Civilization Overview

Civilization, advanced state of a society possessing historical and cultural unity. This article is concerned with the problem of identifying specific societies that, because of their distinctive achievements, are regarded by historians as separate civilizations. Distinctive features of the various civilizations are discussed elsewhere in the encyclopedia.

The historical perspective used in viewing a civilization, rather than a country, as the significant unit is of relatively recent origin. Since the Middle Ages, most European historians have adopted either a religious or national perspective. The religious viewpoint was predominant among European historians until the 18th century. Regarding the Christian revelation as the most momentous event in history, they viewed all history as either the prelude to or the aftermath of that event. The early historians of Europe had little occasion to study other cultures except as curiosities or as potential areas for missionary activity. The national viewpoint, as distinct from the religious one, developed in the early 16th century, largely on the basis of the political philosophy of the Italian statesman and historian Niccolò Machiavelli, for whom the proper object of historical study was the state. After that period, however, the many historians who chronicled the histories of the national states of Europe and America rarely dealt with societies beyond the realm of European culture except to describe the subjection of those societies by the, in their view, more progressive European powers.