What Is a Civilisation?

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 6: The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 6.1

Learn

Rehan's class visits a museum. Behind glass, there are tiny clay toys, a necklace of red beads and a small square seal with a bull carved on it. "These are about 4,500 years old," the guide says, "from one of the world's first civilisations." Rehan wonders: what exactly is a civilisation?

In Chapter 4 we saw the first humans settling down and farming. Over time, some communities developed new technologies, like building, metallurgy (getting metals from nature and shaping them) and transport, and moved towards civilisation.

Historians say a civilisation has several features together: some form of government and administration; urbanism (towns and cities, often planned); a variety of crafts; trade, inside a region and with faraway lands; some form of writing; and shared cultural traditions.

The world's earliest civilisations grew up along great rivers: in Mesopotamia (today's Iraq), in Egypt along the Nile, in China, and in the north-west of the Indian Subcontinent. In the next topics we will explore India's earliest civilisation.

Explore: a sign of civilisation?

1. Sort each card.

Remember

• A civilisation has government, towns and cities, crafts, trade, writing and shared traditions.
• The earliest civilisations grew along great rivers.

Quick check

Which is a feature of a civilisation?

1. Towns and cities with crafts and trade
2. Moving camp every few days
3. No contact with others
4. Living alone

Think about it

Why do you think the first civilisations grew near big rivers?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.