The Minoan civilization (or Minoan culture) is what archaeologists call the early part of the prehistoric Bronze Age of Greece. Bronze Age Greek civilizations are split by tradition into the Greek mainland (or Helladic culture), and the Greek islands (the Cycladic). Named by Arthur Evans after the legendary King Minos, the Minoans were based on the island of Crete, located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, with a distinctive climate and culture different from that of the other Mediterranean communities.
Minoan Civilization Chronology
One of the hot topics in Minoan archaeology is chronology. There are two sets of Minoan chronology, one which reflects stratigraphic levels in archaeological sites, and one which attempts to plot cultural changes, with an emphasis on the Minoan palaces, since that's the defining characteristic. Traditionally, Minoan culture is divided into events. The chronology starts about 3000 BC; Knossos was founded about 1900 BC, Santorini erupted ca 1500 BC; and Knossos fell in 1375 BC.
However, recent investigations indicate that Santorini may have erupted about 1600 BC, although there is still some question about that; clearly, these absolute dates will continue to be controversial for some time to come. The following chronology is from Yannis Hamilakis' 2002 book, Labyrinth Revisited: Rethinking 'Minoan' Archaeology.
- Early Minoan I 3300-2900 BC
- Early Minoan IIA 2900-2550 BC
- Early Minoan IIB 2550-2300 BC
- Pre-Palatial (EM III/MM IA) 2300-1900 BC (Vasilike, Myrtos, Debla, Mochlos)
- Proto-Palatial (MM IIA-MM IIIA) 1900-1700 BC (Knossos, Phaistos, Malia)
- Neo-Palatial (MMIIIB) 1700-1600 BC (Ayia Triadha, Tylissos, Kommos, Akrotiri)
- Neo-Palatial (LM IA-LM IB) 1600-1450 BC (Vathypetro, Kommos)
- Late Minoan II through Late Minoan IIIA/B 1450-1200 BC (Kydonia) (Kommos, Vathypetro)
- Late Minoan IIIC 1200-1150 BC
Minoan Site Types
During the pre-palatial period, sites on Crete consisted of single farmsteads and dispersed farming hamlets with nearby cemeteries. The farming hamlets were fairly self-sufficient, creating their own pottery and agricultural goods as necessary. Many of the graves in the cemeteries contained grave goods, including white marble figurines of women, hinting at the future cultic assemblages.
By the proto-palatial period, however, most of the people lived in larger coastal settlements which may been set up as centers for maritime trading, such as Chalandriani on Syros, Ayia Irini on Kea, and Dhaskaleio-Kavos on Keros. Administrative functions involving the marking of shipped goods using stamp seals were in place at this time. Out of these larger settlements grew the palatial civilizations on Crete.
The capital was Knossos, founded about 1900 BC. In 1500 BC, the volcano Thera erupted, destroying the island of Akrotiri and the Minoan occupation there. Knossos itself was destroyed by another earthquake in 1375 BC. What finally ended the Minoan culture was wars with the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece and Egypt, probably over the extensive trade that had developed in the Mediterranean at the time.
Minoan Civilization Writing Systems
The main written language of the Minoans was Linear A, a language which has yet to be deciphered but may represent a form of early Greek. It was used for religious and accounting purposes from about 1800-1450 BC, when it abruptly disappeared to be replaced by Linear B (a tool of the Mycenaeans).
Important Sites
Myrtos, Mochlos, Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Kommos, Vathypetro, AkrotiriSources
You can't do better for online information about the Minoan culture than Dartmouth's Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean. Another excellent source is Ian Swindale's Minoan Crete pages, which emphasizes the archaeological sites.
Burke, Brendan 2005 Materialization of Mycenaean Ideology and the Ayia Triada Sarcophagus. American Journal of Archaeology 109(3):403-422.
Goren, Yuval, Shlomo Bunimovitz, Israel Finkelstein, and Na'aman. Nadav 2003 The Location of Alashiya: New Evidence from Petrographic Investigation of Alashiyan Tablets. American Journal of Archaeology 107(2):233-255.
Hamilakis, Yannis. 2002. Labyrinth Revisited: Rethinking 'Minoan' Archaeology. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
Preston, Laura 2004 A Mortuary Perspective on Political Changes in Late Minoan II-IIIB Crete. American Journal of Archaeology 108(3):321-348.
Schoep, Ilse 1999 The origins of writing and administration on Crete. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 18(3):265-290.
Simandiraki, Anna 2005 Minoan Archaeology in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. European Journal of Archaeology 8(3):157-181.
Whittaker, Helène 2005 Social and Symbolic Aspects of Minoan writing. European Journal of Archaeology 8(1):29-41.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
