I wasn’t talking about indivduals. Homo Erectus didn’t launch a civilisation. Nor did Homo habilis, Homo cepranensis, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo neanderthalensis etc. That is relevant data.
I wasn’t talking about indivduals. Homo Erectus didn’t launch a civilisation. Nor did Homo habilis, Homo cepranensis, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo neanderthalensis etc. That is relevant data.
H. neanderthalensis had complicated tools and weapons, including spears and axes and there’s evidence of tools used to stitch garments together. There’s some (controversial) evidence that neanderthals made musical instruments, and the presence of remains indicating severe wounds that have since healed suggests that they cared for their wounded. So how much civilization is necessary for something to be considered civilization?
(Note that there are two problems with my example of neanderthals- First, they had average brain size that was as large or larger than Homo sapiens so they may have been as smart. Second, many neanderthals coexisted with populations of H. sapiens and so may have obtained tools by trade and imitation.)
So how much civilization is necessary for something to be considered civilization?
The process of things taking off. See:
Civilisation (or civilization) is a sometimes controversial term which has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to human cultures which are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labour. Such civilisations are generally urbanized.
Civilisation (or civilization) is a sometimes controversial term which has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to human cultures which are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labour. Such civilisations are generally urbanized.
It should not need to happen more than once—and there are no signs that it has done so.
This isn’t a really helpful definition for our purposes. How complex does technology and division of labor need to be? There’s division of labor in hunter-gatherer groups for example. I would agree that by almost all expansions of this definition neanderthals didn’t make it, and that H. sapiens is the only species to have done so that we are aware of.
I am, however, puzzled by your statement that civilization arose only once. Do the New World civilizations of the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs not count? I would think that the separation of the Old and New World would then necessitate at least two independent occasions where civilization has arisen.
I wasn’t talking about indivduals. Homo Erectus didn’t launch a civilisation. Nor did Homo habilis, Homo cepranensis, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo neanderthalensis etc. That is relevant data.
H. neanderthalensis had complicated tools and weapons, including spears and axes and there’s evidence of tools used to stitch garments together. There’s some (controversial) evidence that neanderthals made musical instruments, and the presence of remains indicating severe wounds that have since healed suggests that they cared for their wounded. So how much civilization is necessary for something to be considered civilization?
(Note that there are two problems with my example of neanderthals- First, they had average brain size that was as large or larger than Homo sapiens so they may have been as smart. Second, many neanderthals coexisted with populations of H. sapiens and so may have obtained tools by trade and imitation.)
The process of things taking off. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization
It should not need to happen more than once—and there are no signs that it has done so.
This isn’t a really helpful definition for our purposes. How complex does technology and division of labor need to be? There’s division of labor in hunter-gatherer groups for example. I would agree that by almost all expansions of this definition neanderthals didn’t make it, and that H. sapiens is the only species to have done so that we are aware of.
I am, however, puzzled by your statement that civilization arose only once. Do the New World civilizations of the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs not count? I would think that the separation of the Old and New World would then necessitate at least two independent occasions where civilization has arisen.
Civilization only arose in one species. It’s arisen many times within that species, just not in any other species.
That’s the point I was getting at...