civilisation

Civilisation, or civilisation, refers to the complex organization of human societies characterized by urban settlements, formal government, social stratification, economic specialization, and symbolic systems such as writing and art. The term derives from the Latin civitas meaning "city" and entered modern usage via the French civilisation.

Core features include urban development, centralized authority, codified laws, record-keeping, long-distance trade, agriculture-based surplus, technology, infrastructure, organized religion, and cultural production.

Civilisations typically emerge when agricultural societies generate surplus, enabling labor specialization, administration, and permanent settlements. Over time, these elements form institutions such as bureaucracies, legal codes, schools, and religious establishments.

Scholars identify numerous historic civilisations—such as Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indus Valley, Chinese, Mesoamerican, and Andean—and note that civilisations interact and transform through trade, exchange, conquest, and cultural diffusion.

Because the term is broad and contested, some scholars emphasize material complexity and institutions, while others stress cultural practices and worldviews. Critics highlight eurocentric biases and colonial uses of civilisation.