It is very good question
As far as I remember, may be I am wrong……อารยธรรม is Civillization and วัฒนธรรม is Culture.
According to the definitions found in on-line dictionary, I have brought them to you right here.
Civilization is,
1. An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of record-keeping, including writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions.
2. The type of culture and society developed by a particular nation or region or in a particular epoch: Mayan civilization; the civilization of ancient Rome.
3. The act or process of civilizing or reaching a civilized state.
Culture is,
1. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
2. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty.
3. These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture.
(ref:
www.dictionary.com)
Above you can see, “Civilization” is much bigger than “Culture”…since “Civilization” is a state of complexity among culture, arts, science, politics, and human society.
Meanwhile, Culture is a dynamic part of Civilization, in which it expresses in a particular period of time….
I will be right back with this topic again, and might be able to discuss about Chinese Civilization later on.