Prehistoric Crete, Part 2

Lessons 6-9, everything covered after the midterm

Describe the difference between religion and cult.

Religion = belief systems (difficult to reconstruct without written evidence); Cult = practice (easier to reconstruct through material remains)

Minoan Crete retains some written evidence of religious beliefs through what script?

Linear A

True or false: Cult ritual is easily distinguishable from secular aspects of Minoan society.

False

purpose of a ritual

renegotiate aspects of people’s lives

What do rituals utilize to achieve their purpose?

symbolic objects

Which region of Crete has more protopalatial peak sanctuaries than anywhere else on the island?

far east Crete

True or false: Neopalatial peak sanctuaries were markedly different from protopalatial peak sanctuaries.

True

The EBA funerary site of Myrtos Phournou Koryphi is famous for what find?

goddess and the skull

The “goddess and the skull” is representative of funerary customs and beliefs from which period?

prepalatial

significant find of Apesokari tholos A

Plaster feet inside a niche of the tomb annex (possibly belonging to a cult statue)

Where could votive offerings be found in the greatest number?

peak sanctuaries

Why were figurine limbs and dissected figurines being offered at sanctuaries?

asking for healing of a specific body part

The Diktean Cave was used for cult ritual during what periods?

MM and LM

Darkness, water, ashes, and offerings of pottery and weapons were all ritual components belonging to what shrine type?

caves

True or false: Countryside shrines existed separately from (with no affiliation to) palatial shrines and domestic cults.

True

In Minoan religious art, double axes are usually carried by which gender?

women

Which Minoan ceremonial object began as a functional funnel/filter?

rhyton

most common Minoan ritual posture

raised hands

In what contexts were male priests typically depicted in Minoan art?

• hunting scenes

• juxtaposed with youths

• playing instruments

What did male Minoan priests usually carry in their hand?

scepter (curved axe or stone mace related to sacrifice)

Why are priestesses harder to analyze than priests in Minoan art?

• Difficult to distinguish between priestess and goddess

• No specific insignia to denote a priestess

• Motifs in feminine costumes (crocuses, lilies, butterflies, etc.) are also connected with religion

The Minoans had a hunter/protector male god; how was he depicted in art?

armed and escorted by a griffin/lion

What was meant by the “sacred marriage” in Minoan religion, and what did it symbolize?

marriage between the goddess and her consort (or male deity); symbolized cycle of life

True or false: Child sacrifice was a common rite in Minoan ritual.

False (possible evidence for one incidence)

Tubular stands for offering bowls were shaped like what animal?

snakes

“bloodless offering”

figurines used as proxies for real animals

Why are portable offering tables found more often than permanent sacrificial tables?

portable offering tables made of stone, sacrificial tables made of wood (as seen in the iconography)

weapon most commonly related to Minoan sacrifice

mace

Funeral rites __ social reality.

may reflect OR mask

Burial customs reflect:

• religious/ideological beliefs

• negotiation of individual and collective identities

Major burial types of the prepalatial period

• caves and rock shelters

• house tombs

• tholos tombs

House tombs were the dominant burial method in __ Crete during the prepalatial period.

east (and central)

Tholos tombs were the dominant burial method in __ Crete during the prepalatial period.

south (Mesara)

What was signified by the lack of regard for how skeletons were treated after their internment?

afterlife not dependent on survival of the body (does NOT signal disrespect towards the dead)

On what site are there NO cave burials?

Mesara

collection and rearrangement of human remains to make room for new burials

reduction

EM II - MM II funerary site in north Crete which contained:

• poorly preserved house tombs

• primary and secondary burials

• reduction

• pithos and larnax burials

Sissi cemetery

Which tomb type was most likely to house clay larnakes?

tholos

When did larnax burials become popular, and what did this shift signify?

late prepalatial period; rise in individualism

When do monumental burial structures appear in Crete, and why?

late prepalatial period; social competition and differentiation

In addition to isolating the dead from each other, what practice declines due to the introduction of clay receptacles?

secondary handling of bones

significance of Chrysolakkos and Mochlos

monumental burials

solid, ashlar funerary structure with a gold-filled pit

Chrysolakkos

most prominent example of social inequality in a burial site

Mochlos (west terrace)

additions to tombs in the late palatial period which signify greater complexity of ritual activity

• rectangular complex of rooms

• floor pavings

• altars

In the late prepalatial period, feasting and ritual dances become popular funerary rites, and burial offerings center around fertility and regeneration. What ideological change does this signify?

emphasis shifted from the dead to the living mourners

EM - MM cemetery containing house tombs and open-air spaces for ritual activity

Petras

confusing funerary development which occurs in the neopalatial period

dead disappear from the landscape (sharp contrast between population data and number of burials)

possible explanation for lack of burial data in the neopalatial period

sea burials

period from which we have the least funerary evidence

neopalatial

In what period was Mochlos NOT used for either burials or ritual activity?

protopalatial

True or false: Most prepalatial and protopalatial cemeteries of Crete continued to be used into the neopalatial period.

False (most were abandoned following MM II)

Which two older burial spaces were repurposed for ritual activity in the neopalatial period?

Kamilari and Mochlos

significance of Phourni cemetery in Archanes

• variety and coexistence of tomb types and ritual activities

  • house tombs and tholos tombs

  • inhumations and pithos/larnax burials

• continuous use from EM II - MM IB

  • new structures and burials (neopalatial and postpalatial) until the end of the Bronze Age

When and where were pit-cave tombs popularized on Crete?

neopalatial period; around Knossos

The successive inhumations within the pit-caves at Poros Katsambas signify what societal change?

shift in central group from the community to the extended family (heightened individualism)

location of palatial “temple tombs” (neopalatial period)

Knossos (Isopata)

pathways of Cretan cultural assimilation (“Minoanisation”)

• emulation of Minoan culture by elites

• spreading of practices (pottery/textiles)

• traveling craftsmen and trade

• Minoan colonization

List two important Minoan colonies

• Kythera (Kastri and Leska)

• Akrotiri

The slanted rooms in Xeste, Akrotiri are caused by what architectural peculiarity?

designing in modules

theme of art in the lustral basins of Akrotiri

women (stages of life/development)

significance of the Minoan ware found at Phylakopi

imported from the Peloponnese: imitation of Minoan style

The Minoan trade route passing through Phylakopi (Melos) terminated where, and for what commodity?

Laurion; metals

The Minoan trade route west was probably aiming to reach __

Syria

faience

opaque glass

Statues, jewelry, ostrich eggs, and faience were all imports from ___

Egypt

The LM Isopata tomb outside Knossos is an imitation of ___ funerary architecture.

Egyptian

What Egyptian symbol appears in Minoan art?

ankh (symbol of life)

The objects at Grave Circle A in Mycenae imply the presence of ___

Minoan craftsmen

(specific) period of the Thera eruption that destroyed Akrotiri

Late Minoan IA

material that allows us to see how far was covered by the Thera eruption

tephra

When do cultural traits of the mainland appear on Crete?

LM II - III

main signal of a mainland-derived elite in Crete in the Late Minoan period

introduction of Linear B for administration

Why is it difficult to date the appearance of the Mycenaean elite in Crete?

inability to date Knossian tablets (shift to Linear B)

Which period is considered the climax of Minoan civilization?

neopalatial

new introductions to Cretan culture from Mycenae

• New burial types (warrior burials, new type of chamber tomb, Mycenaean tholoi)

• New artefact types (figures, weapons, etc.)

• New symbols and styles in pottery and fresco iconography

What event in Late Minoan IB causes cultural focus to shift from Crete to the mainland?

destruction of new palaces

Linear B was still used in Chania until ___

LM IIIB

True or false: Most signs of Linear B are identical to those of Linear A.

True

What site held hegemonic power over Crete in the Final Palatial Period (LM II - IIIA)?

Knossos

Insciptions of Linear B on pottery were usually of its ___

contents

In which direction was Linear B written?

left to right

only surviving palace of the Final Palatial period

Knossos

In the final palatial period, Knossos was ruled by a powerful ___

aristocracy

What architectural feature disappears from Crete in the Final Palatial period?

villas

True or false: Population increased during the Final Palatial period.

False (period of depopulation; sparse reinhabitation of major sites like Phaistos, Malia, and Zakros)

Prolific textile production at Knossos during the Final Palatial period suggests access to what commodity?

wool

Where was most jewelry from the Final Palatial period found?

tombs around Knossos

The ___ shipwreck of 1300 BCE showcased the wealth of Crete at its zenith and the extent of its trade routes, containing precious metals and luxury items.

The ___ shipwreck of 1200 is the exact opposite, representing the fall of Cretan civilization through its meager scrap metal.

Uluburun;

Cape Gelidonya

When do lustral basins and pillar crypts disappear from Crete?

LM II - III

True or false: The goddess of upraised arms disappears from Crete in the Final Palatial period.

False

True or false: Earlier funerary sites are abandoned in the final palatial period in favour of new burial grounds.

True

How do shrines change in the final palatial period?

modest, single-roomed structures

How do larnakes change in the final palatial period?

decorated

What feature copied from Mycenaean chamber tombs is added to Cretan funerary architecture in the final palatial period?

long dromos

major new tomb type in Crete in the final palatial period

shaft grave

How many times was Knossos destroyed after the neopalatial period?

twice

major sociopolitical shift of the postpalatial period

Knossos loses power, other settlements regain independence (Agia Triada, Chania, Kommos)

What causes the mass depopulation of LM IIIC?

populace abandoning Crete after wave of destructions

Where did most of the Cretan population relocate to in the postpalatial period?

Dodecanese