why do some become civilized?

[xBTWATWDx]

I have been pondering an interesting question lately. Why have some civilizations developed so much faster than others. How come when the Europeans arrived in America they found a culture that was far less civilized than their own? Why did Europeans have nations and so much technology and the Native Americans only tribes and little advanced technology? This question applies to many different cultures around the world. Europe and America is only one example. It has just been a fact of history that some cultures have progressed so rapidly compared to others. but why?

Did the native Americans not have just as much oppertunity to trade with other tribes and discover new technology from their neighbors as the Europeans did?

I want to hear what some other people think might be the reason for such unbalanced cultural development.

The only think that i can think of is that maybe civilizations that could sustain themselves comfortably simply with what resources they had in close proximity had no motivation to culturally diffuse. Perhaps Europeans were forced to develop technology and trade with other cultures in oder to settle into civilizations. Without trade and interaction, perhaps Europeans would not have been able to move past the nomadic lifestyle. Less developed civilizations never had to trade for resources they just had everything they needed and therefore never experienced the cultural diffusion necessary to advance.

[TAlderson]

You're on the right track. This is obviously a pretty complicated subject, but the gist of it i this:

Certain peoples realized that they couldn't live without settling down and developing agriculture. This led to more rigid societies than those who could find enough resources to survive with hunting and gathering, like the Plains Native Americans, for example. There were actually many advanced societies in the Americas (like the Mayas and Incas) that developed due to agriculture, along with many powerful empires in Asia and even Africa, so the Europeans were not alone by far.

-Tyler

[izzme]

[QUOTE It has just been a fact of history that some cultures have progressed so rapidly compared to others. but why?

Did the native Americans not have just as much oppertunity to trade with other tribes and discover new technology from their neighbors as the Europeans did.

cultures in the ancient middle east developed first because of a certain type of wheat that stayed on the stalk when cut,which then allowed it to be stored and a surplus was aquired.because they had a surplus they could use their brains for something besides hunting and gathering.theycreated wealth which made the need for walled cities to protect it. all this concentrated brainpower developed metallurgy for weapons and other technology and this allowed them to control larger and larger areas,amass more wealth and so on and so on. during this time europeans were hunter gatherers lived in caves and were very low tech and unsophisticated. the wheel and chariots and iron weapons swept down from north of the fertile crscent and gave the ability to make a bigger and bigger area under control. then they became empires and trade and wars spread new ideas . western civ.came later greece being our mother after they conquered the eastern empire. when the europeans later came to the east in the crusades they greatly expanded the culture of europe which had declined becauseof the decline of classic rome[the dark ages]. they learned a lot from the muslims who had spread into the indus river valley and all the way thru north africa to spain which was at that time the most advanced part of europe.the muslims preserved the knoledge of the greeks and introduced the most advanced math [algebra,the zero,decimal weights and measures]that they got mostlyfrom india.they brought us the compass from china along with paper that their scholars wrote and preserved a massive amount of advanced knowledge. they invented the pharmacy! europe recieved these innovations first thru spain then through thecrusades.oh yeah don't forget gunpowder from the chinese. culture and power pass from east to west through the rise and fall of empires.it seems that power is going towards the east again. thats some of the answers to your questions in a nutshell,me being the nut and my writing in this post being a shell that could be fleshed out by a library of books! i'll write some on the americas in another post later.i'll give you a little preview: when the europeans landed in the new world they were named the stinky ones by the natives because the eropeans didn't bath much. they had a belief that bathing would make them vulnerable to evil spirits entering thru their skin! eye'z will return

[Whammo]

Simple-

There is a direct correlation between standard of living and average IQ.
It's entirely politically incorrect to say so, but it's.... TRUE!

IQ and the Wealth of Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[CyberCat]

The Europeans were concerned with material possesions and power. THat is why they cannot even today live in harmony with nature and be content with what it provides them.

[Lonelypoet15]

Cyber Cat.....
Great Point. I Believe That If They Had not been so materialistic we Wouldn't Have Had Slaves And the Ideas that Came with it. i Think Alot Of Bad things have Come from the euorpaean Side of the World (Hitler,Slavery etc) So it makes me Wonder, will we every have a problem like that? will canada and mexico duke it out? will the us go insane? of course you could say no because we have a "stable" Gov't But So Did Germany (i Think lol)

Idk We (My Friend Ian And I) Have A theory About History Repeating itself

[Whammo]

The Europeans were concerned with material possesions and power. THat is why they cannot even today live in harmony with nature and be content with what it provides them.

Hmmm.. a concern with material possessions and power are only a European trait?
Gee, the material possessions and power of the pharaohs in Egypt seem to show a certain North African predilection for the same. Oh and they had slaves.
Hmmm.. and the great Zulu nations' King Chaka certainly enjoyed a lot of power and possessions- Oh and everybody else was his slave.

The great Chinese Emperors had quite a bit of power and possessions. Oh and they had slaves.

Not to mention the great Mayan and Aztec empires... Oh and they had slaves.

I understand you're prolly products of public edumacation but you really should know what you're talking about before you start attributing to a people what is common in all.
If it weren't for that discontent to living in filth and squalor, nature wouldn't have provided a computer for you to spout nonsense or more than a mud hut for you to live in harmony.

[izzme]

there are studies that show the jewish people have higher iq's way uot of proportion to the rest of the world.just check out how many jews have won nobel prizes.it's mind blowing! they are developing as we speak a new type of solar cell that is way moreeffecient and cheaper than anything on the market!!! when it comes out it will provide a way to go forward without being controlled by oil and the countries that produce it. so yeah iq is pretty important! i just want to thank all you bright guys,and keep it coming!!!!