Early Bronze Age
-Greece's Early Bronze Age
-Begins with the development of metallurgy (c. 4000 BC).
-Bronze technology arrives in Greece sometime between 4000-3000 BC.
-c. 2500 BC- bronze, lead, silver, and gold becomes widespread throughout Crete, its surrounding islands, and the Cyclades (the Greek islands that surround the island of Delos... comes from the Greek word "kyklas" (roughly translates to "around")).
-Bronze technology allowed for the creation of new luxury goods, tools, construction methods, and weapons!
-Weapons include swords, spears, and daggers.
-Bronze also brought a greater divide in terms of wealth and status- those who had more bronze had more power.
-Leaders of communities were now chiefs (hereditary).
-The job market also exploded with bronze/metal workers, traders, etc.
-Traders would often pass through Greece while traveling between the Near East and Europe.
-Agriculture also exploded during this time with the increase in population and trade.
-Olives, grapes, wheat, and experimentation with ingredients resulting in cool shit like olive oil and wine.
-Also resulted in more jobs, including potters and ceramists for food storage.
-Specialists (like craftsmen) had no time to grow their own food now, and this created more of a demand for farmers (as well as an increasingly interdependent society).
-During the 3rd millennium BC the Greeks were illiterate (unlike the Egyptians or many of the Near East civilizations), but when they finally did invent/develop writing they didn't record historical events, so our chronology of this part of Greek history typically comes from the dating and analysis of their pottery (which was used for pretty much everything in terms of food prep and storage).
-Because of this, the Greek Bronze Age is roughly divided into three periods:
-Early (3000-2000 BC)
-Middle (2000-1550 BC)
-Late (1550-1100 BC)
-The Greek Bronze Age is also divided by location:
-Minoan (Crete)
-Heladic (Greek mainland)
-Cycladic (the Cyclades)
-The Greek Bronze Age is also divided by number (I, II, III) and letter (A, B, C).
-The most advanced cultures in Greece during this time were both in Crete and the Cyclades.
-The Cycladic culture is the key link in terms of the connection between Asia Minor and Greece and the spread of technology from the Near East to Europe.
-Most famous for their marble sculptures and figurines which were quite impressive for their time in terms of being an early innovation or whatever.
-Mostly found in graves, so perhaps they were used for ritualistic purposes. Also, it's possible that the female figurines were a symbol of fertility.
-The population in Greece really exploded between 2500-2200 BC.
-Because of this, there was an even further increase in trade and technological importation, such as the pottery wheel.
-During this time we also start seeing evidence of stone fortifications and large buildings.
-This is evidence of an increasingly complex political system and social hierarchy, although it was still nowhere near as complex as in Egypt or the Near East.
-c. 2100 BC- a bunch of cities/towns are just randomly destroyed (this is a trend that seems to also happen in other places in Europe at this time, unclear why).
-c. 2100-1600 BC- mainland Greece enters a period of cultural stagnation.
-One theory is that perhaps a new people and/or culture (known today as "Proto-Greeks") migrated into the area and either conquered or mixed, resulting in a new culture.
-Proto-Greeks seemed to have arrived in mainland Greece as a part of a huge migration into this general area of the world from the north and east (theory comes from extensive linguistic analysis, as Ancient Greek seems to be a mix (or has commonalities) with Sanskrit, Latin, Old Persian, as well as old Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages (i.e. it was an Indo-European language).
-The Indo-European theory is that back in the day they had been a culture living around the steppes of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and that these people would sometimes leave their homeland in groups and migrate out to different places between 4000-2000 BC, bringing their language with them. Eventually, this language would mix with the native language, over time, resulting in a new language.
-Thus, these Indo-European languages spread from Ireland to China.
-Migrated into Greece in three waves:
-1st (2500-1900 BC)
-2nd (c. 1600 BC)
-3rd (c. 1100 BC)
-Also brought horses, herding, metallurgy, agriculture, pottery, etc.
-Organized into patrilileal, patriarchal clans, with a hierarchical leadership system.
-Worshiped Zeus and were a powerful, warlike people.
-Eventually, these Proto-Greeks mixed with the Pelasgians (the people who lived in Ancient Greece before them) over the course of hundreds of years which resulted in the eventual emergence of a single, advanced civilization during the Late Bronze Age.
-We didn't actually know about this until like the 19th century with the discovery of the ruins of the legendary city of Troy! Before that we just assumed that all the shit detailed in Homer was most likely fiction.
-After Troy was discovered we found the ruins of Mycenae in the Peloponnese (where the legendary King Agamemnon lived). So, the Ancient Greek "Age of Heroes" was no longer considered to be simply a complete work of fiction.
-After this, the ruins of the Minoan civilization were discovered on the island of Crete.
-We now know that the Minoans were a powerful civilization that exercised much influence on the mainland (from 2100-1600 BC).
-Begins with the development of metallurgy (c. 4000 BC).
-Bronze technology arrives in Greece sometime between 4000-3000 BC.
-c. 2500 BC- bronze, lead, silver, and gold becomes widespread throughout Crete, its surrounding islands, and the Cyclades (the Greek islands that surround the island of Delos... comes from the Greek word "kyklas" (roughly translates to "around")).
-Bronze technology allowed for the creation of new luxury goods, tools, construction methods, and weapons!
-Weapons include swords, spears, and daggers.
-Bronze also brought a greater divide in terms of wealth and status- those who had more bronze had more power.
-Leaders of communities were now chiefs (hereditary).
-The job market also exploded with bronze/metal workers, traders, etc.
-Traders would often pass through Greece while traveling between the Near East and Europe.
-Agriculture also exploded during this time with the increase in population and trade.
-Olives, grapes, wheat, and experimentation with ingredients resulting in cool shit like olive oil and wine.
-Also resulted in more jobs, including potters and ceramists for food storage.
-Specialists (like craftsmen) had no time to grow their own food now, and this created more of a demand for farmers (as well as an increasingly interdependent society).
-During the 3rd millennium BC the Greeks were illiterate (unlike the Egyptians or many of the Near East civilizations), but when they finally did invent/develop writing they didn't record historical events, so our chronology of this part of Greek history typically comes from the dating and analysis of their pottery (which was used for pretty much everything in terms of food prep and storage).
-Because of this, the Greek Bronze Age is roughly divided into three periods:
-Early (3000-2000 BC)
-Middle (2000-1550 BC)
-Late (1550-1100 BC)
-The Greek Bronze Age is also divided by location:
-Minoan (Crete)
-Heladic (Greek mainland)
-Cycladic (the Cyclades)
-The Greek Bronze Age is also divided by number (I, II, III) and letter (A, B, C).
-The most advanced cultures in Greece during this time were both in Crete and the Cyclades.
-The Cycladic culture is the key link in terms of the connection between Asia Minor and Greece and the spread of technology from the Near East to Europe.
-Most famous for their marble sculptures and figurines which were quite impressive for their time in terms of being an early innovation or whatever.
-Mostly found in graves, so perhaps they were used for ritualistic purposes. Also, it's possible that the female figurines were a symbol of fertility.
-The population in Greece really exploded between 2500-2200 BC.
-Because of this, there was an even further increase in trade and technological importation, such as the pottery wheel.
-During this time we also start seeing evidence of stone fortifications and large buildings.
-This is evidence of an increasingly complex political system and social hierarchy, although it was still nowhere near as complex as in Egypt or the Near East.
-c. 2100 BC- a bunch of cities/towns are just randomly destroyed (this is a trend that seems to also happen in other places in Europe at this time, unclear why).
-c. 2100-1600 BC- mainland Greece enters a period of cultural stagnation.
-One theory is that perhaps a new people and/or culture (known today as "Proto-Greeks") migrated into the area and either conquered or mixed, resulting in a new culture.
-Proto-Greeks seemed to have arrived in mainland Greece as a part of a huge migration into this general area of the world from the north and east (theory comes from extensive linguistic analysis, as Ancient Greek seems to be a mix (or has commonalities) with Sanskrit, Latin, Old Persian, as well as old Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages (i.e. it was an Indo-European language).
-The Indo-European theory is that back in the day they had been a culture living around the steppes of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and that these people would sometimes leave their homeland in groups and migrate out to different places between 4000-2000 BC, bringing their language with them. Eventually, this language would mix with the native language, over time, resulting in a new language.
-Thus, these Indo-European languages spread from Ireland to China.
-Migrated into Greece in three waves:
-1st (2500-1900 BC)
-2nd (c. 1600 BC)
-3rd (c. 1100 BC)
-Also brought horses, herding, metallurgy, agriculture, pottery, etc.
-Organized into patrilileal, patriarchal clans, with a hierarchical leadership system.
-Worshiped Zeus and were a powerful, warlike people.
-Eventually, these Proto-Greeks mixed with the Pelasgians (the people who lived in Ancient Greece before them) over the course of hundreds of years which resulted in the eventual emergence of a single, advanced civilization during the Late Bronze Age.
-We didn't actually know about this until like the 19th century with the discovery of the ruins of the legendary city of Troy! Before that we just assumed that all the shit detailed in Homer was most likely fiction.
-After Troy was discovered we found the ruins of Mycenae in the Peloponnese (where the legendary King Agamemnon lived). So, the Ancient Greek "Age of Heroes" was no longer considered to be simply a complete work of fiction.
-After this, the ruins of the Minoan civilization were discovered on the island of Crete.
-We now know that the Minoans were a powerful civilization that exercised much influence on the mainland (from 2100-1600 BC).
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