polymathy

Major earthquake first
wrecking crews on buildings, rubble neatly piled, wrecking balls
purposeful demolition followed by rebuilding and rehabitation
may have been a decent amount of time between earthquake and volcano, years or maybe even 2-3 decades
however, rebuilding and restoration was still in progress when the eruption hit
LC I, near end of LM IA, LH I sometime before use of GCA in LH IIA

the lowest stratum of pumice ash was slightly oxidized, meaning probably exposed to the atmosphere for 2-24 months before being covered by the major pumice fall
this may have been the warning they needed to get out, since the first fall was not likely to have caused loss of life, 3 cm thick
2nd stratum of rather larger pumice between .5 and 1 meter thick
final deposit of tephra over 5 meters thick at Akrotiri and up to 50 elsewhere, bits of pumice 15 centimeters across, large boulders of basalt

most pumice to the southeast of Santorini
Greek ML & western Crete unaffected
eastern Crete 1-5 (10 max) cm of pumice
probably would have eroded quickly & increased the fertility of the soil, not brought about the collapse of civilization
some sediment found in western Anatolia
tidal wave may not have been big enough to cause massive destruction either

earthquake early in LM IA, eruption in later LM IA, Neopalatial destructions LM IB

Evidence consists of:
location of cult activity
depictions of cult activity in art
cultic furniture/implements
garbled memories in Greek

caves inhabitation sites in Neolithic
cemeteries at end of Neolithic and into EM
cult places in MM (Protopalatial)
richest votive objects in Cave of Eileithyia, Cave Kamares, Dictean Cave, Idean Cave, Cave of Arkalochori

peak sanctuaries beginning in MM, some continue into LM IIIA
can be hilltops, not necessarily peaks of actual mountains
still many too remote for day-to-day use
deep layers of ash with no bones (bonfires, not sacrifices)
clay animal & human figurines
close connection between palaces and peak sanctuaries: finest Kamares pottery, tables of offerings, Linear A on things other than unbaked clay tablets

Sanctuary Rhyton
Goddess of Myrtos
Ayia Triadha Sarcophagus, depicts unusual scenes of funerary/ritual/cultic activity

Knossos throne room complex first and foremost cultic, not display of political power
LM IIIA2 ca 1385 burned down, ritual may have been in progress

some double axes functional, others obviously only ceremonial
horns of consecration, origin uncertain (bulls horns? crescent? horizon/mountains? odd form of pot support?)
kernos: a ceramic vessel consisting of multiple receptacles of the same shape
Minoan genii corruption of Ta-wrt, Egyptian hippopotamus deity

Moreover, there is very little evidence from Greek Mainland sites for a Mycenaean cult of the dead persisting for any appreciable length of time after an individual's burial.

Snake goddess, interpreted as a household deity, does not appear on seals,
Mistress of the Beasts
Goddess of Vegetation (?)
male divinities
evidence for human sacrifice at Archanes
18 yo male
28 yo female
late 30s male
1 indeterminate
last 3 killed by falling debris from the collapsing building, first already dead from blood loss
North House at Knossos 4 children in perfect health, bones with cut marks like butchery (cannibalism clearly indicated)

MM: light on dark pottery
LM: dark on light

LM I: Minoan influence in the southern Aegean peaks
LM IB (not at the very end): all palaces except Knossos destroyed
sites not reoccupied until LM IIIB
palaces not rebuilt at such
Knossos remained functional until 13th century BCE LM IIIB, but not LM IIIC

pottery becomes more Mycenaean in post-LM II

LM IA until recently dated 1550-1500, perhaps 1675-1600 if Santorini 1625


LM IB until recently dated 1500-1450, now maybe 1600-1500
LM IB acme of Minoan art, Marine Style, Alternating Style
Marine style may resemble fresco paintings on Thera. Conceivably refugee artists from Thera
Marine motifs: murex, nautilus, octopus, dolphin, seaweed, sea anemone, star
Alternating: figure eight shield, double axe, sacral knot, sea anemone, trefoil rockwork

LM II 1450-1415, now maybe 1500-1450
new vessel types with Mycenaean ancestries
decorative developments with Mycenaean influence
Mycenaean tomb types (shaft and shaft-niche graves)
deposition of large quantities of wealth in tombs
= Mycenaean population at Knossos, probably militarily dominant but numerically limited warrior aristocracy

LM IIIA 1415-1340, now maybe 1450-1340
LM IIIB 1340-1190
stirrup jars painted with Linear B, probably for shipment
LM IIIC 1190-1125/1100
gradual ceramic transition, drastic change in settlement patterns to more defensible locations

all known figured Minoan frescoes are of Neopalatial date
common Knossos motifs:
bull-leaping
boxing & wrestling
heraldic griffin compositions
processional scenes

red skin for male, white for female, probably adopted from Egypt, possibly indirectly via Syria
no unmistakably particularized scenes
realistic in terms of animal/human movements
background totally fantastic
birds & plants *look* naturalistic, but often don't resemble any actual real birds/plants
lots of varied colors
fresco painting a major art form which influenced pottery painting and possibly seals as well
no attempt to indicate relief by shading
underwater scenes maybe restricted to floors. Mycenaeans adopted use of marine motifs for floor decorations at Pylos and Tiryns
no hunting/war scenes, rare chariot scenes

Central court, usually north-south
West court
Magazines
Residential Quarters (but Dickinson disagrees)
Banquet Hall, argued to be an isolated hall at the north & the second storey
Public Apartments
Cult Rooms with pillar crypts
guest room suites

Minoans loved variety over regularity
columns are of very different shapes and designs; contrast Greeks & Romans multiplying one kind of column down the building

2050-1550

MH I 2050-1900
MH II 1900-1700
MH III 1700-1550
BUT all this depends on Thera chronology

settlements on rocky hills
in contrast to dispersed Korakou pattern
Kolonna intermediate between MH and MC
some walls, not as impressive as at Troy VI or islands
rectangular and apsidal megara/longhouses
mudbrick on socle

Minyan, monochrome burnished
Matt-painted, paints that lack luster
coarse Cooking pottery

Minyan mostly descended from EH III Tiryns open forms
used to think Grey Minyan from northern invaders
but any invasion must have been beginning of EH III, not MH I
and "north" would only mean central Greece

Matt-painted a break from EH III, uniformity in color of paint b/c manganese-based paint, not iron-based

Cooking pottery also continuity from Tiryns EH III

imported Lustrous Decorated pottery, not made in Crete or Peloponnese that we can tell, so probably from Kythera (definitely a Minoan colony by MM IA) vel sim.
no idea what the mainlanders were trading for it
no imitations for centuries, then suddenly imitations become what we call Mycenaean

Aeginetan gold-mica-tempered vases
the first bones of equus caballus, the true horse, appear at Lerna V around the same time they're appearing at Troy VI
also domesticated fowl
no swords as yet from Mainland sites
less metal than EH II

intramural burials
extramural pit & cist graves of MH III at the earliest
tumulus, early as MH I and continue throughout the period
grave goods rare early, culminate in the Grave Circles
burials getting fancier, bodies more likely to be extended than contracted, a sign of increasing influence
most common are cist & pit burials, single inhumations

earlist shaft grave & warrior burial by far is at Kolonna on Aegina
which also has the best MBA fortifications after Troy

Troy was first occupied ca. 3100-3000
BA already underway for a century or two
Only one of a string of impressive fortified coastal settlements

Troy I 3100/3000-2600/2550
fortification wall
megaron
metal present from the beginning
marble/limestone human figurines but no FAFs, no specific occupations like warriors
dark monochrome burnished ware
pit burials, infants in pithoi
There is evidence for a destruction by fire of Troy Ij.

Early Troy I contemporary with Eutresis culture EH I and advanced Kampos phase of Grotta-Pelos culture EC I
Middle & Late Troy I contemporary with Korakou EH IIA and Keros-Syros EC IIA on the basis of imported urfirnis and sauceboats

Troy II 2600/2550-2250
no cultural break from Troy I or in Troy II
fortifications extended, rectangular projecting towers
end of IIa, citadel destroyed by fire
megara
antae: shaped stone bases attached to the thickened ends of the lateral walls
no evidence for the throne found in later Mycenaean megara or the specifics of Myc. megara (but circular hearth yes)
large amounts of gold and silver
Kastri on Syros shows clear Trojan influence (metalwork and pottery), may have been settled by refugees after Troy II destruction
pottery becomes more red and tan and less black as Troy II progresses
evidence for use of fast wheel
intramural child burial, adults outside the settlement
contemporary with middle & later stages of Korakou EH IIA and Kyros-Seros EC IIA

Troy III 2250-2100/2050
town demolished at end of Troy III for no obvious reason
free-standing houses rare, mostly apartment complexes
tendency to construct buildings entirely of stone instead of mudbrick on stone socle
not much metal found
terracotta animal figurines appear for the first time, can't tell if they're dogs, sheep, cattle, or what
pottery virtually indistinguishable from Troy II
more deer bones than anything, so increase in hunting, but we're not sure why
contemporary with EC IIB Lefkandi I & Kastri Group, BG & HoT (Lerna III) EH IIA

I-III should be viewed as a unity, Maritime Troia culture

Troy IV 2100/2050-2000/1950
traces of fortification wall, not substantial
houses built on a different orientation, once again mudbrick on a stone socle
little metal
at least partially contemporary with EH III (wing-handled Troy cup found at Lerna IV, EH III pottery fragment at Troy IV)

Troy V
2000/1950-1900/1850
no evidence of destruction at the end
no fortification wall found, but evidence that there may have been one
better architecture, cleaner rooms = less material for archaeologist
general rise of living
pig & cow bones overtake deer
probably contemporary with Phylakopi I MC I and earlies MH I and MM IA

Troy IV-V viewed as Anatolian Troia culture

Limantepe central west coast, near modern Izmir
impressive fortifications now extending underwater where the sea has risen
Kastri group pottery, this area may have been the origin of the Anatolian influence on Cyclades, whether peacefully or by warrior bands moving east to west

Thermi on Lesbos clearly belongs to Maritime Troia culture
more egalitarian walled town in contrast to hierarchically organized royal fortress of Troy

3000-2650
EM I period contemporary with EC I, Kampos phase of Grotta-Pelos culture

at the end of the Neolithic, there were open sites at Knossos and Phaistos, but most Neolithic sites were in caves
still some caves in EM I but more open sites
Incised Ware shows contact with Grotta-Pelos culture
not much metal, but metallurgy probably being practiced
maybe seals, but no evidence yet

EM II 2650-2150
Goddess of Myrtos - a ritual rhyton shaped like a woman holding a jug
Myrtos destroyed by fire 2850-2305
HoT destroyed ca. 2300
long-lived Minoan stone vase industry begins
sealstones definitely being produced
marble figurines more common, FAF imports from the Cyclades, and specifically Cretan Koumasa imitations of the FAFs

Vasiliki
Red House, West House, many rooms
destroyed by fire at or near end of EM IIB period
no question of an outside invasion, too much continuity, but maybe some centralization of power in the last century or two of EBA?

definite connections with the mainland, as sauceboat fragments appear
Minoan activity on Kythera, but probably not a colony yet, just fishermen debris
stone bowls of Egyptian manufacture may show contact with Egypt or the Levant

EM III
short period
egg-cup pottery characteristic
most EM structures at the central part of the Knossos palace hill were leveled for building the palaces

Pylakopi on Melos the only excavated site with Cycladic stratification

EC I Grotta-Pelos (EH I, EM I)
EC II Keros-Syros (EH IIA)
gap? low population?
EC III Phylakopi I (MH)
Phylakopi II Minoan imports from MM IB-IIA to MMIII and maybe even LM IA
destroyed by fire
Phylakopi III fortified for the first time, occupied continuously until 11th cent.


EC I Grotta-Pelos (3000-2650)
no signficant architecture
cist grave cemeteries
marble vessels & figurines in tombs
almost no metal
KAMPOS FRYING PAN


EC IIA Keros-Syros (2650-2400)
develops out of late Kampos group in Grotta-Pelos group
rectangular buildings with extremely neat masonry
tombs much the same as Grotta-Pelos, cemeteries may be bigger or not
sauceboats & frying pan
more metal, including from Laurion
extensive contacts with EM II on Crete (FAFs are imported & inspire imitations), EH II Mainland (sauceboats, FAFs, tomb types), and Late Troy I & Troy II

Kastri Group/Lefkandi I EC IIB or EC IIIA (2450-2150)
EH II B Lefkandi I culture contemporary and closely connected, basically the same culture
Kastri is a small, fortified citadel on Syros
unchanged tombs
metalwork has close typological parallels with western Anatolia, especially tin-alloyed bronze which is otherwise only found at Troy II at this period
dramatic shift in pottery
metalwork + pottery means Western Anatolians passing through on their way to Euboea & the mainland
small forts reminiscent of Troy I-II larger-scale fortifications
forts suddenly abandoned, no idea why

EC III (2150-2000)
no evidence of human occupation at present

Phylakopi I MC I or EC IIIB(2000-1850)
rock-cut chamber tombs
FAF disappears after Lefkandi I phase
relatively little contact with Minoan Crete
Troy V
MH I to early MH II
chlorite schist used to make house models that may or may not have mimicked real architecture

Greek hunting & wild resources limited in Neolithic
mostly agro-pastoral
Dimini and Sesklo had fort-like architecture with a central megaron opening onto a courtyard
so did EBA western Anatolia (Troy etc)

Knossos had some Melian obsidian from the very beginning
complex handles and rims in the earliest pottery
some think this means pottery technology was imported wholesale from outside the island, but could be imitation of other media
weaving industry Early Neolithic II

colonization of Cyclades late and gradual
Saliagos only site with a NL farming settlement
others were only temporary camping spots
colonization of Cyclades maybe connected with introduction of large tuna to the rest of the Aegean, but not with exploitation of Melian obsidian, which is way earlier

Kephala has terracotta figurines (3300-3200) that may have been forerunners of Cycladic figurines (3200-2000)

328-329 tholos origins hazy: from similar Minoan structures? or from tumulus which goes back to MH 500 years before the Mycenaeans and continued in use?
tholos, shaft graves, and tumuli are designed to be reopened
chamber tomb cut out of rock
tholos has vaulted dry stone walling

330 pit-grave excavated out of the ground
cist grave has sides lined with slabs or walling and would be covered like a box
pithos burial common in MH, surprisingly rare in Mycenaean Greece

336 swords had symbolic value, often more swords buried than could have been used
sword buried with a child at Argos
single graves frequent but still a minority
women underrepresented, not many infants, but still some children with lots of attention/offerings lavished on them

337 in early LBA, no palatial architecture yet, but even before Linear B, elaborate tombs requiring many man-days were built from stone coming from all over Greece, so some power structures must have already been in place

338 women took the lead in the prothesis. faces may scarred and hair shorn, larnakes show that corpse wrapped in a shroud

339 very specific possessions are not very common, like tools, cymbals, ivory caskets
in rare cases, horses sacrificed and buried beside the tomb
skulls & skeletons of horses, dogs, cattle, & other animals suggest more general rite of animal sacrifice

in a good number of cases, excavators have observed that tombs and graves contained no skeleton in situ, even though the blocking or cover was intact and there was no sign of robbing. This is our best evidence that the Mycenaeans conducted a second funeral, sometimes called secondary burial. Such a custom is known in many different cultures and normally explained as a "rite of aggregation", whereby the spirit of the dead person is thought to pass from a liminal and ambiguous status, belonging wholly neither to the living nor the dead, to one where the deceased joins the ancestors.