About this site

civilization.foundation is a reference on the foundations of civilization. The name describes the subject: the ideas the field is built on, set out in the order they depend on one another.

It is written for students, for people arriving from a neighbouring field, and for anyone who wants the structure of the subject before the detail.

The word “civilization” has been used to rank peoples as well as to describe them. This site uses it only descriptively, and implies no judgement about societies that lived otherwise. All early dates are approximate.

What this site is not

It is not an organisation, a foundation in the legal sense, or a charity. It does not raise, accept or distribute funds. It sells nothing and carries no advertising. It is not connected with any organisation, company or institution whose name resembles this address.

Sources and method

Early dates are the approximate ones in general use among archaeologists and may shift with new excavation. Modern dates are those of first publication or announcement. The pages are reviewed when something they cite changes; last review October 2026.