The four ancient civilizations actually correspond to the four birthplaces of the world. Civilizations are Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient India and China. Four large-scale human civilizations were born at the earliest, but the later Aegean civilization was not included. The significance of the four ancient civilizations lies not in the chronological order, but in the fact that they are the birthplace of modern civilization and the influence of the region.
yard measure
The first criterion is to own a city.
In other words, there should be cities in the excavated sites. If they are all primitive small settlements, it is not enough. There should be cities, that is, there should be comparisons and differences between cities and villages. This standard is still limited. As a city, it should be able to accommodate more than 5000 people.
The second condition is words.
Civilization without words is unimaginable, because without the invention of words, the accumulation of human thought and culture cannot be preserved and spread.
The third condition is to have complex etiquette buildings.
What is a complex etiquette building? Simply put, architecture is not built for ordinary life needs, but a complex building specially built for religious, political or economic reasons. For example, the pyramids in ancient Egypt, anyone who visits, stands in front of the pyramids and faces the Sphinx will feel that this is a kind of civilization, which is no problem. You can't say it's primitive or in a state of ignorance and barbarism, because pyramids are graves. If it is only for general needs, there is no need to build such a big building anyway. It was built to respect the Pharaoh and make the Pharaoh's god live forever, which represents the class differentiation and rule in the civilized era.
These are the three standards of archaeological civilization, which were put forward by Kluckhohn and popularized by Daniel. They say that because there are few materials left over from ancient times, only two pieces are enough, and of the two pieces, writing is indispensable. With writing, there is another kind, which can be considered as a civilized society. When this view spread to the East, scholars in both Japan and China felt that it was a bit inadequate. It is better to add another one, that is, the invention and use of metallurgy. Now in our country, metallurgy is generally regarded as a standard, so we have four standards. Of course, whether these standards are really suitable for our ancient historical situation in China can be discussed and studied later.
Civilization achievement
Mesopotamia
1. The earliest human civilization in the world-the city-state civilization of two rivers (6500 ~6000 years ago).
2. The earliest writing in the world-Sumerian cuneiform (5,200 years ago).
3. The earliest city in the world-the city of Jericho near Jerusalem (8000 ~ 1 10,000 years ago); Damascus, the capital of Syria (8000 ~ 1 10,000 years ago).
4. The earliest smelting practice in the world-the experiment of smelting gold and silver ore in the city-state of Lianghe Valley (7000 years ago).
5. The earliest bronze smelting technology in the world-bronze smelting in the city-state of Lianghe Valley (6000 years ago).
6. The earliest iron civilization in the world-Hittite civilization (3500 years ago).
7. The earliest calendar in the world-Sumerian lunar calendar (exact time is unknown, earlier than Egyptian solar calendar; It is said to have a history of 5000 years).
8. Judaism, the earliest systematic religion in the world (juxtaposed with Hinduism 4000 years ago).
Ancient Egypt
1. The earliest unified dynasty/empire in the world-menes unified and went to Egypt to establish the first dynasty of Egypt (5 100 years ago).
2. The earliest mathematics in the world-ancient Egyptian mathematics (5,200 years ago).
3. The earliest geometry in the world-ancient Egyptian geometry (5,000 years ago).
4. The earliest special writing tools in the world-reed pen and papyrus (5,000 years ago)
Indus valley
1. Arabic numerals.
2. The earliest trigonometric function in the world-from the Sun Sitando (finished product in 1 century).
3. The earliest Heliocentrism in the world-from Aliyepito (completed in 499 AD).
4. The earliest systematic religion in the world-Hinduism (4,000 years ago, it was tied with Judaism).
China
1. The earliest copper smelting technology in the world-smelting brass at Anjiangzhai site in Xi 'an, Shaanxi (6700 years ago; 4675 135B.C .)
2. The earliest agriculture in the world-domesticated rice and cultivated rice planted with silica in Wannian Xianrendong Site, Wannian County, Jiangxi Province (10.2 million years ago).
3. The earliest shipbuilding technology in the world-canoe at the site of Xiaoshan Bridge across the lake in Zhejiang (8000 years ago).
4. The earliest brewing technology in the world-the fruit wine sediment at Jiahu site in Wuyang, Henan Province (9000 years ago).
5. The earliest musical instrument in the world-the bone flute at Jiahu site in Wuyang, Henan (9000~8600 years ago).
6. The earliest philosophical work in the world-Laozi's Tao Te Ching (2,500 years ago).
7. Sun Wu's The Art of War, the earliest military work in the world (2,500 years ago).