The Anasazi
The Anasazi culture flourished in the southwestern United States
from approximately 1 to 1300 A.D. There is rich archaeological evidence
of their existence in the Four Corners area, crossed by the four states
of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. "Anasazi" is
a Navajo Indian word meaning "Ancient Ones." These early inhabitants
hunted game, gathered wild plants, and grew corn and squash to supplement
their diets. Agriculture became the basis of the Anasazi economy.
They also developed impressive architectural skills, building adobe
dwellings or pueblos, and produced baskets, pottery (for both ceremonial
and utilitarian uses), ornaments, woven goods, and tools. They exchanged
goods with other communities in a trade network that extended all
the way into central Mexico.
The
Anasazi Heritage Center (Bureau of Land Management, Colorado)
Of
Earth Stone and Corn: The Anasazi and Their Puebloan Descendants (The
Museum of People's and Cultures)
Rock
Art
Red
Rock Elementary's Web Site on the Anasazi and Early Cultures
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your discoveries!
The Minoans
Architecture
The Minoans of Crete and Thira were sea merchants. The palace at
Knossos, discovered in 1900 by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur
Evans, along with other palaces in Phaistos and Mallia, provide us
with some clues about Minoan life. Evans named the civilization Minoan,
after Minos the legendary king of Knossos. Urban civilizations were
centered around these palaces which were not only royal residences,
but thriving commercial centers. The original palace at Knossos was
most likely destroyed by an earthquake in 1700 BC, but was rebuilt
on an even grander scale during the "Golden Age" of Minoan
civilization; it rose to three or four stories and contained over
1500 rooms and passages and a throne room. Workshops for stone carving,
ceramics and seal-making were near storage areas where large earthen
jars called pithoi were filled with agricultural products such as
olive oil. Sanctuaries within the palace provided a place for the
worship of a mother goddess. The Minoans developed impressive technical
innovations, including a complex sewage system that remained the best
in the Western world until the Roman era, some 2,000 years later.
In Knossos, they piped drinking water from Mount Youktas, a distance
of about 10 km away, to a water tank in the palace! Archaeological
evidence also suggests an era of tranquility since the Minoan cities
have no evidence of fortifications surrounding them.
Art
Minoan art is known for its spontaneity, playfulness and motion,
a characteristic obvious in the many paintings of scenes of bull-leaping,
a sport with ritualistic and religious significance that shows men
and women gracefully leaping over bulls. Between 2000 BC to 1700 BC,
Crete developed a type of pottery known for its technical perfection
and swirling designs. Subjects for this pottery often included sea
creatures such as octopus, dolphins and fish. The graceful and undulating
lines of animals, birds, flowers and sea creatures also adorned frescoes
(a type of wall painting) and show the strong influence of the sea
and the natural world on the Minoan civilization.
Writing
Excavations on Crete after 1900 revealed many clay tablets inscribed
with two scripts, Linear A and Linear B. The earlier of the two, Linear
A, was used by earlier Minoans and has not yet been deciphered. They
added inked Linear A inscriptions to stone and terra-cotta vessels;
this is often sited as the earliest example of printing. Archaeologists
found Linear B tablets on Crete and also at Pylos and Mycenae on the
Greek mainland; the majority of tablets are dated between 1400 BC
and 1150 BC. In 1952 the British architect and cryptographer Michael
Ventris and John Chadwick deciphered Linear B and identified it as
a form of an early Greek dialect. The tablets tell very little about
daily life, but do provide us with palace inventories and administrative
records.
What Happened to the Minoan Civilization?
The destruction of Knossos around 1450 BC and the collapse of Minoan
culture, approximately fifty years later in 1400 BC, marked the beginning
of the most flourishing period of Mycenaean civilization in Greece.
Several theories exist for the collapse of Minoan civilization, one
being that the Mycenaeans attacked the Minoans, another that they
slowly intermarried with them. Yet another therory suggests that a
massive volcanic eruption on the island of Thira (Santorini) devastated
Crete, thus wiping out the Minoan civilization.
Take
a Quicktime VR tour of the Palace at Knossos in
Crete!
Knossos:
The Palace of King Minos
Minoan
Art 3000-1500 B. C. E. (Middle and Late Minoan)
Ancient
Art: Minoan Crete
Cretan
Minoan Finds
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about your discoveries!
