Doesn't civilization just literally mean a system of living together in a city? There doesn't need to be any written record of how they did it does there, just evidence that they did?
Doesn't civilization just literally mean a system of living together in a city? There doesn't need to be any written record of how they did it does there, just evidence that they did?
> Doesn't civilization just literally mean a system of living together in a city?
The classic checklist definition is: cities, writing, centralized state, agriculture, social stratification with rulers.
Which is what Rome would do to any group of people they came across. Rome defined "civilizatons" and other groups ended up conforming.
What counts as a city? Anyway, we're talking about a concept involving family resemblances rather than an airtight set of sufficient-and-necessary conditions.
Urbanization is one qualifier but not the only one. Plus even today we could have such chaos in a town where laws are absent and justice is that dispensed by the strongman/woman warlord and that would hardly be considered civilization.
Uncivilized does not mean stupid or brutes.
> strongman/woman warlord
any examples of women warlords ? I'm interested because both gendering and not gendering that sentence would upset feminists and I can't tell if this is trolling or whether more thought went into why gendering felt like the safe bet here.
> any examples of women warlords
Standout for me: Ching Shih (China, 1775–1844), Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba (Angola, c. 1583–1663), Zenobia (Palmyrene Empire, 3rd century CE), Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị (Vietnam, 1st century CE), Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (England, c. 870–918).
Some honorable mentions: Boudica, Khutulun, Rani Lakshmibai, Grace O’Malley.
Boudica comes to mind, I'm sure there are other notables.
Boudicca. Joan of Arc. Grace O' Malley. There are some others.
Why would either upset feminists? Have you ever talked to a feminist?
> Uncivilized does not mean stupid or brutes.
Yet the presence of gathering places certainly does suggest civility! A warlord could command the cooperation necessary perhaps, but would have little reason to build that structure rather than walls and towers