Minoan Pottery

Minoan Pottery

Minoan Pottery took a great part in gaining information about the Minoan Civilization. Archaeologists were able to find dates of certain events or eras, types of Minoan culture, and the different stages of Minoan civilization was found. Minoan pottery comes in many different forms and sizes along with patterns and style.

It has been discovered that Minoan pottery making started in the Neolithic times. (Neolithic meaning the "New" stone age. It was the time close to the Bronze Age). Pots were created for many reasons. The main reason was to store many things such as food, clothing, etc. Food such as cereal crops were kept in pots, clearly to keep for future needs. Pots were also used frequently for trade along the coastal Syria and in Egypt.

There is a hypothesis that people of the Minoan Civilization accidentally found out how to fire clay materials. The discovery could have been made by accidentally burning/firing a clay lined basket which later would have turned hard or even become refired. This could have made varieties of cooking methods for the civilization. Later on, pottery turned into an art form from the increase of decorations and style of making.

An early excavator, Harriet Boyd Hawes believes that Minoan potter's inspiration came from

1. Nature- nature was appreciated and was subjected majorly. Figures in the decorations of potteries could possibly be different types of symbols that represented many things. For example, Ð''the line left on the sand be receding waves, the ripple on water as the wind crossed it, the mysterious inner markings of a shell, the thousand varieties of spirals in shells and in tendrils, the shadow cast on his(pottery maker) path be interlocking twigsÐ'....' (Said by Harriet Boyd Hawes).

2. Sea/marine life- marine life was much subjected in Minoan potteries. Sea creatures such as squid and fish along with vegetation such as seaweed were used a lot for decoration.

It has been proved that there were different kinds of wares (type) of pottery making. The earliest ware dates back to 2700BC (Early Minoan I) which is called the Pigros ware. Because the potters were in-experienced during this stage, the potteries had patterns and colours of burnished red, grey, and light/dark brown for that back ground colour. Sometimes, the potteries had long narrow stems. It is believed that there might have been a possibility where styles were imported from different places around the Minoan civilization.

Later in time, potteries became simpler with linear designs that were often black, brown, red and yellow. These types were decorated to look similar to wood. This ware was called the Agios Onoufrios ware that took place around 2500BC (Early Minoan II). [Example: Figure 1]. Soon another style called Vasiliki Ware was formed. This ware had a reddish-brown wash that were intentionally applied unevenly to show the natural look of the mottled texture of the stone (which was Ð''in' during that time). They looked similar to teapots and jugs we have today.

From the Early Minoan I~II, everything was hand made. But after the spinning wheel was invented, there were more varieties in shapes and the walls of the potteries were thinner and smoother. Also, the firing process became more in use and potters started to build actual kilns to fire clay materials. In other words, everything was improved and had better quality. There were developments in colour. Usage of bright colours became more common and it is studied that bright colours such as purple and orange originated from Knossos.

The greatest development took place during the Middle Minoan II times. This was when there were buildings of great structures for example grand palaces and altars. Potteries were important during this time because more things were getting gathered for the structures for offerings and whatnot. The Kamares ware is known for the bright colours, thin walls and beautiful decorations. Unfortunately, the Kamares