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Civilization facts for kids

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Aristotle Altemps Inv8575
"No one in the history of civilization has shaped our understanding of science and natural philosophy more than the great Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), who exerted a profound and pervasive influence for more than two thousand years" —Gary B. Ferngren

Civilization comes from the Latin word civis, which means someone who lives in a town. When people are civilized, they live in large, well-organized groups. They do not live in small tribes or isolated family groups.

A civilization is more than just a town. It is an advanced way of living together. This means it has laws, a shared culture, and a regular way to get food. It also has ways to protect its people. Most civilizations use farming to get food. They also have a system of government, like monarchs (kings or queens) or elections. People in a civilization usually speak a common language. They often share a religion too. They teach their young people the knowledge they need to live. All civilizations since the Sumerians and the Egyptians have used some kind of writing. Writing helps people store and build up knowledge over time.

Famous Civilizations

The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is a great example of a large civilization. It was ruled from the city of Rome. This empire once stretched from the borders of Scotland all the way to North Africa. It also reached across the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Romans had their own language, Latin.

Latin became the main language for educated people. It was used long after the Roman civilization ended. Even today, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and scholars still use Latin words. This is true even though the Roman civilization disappeared over 1,500 years ago. Famous writers like William Shakespeare were very good at Latin. Latin is still taught in some schools today.

We still admire and copy Roman architecture. We use Roman numerals to count certain things. We use the names of Roman gods for our days and months. The constellations in the sky still have the names the Romans gave them. Our Western political systems are also based on Roman ideas. Words like Senate, Governor, election, justice, and vote all come from Latin. Their meanings have not changed in thousands of years.

The Roman civilization lasted almost 1,000 years. However, the Ancient Egyptian civilization was even older. It lasted for a much longer time. The Romans and Egyptians fought each other in the Battle of Actium. Rome won this battle, and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.

What Makes a Civilization?

A civilization is a very advanced stage of human society. It shows great progress in many areas.

  • Learning and Culture: People develop new ideas in art and science. They also have good manners and ways of behaving.
  • Record Keeping: Civilizations use ways to keep records, like writing. This helps them store information.
  • Organized Society: They have complex political and social systems. This means they have governments and different groups of people working together.

A civilization can also describe the type of culture and society found in a certain place or time. For example, we talk about the Mayan civilization or the civilization of ancient Rome. It also refers to the process of becoming civilized. When we say "We returned to civilization after camping," it means we came back to modern society with its comforts.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Civilización para niños

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