How Climate Change and Natural Disasters caused the Demise of the Minoan Civilization!
The Minoans Ancient Greece
Archaeologist Manfred Bietak conducted extensive research on the connections between ancient Greek civilizations and ancient Egypt. Bietak discovered evidence in artwork dating back to as early as 7000 B.C., which depicts unequivocally that the early inhabitants of Greece were of African descent. Minoan culture holds numerous similarities between Kemet (Egyptian note nowhere in ancient Kemet writing or hieroglyphs did people of Kemet refer to themselves as Egyptian that was a Greek word) and Minoan art and resemblances between circular tombs built by the early inhabitants of southern Crete and those built by ancient Libyans. Analysis showed that the early Minoans of 7000 BC were related to Egyptian, Libyan, and other North African populations.
Analyzing DNA samples from the middle of the Minoan period, approximately 3,700 years ago, revealed that ancient remains from that time on the Greek island of Crete indicate a growing genetic mixture among the Minoans. The findings showed a decrease in Paternal African genetics and an increase in ancient Indigenous Mediterranean genetics, particularly in the (female) Mitochondrial DNA. These results bring new insights to the discussion about the origins of this ancient culture.
The Minoan culture of Ancient Greece, which reached its zenith around 1600 B.C., is renowned for its dynamic cities, luxurious palaces, and robust trade networks. Minoan art, a significant period of visual accomplishment in art history, includes pottery, sculptures, and frescoes from the Minoan Bronze Age that adorn museum collections worldwide. The ruins of their palaces reveal traces of advanced infrastructure, such as paved roads and water systems.
In a genome-wide study data from 19 ancient individuals, including Minoans from Crete, Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, and their eastern neighbors from South-western Anatolia (Middle East). Here we show that Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically similar, having at least three-quarters of their ancestry from the first Black Skinned Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean and most of the remainder from ancient populations related to those of the Caucasus and Iran. However, the Mycenaeans differed from Minoans in deriving additional ancestry from an ultimate source related to the hunter–gatherers of eastern Europe and Siberia. In ancient times to call a Greek man ‘white’ was to call him ‘effeminate’. Conversely, to call Greek ‘black-skinned’ might well associate him with the genius of the Egyptian rugged, outdoors life of a sea trader and adventurer.
The Minoans established a considerable naval power and coexisted peacefully with neighboring civilizations, maintaining dominance in the region without facing significant threats. Their culture was shaped by interactions with Egypt and Mesopotamia, leading the Minoan civilization to become the precursor of Greek civilization and, by extension, the first European civilization. After dominating the region for over a millennium, the Minoan civilization gradually declined until it vanished around 1200 BC.
Two primary theories have been proposed to explain the fall of the Minoan civilization, but neither corresponds with the actual gradual decline observed. One theory suggests the downfall was due to the volcanic eruption on Thera (Santorini), while the other cites an invasion and conquest by the Mycenaeans. The former, proposed by Marinatos in 1939, posits that earthquakes toppled the palaces, tsunamis decimated the Minoan fleet and ports, and volcanic ash from Thera blanketed the island, destroying crops and livestock. Initially, geologists concurred that the Thera eruption was massive enough to cause such devastation. However, studies in 1987 at the Greenland ice cap dated the frozen ash from the eruption to 1645 BC.
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