A Definition of Civilization(文明的定义)

A Definition of Civilization

What do we mean when we say that “People became civilized”? We mean that they have

achieved all or most of the following: writing; cities; arts and sciences; formal political

organization; social classes; and taxation. People could not have achieved these characteristics of

civilization as long as they had been food gatherers and always on the move. They could not have

built cities, for example, when they had to move their camp frequently to new grounds for hunting,

fishing, picking berries, and digging roots. Agriculture therefor made civilization possible.

Styles of Ancient Civilizations

All these civilization had the same general characteristics: writing, cities, arts and sciences, rich

and poor classes, and so forth. Despite these similarities, there were also basic differences among

these civilizations. Each had its own distinctive style,

Geography explain some of these differences. The mesopotamians, for example, lived in a land

threatened by sudden floods, by difficult irrigation problems, and by constant invasions of

barbarians(nomadic people). The Egyptians, by contrast, enjoyed a land protected by almost

impassable deserts. They benefited from a river that flooded regularly and predictable. It is not

surprising, then, that the usual attitude of the mesopotamians was one of pessimism and

uncertainty, while the Egyptians tended to be optimistic and confident.

This difference can be seen clearly in architecture. The uncertain Babylonians built for the

moment, the confident Egyptians for eternity. The Mesopotamians normally use sun-dried bricks,

even in areas where stone was easily did not care that temples built of bricks would

not last long; the gods probably would soon want them changed anyway. But the Egyptians, who

began by imitating the Mesopotamians, soon changed from brick to stone. They built gigantic

temples for their gods, and vast pyramids to house the mummified bodies of their kings, or

pharaohs. The Karnak Temple at Thebes includes a hall 122 meters(400 feet)long, 53 meters(175

feet)wide, and 24 meters(80 feet)high. The roof is supported by rows of columns, some so large

that 100 people could stand on top of one of them.

Likewise the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is one of the seven wonders of the world.. it is a solid

mass of limestone blocks covering 5 hectares(13 acres), and originally it was 234 meters(768 feet)

square and 147 meters(482 feet)high. So enormous is this pyramid that its limestone blocks would

build a wall 3 meters(10 feet) high and 23 centimeters(9 inches) thick aroud the boundaries of

france. To the present day these huge monuments dominate the Egyptian landscape, whereas the

many large structures built by the Mesopotamians have mostly crumbled away.

Significance of Ancient civilizations

The civilizations of the ancient world differed from each other in their styles, or in their ways of

looking at life and carrying on everyday life. But they were similar in one basic respect, they were

all much more complicated societies than those in the earliest villages.

We have seen that during the centuries between the beginning of agriculture and the

development of civilization, people lived in socially homogeneous villages. They did the same

thing as their neighbors. They lived in the same way that their neighbors did. They grew their own

food to feed themselves. But when people became civilized, two important changes took place.

One was a great increase in productivity and the other was division of labor, so that everybody no

longer did the same thing.

The increase in productivity occurred because they now used irrigation in farming. They also

used various metals in place of stone. They also improved old crafts and created new ones. These

advances made it possible for them to build up food surpluses instead of living from hand to

mouth as they had in the past. In other words, farmers for the first time were growing more than

they needed for themselves. This extra is known as surplus. And it was this surplus that made

possible specialization, or division of labor. The surplus was taken away by taxes, and taxes were

used to support the new governmental, religious, and military leaders. In return for their services,

the leaders were supported by the tax moneys, so that they did not have to grow their own food.

This meant that there no longer was only “one class”. Society no longer was homogeneous.

Whereas in the early villages there could not be poor people at one end and rich at the other, now

there were rich and poor in the villages and in the new cities. In the villages there were poor

peasant with no land and rich peasants with much land. In the cities there were the palaces and

temples and mansions of the governmental, religious, and military leaders. And there were the

shacks of the artisans who labored in the workshops. Civilized societies from now on were no

longer homogeneous. They were divided into rich and poor, into rulers and ruled.

This division is clear even in the graveyards of these civilizations. Archaeologists have found

that the graves of the early villagers were all very much the same, but in later times the graves

became as different from each other as the housing of the living. Diggings have shown that the

graves of the poor contain only a little cheap pottery for use in afterlife. The graves of the rich

have copper vessels and expensive jewelry. As for royal tombs, they are found to have not only

fine clothing, precious ornamens, and beautifully carved weapons, but also the skeletons of dozens

of attendants-soldiers, harem ladies, charioteers, and servants-who were killed and placed in the

grave in order to take care of their wealthy and powerful master-in afterlife as they had done in

earthly life.

Although the coming of civilization ended the early equality between individuals, civilization

did bring great achievements and gains. The military leader provided protection against invaders.

The religious leaders preserved and advanced culture at the same time that they offered religious

guidance. And the governmental leaders furnished the organization needed by the complex new

civilizations with their vast irrigation works, their tax systems, and their bureaucracies.

The end result was that civilized people had more control over the forces of nature and therefore

wre more independent of nature. For example, they no longer had to suffer from repeated floods;

instead they used the floods to increase their food supply. Civilized people also knew how to

gather and organize knowledge, and how to pass it on in written form to future generations. This

meant a constantly growing fund of knowledge rather than the same skills that formerly had been

passed on orally from parent to child for generation after generation.

It is true that all these advances were based to a large extent on the exploitation of the many and

benefited them very little. But the important point, so far as the whole history of people is

concerened, is that advances were made and continue to be made with growing speed. And it was

these advances that finally enabled people in modern times to gain such mastery over nature, such

fantastic productivity through science and industry, that the many are now benefiting along with

the few.

疑难词汇：

1、 Mesopotamian:美索不达米亚

2、 Thebes:底比斯，古埃及的一个城市，位于尼罗河东岸

3、 Karnak Temple:凯尔奈克阿蒙大神庙

4、 Shack:简陋木屋，棚屋

5、 Harem:（伊斯兰教国家中的）闺房，后宫

6、 Charioteer:驾车者