Features of Civilization 1 Developed Cities Main feature

Features of Civilization

1) Developed Cities � Main feature of a civilization � Political, economic, and cultural centers

2) Organization and Government � Should meet the needs of the people � Powerful ◦ Ruled by religious leaders, wealthy, or elders � Has specific duties ◦ Gather taxes ◦ Organize defenses

3) Complex Religion � Polytheistic (many gods) � Monotheistic (one god) � Built temples, sacrificed animals, crops, and at times other humans � People worked as priests

4) Job Specialization � Developed once people did not need to spend all of their time looking for food � Instead of doing many jobs “ok”, you do one job really well and do that for others � In turn, other people do the jobs that you may not be as good at

5) Social Classes � People � Social ◦ ◦ ◦ become grouped in social classes organization became more complex Priests Wealthy merchants Artisans Peasant farmers Slaves

6) Arts and Architecture � Expressed society the beliefs and values of the � Showed strength and power of the government � Sometimes meant to intimidate other groups or countries

7) Public Works � Projects ◦ ◦ that benefit the city Irrigation systems (for water) Roads Bridges Defensive walls

8) Record Keeping and Writing � Began in temples with priests � Scribes� Earliest People who can read and write writing made up of pictograms ◦ Pictogram- Simple drawings that looked like the items they represented