We can immediately think of different features: styles in art, architecture and music; different writing scripts; a distinct literature; a particular set of religious beliefs; noteworthy forms of government; special practices – for example, gladiators (Rome), caste (India) and so on. And of course, all civilizations occur at a particular time and place in world history.
For example, you will all know which civilization I am talking about when I mention pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphs and pharaohs. Ancient Egypt, of course.
Nothing I’ve said above, however, is quite as it seems. Taking Ancient Egypt as an example, the Egyptians only built pyramids at one phase of their history. Hieroglyphs were not used in everyday life. Sometimes the land of Ancient Egypt was ruled by foreigners, not native pharaohs. Their religious beliefs changed over time. And yes, they certainly embalmed bodies – but so did many other ancient peoples.
Other civilizations changed much more drastically. The ancient Romans began their history under the rule of kings, before changing to a republic, and then an empire. They spent much of their history as pagans, but later converted to Christianity. In their early days they built Greek-style temples; by the end they were building great domed cathedrals. They even ended up in an entirely different location: starting out in central Italy, the last people who considered themselves “Romans” died defending a city in what is today Turkey.
All civilizations show these sorts of changes, to a lesser or greater extent, and yet, most of us know what is meant when we hear the phrase “Ancient Egyptian civilization” or “Ancient Roman civilization”.
Of course, as historians (professional and amateur), we expect all civilizations to change over time: they grow and spread, their cultures evolve, their political systems change. But what is really interesting (for me, at any rate) is, when one civilization changes into another.
This issue lies behind such questions as: when did the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia come to an end? What exactly happened to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome? Can the civilization of China be truly regarded as a single, long-enduring civilization, or do the outward continuities mask one or more break-points?
How does a civilization, which over the course of centuries or millennia has been gradually changing, change so drastically that it can no longer be regarded as the same civilization?
In a series of blog posts I’m going to look at this matter with regard to particular civilizations.
In the spring of 1863, Edmonds and the 2nd Michigan were assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and sent to Kentucky. Edmonds contracted malaria and requested a furlough, which was denied. Not wanting to seek medical attention from the army for fear of discovery, Edmonds left her comrades in mid-April, never to return. “Franklin Thompson” was subsequently charged with desertion.
Found this off of google, "Assigned the task of locating the fabled Seven Cities of Cíbola in the New World for Spain, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, governor of the New Galicia province of New Spain (present Mexico), left Compostela in February 1540."
Hope this helps, have a great day and stay safe! :) :D :3
The best answer to the question that is being presented above would be the Ordovician mass extinction. <span>Jawless fish and ocean reefs were devastated by the end of the Ordovician mass extinction. </span>
William Levitt used his military experience in order to change the home-building industry. Levitt created several "Levittowns" especially in the Northeast part of the US. Just like in the military, these houses would be uniform in look and size. This helped to develop the modern day concept of a suburb and promoted uniformity during the 1950's.
