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[[Image:Machu-Picchu.jpg|thumbnail|right|The ruins of [[Machu Picchu]], "the Lost City of the Incas," has become the most recognizable symbol of the [[Inca]] civilization.]]

[[Image:Machu-Picchu.jpg|thumbnail|right|<center>The ruins of [[Machu Picchu]], "the Lost City of the Incas," has become the most recognizable symbol of the [[Inca]] civilization.</center>]]

A '''civilization''' or '''civilisation''' is a [[society]] or [[culture]] group normally defined as a [[complex society]] characterized by the practice of [[agriculture]] and settlement in [[city|cities]].   

A '''civilization''' or '''civilisation''' is a [[society]] or [[culture]] group normally defined as a [[complex society]] characterized by the practice of [[agriculture]] and settlement in [[city|cities]].   

According to [[Emile Benveniste]] (1954<ref name=Benveniste> [[Émile Benveniste]], "''Civilization. Contribution à l'histoire du mot''" (Civilization. Contribution to the history of the word), 1954, published in ''Problèmes de linguistique générale'', [[Editions Gallimard]], 1966, pp.336-345 (translated by Mary Elizabeth Meek as ''Problems in general linguistics'', 2 vols., 1971) </ref>), the first occurrence in English of ''civilization'' in its modern sense may be found in [[Adam Ferguson]]'s ''An Essay on the History of Civil Society'' (Edinburgh, 1767 - p.2):

According to [[Emile Benveniste]] (1954<ref name=Benveniste> [[Émile Benveniste]], "''Civilization. Contribution à l'histoire du mot''" (Civilization. Contribution to the history of the word), 1954, published in ''Problèmes de linguistique générale'', [[Editions Gallimard]], 1966, pp.336-345 (translated by Mary Elizabeth Meek as ''Problems in general linguistics'', 2 vols., 1971) </ref>), the first occurrence in English of ''civilization'' in its modern sense may be found in [[Adam Ferguson]]'s ''An Essay on the History of Civil Society'' (Edinburgh, 1767 - p.2):

{{cquote|Not only the individual advances from infancy to manhood, but the species itself from rudeness to civilization.<!-- please leave original spelling -->|}}

:"Not only the individual advances from infancy to manhood, but the species itself from rudeness to civilization.

 

Before Benveniste's inquiries, the [[New English Dictionary]] quoted [[James Boswell]]'s conversation with [[Samuel Johnson]] concerning the inclusion of ''Civilization'' <!-- keep original spelling please --> in Johnson's dictionary:

Before Benveniste's inquiries, the [[New English Dictionary]] quoted [[James Boswell]]'s conversation with [[Samuel Johnson]] concerning the inclusion of ''Civilization'' <!-- keep original spelling please --> in Johnson's dictionary:

* ''[[horticulture|Horticultural]]/[[Pastoralism|pastoral]] societies'' in which there are generally two inherited social classes; chief and commoner.

* ''[[horticulture|Horticultural]]/[[Pastoralism|pastoral]] societies'' in which there are generally two inherited social classes; chief and commoner.

* ''Highly stratified structures'', or [[chiefdom]]s, with several inherited social classes: king, noble, freemen, serf and slave.

* ''Highly stratified structures'', or [[chiefdom]]s, with several inherited social classes: king, noble, freemen, serf and slave.

* ''Civilizations,'' with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}

* ''Civilizations,'' with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments.

Economically, civilizations display more complex patterns of ownership and exchange than less organized societies. Living in one place allows people to accumulate more [[personal possessions]] than nomadic people. Some people also acquire [[landed property]], or private ownership of the land. Because many people in civilizations do not grow their own food, they must [[trade]] their goods and services for food in a [[market]] system. Early civilizations developed [[money]] as a universal medium of exchange for these increasingly complex transactions.

Economically, civilizations display more complex patterns of ownership and exchange than less organized societies. Living in one place allows people to accumulate more [[personal possessions]] than nomadic people. Some people also acquire [[landed property]], or private ownership of the land. Because many people in civilizations do not grow their own food, they must [[trade]] their goods and services for food in a [[market]] system. Early civilizations developed [[money]] as a universal medium of exchange for these increasingly complex transactions.