Worlds Greatest Ever Civilisation

[Wongo]

The poll asks for a "civilisation" not an empire.
methinks there is a big difference..... in the case of this poll I reckon that gets rid of the Yanks and the poms for starters! The Chinese certainly were a civilisation in their own right. The Incas also and you could say the same for the Aztecs, certainly the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Japanese and many others. There have been many cicvilisations over the millenia but the Poms and especially the yanks just don't make it.

Christopha, I agree but please not the Japanese. They are not a civilisation.

Give me a bloody break please.

[Iain]

and garlic, viva la yum cha
which I must do again soon, Little Bourke St, another ancient civilisation rediscovered

[Zed]

I would like to take a serious tack here (for once).

In my opinion the greatest civilization was that of the American native Indians, over 200 diff tribes living in relative harmony! they had equality between the sexes, inter tribal govts, respect for th elder, little or no diseases, healthy lifestyles, no obesity or fast food, no expansion policy or "savage land stealing policys", a sustainable environmental policy that did not destroy any land or denude any part of the place to the point where the env. was damaged and only fought minor skirmishes amongst eachother, even to the point where only the participants of the skirmishes were the only ones killed. of course they had raiding parties to get wives and horses etc but none of this compared to any of white/yellow/arab mans 'civilized god/cultural fearing actions'

then along came some white f*ck along with his colds, flus, rats, guns, alcohol and greed and screwed the whole joint up in less than 200 yrs. god bless america.
say goodbye to the passenger pigeon, the buffalo and the puma and god knows what else - look at the joint now - dontcha love the atomic bomb ? eh ? toxic waste - delicious!, oil - love it! etc etc...

the indians even coined a phrase that went something like this : "Only after the last tree has been felled, the last buffalo has been eaten and the last river has been drained will the white man realise that you cannot eat money!"

they even had a gunja pipe!!!

I vote for them.

[craigb]

Seems to me that you could say all of that about our own blackfellas too Zed.

[Zed]

Seems to me that you could say all of that about our own blackfellas too Zed.

yes you could. but they didnt have gunga or embasies with each other - therfore you cant call 'em a civilization - they were truely stone age folk.

[Iain]

The only civilisation that had not discovered the wheel............

[craigb]

civilization (sîv´e-lî-zâ´shen) noun
1. An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions.
2. The type of culture and society developed by a particular nation or region or in a particular epoch: Mayan civilization; the civilization of ancient Rome.
3. The act or process of civilizing or reaching a civilized state.
4. Cultural or intellectual refinement; good taste.
5. Modern society with its conveniences: returned to civilization after camping in the mountains.

Did the North American indians have writing?
The blackfellas didn't.

[silentC]

Actually, I believe that various American Indian tribes fought long and bloody wars with each other for various reasons.

When I think 'civilisation' I'm thinking a vast collective organisational structure doing things for the good (in their belief) of the people, rather than every man (or woman) for him (or her) (don't you start that again, Stan) self. It's in that sort of environment that the things people think of as belonging to civilisation can take root. Stuff like science, invention, art, philosophy, orgies.

I know that a lot of more primitive cultures had these things too but they were part of the day to day life. Only somewhere like Ancient Greece could civilisation support all these geezers in bathrobes and sandals wandering around having dialogues with each other. Only in Ancient Rome could you round up enough slaves with your military to build viaducts and roads to span a continent.

My vote went to the Roman Empire because they probably changed the face of the globe and had more impact in their time than anyone else before or since. Next time you turn on a tap, or walk down a road, or wear a toga to an orgy, think of the Romans.

[Zed]

My vote went to the Roman Empire because they probably changed the face of the globe and had more impact in their time than anyone else before or since. Next time you turn on a tap, or walk down a road, or wear a toga to an orgy, think of the Romans.

I (would like to) vote for the american indians ofr exactly the opposite reasons.

[silentC]

OK, have fun living in your teepee and riding your horse to work next week.

[Zed]

it woudl beat sittin in an office all friggin day!

[silentC]

Now that I agree with.

[simon c]

Encyclopedia definition of a civilisation:
What makes a civilization? In the technical sense, a civilization is a complex society. It is distinguished from simpler societies but is not considered superior to them. Everyone lives in a society and a culture, but not everyone lives in a civilization. In general, civilizations share the following traits:
Intensive agricultural techniques
A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its time to producing food
The gathering of these non-food producers into permanent settlements
A social hierarchy
The establishment of complex, formal social institutions such as organized religion and education
Development of complex forms of economic exchange
The accumulation of more material possessions than in simpler societies
Development of new technologies by people who are not busy producing food
Advanced development of the arts by those who don't have to farm for a living. This can include writing.

The Holy Roman Empire, the Brits, the US, the Australians, etc are all part of "Western Civilisation" which was formed from the Christian-believing, Latin speaking portion of the Greco-Roman civilisation.

Aztecs and Inca are not really civilisations but are groups of people within the Mesoamerican and Andean civilisations, but that's being a bit pedantic.

reference:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Civilisation

[namtrak]

Maybe I should have clarified the question.

The greatest bunch of people who got together over an extended period of time and did amazing ****?

[Rocker]

Why doesn't the British Empire get a guernsey in this poll? It has to have a stronger claim than the Incas, whose only achievements were in Peru. The British Empire ensured that English became the premier world language that it is today. It also ensured that numerous countries, including Australia, became, or at least aspired to be, democracies. Although imperialism is unfashionable these days, there is a strong argument that British imperialism brought considerable benefits to the peoples who were colonised. The benefits were more questionable with some other imperial powers, like the Dutch in Indonesia, the Belgians in the Congo, or the Portuguese in East Timor.

I suppose some Australians may resent the fact that their ancestors were transported here for minor offences. But at least British imperialism gave them the opportunity to live in this great country, and to play cricket against Asian and African countries.

Rocker