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The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete.

Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. Through traders and artisans, their cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Today, the ruins of the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos have become popular tourist attractions. The Minoan civilization developed from the local Neolithic culture around 3100 BC, with complex urban settlements beginning around 2000 BC. 1450 BC, they came under the cultural and perhaps political domination of the mainland Mycenaean Greeks, forming a hybrid culture which lasted until around 1100 BC. Largely forgotten after the Late Bronze Age collapse, the Minoan civilization was rediscovered in the early twentieth century through archaeological excavation. The Minoans developed two writing systems known as Cretan hieroglyphs and Linear A. Because neither script has been fully deciphered, the identity of the Minoan language is unknown. After 1450 BC, a modified version of Linear A known as Linear B was used to write Mycenaean Greek, which had become the language of administration on Crete. Little is known about the structure of Minoan society, and it is unclear whether there was ever a unified Minoan state. The Minoans constructed enormous labyrinthine buildings which their initial excavators labeled Minoan palaces. Subsequent research has shown that they served a variety of religious and economic purposes rather than being royal residences, though their exact role in Minoan society is a matter of continuing debate, as is the political structure of Minoan society. Minoan art included elaborately decorated pottery, seals, figurines, and colorful frescoes.

The first, based on pottery styles, divides Minoan history into three major periods: Early Minoan (EM), Middle Minoan (MM) and Late Minoan (LM). An alternative system, proposed by Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Platon, divides Minoan history into four periods termed Prepalatial, Protopalatial, Neopalatial, and Postpalatial. Archaeologists have attempted to determine calendar dates by synchronizing the periods of Minoan history with those of their better understood contemporaries. For example, Minoan artifacts from the LM IB period have been found in 18th Dynasty contexts in Egypt, for which Egyptian chronology provides calendar dates.

Minoan material culture shows increased international influence, for instance in the adoption of Minoan seals based on the older Near Eastern seal.

The Late Minoan period was an eventful time that saw profound change in Minoan society.

The Minoan Civilization was centered on the island of Crete, with additional settlements around the Aegean Sea.

Minoan strata replaced a mainland-derived early Bronze Age culture, the earliest Minoan settlement outside Crete. The Cyclades were in the Minoan cultural orbit and, closer to Crete, the islands of Karpathos, Saria and Kasos also contained middle-Bronze Age (MMI-II) Minoan colonies or settlements of Minoan traders.

Many precious metal vessels found on mainland Greece exhibit Minoan characteristics, and it is thought that these were either imported from Crete or made on the mainland by Minoan metalsmiths working for Mycenaean patrons or by Mycenaean smiths who had trained under Minoan masters.

Very little is known about the forms of Minoan government, particularly since the Minoan language has not yet been deciphered.

As Linear A Minoan writing has not been deciphered yet, most information available about Minoan women is from various art forms and Linear B tablets, and scholarship about Minoan women remains limited.

As seen in Minoan art, Minoan men wore loincloths (if poor) or robes or kilts that were often long.

No evidence has been found of a Minoan army or the Minoan domination of peoples beyond Crete. Few signs of warfare appear in Minoan art: "Although a few archaeologists see war scenes in a few pieces of Minoan art, others interpret even these scenes as festivals, sacred dance, or sports events" (Studebaker, 2004, p.

Quick Facts

• The first, based on pottery styles, divides Minoan history into three major periods: Early Minoan (EM), Middle Minoan (MM) and Late Minoan (LM).
• Largely forgotten after the Late Bronze Age collapse, the Minoan civilization was rediscovered in the early twentieth century through archaeological excavation.
• Subsequent research has shown that they served a variety of religious and economic purposes rather than being royal residences, though their exact role in Minoan society is a matter of continuing debate, as is the political structure of Minoan society.
• Little is known about the structure of Minoan society, and it is unclear whether there was ever a unified Minoan state.
• Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Minoan civilization". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.