Year 12 HSC Full and Detailed Syllabus Notes on the Minoans.

4 Found helpful • 75 Pages • Complete Study Notes • Year: Pre-2021

1 The geographical environment – geographical setting, natural features and resources of Minoan Crete – significant sites: Knossos, Phaestos, Malia, Zakros, Agia Triada, Gournia 2 Social structure and political organisation – issues relating to gender and identity of the ruler/s – palace elite: bureaucracy, priests and priestesses – roles and status of women – craftsmen and agricultural workers 3 The economy – palace economy – importance of agriculture – role of towns: Gournia and Zakros – trade and economic exchange: Mediterranean and Aegean region – the issue of thalassocracy (maritime empire) – crafts and industry: pottery, stone, ivory, metal, jewellery, seal stones, purple dye – technology: building materials, techniques and construction (ashlar masonry), drainage and water supply 4 Religion, death and burial – nature and identity of deities – religious symbols: double axe (labrys) horns of consecration, the bull, snakes, trees, birds – religious places: peak sanctuaries, cave shrines, palace shrines, pillar crypts, lustral basins – rituals: sacrifice, libations, processions, dance – funerary customs and rituals: larnax, ossuary; tombs: rectangular, tholos and chamber – myths and legends relating to the Minoans: Theseus and the Minotaur, Icarus and Daedalus 5 Cultural life – art: frescoes, figurines, pottery, seals, metalwork – architecture of palace complexes: Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros and other palace sites – writing: Linear A and Linear B, the Phaistos disc 6 Everyday life – daily life and leisure activities – food and clothing – housing and furniture – occupations – health

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