Obsidian is a hard volcanic rock that was highly valued as a cutting tool. Much of the wealth and power of Teotihuacan was due to excavating and trading the rich deposits of obsidian around the city. Trade also played a part in Teotihuacan’s urban development. As land was cultivated, fewer farmers could supply more food staples, such as corn and beans, to more people. The development of the Teotihuacano civilization was made possible in part by the rich agricultural land surrounding the city. The huge urban center of Teotihuacan, in modern-day Mexico, for example, had as many as 200,000 residents between 300 and 600 C.E. Rural residents of civilizations may include farmers, fishers, and traders, who regularly sell their goods and services to urban residents. Large population centers, or urban areas, allow civilizations to develop, although people who live outside these urban centers are still part of that region’s civilization. These include: large population centers monumental architecture and unique art styles shared communication strategies systems for administering territories a complex division of labor and the division of people into social and economic classes.

Civilizations ultimately developed on every continent except Antarctica.Īll civilizations have certain characteristics. and in Central America (what is now Mexico) by about 1200 B.C.E. Civilizations thrived in the Indus Valley by about 2500 B.C.E., in China by about 1500 B.C.E.

Civilizations first appeared in Mesopotamia (what is now Iraq) and later in Egypt. Many people no longer had to practice farming, allowing a diverse array of professions and interests to flourish in a relatively confined area. The earliest civilizations developed between 40 B.C.E., when the rise of agriculture and trade allowed people to have surplus food and economic stability. Civilization describes a complex way of life that came about as people began to develop networks of urban settlements.

The status civilization