Aegean civilizations - Decline, Environmental Factors & Social Change

Aegean civilizations

Table of Contents

Introduction
Dating of the Aegean Bronze Age
History of exploration
Early Aegean civilizations
- Early cultures
  - Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
  - Neolithic (New Stone Age)
- The Bronze Age
  - The Early Bronze Age (c. 3000–2200)
  - End of the Early Bronze Age on the mainland (c. 2200–2000)
  - The Middle Bronze Age on the mainland (c. 2000–1550)
  - The Cyclades
  - The Shaft Grave Period on the mainland (c. 1600–1450)
  - Period of the Early Palaces in Crete (c. 2000–1700)
  - Period of the Late Palaces in Crete (c. 1700–1450)
The decline of the early Aegean civilizations
- The eruption of Thera (c. 1500) and the conquest of Crete (c. 1450)
  - A new social order
  - The Linear B texts
  - The fusion of cultures on Crete
  - The mainland
  - Eastward explorations
- The end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean
  - Shifts in populations
  - New foreign elements
- The people of the Aegean Bronze Age
  - Dress
  - Society
  - Trade
  - Transport
  - Warfare
  - Religion

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

warrior armed with a figure-of-eight shield and boar's-tusk helmet

For Students

Aegean civilizations summary

Read Next

A Timeline of the World in 8 Maps

Discover

How Did the Tradition of Christmas Trees Start?

A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

9 Mind-Altering Plants

The Jeff Koons tulips sculputure outside the Guggenheim Museums in Bilbao, Spain, Basque Country.

What’s the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Art?

Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers.

9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals

Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

Cretan civilization reached its highest peak between about 1600 and the later 15th century. An important change of fashion that began about 1600 in Crete was the abandonment of the “light-on-dark” style of vase decoration of Kamáres tradition in favour of a return to “dark-on-light.” The new-style Cretan pottery, with attractive designs of spirals, grasses, ferns, and flowers in shiny black or brown paint, was soon to inspire the development of Mycenaean pottery on the mainland. This flourishing period in Crete, however, ended in a series of disasters. About 1500 the volcano on the island of Thera, long, it seems, ...(100 of 16310 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.