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    Elements of Civilization

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    MARIA CASTELLANOS
    Government bureaucracies and organized religion emerged as cities grew in population and complexity. Division of labor led to different social classes, with nobles and priests holding higher status than peasants and artisans. Public works like temples, government buildings, and marketplaces supported daily life. Writing systems were developed to record laws, ceremonies, and rulers' accomplishments, allowing knowledge to build across generations.

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    Elements of Civilization

    Uploaded by

    MARIA CASTELLANOS
    36 views1 page
    Government bureaucracies and organized religion emerged as cities grew in population and complexity. Division of labor led to different social classes, with nobles and priests holding higher status than peasants and artisans. Public works like temples, government buildings, and marketplaces supported daily life. Writing systems were developed to record laws, ceremonies, and rulers' accomplishments, allowing knowledge to build across generations.

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    Government bureaucracies and organized religion emerged as cities grew in population and complexity. Division of labor led to different social classes, with nobles and priests holding higher status than peasants and artisans. Public works like temples, government buildings, and marketplaces supported daily life. Writing systems were developed to record laws, ceremonies, and rulers' accomplishments, allowing knowledge to build across generations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    36 views1 page

    Elements of Civilization

    Uploaded by

    MARIA CASTELLANOS
    Government bureaucracies and organized religion emerged as cities grew in population and complexity. Division of labor led to different social classes, with nobles and priests holding higher status than peasants and artisans. Public works like temples, government buildings, and marketplaces supported daily life. Writing systems were developed to record laws, ceremonies, and rulers' accomplishments, allowing knowledge to build across generations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    The Characteristics Important to Civilizations

    After the Neolithic Revolution, villages began to form. Over thousands of years, the populations of
    these villages began to grow. Eventually, some of these villages became cities. These cities required
    a higher level of organization than villages. The leaders established complex, centralized
    governments in order to achieve this. Since the government had many tasks to perform, a
    bureaucracy was set up. While there was usually a single ruler, many people worked for the rulers as
    part of this bureaucracy.

    As people took on different roles in society, a division of labor, or job specialization, occurred. Instead
    of everyone working to provide his or her own basic needs, different people learned and performed
    different tasks. This made people interdependent (they relied on each other.) However, this also led to
    the development of social classes. Certain jobs were considered to hold a higher status than others.
    Those who worked as part of the government bureaucracy were usually considered nobles, or a higher
    status, than farmers and other workers, known as peasants.

    The forces of nature played a very important role in the lives of these people. The survival of the city
    depended on good production of crops. Droughts, floods, or storms could all destroy a harvest and
    doom everyone. Beliefs often developed that there were gods who controlled these forces and rituals
    and ceremonies honoring these gods would ensure good conditions. Temples were built where priests
    performed these ceremonies. Everyone in the city was expected to participate. This is the
    development of organized religion. Because of their importance, priests gained a high status in
    society. Very often, the ruler of the government was also the high priest.

    These temples are one example of public works constructed by the government. Public works are
    buildings and facilities designed for the benefit and use of the general population. Temples,
    government buildings, public baths and marketplaces are all examples of public works. They allowed
    the daily activities of a large populated city to go on.

    In order to build these large structures, architectural skills were developed. People in different regions
    of the world often developed distinct architectural styles. Public works were often decorated with art.
    Paintings, sculptures, and carvings often illustrated the daily life and the beliefs of the people. In these
    ways, art and architecture were important parts of city life. While artisans were skilled at their craft,
    there were usually peasants, the lower social class.

    As life became more complex, it became necessary to develop a method for keeping records.
    Government laws and religious ceremonies needed to be recorded. Rulers often wanted to leave a
    record of their accomplishments. Writing systems were developed for these purposes. Early writing
    systems usually consisted of pictograms (picture symbols). This allowed information to be passed from
    generation to generation. A new generation could then build upon the knowledge of each previous
    generation.

    Each of these characteristics became an important part of the development of modern


    civilization.

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