Characteristics of Civilizations

Think of the last time you drove on a road or highway around your school. You may have driven over a bridge or stopped at a red light. You may have seen maintenance workers constructing or repairing the roadway. Or, you may have seen business people driving to work, or students going to school. These are all things that were being done to support people's daily activities in our society. Some of the things you noticed were services provided by the government or businesses.

These activities are part of our routine lives, and create a shared culture within our community. The activities you notice all around you are just a few examples of what makes our society a civilization. Historians use these examples to define and study the first civilizations, and the ones that have risen and fallen over the course of history. You may not have realized it, but as you rode along on the street, you were enjoying the same things that made towns and cities "civilized" thousands of years ago!

In this activity you will learn about the characteristics of civilizations, and view evidence of some of the most famous ancient civilizations.