , Tiwanaku, Chavin , Ica-Nazca , Aymara, and Inca. Conquered in the 16th century by Spanish colonists.
- Japanese civilization: initially developed as a fusion of indigenous (i.e. Shinto) and Chinese cultural elements, transmitted via Korea.
- Islamic civilization: emerged from the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century CE, and later spread to include most of western and Central Asia, northern Africa, and Indonesia. Early states include the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates; later examples include Seljuk and Ottoman Turkey.
- Chibchan civilization: developed in the Cauca and Magdalena river valleys of the northern Andes, in modern Colombia. Conquered in the 16th century by Spanish colonists.
- West African civilization: Large cities emerged c. 1000 CE, funded by wealth from the trade of gold and salt with other civilizations. First major kingdom was Ghana Empire; other early states included Mali, Kanem-Bornu, the Hausa cities, and the Songhai Empire.
- Mississippian civilization: included Cahokia and other cities of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Cities were abandoned by c. 1400 CE.
- Zimbabwean civilization: civilization of southwestern Africa. Great Zimbabwe was the major center, but by the 1500s was in ruin.
