What is examples and non-examples of civilization?

A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a number of common elements. Historians have identified the basic characteristics of civilizations. Six of the most important characteristics are: cities, government, religion, social structure, writing and art. Mesopotamia is considered the first civilization. Mesopotamia was an area near modern-day Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Mesopotamia is known as the "cradle of civilization" because it is where both the first civilization evolved and also where writing originated.