The Evidence Of Civilization

Suppose you're an archaeologist on a dig in some remote corner of the world. As you laboriously scoop away gravel and sand from your dig site, you shake your head in exasperation and scowl. There is nothing of value to be seen amidst all the accumulated rubble and dust—the products of millenia of soil erosion.

Then, after hours of back-breaking exertion, your trowel happens to strike against a strange object half-buried in the dirt. It resounds with a hollow, metallic clang—or, perhaps, a dull thud. Immediately, it intrigues you and you scoop it up out of the ground and hold it to the light to get a better look. It glitters mysteriously in the half-light of dusk as you turn it around with your fingers. Then, you notice strange carved markings around its rim—a design of some sort, with concentric circles and esoteric runes or hieroglyphs, catches your eye.

"Remarkable!" you whisper out loud. "It could not possibly have been created by the random forces of blind nature. Whatever it is—it has to be the product of design, of some form of artistry or artifice." What you hold in your hand is, in fact, an "artifact"—l'objet-d'art—the product of conscious, premeditated design or artifice. What it tells you is that "someone" at some point in time "created" that object—and, therefore, had the necessary ingenuity and sophistication to do so.

A single "artifact" unearthed in the wilderness is evidence of "civilization." Imagine the sensation that would result if such an artifact were to be discovered on the moon or on Mars—it would constitute undeniable evidence of an alien civilization!

Because an artifact constitutes evidence of the design, sophistication, technology and artistry required to produce it, the artifact, thereby, represents the "culture" or "civilization" that provides the setting for the emergence of those cultural traits. It may be argued, therefore, that "civilization" is, in essence, the "artifacts" that it leaves behind. After a culture or...