An article published yesterday details the discovery of a small bead in a Mycenaean tomb at Pylos on the western tip of Greece dating back to 1,500 BC (depicted above). The bead itself is 1.4 inches long and appears to be of Minoan origin. Allow me to provide a little background for context before detailing the discovery.

The Minoans lived on the island of Crete as the first “Greek” culture. They developed into the world’s first major sea trading power beginning in about 2,300 BC. Their wares and art including distinctive bull jumping scenes have been found in the Levant, Mesopotamia and Egypt. They also traded with the second great Greek culture, the Mycenaeans, who lived in modern Greece (less developed in 2,000 BC). In circa 1,450 BC, the Mycenaeans conquered the Minoans taking over their trading routes. The Mycenaeans disappeared circa 1,200 BC with the destructive migration/invasion of the Sea Peoples who also destroyed the Hittite Empire, ended the Old Kingdom in Egypt and brought the Bronze Age to a close (see my recent post on the origins of the Sea Peoples). News: Sea People’s Origins Discovered?

After a 400 year dark age, the classical Greek culture we know today began to emerge. The Greeks came into conflict with the world’s great power, the Persians. From two Greco-Persian wars (500BC-450 BC) we have the Battle of Marathon, the heroic Spartan defense at Thermopylae, the rise of Athens and the Delian League. Greek armies and merchants spread Hellenism west in colonies across the Mediterranean. 120 years later Alexander the Great took the offensive conquering Persian Empire spreading Hellenic culture east as far as western India and into Egypt. The Romans absorbed and further spread Hellenic culture as they superseded the Greeks.

These events are important to us today because the re-discovery of classical Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture served as a major influence in the flowering of Renaissance culture in Europe. Brunelleschi’s Duomo in Florence, based on the Roman Pantheon, is often cited as the first true Renaissance work of art. Artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci studied the classical art and developed new forms of realistic painting and statuary, three dimensional realistic, well-proportioned and idealized human forms. The Renaissance influenced the Neo-Classical/Enlightenment Ages which played seminal roles in the development of Anglo-American culture and the United States itself.

Back to the newly discovered Minoan bead discovered in Mycenaean Pylos. This bead may challenge the timeline I laid out. Close examination reveals a delicate, raised carving of a warrior stabbing another warrior in the neck. The warriors are depicted in much more realistic detail reminiscent of the Golden Age which is difficult to explain. The Golden Age occurred 1,000 years after the creation of this tomb. Minoan art of the 15th-14th century BC is not as sophisticated. I have attached a photo of a typical gold signet ring comparably sized carving of the 14th century BC below to compare with the bead. The warriors on the bead have much more clearly defined musculature in the arms and legs and the faces are more proportional. Most amazing, the carving is less than half a millimeter tall which seemingly would require a magnifying glass to carve, an invention the Greeks were not known to have.

We will have to wait to see if archaeologists unearth more artifacts like this bead to determine whether the Minoans possessed more artistic skill than previously believed. However, I believe this bead may be an example of a common occurrence in history. We often think of human development as a constant progressive development towards greater complexity and skill. In reality, development often does not follow a linear timeline. We see advancements that become lost to future generations either because the inventor was well ahead of his or her time or because the skills do not spread to a larger culture.

The Romans for example created a concrete that is remarkably resilient and still intact after 2,000 years. Only recently scientific examination revealed that their concrete is superior to its modern counterpart because the Romans ground up volcanic rock that can resist water erosion. The Renaissance itself was largely a re-discovery of “lost” classical Greek and Roman culture. The creator of this bead may well have simply been much more talented than his peers or reflected an isolated pocket of greater skill that never took hold in the wider society. We know this tomb is dated circa 1,500 BC and the Minoans were conquered in circa 1,450 BC. Perhaps a new form of art was emerging on Minos that the Mycenaeans ended with their invasion.

Either way, the bead is a marvel in and of itself and likely to inspire a lot of speculation on how the artist managed to create such a tiny intricate carving.

I have attached a link to the article below which contains more detail on the discovery and the tomb itself.

News Article on Minoan Bead

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