The "We Wuzz White Superior and Sheet" types (Anglo-Saxons, Germanic-Celtic, and modern Nordics) don’t even qualify for Tier-3 for most of history. For 5,000 years, they were just barbarians on the sidelines, barely noticed by the real players shaping the world. Their rise didn’t happen until way later, around the 1400s. That’s centuries of irrelevance.
Tier-1 is untouchable. These are the OGs like Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization, China, and Mesopotamia. These cultures set the foundations of human progress. Writing, mathematics, massive cities, philosophy, agriculture, organized religions—you name it, they started it. Everyone else just followed. They weren’t regional; their influence went global, directly or indirectly.
Tier-2 is where the offshoots come in. These civilizations were great but clearly built on Tier-1’s shoulders. Greece and Rome are the big ones here. But even they borrowed from Egypt and Mesopotamia. Rome? It’s a patchwork of Etruscan, Greek, and even Carthaginian influences. They mastered and expanded what others started but didn’t invent most of it. Persia is another great example. The Achaemenid Empire was massive and culturally rich, but it was shaped by older Mesopotamian and even Egyptian practices.
India during the Maurya and Gupta empires also fits here. These periods took the IVC’s foundation and created a flourishing civilization of art, science, and philosophy that influenced Asia for centuries. The Mayans, too, could be Tier-2 for their astronomical and mathematical advancements, even if they stayed geographically limited.
Tier-3 is the next step down. These are important but didn’t dominate the world stage or were overshadowed. The Etruscans are the perfect Tier-3 example. They set the stage for Rome but were eclipsed quickly. The Phoenicians gave us the alphabet and trade networks but didn’t create vast empires themselves. The Minoans had advanced architecture and art, but their dominance didn’t last.
You also have the Hittites, who were powerful in the Bronze Age but got outshined by Egypt and Assyria. Carthage, another Tier-3, was influential for trade and naval warfare but ultimately got crushed by Rome. Nubia/Kush? They ruled Egypt briefly, had their own unique culture, and left behind impressive monuments, but they were always in Egypt’s shadow. The Olmecs in Mesoamerica were groundbreaking for their time but didn’t reach the heights of the Mayans or Aztecs.
Now, let’s look back at the "We Wuzz" crowd. The Germanic and Anglo-Saxon tribes were seen as barbarians by the Romans, Byzantines, and anyone who mattered. Their "civilizations" were tribal and small-scale, with no major contributions to the broader world. They didn’t rise to prominence until the Renaissance and colonial period, and even then, it was built on the foundations of others. They borrowed technology, knowledge, and systems from the real Tier-1 and Tier-2 civilizations.
If we’re tiering civilizations based on impact and originality, the "We Wuzz" types didn’t even enter the game until very late. They don't even qualify for Tier-3 for majority of the time. Meanwhile, Tier-3 civilizations like the Etruscans or the Phoenicians had more prominence and achievements way earlier in history.
If we take 5000 years of Human History from start of OG 4 at roughly 3000BC, they dominated merely 12% of time from 1400 to present day out of all 3000BC to 2000AD.
