700 B.C.) and Late (1700-1450). These dates are not as arbitrary as such labels usually are since the different periods "appear and disappear so abruptly that their fate must have been determined by sudden violent changes affecting the entire island."2 It is generally agreed that the disruption was caused by earthquakes which provide very definite ends for the Middle and Late phases.
The early Minoans pursued some trade with Egypt and other places but they were a village-level civilization. They left behind a great deal of stoneware, pottery, and jewelry. Many of the surviving pieces were found in vaulted tombs at Mochlos and in a large mansion near the present town of Vasiliki. The styles of the work were not very sophisticated (the potter's wheel had not yet been introduced) but they show a great deal of variety. The early work suggests that these Cretans may originally have come from the eastern end of the Mediterranean, even as far as Mesopotamia. The pottery and the building at Vasiliki show continuity with the Minoan work that was to follow. But it has been suggested, on the basis of similarities of dress found in Middle Minoan and African art, that it was the arrival of a large number of refugees from Libya that initiated the fairly sudden growth in Minoan culture.3 Whatever the reason, it is clear that as of approximately 2000 B.C., the Cr
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