Physiological requirements for civilization?

[longbyte1]

This is a really interesting question. I don't think that anybody really knows the bare minimum since there are many aspects which could be considered a civilization. Could a sentient bacterial colony be considered "civilization" in a foreign world? Perhaps.

If you are into Stack Exchange, you should try asking the question in the Worldbuilding site; they seem to boast a 100% answer rate in that site.

[Camacha]

Again before you invent writing someone has to remember everything worth knowing.

It is thought that writing came about because people could not carry what they owned any more. Because of this, people needed to keep track of their stuff in other ways, and so clay tablets were instituted. There may have been other paths and reasons, but often things like these start because of a basic necessity and become huge without anyone seeing it coming.

We see the same with valve amplifier tubes and transistors. Who would have thought that invention with some useful applications would turn out to change the world almost unrecognisably? Or just that weird and funny electricity that had little practical use, for that matter.

[magnemoe]

It is thought that writing came about because people could not carry what they owned any more. Because of this, people needed to keep track of their stuff in other ways, and so clay tablets were instituted. There may have been other paths and reasons, but often things like these start because of a basic necessity and become huge without anyone seeing it coming.

We see the same with valve amplifier tubes and transistors. Who would have thought that invention with some useful applications would turn out to change the world almost unrecognisably? Or just that weird and funny electricity that had little practical use, for that matter.

Yes writing came out of bookkeeping, first you used simple counting aids like marks on a stick, then someone came up with small tokens, say a clay button with the mark of an cheep.

Now you borrows 15 cheeps and 10 chickens from me so we both agree that you borrowed we put the 25 buttons into an clay jar and closed the top. next we put the cheep and chicken symbols outside and find its no need for the jar anymore, we have invented writing

And yes estimate the end result tend to be impossible.

[impyre]

Our understanding of our own universe is so limited that it's impossible to answer this question. Consider this: http://io9.com/12-real-parasites-that-control-the-lives-of-their-hosts-461313366 There are organisms here that can exercise a great degree of behavioral control over other creatures. It could be conceived of that such a creature may develop a superior intelligence in order to better make use of their hosts. Such a creature could also develop symbiotic or parasitic relationships, and use other (more physically suited) creatures to perform tasks for them. What if something developed in such a way that it could easily manipulate its environment extensively without using tools at all?

[InterCity]

I'm not sure what do you mean by "Needed for civilization".

As for anatomy, you'll need processing power (Brain), good vision, versatile digestive tract (For easier food exploiting and not having to worry about food all the time) and also some neat and versatile tool for gripping things (hands), the more precision and dexterity, the better. Plus anything a non-sentient living organism needs. Adding certain upgrades like armoured bodies, strong muscles and such is certainly good, but not necessary. All in all, you'll need to be more versatile than the others and have enough brains to put that versatility in use. Also, it's worth noting that two adjacent sentient species would probably compete, leading to eventual eradication of any race. Also, keep in mind that a big brain tends to use a lot of energy, so I think the brain doesn't have to be big, but it certainly does have to be efficient.

If you have all the above, the next thing you need is a friendly-enough environment and lots and lots of time for the species to come from sticks and rocks to hammers and concrete, or even further, and to develop enough technology. That process could be speeded up if the species would be guided by another (aliens) or if if we make them smarter. In my opinion, some apes will probably develop a primitive civilization with time (they are certainly smart enough for that).

This question gave me an idea for my next free-time AI project. Could make my JunkBot use stones and sticks, if I have time. I'm just worried that his claws are not versatile enough for that.

[Scotius]

Then it still would have to care for its host(s). Just like we learned how to care for our domesticated animals and plants - our superior intelligence lets us gain bigger benefits that way, instead of letting animals roam freely. In my opinion it still counts as manipulating the environment - and it doesn't always require any tools. Sheep and cattle grazing somewhere for extended period of time will turn a bushland into a grassland.

[impyre]

That's my point. The OP was asking about requirements for civilization, and my point is that (even if you assume there's only one definition for civilization) it can be accomplished in any number of ways... even ways we cannot conceive of. The fact that we know so little about the rest of our universe suggests that the possibilities are endless... we shouldn't assume that any "civilization" that might arise elsewhere would "need" to develop the same way as ours... thus many of the other postings that mention the physical requirements (such as opposable thumbs, tools, etc) are operating on a pretty limited set of ideas that are pre-shaped by our own history. Nature does indeed suggest (repeatedly) that there is a "better" way of doing things... and that it favors the better way, but in a different place with different rules.... "better" may be different also. As a simple example, one person stated that writing would be required... another made a much better (and broader) statement that they would need some way to convey information from one being who is absent (the "writer") to one who is present (the "reader"). This could take any number of forms... memories stored in a quasi-organic medium, some type of creature or plant which can be trained/grown/modified to store the information, pure genetic memory, or any number of possibilities that I can't dream up right now.

If you want to truly be able to answer the question, you must be more specific about how you define "civilization", and once you do... you'll find that all the specifics are tailored to represent how *we* developed... in which case the only logical answer is that the species in question has to be significantly similar to ourselves. So the answer is biased by a biased question, and the unbiased question cannot be answered satisfactorily. Aside from that it's merely theory and postulation... but in that neighborhood your imagination is really the limit.