Questions tagged [civilization]
For questions about groups of societies and their defining characteristics and achievements.
531
questions
3
votes
2
answers
147
views
Would a floating group of ships, boats, rafts be viable long term
Food, drinkable water, forms of leadership, the ships sink eventually. What are the issues that would eventually end a water based society? What types of boats, ships, raft would be required to enable ...
- 449
14
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Unsettled continent
In my world, I would like to have a certain configuration and I wonder if it's plausible or not.
There is a continent with a climate similar to the Amazonian basin, covered by a very dense forest. ...
- 16.8k
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
base-12 numeral system
What could drive a human civilization to use base-12 system? As far as I know there have been such civilizations and they probably used their phalanges to count (instead of their fingers). I have ...
- 825
12
votes
7
answers
4k
views
What determines whether or not tribes will form into larger groups?
Before the development of states, kingdoms, and empires, all humans were confederated into tribes. Since then, of course, things have changed. Many tribal groups banded together defined their own ...
- 46.2k
29
votes
15
answers
6k
views
Could a civilisation exist as 'space-nomads'?
In a civilisation similar to humans (although not necessarily humanoid) living on a planet the size of Earth, could the whole civilisation (no limits on size, although I was thinking a few thousand at ...
- 1,124
12
votes
9
answers
2k
views
How can a world with constantly-moving nomads form?
I've been working on a world for a game I'm making. The basis of the game is that you have to carefully manage your resources, and to keep moving. I'd like to build a world which fits that. These are ...
anon
6
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Why would an alien leave a teaching device on Earth in a no-faster-than-light-travel setting? [closed]
Premise: An alien visits Earth for a short time during the middle ages, leaving behind a device which contains a vast body of scientific knowledge. The device is locked so that it can't be opened ...
- 69k
12
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Could a civilization as advanced as humans exist on a planet/dwarf planet like Pluto?
Could a civilization exist on a planet/dwarf planet like Pluto? It is so cold and barren. Is it possible? What would they live off? They don't have to be humanoid.
- 3,259
31
votes
11
answers
17k
views
How long would it take to remove all trace of a civilisation, with malice and intent?
If you look at the history of the earth today, we've got quite a long timeline - about 4.5 billion years.
We've got a few hundred years of 'good' historical record, and it gets progressively more ...
- 3,669
7
votes
4
answers
776
views
What would change with transmission of knowledge and ability through touch?
The concept of a "spark" is our shorthand for an idea describing some neural nets in your body (well loosely anyway), its a catch-all for anything that can be an electrical response. Some of the ...
- 3,258
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Could the Roman Empire have survived if it existed alongside an advanced feudal state? [closed]
There are two ways of looking at history of humankind: In one, most of the changes taken through the history are from less advanced to more advanced societies. In another, there are many random ...
- 4,576
2
votes
3
answers
272
views
What social structure would be developed by an intelligent species with distinct functional physical differences?
Racism has been a defining trait in how human civilizations have interacted and developed in regard to each other. It, however, is founded on differences which separate us visibly but not ...
- 3,342
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the earliest that a civilization could develop airships?
Assuming a technological progression roughly similar to that of Europe in our world, what is the earliest that a civilization could have developed rigid-frame airships?
For example, one could imagine ...
- 3,558
29
votes
7
answers
9k
views
What is the minimum size of a self-sufficient industrial country?
Imagine there is a country in which there are all important natural resources (oil, gas, metal ores, wood, etc.) in their natural form and which lies in a temperate climate region. There may be some ...
- 4,576
6
votes
5
answers
1k
views
What factors could allow a civilization to develop technologically while remaining limited to a small area and population?
I thought of the question "What would human civilization be like if our population was and always had been only thousands or tens of thousands and limited to a small area?" Then I realized this ...
- 5,519
12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Stone Age Circuitry?
As a tangent to How "advanced" can a stone age society get?, is there a way that simple electronics could be created by filling channels cut into rock with some form of conductive material? ...
- 6,026
8
votes
3
answers
329
views
Dimensions of alien progress and purpose
Civilization progress has many dimensions, for example technological, moral/ethical, happiness/subjective quality of life, etc. For each such dimension we could state a purpose that reflects it, e.g.
...
- 1,344
33
votes
14
answers
5k
views
Can two civilizations on nearby stars develop independently but be at a similar technological level?
One thing that a few science fiction films seem to get wrong: it is extremely unlikely for two civilizations to evolve completely independently and yet be within a few hundred years of each other ...
user329
26
votes
7
answers
3k
views
On a planet without seasons, how would people track years?
On a planet without axial tilt and with a roughly circular orbit, there would be no seasons. The climate on the planet would be, as far as I can tell, exactly the same at any time of year, and the ...
- 3,558
8
votes
3
answers
993
views
Could a civilization invent space-faring technology on planet that mostly lacks any kind of metals?
Imagine a species that evolved on a planet where there was no metal (or not much) of any kind.
They, of course, discovered fire and were able to start building buildings and basic machinery from ...
- 183
19
votes
14
answers
4k
views
How can I save a high-tech/no-spaceflight civilization against the wrath of non-technological gods?
The Problem:
Atlantis has angered the gods. Having developed fantastical technologies far beyond the rest of the planet, they have managed to challenge the gods themselves. The gods' reaction is to ...
- 6,026
5
votes
0
answers
590
views
What would be the consequences of an exploratory group discovering a more advanced civilization? [closed]
The European explorers who came to the Americas were much more advanced than the Native Americans living there. To the Europeans back in the day, they most likely assumed they'd be more advanced than ...
- 179
28
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Humans born without legs: how would they thrive?
or, Anatomically Correct Weebles
A group of behaviorally modern humans was cut off from the rest of the earth-like planet millennia ago. (Myths hold that the separation occurred four to five ka BP, ...
- 2,230
33
votes
13
answers
11k
views
How "advanced" can a stone age society get?
I'm working on a world where, with very few exceptions, metalwork is not possible/unwanted, and I'm trying to figure out what major differences one might see in daily life, and what would be necessary ...
- 563
22
votes
30
answers
6k
views
Could a civilization achieve spaceflight without inventing advanced weaponry along the way?
The question is fairly simple. Could a civilization progress so far as to have spaceships while still using swords, spears, and bows as their most advanced weaponry? (what those weapons are made of ...
- 6,026
40
votes
20
answers
9k
views
Can I Have A Destroyed Civilization with No Ruins?
I'm working on the timeline for my world, but I keep getting stuck at the origins. I want to have had an advanced civilization (modern levels, maybe a bit beyond) that was destroyed in a vaguely ...
- 2,468
46
votes
15
answers
7k
views
What are the primary triggers for the decline and fall of great empires?
Let's focus specifically on the devolution of empires. How is it that something so powerful falls?
The collapse of Rome, Byzantium, the Han, the Mayans and so on. What similarities can be seen in ...
- 32.8k
17
votes
16
answers
4k
views
Can civilization development occur completely without faith?
Could a civilization grow or develop to advanced levels if they don't hold religious beliefs?
I have just watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Who watch the watchers" (season 3, episode 4). It ...
- 2,255
19
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Does the Kardashev scale have points below zero?
There's a Kardashev scale in which Earth civilisation is at 0 (the lowest) level with all following levels being purely hypothetical and describing civilisations more advanced than human.
Is there ...
- 2,255
16
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How important is fire? [closed]
Fire (or the ability to create it) is often cited as the spark of civilization, it is so revered that its inventors are legendary figures in mythology.
Practically speaking, fire can:
Keep you warm, ...
- 2,850
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why would a civilization want to contact with a hypothetical extraterrestrial civilization?
Mankind has been always interested in making contact with another (extraterrestrial) civilization. We have launched the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes with plaques explaining where the Earth is located. ...
- 2,177