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Mediterranean Go to Europe Go to Europe Go to Europe Go to Anatolia Go to Levant Go to Arabia Go to Egypt Go to Afr Go to Afr
None of these ages and periods much matter, because sources disagree on how to divide them.
c.9000 CORSICA: Paleolithic Age ends.  Mesolithic Age begins until 6000.  People from Sardinia cross the Strait of Bonifacio to hunt from rock shelters in Corsica. 9000 wikPCr
c.9000 CRETE:  First modern humans arrive. 10-8000 wikMnC
c.8700 CYPRUS: Hunter Gatherers arrive, remain until 8000.  Oldest evidence of neolithic settlement.  First settlers have agriculture, but no pottery.  They build round houses with floors of terrazzo - burned lime.  They introduce dogs, sheep, goats, maybe cattle, pigs and wild animals like foxes and Persian fallow deer.  They cultivate einkorn and emmer wheat.  Cyprus partly occupied until 7000. 88-8600 wikPCp 7-6000 wohiAC 8500 cpnt
c.8500 Permanent WATER WELLS in west Cyprus, could be among the oldest in the world.   Levant 6500 8500 Copilot, wikHWSS 85-7000 wikPCp
c.8000 SICILY comes under the Sicani until 1290. 8000 wikS
c.7500 CYPRUS:Average age at death is 34, with a high infant mortality rate. 7500 wikPCp
c.7500 Domestic CATS, in Levant from 9000, are taken to Cyprus. 7500 Copilot
c.7500 An 8-month-old CAT is buried on Cyprus with an adult human.  Cats are not native to Cyprus, so people must have brought cats with them when they came to the island. 7500 barc, wikPCp
c.7000 A man dies in Arbus Sardinia.  His body becomes the oldest complete human skeleton, called AMSICORA, after a Sardinian rebel leader of 215 BC. 7000 wikPNS
c.7000 MELOS island mined for obsidian by Greek sailors. 7000 TTPC, bk
c.7000 farmingPre-ceramic Neolithic farming-communities begin to spread from Anatolia to Aegean Islands, Crete and Europe until 6000. map: Eva Fernández

7000 mxfld, wikMnC
For the prehistoric Aegean we have no direct evidence for war and warfare.   wikMnC
c.7000 Greek BOAT FISHERMEN catch fish too big to be caught from shore. 7000 TTPC
c.7000 OLIVE trees  V first cultivated in east Mediterranean.  After the first cultivation, modern domesticated olives mostly come from the Near East (including Cyprus), the Aegean, and the Strait of Gibraltar. 8-6000 Copilot
c.7000 KhirokitiaCYPRUS, partly occupied from 8700, KHIROKITIANS, 1st settlers arrive, remain until 5300.  Khirokitia is a closed village, cut off from the outside world, on a hill in the valley of the Maroni River, 6km from the south coast.  Buildings within the wall consist of round huts huddled close together, as in this reconstruction.  Inhabitants farm crops, herd sheep and goats, and raise pigs. photo: Ophelia2

7000 cpnt, wohiAC
no date: wikKrk,
c.6570 First complete human skeleton on Corsica. 6570 ±150 wikPCr
c.6200 FARMING villages arise in west and central Mediterranean. 6200 PW 13
c.6100 EARLY NEOLITHIC-! begins in Greece and Aegean until 5100 6100 ISBE 2-559
c.6000 CORSICA:  Mesolithic Age from 9000 ends.  Neolithic Age begins until 3000.  Early Neolithic begins until 5000.  Sardinian obsidian is evidenced in south Corsica. 6000 wikPCr
c.6000 SARDINIA, partly occupied from Upper Paleolithic times, is occupied by permanent settlements, but little trade until 1660.  Cardium pottery or Filiestru culture begins until 4000. 6000 wikHSr, wikSrd
c.6000 POTTERY first evidenced in the Mediterranean.   See Africa 10,000, China 9000, Levant 6900, Mesopotamia 7000, Persia 6500 6000 Copilot
c.6000 People whose place names and language are not Greek, spread over the east Mediterranean, introducing baked brick architecture.  They may be Luvians. 6000 mxfld
c.6000 The oldest houses below Knossos on Crete, dated 6000BC, are made of baked mud bricks.  The first settlers of Crete find a heavily forested land with cypress, oak, chestnut and pine. 6000 mxfld
c.6000 CRETE, partly occupied from Lower Paleolithic times, is occupied by an advanced Neolithic Culture from now onward. 6000 mxfld
c.6000 Greek and Cretan sailors start to exploit obsidian on Melos island, and bring it to their own countries. 6000 mxfld
c.5300 CYPRUS: Pre-ceramic KHIROKITIANS, 1st settlers from 7000, end abruptly.  No new settlers until 4500. 6000 wikKrk, wikPCp 5300 cpnt
c.5200 MALTA 1st occupied by humans.  Hunters or farmers arrive from Sicily.  Neolithic period begins until 4100.  Ghar Dalam phase begins until 4500.  Their farming methods degrade the soil. 5900 Copilot, wikHMl
5200 wikMlt, wikTop 5000 wikMTM
c.5100 EARLY NEOLITHIC-!, in Greece and Aegean from 6100, ends.  NEOLITHIC-2 begins until 3000 5100 ISBE 2-559
c.5000 CORSICA:  Early Neolithic period from 6000 ends.  Middle Neolithic period begins until 4000. 5000 wikPCr
c.5000 MALTA:  Santa Verna, a megalithic site in Xaghra on the island of Gozo shows pottery remains, showing occupation until ??.  No temple until 3500. 5000 wikSV
c.4500 MALTA: Ghar Dalam phase from 5200 ends. 4500 wikMTM
c.4500 AKROTIRI (original name unknown) founded by Cycladic people as a small fishing and farming village on island of Santorini:  It gains in prosperity until destroyed in the Thera erruption 1628 5-4000 wikAkr
c.4500 CYPRUS, abandoned from 5300, reoccupied by Neolithic II (Pottery Neolithic).  Main settlement is SOTIRA near the south coast until 3900.  Houses are mostly free-standing, with thin walls and tend to be square with rounded corners. 5-4000 wikStr, 4500 wikPCp
c.4100 MALTA:  Neolithic period from 5200 ends.  Red Skorba Period from 4400 ends.    Megalithic temple builders arrive or arise.  Temple Period begins until 2500.  Zebbug phase begins until 3850. 4100 wikMTM, wikTop 3800 wikHMl
3500 wikMlt
c.4000 CORSICA:  Middle Neolithic period from 5000 ends.  Late Neolithic period begins until 3000. 4000 wikPCr
c.4000 SARDINIA, under Cardium pottery or Filiestru culture from 6000, comes under Bonu Ighinu culture until 3500. 4000 wikHSr, wikPNS
c.4000 MALTA:  Tal-Qadi occupied until ??. 4000 wikTQT
c.4000 WINE, in Greece from at least 4500, produced in Sicily. 4000 Copilot
c.4000 MALTA and nearby island GOZO, people expand existing caves with the purpose of ritualizing life and death.  Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, one of the first of such complexes, is an underground network of alcoves and corridors carved into soft Globigerina limestone 3 miles from Valletta.  Temple period continues 4100-2500. 4000 smtMH
c.4000 MALTA: Megalithic temples begin until 2500. 4000 wikDSc
c.4000 Chalcolitic stone CRUCIFIX V pendants are carved in Cyprus until 2500. 4000 cpfr, cpnt, kmr
c.3900 CYPRUS V, under pottery Neolithics from 4500, come under people from Levant, who move to Cyprus because of its copper deposits, and remain dominant until 3800. 3900 wohiAC
c.3850 MALTA:  in Temple Period 41-2500, in Zebug phase from 4100, is repopulated by Sikanians from Sicily until 2500.  These colonists build megalithic temples.  Mgarr [sic] phase begins until 3600.  A short transitional period in Malta's prehistory. Pottery decoration consists of mainly curved lines. 3850 Copilot, wikHMl
3800 bsic, wikMTM, wikTop
c.3800 Λ CYPRUS:  under Pottery Neolithic culture from 4500, is destroyed by an earthquake.  Chalcolithic Age begins until 2500.  EARLY Chalcolithic begins until 3500.  First metalwork begins.  In the emerging society there are no signs of newcomers, but signs of continuity. 3900 wohiAC 3800 cpnt, wikPCp
3500 wikPCp
c.3700 MALTA:  KORDIN-3, the last of 3 temples built on Corradino.  A complex of 2 temples, larger has a standard 3-apse plan, typical of Ġgantija phase design.  The temple has a concave facade, with forecourt and entrance passage to the central court stone-paved.  This stone paving is unique to Kordin III.  Behind the temple are some small rooms.  Stands until 2500. 3700 wikKT '  
c.3600 MALTA:  in Temple Period 41-2500, in Mgarr phase from 3850,  Ggantija phase begins until 3200.  Characterized by a change in the way inhabitants of Malta live.  Megalithic temples at the end of the Xaghra plateau, facing south-east. 3600 wikGgn, wikMTM, wikTop
c.3600 PHAISTOS on south coast of central Crete founded.  2nd largest city after Knossos.  Has no palace until 1900. 3600 wikPst
c.3500 SARDINIA, under Bonu Ighinu culture from 4000, OZIERI Culture begins until 2700.  Some 200 sites of up to 267 small stone huts, with a circular (rarely rectangular) wall supporting a wooden frame with a ceiling of boughs.  They produce finely made ceramics with complex patterns, incisions, and surface decoration. 3500 wikBC 3200 wikOz
c.3500 CYPRUS:  EARLY Chalcolithic Period from 3800 ends.  MIDDLE Chalcolithic begins until 2800. 3500 cpnt
c.3400 Santa VernaΛ MALTA V:  megalithic temple built at Santa Verna, in Xaghra on the island of Gozo. photo: Dreizung

3400 wikSV
c.3400 SARDINIA, under Ozieri culture from 3500, comes under San Ciriaco culture until 3200. 3400 wikHSr, wikPNS
c.3200 SARDINIA, under San Ciriaco culture from 3400, comes under Ozieri culture until 2700. 3200 wikHSr, wikPNS
c.3200 MALTA:  Ggantija phase from 3600 ends.  Saflieni phase beins until 3000. 3300 wikMTM, wikTop 3200 wikMTM, wikTop
c.3200 Use of BRONZE V begins in the Aegean. 3200 wikPE
c.3200 Neolithic Age on Crete from ?? ends.  Λ BRONZE Age begins, signaling beginning of Early Minoan Period until 2100.  Early Minoan-1 begins until 2650. 3700 wikTop     3500 wikMnP 3200 wikTop     3100 wikMnC 3000 B76 VI-920, RAH 121     2900 RAH 121     2700 LEWH 59     2600 B76 5-252, CMoG 3-63, MCAW
c.3200 Grotta-PelosEARLY CYCLADIC civilization begins in the Aegean and east Mediterranean until 2000.  This term is to separate it from Cretan or Minoan Civilization.  EARLY CYCLADIC-1 period (also called Grotta-Pelos culture) begins until 2800.  Cycladic culture begins until 1100.  Grotta-Pelos marble figurines are simple stylized males, females, and genderless, in standing position with a long neck and smooth flat face except for the nose. left: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
right: Phoenix Ancient Art

3300 wikCcA
3200 TAWH 16, wikHCc
3100 wikCcc   3000 mxfld
c.3150 MALTA:  A Tarxien phase Temple is built at Tal-Qadi.  Ruins of a central area and 2 apses remain.  It probably contained another 2 apses, giving it a 4-apse shape. photo: Frank Vincentz

33-3000 wikTQT
c.3100 TarxienTARXIEN TEMPLES built on Malta: 3 separate, but attached, temple structures.  Tarxien is a term is separate it from Cretan or Minoan Civilization.  The main entrance, shown here, is a reconstruction from when the whole site was restored. photo: Frank Vincentz

3150 wikPE 3100 wikTrT
c.3000 CORSICA:  Neolithic Age from 6000 ends.  Late Neolithic from 4000 ends.  Chalcolithic Age begins until 1800. 3000 wikPCr
c.3000 EARLY NEOLITHIC-2, in Greece and Aegean from 5100, ends.  EARLY Λ BRONZE V begins until 2000 3100 wikCcc 3000 ISBE 2-559, RAH 121
c.3000 Walled citadels in north Mediterranean means a powerful elite. 3000 PW 14
c.3000 Sudden changes occurr on Malta, Crete and Cyprus with a sudden end to the Neolithic phase and the beginning of the Bronze Age. 3000 RAH 121, mxfld
c.3000 MALTA:  Saflieni phase from 3200 ends.  Tarxien phase begins until 2500.  It has only 1 temple at Tarxien, with 3 symmetrical pairs of apses.  Temple culture peaks in this period, in craftsmanship of pottery, and in sculptural decoration, both free-standing and relief. 3000 wikMTM
c.3000 MYRTOS PYRGOS on south coast of east Crete founded.  Lasts until 2150. 3000 wikMPr
c.3000 Idol of PomosIDOL of POMOS: A sculpture of a woman with her arms spread in the form of a Λ CRUCIFIX, is one of many similar sculptures found in Cyprus with small protrusions on their chests to indicate gender.  These figurines were probably used as fertility symbols. photo: Tamás Kisbali

3000 wikMPr
c.2800 EARLY CYCLADIC-1 period (also called Grotta-Pelos culture) from 3200 ends.Cycladic2
EARLY CYCLADIC-2 (also called Keros-Syros culture) begins until 2300.  Figurine types are Kapsala (left) which are narrower with foldes arms, sometimes pregnant, and Spedos (right) from the cemetery on Naxos island, which are most plentiful
left: Zde
right: Martin Durrschnabel

2900 wikCcc 2800 wikHCc 2700 wikHCc 2500 wikCcA
c.2800 CYPRUS:  MIDDLE Chalcolithic Period from 3500 ends.  LATE Chalcolithic begins until 2500. 2800 cpnt
c.2750 MALTA V:  Debdieba megalithic temple built.  Now destroyed. 3000-2500 wikMTM
c.2700 SARDINIA, under Ozieri culture from 3200, comes under Abealzu-Filigosa culture until 2400. 2800 wikOz     2700 wikBC, wikHSr, wikPNS
c.2700 PLUMBING evidenced on Crete.  Minoans use clay pipes to transport water and develop a drainage system, working with the natural gradations of the terrain, to manage sewage and water overflow. 2800 wikOz
2700 wikBC, wikHSr, wikPNS
c.2650 Early Minoan-1 period on Crete from 3200 ends.  Early Minoan-2 begins until 2200. 2900 wikMnP 2650 wikMnC
c.2600 Λ BRONZE V AGE begins in east Mediterranean until ????. 3000 RAH 121 2600 mxfld
c.2500 HypogeumΛ MALTA V: Hal Saflieni HYPOGEUM from 4100, falls out of use.  An underground network of alcoves and corridors carved into soft Globigerina limestone 3 miles from Valletta.  Over 7,000 people were buried at the site.  Artifacts: beads, amulets, intricate pottery and carved figurines found alongside the bones.  Several chambers are still decorated with black and white checkerboards and red ochre spirals and honey-combs, the only prehistoric paintings found on Malta. photo: Richard Ellis

2500 smtMH
c.2500 MALTA:' Megalithic Temple Period from 4100 ends.' Tarxien phase from 3000 ends.  TARXIEN civilization, with its large complex of 4 megalithic temples, disappears. 2500 wikDSc, wikMTM, wohiDS 2350 wikHMl
c.2500 Borg in-NadurMALTA: Borg in-Nadur village is founded, including the earliest fortification in Malta.  A Tarxien phase megalithic temple is built:  a typical 4-apse plan, but the wall of megaliths is low.  The entrance has 2 upright megaliths still there.  A large covered niche stands close to the entrance, its capstone now broken into 3 pieces.  The temple lacks artistic decorations of similar temples from the era.  Occupied until 500. photo: Alecastorina93

2500 wikBiN, wikDSc
c.2500 MALTA, repopulated with Sicilians from 3850, is depopulated, but soon (2400) has Bronze Age settlers, who build first fortifications in Malta. 2500 wikMlt 2350 wikHMl
c.2500 Metal vessels produced on Crete until 1450. 2500 wikMnC
c.2500 KNOSSOS Crete population 1,300. 2500 wikMnC
c.2500 CYPRUS:  Chalcolithic Age from 3800 ends.    LATE Chalcolithic from 2800 ends.  Early Λ BRONZEV AGE begins until 1600. 2700 cpnt 2500 cpnt, wohiAC,'  
c.2475 BEAKER pottery appears in Balearic islands until 1300. 2475 wikBC
c.2475 OLIVE V trees, cultivated in east Mediterranean from 7000, cultivated in Crete. 2475 TTPC 5
c.2400 SARDINIA, under Abealzu-Filigosa culture from 2700, comes under Monte Claro culture until 2100. 2400 wikHSr, wikPNS
c.2400 MALTA, depopulated from 2500, Bronze Age culture begins until 700.  Tarxien Cemetery phase, an elaborate cult of the dead centered around rock-cut collective tombs begins until 2000. 2400 B76 11-391, rcSI
c.2400 DokathismataDokathismata Cycladic figurines of Amorgos island in Cyclades begin until 2100.  All have smooth blank faces with no facial features except noses.  Commonly a single full-length female figure with arms folded across the front.  Their unrecorded archaeological context seems usually to be grave goods.  Pottery is similar to that of Crete and Greek mainland. photo: sailko

2400 wikAmr
c.2400 CYPRUS has inlux of Anatolians. 2400 wikPCp
c.2300 EARLY CYCLADIC-2 period (also called Keros-Syros culture) from 2800, the apogee of Cycladic civilization, ends.  EARLY CYCLADIC-3 (also called Phylakopi culture) begins until 2000. 2300 wikHCc 2200 wikCcA
No.  They overlap like this:
  Early Cycladic II (ECII)     2700-2200
  Early Cycladic III (ECIII)   2450-2300
  Middle Cycladic I (MCI)   2000-1800
wikCcc
c.2300 copperCYPRUS flourishes because of its copper.  The Troodos Mountains of Cyprus were once oceanic crust, thrust up 70,000,000 years ago by advancing African and Arabian tectonic plates, and they are loaded with copper and other metals.  At first the ancients could simply pick copper nuggets off the ground. photo: Jonathan Zander

2300 mxfld
c.2200 Cava Dei ServiCAVA DEI SERVI at Ragusa in southeast Sicily occupied until 1270.  Several tombs and a dolmen (shown here) will be built there until 1600. photo: Spiccolo

2200 wohiDS, YSic
c.2200 CASTELLUCCIO Culture begins in southeast Sicily until 2200.  Circular huts, Ceramic glass decorated with brown lines on orange background, and also tri-color, carved bones.  Weapons are greenstone and basalt axes and, in later settlements, bronze axes.  Burials in rounded tombs carved into rock, with doors with relief carving of spiral symbols and sexual motifs. 2200 wikCsc
c.2200 Early Minoan-2 period on Crete from 2650 ends.  Early Minoan-3 begins until 2100. 2300 wikMnP 2200 wikMnC
c.2150 MYRTOS PYRGOS on south coast of east Crete from 3000 ends. 2150 wikMPr
c.2150 DAGGER V:  Copper daggers appear in Early Minoan III period at Knossos. Copilot
c.2100 SARDINIA, under Monte Claro culture from 2400, comes under Bell Beaker culture until 1800.  Beaker phase 1 begins until 2000.  Strong Iberian and Provencial influences. 2100 wikHSr, wikPNS
c.2100 Dokathismata Cycladic figurines of Amorgos island in Cyclades from 2400 end. 2100 wikAmr
c.2100 EARLY MINOAN period ends.  Began 3200.  Early Minoan-3 period from 2200 ends.  MIDDLE MINOAN (Old Palace) period begins until 1600.
Middle Minoan-I begins until 1850.
2100 B76 VI-920, RAH 121, wikMnC, wikMnP
2000 B76 16-677, 19-274, ISBE 1-814, MCAW 15 & 20, TAWH 16
But none of these ages and periods much matter, because sources disagree on how to divide them.

Mediterranean 2000-1001
V