The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture on the island of Crete and nearby Aegean islands, named after the legendary King Minos by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who excavated the palace at Knossos from 1900. It is considered the first advanced civilization in Europe. Its people built large palace complexes, such as Knossos, Phaistos and Malia, which served as centers of administration, trade and religion, and decorated them with vivid frescoes. They traded across the eastern Mediterranean, and they used a script called Linear A that has not been deciphered. The Minoan culture declined after about 1450 BCE, possibly because of the effects of the eruption of Thera, and conquest by Mycenaean Greeks from the mainland.
Before and after
- from c. 3,500 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Brú na Bóinne
- from c. 3,500 BCE to 2,500 BCEAfanasevo culture
- 34th century BCEWriting is invented in Mesopotamia
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 600 BCEBronze Age
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 1,100 BCEMinoan civilization
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 2,600 BCEYamnaya culture
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 1982Origins of Qatna
- from c. 3,250 BCE to 400 CEEgyptian hieroglyphs
- from 4th millennium BCE to 1st millenniumAncient history
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 86th century BCESheep, goats and cattle are domesticated
- 71st century BCEMaize is domesticated in Mexico
- 71st century BCERice is domesticated in the Yangtze valley
- from 56th century BCE to 35th century BCEUbaid period
- c. 4,000 BCEOrigins of Thinis
- c. 3,600 BCEConstruction of Ġgantija
The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.