civilization

thumb|Ancient Egypt is an example of one of the first civilizations, building [[pyramids starting in the 3rd millennium BCE.]]

A civilization (; also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languages (namely, writing systems).thumb|The ancient Sumerians of [[Mesopotamia were the oldest civilization in the world, beginning about 4000 BCE, here depicted around 2500 BCE, showing the different social roles in the Sumerian society of Ur.]]Civilizations are organized around densely populated settlements, divided into more or less rigid hierarchical social classes of division of labour, often with a ruling elite and subordinate urban and rural populations, which engage in intensive agriculture, mining, small-scale manufacture and trade. Civilization concentrates power, extending human control over the rest of nature, including over other human beings. Civilizations are characterized by elaborate agriculture, architecture, infrastructure, technological advancement, currency, taxation, regulation, and specialization of labour. thumb|History of China|China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, originating in the 21st century BCE and continuing to the present day. Historically, a civilization has often been understood as a larger and "more advanced" culture, in implied contrast to smaller, supposedly less advanced cultures, even societies within civilizations themselves and within their histories. Generally civilization contrasts with non-centralized tribal societies, including the cultures of nomadic pastoralists, Neolithic societies, or hunter-gatherers.