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What Makes Us Civilized? I. What makes us civilized?

• A. creation of urban centers
  • 1. fundamental feature of civilizations
  • 2. Monumental architecture - large permanent buildings
  • 2. close interaction, wide distribution of jobs
• B. institutional politics
  • 1. some people make decisions for everyone else
  • 2. creation of an independent state, rules for government, society, succession
  • 3. creation of taxes to run the state and distribute wealth (not necessarily fairly)
• C. Creation of class system
  • 1. probable that early humans were quite egalitarian
  • 2. society instead becomes like a pyramid--few on top, lots on the bottom
• D. Creation of Specialized sciences and arts
  • 1. creates ways to move around easily, quickly, long distances
  • 2. creates ways to produce more, with a larger surplus of food and goods
  • 3. creates ways to remember the past, look to the future, celebrate the present
• E. Creation of written language
• F. Movement from equality to inequality
  • 1. among all people--some get power to make decisions
  • 2. as surplus wealth created, wealth gap between elites and masses grows
• G. Not all of these need to happen at all times--they are just a group that seem to happen most places