2.  Geography › sea  fishing, trade › proximity to Fertile Crescent & Egypt  cultural crossroad › rocky, mountainous mainland  small fertile river valleys › islands

3.  Crete  result of cultural diffusion  technology, art, & architecture › elaborate palaces › art – frescoes › writing system › complex govt.

4.  Cultural expansion › north to Greek islands & mainland › not conquest – trade  Decline › Initial causes unclear › series of natural disasters  volcanic eruptions  tidal waves › followed by invasions from north  Mycenaeans

5.  Indo-European migrants from north, c. 1900-1700 › same migration as Hittites  warlike, tribal  herdsmen  moved south through mainland › then across islands

6.  herdsmen gradually picked up Minoan culture › including agriculture   villages  small city-states  signs of frequent warfare › also the idea of writing  developed own system  “Linear B”

7.  c. 1250-1150: “Dorian” migrations › further wave of Indo-European migrants? › part of chaos that disrupted entire region  Hittites, Egyptians  Mycenaean culture collapsed › ushered in “Dark Age”/”Homeric Age” › writing was lost for about 400 years

8.  c. 7,000 BCE : agriculture present  c. 5,500 : Neolithic villages

9.  Urban society › many small cities, and several large ones › grid pattern › advanced water technology  irrigation/dams  reservoirs  sewer systems  running water

10.  unknown date: writing  c. 2500: bronze metallurgy › increased production   increased population   expansion of cities, culture  c. 2300-1700: regular, large- scale trade with Mesopotamia

11.  Competing theories › natural disasters › manmade disasters › overpopulation  desertification  By 1900, the civilization was in serious decline › cities being deserted  c. 1750: Indo-Aryan migration from the Iranian Plateau › ushered in a “dark age” – the Vedic Age  c. 1700-800 BCE

12.  c. 1700-1000: struggle for control of the Indus Valley › Aryans gradually conquer Harappan people  adopt agriculture, but not cities  form small villages  small to medium city-states  most aspects of Harappan civilization lost  language, writing, religious beliefs, government, etc. › new society revolves around warfare  Aryan vs. Harappan; among tribes/city-states › after about 1200, Vedic society expands east into the Ganges Valley

13.  By 1000 BCE, a new culture had emerged › government: city-states, governed by kings  constant warfare › society: rigid hierarchy  1. nobility (warriors & priests), 2. peasants, 3. Dasas  Dasas: descendants of Harappans, darker skinned › religion: polytheistic, based on the Vedas  Vedas: “wisdom”; hymns, prayers, rituals, & stories  composed c. 1500-500 – not written until c. 700  most important was the Rig Veda (c. 1500-1200)  Vedic Age ended with introduction of iron metallurgy (c. 1000) and writing (c. 800)