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.

Keyword: forming of civilization, Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, hallmarks of civilization, type of civilization, feature of civilization