Early Minoan settlement landscapes. A preliminary study of Cretan Early Bronze Age settlements and their relative spatial distribution

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary examination of the settlement landscape in the Early Minoan period, analysing individual changes within each phase of the Early Bronze Age on Crete island, as well as changes occurring from one phase to another. Furthermore, it seeks to tackle the chronological limitations and possibilities, in an attempt to contribute to our understanding of Early Minoan social and demographic dynamics and relations at an island-wide level. The main goal is to provide a useful tool for the further research of Minoan habitation patterns and a better understanding of the background from which the later palatial systems emerged and developed.