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 wi
The Mayan social stratification was a very well organized, multi-layered structure. It is similar to the modern day caste system in that membership to a particular class was hereditary, and was extremely difficult to change. At the top of the society was the ruler, followed by his family, courtiers, and priests. Others among this noble group were skilled architects, merchants, and craftsmen. A class of their own, warriors were an essential part of the Mayan society. Beneath the noble rank were general specialists, artisans, craftspeople, managers, and bureaucrats. These groups were ranked in importance, and can be paralleled to the modern middle class. Under the middle class were the essential service people as they were responsible for making the city run. Members of this class included unskilled workers, farmers, and slaves. (http://home.eol.ca/~smithda/classstructure.html, 1-2) We know of the Maya class stratification from their extremely well kept records using g! ilding of Sacsawaman, Cieza wrote that “four thousand laborers quarried and cut the stones, six thousand dug the ditch and laid the foundations, while still other cut poles and beams for the timbers.” Other chroniclers have stated that Sacsawaman took over 50 years to build(Hagen and Morris, 1998: 10). It is unquestionable that the Incas put many hours into their architectural structures therefore fulfilling Childe’s characteristic. lyphs. Each ruler had an emblem glyph, which marked his rank and title with reference to his territory. (Erickson Lecture, 11/27/00). It is also apparent that the Maya civilization demonstrated forms of monumental architecture. The Maya cities are known almost exclusively from their temples and pyramids of sculptured stone
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Approximate Word count = 1182
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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