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Cretan archaeology begins with the
Neolithic period near the end of the seventh millennium B.C.E.
Cretan Neolithic culture is similar to other contemporary cultures of
the Mediterranean region. They moved from caves into
semi-permanent temporary huts and permanent houses clustered in
villages, used carefully worked tools, domesticated plants and
animals, and produced pottery.
Some Neolithic figurines suggest
the worship of a female goddess. Votive offering in the form of
small clay animals and birds have been found in caves. To
date, the oldest Neolithic artifacts are found at Knossos.
Sometime around 3,500 B.C.E., this culture spread across the
island. Scholars do not know the origin of the Neolithic
inhabitants of Crete.
During the third millennium B.C.E., groups of
people migrated from Asia Minor to Crete. These new comers brought the art of bronze making and ended the Neolithic way of life
in Crete. |
