Historically, a civilization has often been understood as a larger and "more advanced" culture, in implied contrast to smaller, supposedly less advanced cultures, even societies within civilizations themselves and within their histories. Generally civilization contrasts with non-centralized tribal societies, including the cultures of nomadic pastoralists, Neolithic societies, or hunter-gatherers. (Full article...)
Leaders of the G20 countries and others present at the 2008 G20 Washington summit. Most members of the G20 are middle powers, while some are great powers.A middle power is a state that exerts significant influence in international relations at a level exceeding a small power but less than a great power. These countries often possess certain capabilities, such as strong economies, advanced technologies, and diplomatic influence, that allow them to have a voice in global affairs. Middle powers are typically seen as bridge-builders between larger powers, using their diplomatic skills to mediate conflicts and promote cooperation on international issues.
Middle powers play a crucial role in the international system by promoting multilateralism, cooperation, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. They are able to leverage their resources and diplomatic skills to advance their national interests while also contributing to global stability and prosperity. As such, middle powers are an important and often overlooked factor in the complex web of international relations. (Full article...)
The planetary phase of civilization is a term created by the Global Scenario Group (GSG) to describe the contemporary era in which increasing global interdependence and risks are binding the world into a unitary socio-ecological system. Characteristics of this phase include economic globalization, biospheric destabilization, mass migration, new global institutions, the Internet, new forms of transboundary conflict, and shifts in culture and consciousness. (Full article...)
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A planetary or a Type I civilization is a civilization that would be global, likely having a tolerant worldwide society that functions through science and reason, and is capable of consuming all of the incoming energy from its neighboring star, or about 1017 watts for Earth. A planetary civilization or global civilization is a civilization of Type I on the Kardashev scale. This type of civilization is likely to be reliant on renewable energy sources such as stellar power, as well as powerful non-renewable sources such as nuclear fusion. A Type I civilization's energy consumption level is roughly equivalent to the solar insolation on Earth (between 1016 and 1017watts) – around 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of contemporary humanity (around 2×1013 as of 2020). (Full article...)
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers' opinions before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status dimensions.
While some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there is considerable debate on the exact criteria for great power status. Historically, great powers have been formally recognized as members of organizations such as the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 or the United Nations Security Council, of which the permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The United Nations Security Council, NATO Quint, the G7, BRICS, and the Contact Group have all been described as great power concerts. (Full article...)
Scholars generally acknowledge six cradles of civilization: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India and Ancient China are believed to be the earliest in Afro-Eurasia, while the Caral–Supe civilization of coastal Peru and the Olmec civilization of Mexico are believed to be the earliest in the Americas. All of the cradles of civilization depended upon agriculture for sustenance (except possibly Caral–Supe which may have depended initially on marine resources). All depended upon farmers producing an agricultural surplus to support the centralized government, political leaders, religious leaders, and public works of the urban centers of the early civilizations. (Full article...)
While a great power can exert its influence globally, superpowers are the ones so impactful that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering their positions. In this sense, superpowers are preeminent among the great powers; more narrowly, the term may be applied in specific contexts, such as energy superpower, economic superpower, or military superpower. (Full article...)
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Energy consumption in three types of civilization as defined by Sagan's extended Kardashev scale The Kardashev scale (Russian: шкала Кардашёва, romanized:shkala Kardashova) is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. As both a proposed method of tracking civilizational progress and a way to evaluate potential alien civilizations, it occupies an intersection between futures studies and xenology. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, forming the basis for a series of papers proposing ways to detect super civilizations and direct the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Kardashev's initial model was developed starting from a functional definition of civilization, based on the immutability of physical laws, and using human civilization as a model for extrapolation. He proposed a classification of civilizations into three types, based on the axiom of exponential growth:
A TypeII civilization (stellar) can directly consume a star's energy, such as through the use of a Dyson sphere.
A TypeIII civilization (galactic) is able to capture all the energy emitted by its galaxy, and every object within it, such as every star, black hole, etc.
Maritime trade goods of the Maya The extensive trade networks of the Ancient Maya contributed largely to the success of their civilization spanning three millennia. Maya royal control and the wide distribution of foreign and domestic commodities for both population sustenance and social affluence are hallmarks of the Maya visible throughout much of the iconography found in the archaeological record. In particular, moderately long-distance trade of foreign commodities from the Caribbean and Gulf Coasts provided the larger inland Maya cities with the resources they needed to sustain settled population levels in the several thousands. Though the ruling class essentially controlled the trade economy, a middle merchant class supervised import and export from cities and trade ports. Not much is known of the Maya merchant class; however, merchants of royal lineage are sometimes represented in the iconography. Notably, a canoe paddle often accompanies the royal merchant depictions, signifying their association with marine resources.
Water lilies are also a recognizable feature of Maya iconography, appearing on ceramics and murals in landlocked cities like Palenque where the lilies cannot grow, further indicating the important political symbolism of water connections. The dugout style canoes of the Maya and other small watercraft are also represented in various codices, sometimes ferrying royal figures or deities. The rich tradition of maritime trade has continued into the modern era, exemplified by the resource exploitation of the coastal lagoons and cay locations along the Caribbean coast of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Eventually, the intensification of maritime trade reliance aided in the collapse of interior Maya power regimes, shifting political influence to coastal polities such as Uxmal and Chichen Itza in the Terminal Classic. A seaborne trade economy would continue to dominate the Maya civilization until the period of European contact. (Full article...)
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Mayan city-states that have existed in Mesoamerica
The Maya civilization developed in the Maya Region, an area that today comprises southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Today, their descendants, known collectively as the Maya, number well over 6 million individuals, speak more than twenty-eight surviving Mayan languages, and reside in nearly the same area. (Full article...)
The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000km (2,500 miles) from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and northwest Argentina. Archaeologists believe that Andean civilizations first developed on the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific Ocean. The Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, dating back to 3500 BCE. Andean civilizations are one of at least five civilizations in the world deemed by scholars to be "pristine." The concept of a "pristine" civilization refers to a civilization that has developed independently of external influences and is not a derivative of other civilizations.
Despite the severe environmental challenges of high mountains and hyper-arid desert, the Andean civilizations domesticated a wide variety of crops, some of which, such as potatoes, peppers, peanuts, manioc, and coca, became of worldwide importance. The Andean civilizations were noteworthy for monumental architecture, an extensive road system, textile weaving, and many unique characteristics of the societies they created. (Full article...)
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The history of Maya civilization is divided into three principal periods: the Preclassic, Classic and Postclassic periods; these were preceded by the Archaic Period, which saw the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture. Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of chronology of the Maya civilization, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or decadence. Definitions of the start and end dates of period spans can vary by as much as a century, depending on the author. The Preclassic lasted from approximately 3000 BC to approximately 250 AD; this was followed by the Classic, from 250 AD to roughly 950 AD, then by the Postclassic, from 950 AD to the middle of the 16th century. Each period is further subdivided: (Full article...)
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Late Postclassic Huastec temple at Castillo de Teayo
Surviving remains from the Huastec civilization include several large archaeological sites, a well-preserved temple, and a large amount of stone sculpture. By the Late Postclassic (c. AD 1200–1521), the Huastecs had developed metallurgy and were producing copper alloys. The Aztec Empire conquered the Huastec region around the 15th century, and probably demanded tribute payments. (Full article...)
Location of foreign lands for the Mesopotamians, including Elam, Magan, Dilmun, Marhashi and Meluhha. Magan (also Majan) was an ancient region in what is now modern day Oman and United Arab Emirates. It was referred to in Sumeriancuneiform texts of around 2300 BCE and existed until 550 BCE as a source of copper and diorite for Mesopotamia. As discussed by The Archeology Fund founded by Juris Zarins, "The Sumerian cities of southern Mesopotamia were closely linked to the Persian Gulf. Archaeologists and historians have linked sites in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar to the Sumerian geographical term of Dilmun. Oman, was most likely the Sumerian Magan". (Full article...)
The civilizations of Classical Greece (Hellenic) and Roman Empire (Latin) as well as Ancient Israel (Hebraism) and early Christendom are considered seminal periods in Western history. From Ancient Greece sprang belief in democracy, and the pursuit of intellectual inquiry into such subjects as truth and beauty; from Rome came lessons in government administration, martial organization, engineering and law; and from Ancient Christianity with its ideals of the brotherhood of humanity. Strong cultural contributions also emerged from the pagan Germanic, Celtic, Finnic and Nordic peoples of pre-Christian Europe. Following the 5th-century "Fall of Rome", Europe entered the Middle Ages, during which period the Catholic Church filled the power vacuum left in the West by the fallen Roman Empire, while the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) endured for centuries. (Full article...)
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Photograph of the burial chamber of Sennedjem's tomb depicting the Field of Reeds in the afterlife A River valley civilization is an agricultural civilization that is situated beside a river. Civilization develops from the river as it gives the inhabitants a reliable source of water for drinking and agriculture. The river also supports their livelihood through fishing, fertile soil from annual flooding, and ease of transportation. (Full article...)
Su Nuraxi of Barumini, included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1997 The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, formed in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy in the Bronze Age. According to the traditional theory put forward by Giovanni Lilliu in 1966, it developed after multiple migrations from the West of people related to the Beaker culture who conquered and disrupted the local Copper Age cultures; other scholars instead hypothesize an autochthonous origin. It lasted from the 18thcenturyBC (Middle Bronze Age), up to the Iron Age or until the beginning of Roman colonization in 238BC. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century AD, and in some areas, namely the Barbagia, to the 6th century AD–or possibly even to the 11th century AD, although it must be remarked that the construction of new nuraghi had already stopped by the 12th–11th century BC, during the Final Bronze Age.
Ancient Maya Maritime Trade Resources Trade was a crucial factor in maintaining Maya cities.
Activity consisted mainly of foods like fish, squash, yams, corn, honey, beans, turkey, vegetables, salt, chocolate drinks; raw materials such as limestone, marble, jade, wood, copper, and gold; and manufactured goods such as paper, books, furniture, jewelry, clothing, carvings, toys, weapons, and luxury goods. The Maya also had an important services sector, through which mathematicians, farming consultants, artisans, architects, astronomers, scribes and artists would work. Some of the richer merchants also sold weapons, gold and other valuables. Specialized craftsmen created luxury items and devices to overcome specific problems, usually by royal decree. (Full article...)
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Statuette of a Quimbaya cacique sitting on a stool, in Museum of the Americas (Madrid, Spain) The Quimbaya (/kɪmbaɪa/) were a small, ancient indigenous group in present-day Colombia noted for their gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in tumbaga alloy, with 30% copper, which colours the pieces. (Full article...)
An ancient mound at the city of Kish, Mesopotamia, Babel Governorate, Iraq The Kish civilization was a civilization that was proposed in earlier theories among Ancient Near East scholars, which encompassed the sites of Ebla and Mari in the Levant, Nagar in the north, and the proto-Akkadian sites of Abu Salabikh and Kish in central Mesopotamia into the early East Semitic era in Mesopotamia and the Levant. The term itself was coined by Ignace Gelb. The epoch that this supposed civilization existed started from the early 4th millennium BC and ended with the rise of the Akkadian Empire. The theory has been discarded by more recent scholarship. (Full article...)
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Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities
A large body of literature has flourished on the origins of the Etruscans, and the consensus among modern scholars is that the Etruscans were an indigenous population. The earliest evidence of a culture that is identifiably Etruscan dates from about 900BC. This is the period of the Iron AgeVillanovan culture, considered to be the earliest phase of Etruscan civilization, which itself developed from the previous late Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture in the same region, part of the central European Urnfield culture system. (Full article...)
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The Indian subcontinent The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India:
Most ethnic groups of central Mexico in the post-classic period shared essential cultural traits of Mesoamerica. The culture of central Mexico includes maize cultivation, social division between nobility (pipiltin) and commoners (macehualtin), a pantheon, and the calendric system. The Mexica were late-comers to the Valley of Mexico, and founded the city-state of Tenochtitlan on unpromising islets in Lake Texcoco, later becoming the dominant power of the Aztec Triple Alliance or Aztec Empire which conquered other city-states throughout Mesoamerica. It originated in 1427 as an alliance between the city-states Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan to defeat the Tepanec state of Azcapotzalco, which had previously dominated the Valley. (Full article...)
The exact English phrase “Western civilization” appears to have become common in the late 1800s. One study notes that it was being used without special explanation by at least 1890, while earlier 19th century English-language writers generally talked about “European civilization”. Previous to that, "Christendom" was the only widely used umbrella concept for centuries. Historically, scholars have closely associated the idea of Western culture with the classical era of Greco-Roman antiquity. However, scholars also acknowledge that other cultures, like ancient Egypt, the Phoenician city-states, and several Near-Eastern cultures stimulated and influenced it. The Hellenistic period also promoted syncretism, blending Greek, Roman, and Near-Eastern cultures. Major advances in literature, engineering, and science shaped the Hellenistic Jewish culture, from which the earliest Christians and the Greek New Testament emerged. The eventual Christianization of Europe in late antiquity would ensure that Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, remained a dominant force in Western culture for many centuries to follow. (Full article...)
Image 713th-century French historiated initial with the three classes of medieval society: those who prayed (the clergy), those who fought (the knights), and those who worked (the peasantry)
Image 27Portrait of Alfraganus in the Compilatio astronomica, 1493. Islamic astronomers began just before the 9th century to collect and translate Indian, Persian, and Greek astronomical texts, adding their own astronomy and enabling later, particularly European, astronomy to build on. Symbolic of the post-classical period, a period of an increasing trans-regional literary culture, particularly in the sciences, spreading and building on methods of science. (from Human history)
Image 28The ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia were the oldest civilization in the world, beginning about 4000 BCE, here depicted around 2500 BCE, showing the different social roles in the Sumerian society of Ur. (from Civilization)
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