Well… I am not exactly sure of the meaning of your question. If, by civilised, you mean “men living in stratified societies, urban complexes, and a bureaucratic culture that involved writing,” the logical place to start is what has often been called the Fertile Crescent (Nile Valley, coastal areas of modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria, and Mesopotamia) and surrounding areas (Anatolia, Cyprus). First writing systems appeared in this area; the need for irrigation in Egypt and Mesopotamia gave a strong incentive for the development of state-like structures; etc.