The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society.

By the most minimal, literal definition, a civilization is a complex society.

Technically, anthropologists distinguish civilizations in which many of the people live in cities and get their food from agriculture, from band societies, in which people live in nomadic or semi-nomadic groups, and tribal societies, in which people may live in small semi-permanent settlements.

The term "civilization" is used in common parlance with both a normative and a descriptive dimension.

In the past, to be "civilised", was linked to the feeling of being "civil," a term for politeness and propriety.

To be "uncivilised" in this usage means to be "rude", "barbaric" or a "savage".

In this sense, civilization implies sophistication and refinement..

For more information about the topic Civilization, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

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Minoan civilization — The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, flourishing from approximately 2600 to 1450 BC when their culture ...  > read more

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