Propylaeum

The study at hand titled „Die Gesellschaft der frühen ‚Dunklen Jahrhunderte’ auf Kreta“ [„Society in the early ‚Dark Ages‘ on Crete“] is an endeavor to trace back societal structures on Crete during the given timeframe. In order to understand the stratification of the society, as well as the political situation on the island, the study focusses on the examination of archaeological sources and the Cretan population’s inheritance. As far as they can be reconstructed with archaeological methods, aspects about the economy, trade, religion and cult are all being considered as part of everyday life as well. The analysis concentrates on the epoch spanning over the Late Minoan IIIC and Subminoan periods, i.e. the time in Cretan Prehistory after the final breakdown of the Mycenaean Palace System around 1200 BC which after the destruction of the Minoan palaces around 1490 BC had also been in control of Crete. The results of these examinations portray how all aspects of everyday life were influenced by interplay between change and continuity. The main part of the study includes an extensive catalogue of all chronologically relevant sites on the island. It also contains an evaluation of the archaeological finds with respect to their socio-political validity and significance for an epoch in Cretan Prehistory that still has not been researched thoroughly yet.