Editing Civilization (section)

==Non-human civilizations==
The current scientific consensus is that human beings are the only animal species with the cognitive ability to create civilizations that has emerged on Earth. A recent thought experiment, the [[silurian hypothesis]], however, considers whether it would "be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record" given the paucity of geological information about eras before the [[quaternary]].<ref>Schmidt, Gavin A.; Frank, Adam (10 April 2018). "The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record?". {{arXiv|1804.03748}} [astro-ph.EP].</ref>

Astronomers speculate about the existence of communicating with intelligent civilizations within and beyond the Milky Way galaxy, usually using variants of the [[Drake equation]].<ref name="APJ-20200615">{{cite journal |last1=Westby |first1=Tom |last2=Conselice |first2=Christopher J. |title=The Astrobiological Copernican Weak and Strong Limits for Intelligent Life |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=15 June 2020 |volume=896 |issue=1 |page=58 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab8225 |arxiv=2004.03968 |bibcode=2020ApJ...896...58W |s2cid=215415788 |doi-access=free }}</ref> They conduct [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|searches for such intelligences]] – such as for technological traces, called "[[technosignature]]s".<ref name="10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029">{{cite journal |title=Concepts for future missions to search for technosignatures |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=1 May 2021 |volume=182 |pages=446–453 |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009457652100103X |access-date=17 April 2021 |arxiv=2103.01536 |language=en |issn=0094-5765 |last1=Socas-Navarro |first1=Hector |last2=Haqq-Misra |first2=Jacob |last3=Wright |first3=Jason T. |last4=Kopparapu |first4=Ravi |last5=Benford |first5=James |last6=Davis |first6=Ross |author7=TechnoClimes 2020 workshop participants |bibcode=2021AcAau.182..446S |s2cid=232092198 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417112403/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009457652100103X |url-status=live }}</ref> The proposed proto-scientific field "[[xenoarchaeology]]" is concerned with the study of artifact remains of non-human civilizations to reconstruct and interpret past lives of alien societies if such get discovered and confirmed scientifically.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGee |first1=Ben W. |title=A call for proactive xenoarchaeological guidelines – Scientific, policy and socio-political considerations |journal=Space Policy |date=1 November 2010 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=209–213 |doi=10.1016/j.spacepol.2010.08.003 |bibcode=2010SpPol..26..209M |language=en |issn=0265-9646}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGee |first1=B. W. |title=Archaeology and Planetary Science: Entering a New Era of Interdisciplinary Research |journal=AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts |date=1 December 2007 |volume=2007 |pages=41A–0203 |bibcode=2007AGUFM.P41A0203M |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.P41A0203M/abstract |access-date=11 November 2021 |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111012142/https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.P41A0203M/abstract |url-status=live }}</ref>