criteria by which historians define the existance of a civilization include...?

A

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a. use of superstitious burial rituals
b. rural, agricultural lifestyles
c. dense, urban lifestyles
d. use of common spoken language
 
c, but this is rather circular and dependent on what you think a civilisation is. All of the above, in greater or lesser degrees, would be the best answer. I suppose that dense urban lifestyles can only exist supported by civilisation, but civilisations can exist without a dense urban lifestyle.

Our funeral services would look like superstitious burial rituals to an objective outsider
Rural or agricultural lifestyles are necessary to support urban agglomeations.
Many, but not all, civilisations have a common language.
 
A. Our funerals ARE superstitious burial rites. Careful burial shows signs the people involved were thinking about an afterlife and soul, as opposed to a body simply being left like that of an animal. This is seen as a crucial step in social and intellectual development. Signs of careful burial include deliberate construction of the burial site, orientation of the body, or the presence of items of significance with the body.
 
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