This is an age that came into been for many years following the culture that existed at that time. It was a bronze age that took place in Crete times when there were earthquakes that affected the place, and this civilization could not be easily traced as it was coiled by other ages in that time. During this time, an eruption occurred where many were affected, and they had to move from such places in fear that there may occur another eruption to cover them completely.
These Minoans had goddesses the once they worshipped and had believed on such images to be the provider and giver of everything that they required, and in times of distress, they consulted this goddess for help, and all were answered to them as they had a strong belief on it. There were weapons that were used for war in times of crisis, and therefore people lived in fear of been affected at any moment, and that is the reason why they had these weapons, and their warfare was low as they had no time to make things work rightly.
There was a strong influence of the Minoan palace culture that was greatly affected by the earthquakes that took place in that area most of the time, and therefore it became hard as the palaces were destroyed, so the Minoans had to seek refuge from other areas that seemed safer. These people were involved in the trade of products made of copper, tin and Cyprus. Therefore, the decline of the civilization was in favour of superior iron tools. The trade on the saffron left behind few materials, and it inherited the trade on the pre-dated civilization where a sense of its reward may be gained by comparing it with pepper, and more emphasis is on the durable items of trade that includes: the ceramics, tin and the copper. ( Richard, 1994)
The Minoans used language that was limited because there is no clear record of the exact language due to the fact that these Minoans were mixed up with other groups that had languages that were closely related to theirs. Therefore it became hard to differentiate their language from that of others. The collection of the Minoan art can be seen in the shores of the Crete where their remains of the material culture that is the ceramic styles and this gives the description in its culture as the (EM, MM, and LM) and the most surviving art are the pottery, the landscapes, stone carvings and the carved seal stones.
Their ceramics were characterized by linear patterns of spirals, triangles, curved lines and crosses that made the differentiation from other products made by other bordering groups. The palace was characterized by strong geometric simplification that was from the natural shapes and paintings that existed during that middle period. The Minoans are believed to have been performing the human sacrifice, and this can be traced in the temple that existed in that area, the sanctuary and the north houses, which are all found in the Crete, and it is where the sacrifices were carried out. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake where the building was seen as a shrine and had some carbonized wood where human remains were found and thus the proof of the human sacrifice.
The palaces were used as the centre of government, administration offices, shrines, workshops and storage spaces. Therefore the Minoans government was situated in the palaces that were seen as the safer area for the king to stay with his officials, and thus everything was done in the palace, and also they kept their produce in the palace, such as the grains for the sorghum and other plants that they grew in the area. (Richard, 1994)
This palace was large in size as it was able to accommodate all these things that were installed in it, and still, there was room for the government to install its offices; therefore, it was ever busy as it carried all things that a given group can require. The Minoans were a group that was able to work without seeking assistance from the others, and therefore it grew faster than these neighbours, although it was not easy to make a difference in terms of the things they produced and also their language.
They also had a unique column that was wider at the top than the bottom, and they were made of wood as opposed to stone, and they were also painted these Minoans raised cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and also grew grapes and wheat. The farmers used ploughs that were made of wood, and the oxen were used to pull this plough, whereby the farmers used their power to support this plough as the oxen pulled.
The Minoans are seen to be dependent because they carried out farming where they grew different crops, and this led to the increase in the population as enough food was produced that catered for them and also traded getting in exchange for what they agreed, and therefore they had no problems of been affected by poverty as they worked in all fields. The Minoan civilization failed due to the constant danger from the uneconomical trade as their products were of low value, and also, they were undeveloped.
This meant that they could not trade with the groups that had luxury products as they produced for their large population, and therefore to be able to avoid famine, then they could not continue with the trade and, therefore, the decline of the civilization. Most of the goods produced were just for the population, and the extra could not be used for trade because it was of low quality as compared to the products used for the trade. Their produce like the grapes could not be used for trade, keeping in mind that these products can not take a long time as it was not easy to get someone to trade with and therefore a lot of their produce was spoiled as they were in search for a person willing to accept that produce. This meant that they were not on the safe side in terms of trade because not always their products were desired. (Mary, 1981)
The increase in the iron tools affected the traders as their tools were made of tin, wood, and copper, and therefore it became hard to undertake the trade because their tools were of low quality leading to regional famines that affected the people who could trade. The iron tools meant that the user would produce more than the one with the wooden tool, and thus the trade was hindered as they were not able to reach the target in order to have enough for the population and for trade.
With the use of the iron tools then it meant such a person would produce products of high quality and quantity compared to a person using the wooden tool in production. This affected trade-in that those who used the iron tools were discriminating the wooden tools users and therefore they saw their products as been of less value. This led to the reduction in trade in such places where these wooden tools are used as many will prefer the products made from the iron tools as these products had differences in quantity as it is easier to use an iron tool as compared with the wooden tools which are very tiresome to the user.
Their capabilities were damaged by the eruption there. This means that then the people lacked the skills to manage the large trading empire and, therefore, their collapse. This explosion affected them as they were not sure of what to do, and thus all their hopes were gone, and trading became hard as they lacked the important skills that enable one to carry out trade with another and benefit from such trade.
This eruption led to many moving from their areas and seeking refuge in other places, which meant that they were restricted in their movement and thus traded became a problem as people feared they could be covered by such volcano and most of their activities were greatly affected, such as the farming which was their main source of enabling them to trade. There was an impact on their products where their palace was destroyed by this eruption.
This meant that it was the end of this civilization because everything was in that palace, that is, their government, offices, and it was also their storage area. Therefore these Minoans found it hard to trade as they lacked someone to direct them on trade, and also they lacked products to trade with as their store was destroyed, leading to top famine and the population been affected. ( Henry, 2004)
The Minoan civilization collapsed when new technology started emerging in such places as the use of iron tools, the eruption of Thera and the earthquakes that destroyed their temple and most of their practices interfered. There was a goddess that was worshipped by these Minoans, and it was destroyed as these people started making use of the new techniques.
Reference
Henry, R (2004). The role of the architecture in middle Minoan periods; Oxford journal Vol. 23, pp, 43- 69.
Mary, P (1981). Life and art in the prehistoric thera in follow ups of British academy. Vol. 60, pp, 46-50.
Richard, M (1994). The palace of Minoan: successive stages of the early Minoan civilization; vol 6, pp, 56-69.