摘要： 文明的标志包括文字的诞生、金属器使用、城市的出现、私有制起源、阶级的形成等，但只有国家产生才最终表明文明社会——大型复杂社会组织的到来。因此，可用出现文明现象、呈现文明状态和进入文明社会这三层迭进式内涵来推展文明形成的过程。文明发轫于农耕区，但并非在最早的农耕带即原始刀耕火种林地农业区，而是与稍后的大河流域灌溉农业兴起相关。文明形成路径呈现多元化，大致有五种模式，即原生型，次生型 A、B，派生型 A、B。自然条件直接制约和影响着人类的生产生活生存方式、生理和心理状态等，由此造成不同地理区位和不同自然条件下的早期文明各有特色。

关键词: 文明形成, 新石器农业革命, 文明标志, 文明类型, 文明特色

Abstract: Key indicators of civilization include the invention of writing, the use of metal, the rise of cities, the origin of private ownership, and the formation of social classes. However, it is the establishment of the state that ultimately signifies the arrival of a civilized society. Thus, the process of civilization formation can be understood through three progressive stages: the appearance of civilized phenomena, the manifestation of civilized conditions, and the entry into civilized society. Civilization first arose in agricultural regions, not in areas characterized by primitive slash-andburn forest farming, but in those closely associated with irrigated agriculture along major river valleys on the later times. There are four or five patterns in the formation of civilization, namely the primary type, secondary types A and B, and derivative types A and B. Natural conditions constrain and influence modes of production, as well as human physiology and psychology, resulting in distinct regional feature of various early civilizations.

Key words: forming of civilization, Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, hallmarks of civilization, type of civilization, feature of civilization