history

Childe equated civilization with urbanism. Other social scientists, while admitting a considerable overlap, distinguished between the cultural phenomena characteristic of urban areas and those of "civilized" societies. Childe identified 10 formal criteria that, according to his system, indicate the arrival of urban civilization. These are: increased settlement size, concentration of wealth, large-scale public works, writing, representational art, knowledge of exact sciences, foreign trade, full-time specialists in non-subsistence activities, class-stratified society, and political organization based on residence …

…as time frame, area, mental capacity of the peoples of the society, and material advancement. In reference to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Childe?s criteria apply somewhat directly. This is said because both of these societies had some forms of sciences (i.e. mummification/Egypt), wealth or caste system, and a public works for buildings and city-states. Their only difference lies in that in ancient Egypt, the politics were balanced by kinship rather than residence.