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by Gabriel Stark

This timeline is only intended for use in Tori Saneda's ANTH 205 class at Cascadia College.

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“Copyright Fair Use and How It Works for Online Images.” Social Media Examiner. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/  (accessed Nov. 1, 2013).

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The expansion of metallurgy from its origins in Bulgaria (earliest known example of gold manipulation) and Turkey (earliest known example of copper manipulation) revolutionized the industry of the Mediterranean. Not only did the invention of the copper-tin alloy bronze allow huge advances in architecture, combat, and navigation, it also had implications in social status. Those who controlled areas with metal held more power than those who didn't. Also, those who owned metal items held a higher social status than those who didn't.

Human Progress

Resource control by territory, the appearance of elites, and status symbols all appear around the time that metallurgy becomes relatively common.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
Photo: http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/sea.htm

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Crete Makes Contact with Egypt and the Near East (3,500 BC)

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Crete Makes Contact with Egypt and the Near East (3,500 BC)

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At about 3,500 BC there starts to be evidence of Crete's trade network with Egypt and the Near East. Although at first there are not that many artifacts, but later ivory, lapis lazuli, seals, and semiprecious stones become staples in elite burials.

Human Progress

This implies that the people of Crete had sailing technology, navigational technology, and knowledge of societies very distant from them. These items being found in high class burials also suggests that they were status symbols. Both status symbols and the presence of a class system are evidence of social complexity.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli#/media/File:Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg

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The discovery of two-story hamlets, dubbed "Corridor Houses", signals an advance in the average person's quality of living. These dwellings most likely had a floor dedicated to sleeping and leisure, and one for provisions (as evidenced by the presence of ceramics).

Human Progress

This advancement in architecture as well as the need for storage of surplus supplies are both evidence of human advancement.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.

Photo: http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-south-house-knossos-palace-heraklion-crete-greece-65514083.html

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The Minoan Palace Period (2,000-1,490 BC)

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The Minoan Palace Period (2,000-1,490 BC)

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The palace period started around 2,000 years ago, when the palaces at Knossos, Mallia, and Phaistos were built. These buildings served a variety of purposes. Originally thought to be the palace of the "king", as was common in Europe, by archeologist Sir Arthur Evans who discovered the palace at Knossos, "but the iconography of power in Minoan Crete is, in fact, quite weakly developed, and virtually no clear examples of ruler portraiture are known... Recent scholarship has stressed that there is evidence to suggest that authority and control were not centralized solely in the palaces, but involved a good deal of factional competition among elite groups resident outside them" (Scarre 481). These palaces served more as community centers, with armories, libraries, bathing pools, kitchens, residential quarters, etc.

Human Progress

The architecture of such large-scale buildings, along with the evidence of community organization, shows these island communities had progressed past simple farming hamlets.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies (Third Edition) (Page 481). Thames & Hudson. Kindle Edition.

Photo: http://www.meetcrete.com/minoan-palace-knossos/

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One common theme among all of the Minoan palaces and important buildings is the presence of religious iconography. "Double axes, figurines of bare-breasted women grasping snakes, representations of bulls and of bull-leaping (a ritual act the feasibility of which is much debated), and “horns of consecration” (schematic bull horns) recur in a wide variety of contexts. Overtones of fertility and a strong female presence have led some to identify goddess worship on the island" (Scarre 482). There is evidence that the authority figures of the island tried to align themselves with the power of the gods. They did this by placing their palaces at important, central landmarks. "The central court at Phaistos, for example, is aligned with the peaks of Mount Ida, high up on which lies the Kamares Cave, used for ritual purposes from early in the First Palace period" (Scarre 482).

Human Progress

The presence of a unifying belief system shows not only the belief in the afterlife, but also the beginnings of large, overarching social structures that span beyond individual communities.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
Photo: http://www.solvinglight.com/features/kainkillsabel_pg4.htm

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Mycenae was a large, fortified citadel and the center of Mycenaen power. A few important discoveries were made here, including bodies buried with ceremonial golden masks, a large perimeter wall, one defensible entrance with massive carved lions, and a megaron: a three chambered room thought to be the Mycenaen ruler's throne room.

Human Progress

The perimeter wall and one gate are different from other nearby communities. This suggests that they Mycenae were either more combative and had more enemies, or that they were regularly attacked and needed to defend themselves. The throne room is interesting because generally Greek palaces did not have dedicated throne rooms, as power was not often placed on one leader. These developments illustrate a move by the Mycenae towards a more central power structure.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
Photo: http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/GreeceMycenae.htm

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Linear A, Linear B, Hieroglyphics, and the Knossos Tablets (1,500 BC)

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Linear A, Linear B, Hieroglyphics, and the Knossos Tablets (1,500 BC)

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When Sir Arthur Evans first began excavations on Crete in 1900, he unearthed several thousand clay tablets with three languages of inscriptions. He named them Linear A, Linear B, and hieroglyphic (because it resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics). Linear B was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952. Researchers had hoped they would contain information about Minoan belief systems, power hierarchy, royal inscriptions, or legal information. However, it is now accepted that they are mainly concerned with the every day aspects of a palace industry. "We now know a great deal about the detailed workings of palace-controlled industries concerned with textiles, flax, and perfumed oil, including the distribution of rations to different categories of female and male workers. There are sets of tablets dealing (enigmatically) with landholding; others provide powerful evidence that a number of Classical Greek deities (Athena, Poseidon, and Zeus, for instance) were worshiped already in Mycenaean times; and studies of place names have given some sense of the political geography of Mycenaean kingdoms on the mainland and in Crete" (Scarre 482).

Human Progress

The Knossos tablets show that Mycenaeans used a complex system of writing to record the comings and goings of their industry. The widespread use of writing for practical purposes shows an increase in social complexity and suggests literacy might have been semi-common. The use of a hieroglyphic system very similar to Egypt's also provides further evidence of Mediterranean contact with them.
Scarre, Chris.

The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
"Cracking the code: the decipherment of Linear B 60 years on." University of Cambridge. October 13, 2012. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cracking-the-code-the-decipherment-of-linear-b-60-years-on. http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cracking-the-code-the-decipherment-of-linear-b-60-years-on
Photo: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cracking-the-code-the-decipherment-of-linear-b-60-years-on

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"The polis was an autonomous unit that embraced both a central, urban settlement and its rural hinterland. Its people were bound together not only by political ties, but by economic and religious links as well; full members of this community (free-born males for the most part), wherever they lived, possessed the status of citizen" (Scarre 486). Greeks settled in these city-states mainly because of how mountainous the country is. Most acropolises were on top of hills, making them easily defensible. These settled conditions led to a revival in trade (which in turn led to the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet and Egyptian architecture and sculpting techniques). The more densely populated conditions led to a reduction in soil quality. This led to Greek agriculture becoming more varied, including vineyards and orchards alongside the traditional grain fields.

Human Progress

Acropolises provided a new level of security Greeks. The revival in trade and shift in agriculture provided the foundations for classical Greek society, and made room for the rapid expansion they were about to experience. A sharp increase in population, shown by an increase in burials around 800 BC, provides evidence of the new level of prosperity acropolises helped provide.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies (Third Edition) (Page 486). Thames & Hudson. Kindle Edition.
Butler, Chris. "The Flow of History." FC18: The Dark Age of Greece & the Rise of the Polis (c.1100-750 BCE) - The Flow of History. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/birth/3/FC18.
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens

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The Greek civilization was now large and wealthy enough that several city-states could afford to send out expedition parties to settle in other parts of the Mediterranean. These included Italy (in such large quantities that it was known as Magna Graecia, or Greater Greece), Southern France, Northern Africa, and the Black Sea. "These new communities went on to follow their own historical path, in some cases outstripping their home cities in splendor, wealth, and power. Good examples are Sicilian Syracuse, long a major military force in central Mediterranean" (Scarre 489).

Human Progress

The expansion of the Greeks was not a true empire, because the individual city-states were not all under a central power. However, this shows progress in social complexity because the city-states had the resources to send extra men in search of new lands.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies (Third Edition) (Page 489). Thames & Hudson. Kindle Edition.
Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. "Greek Colonies." In Encyclopedia of Archaeology, edited by Deborah M. Pearsall, 1267-1280. Vol. 2. Oxford, UK: Academic Press, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed May 12, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=wash_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX4098700184&asid=6f7a7fe88c01262ffb79ef3c76ebe671
Photo: http://www.gettyimages.ie/photos/archaeological-area-of-metapontum?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=archaeological%20area%20of%20metapontum

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Macedonian funeral practices were rich and extravagant. The supposed tomb of Philip II at Vergina is an excellent example of this. The entrance to the building is a facade, with marble columns. The inside has an antechamber, where burial goods were stored, followed by another back room where human cremation remains were stored in a golden box, called a larnax. "One of the cremations was incompletely burnt, allowing reconstruction of the deceased’s face. Certain features – notably some distinctive war wounds – convinced many (if not all) that this is indeed the burial place of Philip II himself" (Scarre 500).

Human Progress

The richness of Philip II's tomb shows a few signs of development. First, respect for the dead and for the afterlife is obvious. Second, cremation is something not seen previously in the Mediterranean. Although it is unclear why the Macedonians practiced this instead of burial, it did have some intentional purpose, as proven by the golden laranx and burial gifts.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.
Photo: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/16/new-evidence-for-king-philip-ii-tomb-in-vergina/

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Butler, Chris. "The Flow of History." FC18: The Dark Age of Greece & the Rise of the Polis (c.1100-750 BCE) - The Flow of History. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/birth/3/FC18.

Scarre, Chris. The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 3rd ed. Thames & Hudson.

Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. "Greek Colonies." In Encyclopedia of Archaeology, edited by Deborah M. Pearsall, 1267-1280. Vol. 2. Oxford, UK: Academic Press, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed May 12, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=wash_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX4098700184&asid=6f7a7fe88c01262ffb79ef3c76ebe671

"Cracking the code: the decipherment of Linear B 60 years on." University of Cambridge. October 13, 2012. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cracking-the-code-the-decipherment-of-linear-b-60-years-on. http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cracking-the-code-the-decipherment-of-linear-b-60-years-on