Final answer:
A civilization is an advanced stage of social development with cities and complex institutions. Examples include Cahokia, a prehistoric Native American city with significant earthworks. Societies constructed walls for protection, trade control, and sovereignty assertion.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term civilization refers to the stage of human social development where a large number of people come together, forming communities that extend beyond just kinship groups.
This occurrence is closely associated with the establishment of cities and the development of essential societal structures such as writing, mathematics, and organized religion.
When discussing civilizations, it's important to recognize that they have emerged, expanded, and sometimes collapsed over the last 40,000 years, with a significant growth in human civilization around 10,000 years ago.
Throughout history, civilizations have arisen independently due to advantageous geographical locations or learned to exist side by side as with Mesopotamia. To become a civilization, a group of people needed to achieve social development, sustainable agriculture, secure access to water, organize a government, show progress and innovation, and have an enlightened culture.
An example of a significant civilization is Cahokia (ca 600-1400 CE), situated near present-day St. Louis, Missouri, which featured complex settlements, including walled structures to potentially protect against the dangers of its era. This complex was notable for its astronomical observations via woodhenge and its enormous mounds like Monk's Mound. Societies throughout history have often constructed walls to safeguard their communities, regulate trade, control immigration and emigration, and assert sovereignty over their territories.