Characteristics of an Urbanized Civilization
All urbanized civilizations have certain things in common. These include: (1) large population
centers; (2) monumental architecture and unique art styles; (3) written language; (4) systems for
managing territories; (5) a complex division of labor; and (6) the division of people into social
classes. These characteristics allow civilizations to become well organized. In urbanized
civilizations, all people have a role in their society that helps the civilization succeed. Certain jobs
and characteristics are more important than others,
but the main goal of the civilizations is to ensure
that people survive and the population grows.
Along the way, if the people can be more creative,
the civilization will become unique.
Large population centers, or urban areas (1),
allow civilizations to develop. Farmers who live
outside urban centers and sell their goods and
services in urban areas are still part of that region’s
civilization. For example, the huge urban center of
Teotihuacan in modern-day Mexico had more than 100,000 residents between 300 and 500 CE. The
development of the Teotihuacan civilization was made possible by the rich agricultural land
surrounding the city. As the land was cultivated, fewer farmers could supply more food, such as
corn and beans, to more
people. Because of the
food entering the city, the
citizens living there had a
way to eat every day
without having to grow
their own food. This
meant that people who
were not in charge of
growing food could build up the city by creating roads, zones for living, trading and governmental
activities, as well as maintaining a strong water/irrigation system. These specialized workers
helped support larger populations, and allowed for trade and commerce. Trade and commerce are
when the people of a civilization exchange
resources or finished items (like clothes)
for money or other resources that they
need. The government protects the trade
and collects a small tax for allowing trade to
occur in their city.
All civilizations work to show off their
culture by building large monuments and
structures (2). This is as true today as it
was thousands of years ago. Civilizations
that were colonized and settled by
Characteristics of an Urbanized Civilization
Europeans are called Western Civilizations. Western Civilizations
include Australia and much of North America. Western
Civilizations have monuments like Mount Rushmore, in the U.S.
state of South Dakota, or the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France. These
monuments represent culture and history of the civilization that
made them. Similarly, the pyramids, Sphinx, and other
monumental structures have represented the country of Egypt for
thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian civilization is also
represented by a unique art style. The Egyptian art style includes
hieroglyphics and stiff human figures. Urbanized civilizations also
promote freethinking and individuality in their people.
Freethinking and individuality help make sure that civilizations
will develop advanced elements of culture and will develop the
technology needed to be strong and continue to grow.
Freethinking and individuality can be seen in the development of
unique styles of art and monumental architecture in successful
civilizations.
Written communication (3) is another element of culture that all successful civilizations share.
Writing allows complex systems for trade, government organizations, and academic thought to
develop. Written language also allows civilizations to record their own history. In the ancient Arab
world, Sultans (Kings) promoted the development of advanced math like algebra and created the
number 0 to help traders keep track of the number of items they were trading. The world's oldest
known written language is Sumerian, which developed
in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization began
keeping records about 3100 BCE. Sumerian writing
was called Cuneiform, it was made up of different
collections of wedge (triangle) shapes. Just like written
records of modern civilizations, Sumerian cuneiform
kept track of taxes, grocery bills, and laws for things
like stealing. The ancient Roman civilization stretched
from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Scotland in
the north and the Black Sea to the east. People in the ancient
Roman civilization spoke Latin. The word civilization comes
from the Latin word "civis," meaning "citizen." Having a shared
written language helps people create a sense of identity. When
everyone speaks the same language, they are more likely to
work together. Civilizations are often linked together based on
the ability to learn each other’s languages. Communication
between civilizations is important for keeping peace and
promoting trade.
Characteristics of an Urbanized Civilization
The ancient Roman civilization ruled an area
that was incredibly large. The Romans were
based in what is now central Italy but had a
much larger area to rule. Because of this,
they needed an effective system for
managing territories (4). Romans
developed infrastructure, educational
systems, and local governments to help
meet the needs of the people. They built a
road system to make communication
between far-away territories faster and
easier. Roads also made travel for the
Roman military much easier. Romans built
structures to improve civilization
everywhere they went. For example, they
built aqueducts to supply fresh water to towns and baths which improved hygiene. They also
spread the Latin language. The "Romance languages" (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian,
Catalan, and Italian) are called that because they all developed from the Roman language: Latin.
Having a similar language made communication and leadership easier for Rome in its far away
territories. Romans used existing local leaders, as well as Romans, to oversee the law in their
territories. Existing residents in new Roman territories were more familiar with their own leaders,
and were more likely to follow their leaders’ instructions. For example, Jewish leaders worked with
Roman authorities in what is
now Israel, while British
leaders often worked with
Romans on the island of Great
Britain. Some people born in
Roman territories eventually
became Roman emperors: The
emperor Constantine, for
instance, was born in what is
now Serbia. This interaction
reduced conflict between Rome
and its territories. It didn’t
reduce all conflict, of course.
People who live in territories or
colonies ruled by other countries are rarely happy with the management, or leadership, of the
foreign civilization. Ancient Rome endured many revolts, from North Africa to Great Britain.
Western Civilization has endured its own revolts, many of which were successful. The South
American independence movement led by Simon Bolivar against Spain in the early 19th century led
to the independence of the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Panama.
Mahatma Gandhi led a successful, nonviolent revolt against British rule in the 20th century, which
resulted in independence for the nation of India.
Characteristics of an Urbanized Civilization
Civilizations are also marked by complex divisions of labor (5). This means that different people
perform specialized tasks. In a civilization that is only focused on agriculture, most members of the
community know how to farm, cook, and hunt. Every person must do multiple tasks in order to
survive. In complex civilizations people
have only one task or job and can rely on
other people in the civilization for other
things. Complex civilizations have food
security. Having more than enough food
makes it so that farmers can grow one type
of crop and depend on other people for
clothing, shelter, and information. It is very
important to make sure that a civilization
always has food security. If there are not
enough farmers, or if people stop valuing
farming as a job, then the whole civilization can become in danger of failing because they don’t have
enough food. A good example of this is the 19th century French Revolution. The entire system of
government was changed, large civil wars occurred and new ideas about human rights were
developed, all because the civilization ran
out of bread!
Civilizations that depend on
trade have divisions of labor. The city of
Timbuktu, in the modern country of Mali,
was an important trading center for
several African civilizations. Residents of
Timbuktu specialized in trading goods
such as gold, ivory, or slaves. Other
residents provided food or shelter for
caravans (groups) traveling on camels
from the Sahara Desert. The urban center
of Timbuktu was also a center of learning. Its division of labor included not only merchants, but
doctors, religious leaders, and artists.
The last element that is important to the development of civilizations is the division of
people into social classes (6). This is a complex idea where people can be divided two ways:
income and type of work performed. Changing social classes has traditionally been difficult and
happens over generations. Social classes can mean groups of people divided by their income.
Western civilization usually divides economic class into wealthy, middle-class, and poor. This is not
always the case, however. In medieval civilizations of Europe, there were few social classes based
on income. Kings and queens had enormous amounts of money and land but people who worked
the land had almost nothing. Eventually, a business economic class developed. Social class can also
refer to the type of work people perform. There are many divisions of social classes. In the ancient
civilization of China, there were four classic types of social classes. Scholars and political leaders
Characteristics of an Urbanized Civilization
(known as shi) were the most powerful social class. Farmers and agricultural workers (known as
nong) were the next most-powerful group. Artists (known as gong), who made everything from
horseshoes to silk robes, were the next order of social class. At the bottom of the social classes were
the merchants and traders, who bought and sold goods and services. Known as shang, these
merchants often had more money than the other classes but had a lower social status.