The most notable way of finding out if an early civilization was highly developed, was its amount of surplus food. This makes it so that everyone doesn't need to focus on gathering as much, and can use their time instead to do other activities, that increasing production and trading with other settlements.
The first civilizations were in locations that could support intensive farming.
Governments would control certain areas and resources and use writing and religion to maintain control and create hierarchies over large land spans. Writing whether in stone tablets, parchments, or bark, writing helped keep track of laws and record keeping for later generations.
Most modern cities have supermarkets, where you can practically purchase any kind of produce, making government and specific work possible along with these markets, comes a reliable and predictable food source.
A civilization is a complicated society allowing for specialised labour, and a large social hierarchy, a very simple civilization would be a hunter-gatherer tribe or group. While a more complicated civilization has more split roles for different people.
The first civilizations came about in Major river valleys where the soil was already damp and easy to plant, these were called Foundational civilizations. Throughout human history, we "borrowed" other aspects of other civilizations by war and conquest. For example the Romans and the Greeks. Both have very similar practices and similar beliefs.
Cities were and still are a vital part of human advancement as people come to cities to work, trade, study and live. Having shared language, governments and beliefs helped these cities to function. And large gatherings of people in cities help foster jobs like, priests, scribes, and governing figures.
Cities are large communities comprised of religious, political and social structures. And if a city gets too big, the city would be split into: "States". Most civilizations were unified under the banner of religion, beliefs that explain existence's meaning. Being both a political leader and a religious figure would be common and strongly connected.
For example, in Ancient Egypt the kings, later known as Pharaohs, practised Divine kingship, which stated that they were kings as well as human incarnations of certain "Gods".
Political and Religious groups had different powers and impacts on the population. While the Political or government powers could send people to war. But the Religious side could communicate to the population and its god or gods.
Social hierarchy was a vital part of civilizations increasingly becoming more complicated the greater the population increased. Such as sculptors and artisans who decorated the cities. Merchants who sold goods and traded with other civilizations. Or the lower class for their labour and working on less specialized work in some social hierarchies slaves were kept clean and kept places tidy.
As writing Cuneiform or stone tablet writing was important for keeping records and managing complex institutions. In Ancient China "Oracle bones" were used to predict the future. Along with the Quipuf being knotted string meant to do calculations and to keep records.
The Ur-Nammu from Sumer was written around 2100 - 2050 BCE and the Code of Hammurabi from Babylon was written around 1760 BCE.
Even though you needed to have a good education to read and write. Laws and rules were still written as it was easier to maintain consistency over large groups.
Another part vital part of ancient culture was "Monumental" structures. For political, religious or for the public to view. For example, the pyramids of Egypt were monuments for their deceased rulers.
In Mesopotamia, the Ziggurat.
Walls and sewer systems added defence and sanitation to daily living.
Most cities were built on gender, wealth, and labour, and intensified social hierarchies, and some built powerful and destructive armies funded purely by taxing the civilians.
As civilization is hard to define, and arguments are plentiful about what is considered a civilization. Lets take the Niger river valley, they were able to farm large amounts of produce, urbanization, and certain labors.
But they did not create lanuage, or a new writing script, and it is extremely tough to gauge, when one civilization starts and ends.
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