Civilization
In order to determine whether or not a society can be considered a civilization, it is essential to have a clear definition of the word itself. Webster's dictionary defines a civilization as an advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions. While this may seem to be an acceptable definition, in the world of archeology, it simply isn't elaborate enough. V. Gordon Childe, a famous archeologist, created ten conditions, which he felt needed to be fulfilled in order to consider a society a civilization. While each of Childe's ten conditions are all of importance, it is essentially incorrect to assume that a society is not a civilization simply because it does not fulfill all of the conditions. Two of the ten conditions which are well defined and clearly cut in Childe's work are the concepts of class stratification and monumental architecture. It is now essential to define these conditions and then apply them to real societies to prove that they are civilizations. (Childe, 1950: 7, 11) Class stratification is a socially multi-layered structure within a s
At the bottom of the social structure are service people as who are responsible for all manual labor in the city. Similar to the noble ancient Egyptians, the upper class Incas were buried with their wealth and treasures. It has been shown that both the Incas and the Maya civilizations fulfill two of Childe's characteristics, in that they both are perfect examples of societies that demonstrate a clear social stratification, as well a monumental architecture. Childe's ten characteristics are each good indications of a civilization, but cannot all be used together to determine whether or not a society is a civilization. Under the middle class were the essential service people as they were responsible for making the city run. At the top of the society was the ruler, followed by his family, courtiers, and priests. It is unquestionable that the Incas put many hours into their architectural structures therefore fulfilling Childe's characteristic. While describing the walls of Sacsawaman, a temple fortress in Cuzco, Sancho states that " . These men may be considered upper class by today's standards, as they lived in extremely lavish palaces. " Other chroniclers have stated that Sacsawaman took over 50 years to build(Hagen and Morris, 1998: 10). A monumental work is one that requires many man hours to create(Erickson Lecture, 11/15/00). A class of their own, warriors were an essential part of the Mayan society. At the top was the ruler, the Sapa Inca, who had supreme control over the empire. Then were artists, musicians, army captains, and the quipucamyoc, or Incan accountants.
Common topics in this essay:
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Gordon Childe,
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middle class,
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apply real societies,
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Acceptance Essays
