Historical framework of civilizations

Starting from the synthesis of Darcy Ribeiro, 1968, “Processo civilizatorio - etapas da evolucáo socio-cultural”, this article goes beyond it because it highlights the growth of human social units from the tribe to the states to the global network of the modern world. Thus, it distinguishes the three ways in which civil and barbaric societies were born and grew according to the environments in which humanity spread: fertile lands favored agriculture with hierarchical civilizations, waterways favored trade and markets, then privatist civilizations, steppes and forests the hordes of herders who became barbarian peoples. The many examples reported provide a broad and synoptic picture of historical societies, although the details are analyzed elsewhere.