Breath

Hae-Seung Robinson
Professor Andrews
HST 1000 08
10/24/17

       Civilization begins to grow it’s roots in society during 3500-3000 B.C.E in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Norte Chico. Civilization at its core, existed before it was redifined by the newly developed societies. Thanks to the agricultural revolution, people were forming communities which could be considered the beginning of civilization in terms of human history, but historians and the Mesopotamians they study have conflicting definitions of what it means to be civilized. Mesopotamians made it very clear cut based on their lifestyle. Because of how strict their definition was, they weren’t actually embodying the true meaning of civilization. In reality, what is or is not concidered civil changes with society. It may seem ironic that this is true but their definition of civil only applies to them at their specific point in time. They were civilized before and after they set guidelines for what it meant, because they were already living cohesively amongs each other and they were progressing and growing as a community. The fact that they drank beer, or were in tune with other animals had nothing to with the true meaning of civilization, because this only applies to their society. Historians are in a better position to analyze their definition of civilization because they aren’t restricted to the perimeters that existed. At its core, civilization existed post agricultural revolution and the moment parameters were created, the definition of civilization died and took on the form of society, which I can’t say defines (or exemplifies) civilization. What is or isn’t civilized is a constant that must remain that way in order for it to hold its true meaning. The instant we take its breath away it’s a dead meaning.

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