1. What would a person looking at a modern city see as the largest and most important building or buildings? What does this suggest about the priorities of modern culture, as opposed to ancient culture?
Most people today would, when looking at our cities, see skyscrapers and huge industries giving the idea that our society is mainly about work and gaining money. Sadly, that is not far from the truth. In the ancient civilizations more temples would be seen, letting us know that those cultures revolved around their gods.
2. What is or are the most valid criteria if whether a culture should be regarded as a civilization? What qualities ought to be present in a society for it to be considered "civilized"?
There are three main qualifications that determine whether or not a society can or should be considered "civilized". The first criteria is that the society must have a writing system. The second is that they must have a devoloped social complexity and specialization of functions. Which means it must have the characteristics of a city. And the third and final qualification is the ability to work with metals.
Isn't it interesting how our cities' sky-scapes can reflect our culture's priorities? How valuable did you find the primary and secondary characteristics of civilization we discussed in last Tuesday's class? Do they add to Mr. Trumbo's assessment?
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