"Unearthing Atlantis" Ancient Minoan Ruins 1650BC Santorini Volcano Lost Worlds

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DESCRIPTION: Illustrated hardcover with dustjacket: 325 pages. Publisher: Random House; (1991). Size: 9¾ x 6¾ x 1½ inches; 1¾ pounds. Atlantis some will argue, was a large, mountainous continent somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. But the Atlantis in our dreams and our myths was almost certainly the lost civilization of Minoan Crete. Ninety-five percent of what we know about this naval empire (known to the ancient Egyptians as "Keftiu") is being excavated from Thera, an island offshore from Crete, where a city whose name no one remembers was buried with all of its contents intact. During the summer of 1650 B.C., the city's tall, white buildings still gleamed under the clear, hot sky, and in the words of Plato, there grew on that island every variety of plant what is pleasant to the eye and good for food. In the center of the island there stood a volcanic peak. Its long, quiet sleep had lasted for tens of thousands of years, and might have lasted for tens of thousands more. But not forever. Nothing lasts forever.

Fast forward from 1650 B.C. to the late 1960's A.D., when an archaeologist excavating near a promising site on the island of Thera, near Crete, discovered what he took to be an ancient civilization's royal palace. The multistoried structure boasted frescoes of unsurpassed beauty, exquisite architecture, and plumbing of near-contemporary sophistication. Astonishingly, test digs as far as half a mile away revealed dwellings just as grand, connected by an intricate network of streets. Here it appeared lay a Minoan metropolis that rivaled any of the great powers of the ancient world, and it was amazing to contemplate what it might have achieved, had it survived.

The painstaking work of the past two decades, under the spirited guidance of archaeologists Spyridon Marinatos and Christos Doumas, revealed further treasures. They unearthed tools, vases, furnishings, and fossilized food worthy of the island's ancient name, "Kalliste" ("the most beautiful"). It also raised evidence of terrifying, writhing, and snakelike fireballs. A strange orderly exodus and finally, deadly tsunamis and death clouds that pointed far beyond the boundaries of archaeology to paleontology, geology, history, theological and literary exegesis, even to outer space. And inevitably to the mythology surrounding Plato's "lost continent" of Atlantis.

As if in a detective story, astrobiologist/paleontologist Charles Pellegrino follows the footprints. "Unearthing Atlantis" is a fascinating odyssey that takes us along some unexpected byways. To the top of Mount Saint Helens and down along the ocean floor. On a Theran sightseeing tour backward through time, as we piece together the story of an extraordinary people tragically lost, and a legend as it might have been.

CONDITION: LIKE NEW. New hardcover w/dustjacket. Random House (1991) 325 pages. Inside the pages are pristine; clean, crisp, unmarked, unmutilated, tightly bound, unambiguously unread. Outside the book is unblemished except for VERY mild edge and corner shelfwear to the dustjacket and covers. The edgewear to the dustjacket includes two tiny (1/4 inch) closed (neatly repaired) edge tears to the upper open corner of both the front and back sides of the dustjacket. With the neat repairs these minute cosmetic blemishes are discerned only with effort. Condition is entirely consistent with new stock from a traditional brick-and-mortar shelved bookstore environment (such as Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, or Borders, for example) wherein new books might show minor signs of shelfwear, consequence of routine handling and simply the ordeal of constantly being shelved, re-shelved, and shuffled about. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Meticulous and accurate descriptions! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 30 days! #1685d.

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PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.

PUBLISHER REVIEW:

REVIEW: It is one of humankind's most enduring myths. And now it is a fantasy no longer. In the year 347 B.C., Plato wrote of a miraculous island with hot and cold flowing waters, terraced multi-storied buildings, and "the fairest of all plains." For thousands of years, the legend of the mysterious vanished "continent" of Atlantis has captivated writers, poets, artists, philosophers, and dreamers. But now Atlantis has been found, and the truth about its vibrant life and horrific destruction is even more remarkable than the myth.

Based on artifacts and evidence uncovered in an ancient buried Minoan city, noted scientist and New York Times bestselling author bestselling author Charles Pellegrino reanimates an astounding lost civilization and re-creates with explosive power the apocalyptic cataclysm that destroyed their remarkable island metropolis. A brilliant synthesis of historical, literary, archaeological, and geological detective work, here is both the story of the astounding discovery that transformed tale into fact, and a breathtaking vision of Atlantis reborn.

Charles Pellegrino has been known to work simultaneously in entomology, forensic physics, paleo-genetics, preliminary design of advanced rocket systems, astrobiology, and marine archaeology. The author of eighteen books of fiction and nonfiction, including "Unearthing Atlantis", "Dust", "Ghosts of the Titanic", and the New York Times bestseller "Her Name, Titanic", he is the scientist whose dinosaur-cloning recipe inspired Michael Crichton's bestselling novel Jurassic Park. He has been described by Stephen Jay Gould as a space scientist who occasionally looks down; and by Arthur C. Clarke as "a polymathic astro-paleontologist-nuclear physicist".

REVIEW: Dr. Charles Pellegrino is the author of over a dozen books, including “Unearthing Atlantis” and “Her Name, Titanic”. He is a paleontologist who designs robotic space probes and relativistic rockets and is the scientist whose dinosaurs cloning recipe inspired Michael Crichton's bestselling novel Jurassic Park. In his spare time, Dr. Pellegrino writes acclaimed sf novels and mind-bending technothrillers. Jan de Bont, the director of “Speed” and “Twister” has been signed on to direct the film version of Pellgrino's biological disaster novel “Dust”. The recipient of the 2000 Isaac Asimov Memorial Award for Science Writing, Dr. Pellegrino lives in New York.

REVIEW: A scholarly approach to the Atlantis myth attempts to uncover the truth about the "lost" civilization and examines excavations at Thera, in the present-day Mediterranean

REVIEW: In a synthesis of historical and literary, archaeological and paleontological detective work, Charles Pellegrino transfixes us with his exploration of the origins of Atlantis.

Table of Contents:

Plato's Atlantis.

The Mediterranean World.

The Americas - Atlantis and the New World.

The Atlantic Ocean.

The Pacific - Atlantis, Mu and Lemuria.

The West Indies.

Antarctica.

The Indian Ocean.

Legendary Lands of the Celts.

Other Lost Worlds.

Atlantis and the New Age.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:

REVIEW: The legend of Atlantis has fired imaginations for thousands of years. The story was already old when Plato told his "tale which, though strange, is certainly true". Now readers have the good fortune to experience a thoroughly convincing solution to the ancient riddle. Pellegrino is a gifted storyteller who conveys the sense of wonder this tale demands, for the facts are as compelling as any fantasy. As it turns out, Plato was surprisingly accurate; but to say more might give away the mystery, for Pellegrino writes an outstanding detective thriller. He is equally at home in a number of disciplines, including geology, space science, archaeology, vulcanology, history, mythology, and Biblical exegesis, and all these perspectives are used to lead readers on a dazzling odyssey through time and thought as the clues are revealed. [School Library Journal].

REVIEW: Pellegrino, a popular science author, takes the reader on a fascinating journey to Thera, the flooded volcanic crater of a once lush island lying between Athens and Crete in the Mediterranean. Current archaeological findings are discussed in light of possible historical connections to the famed lost civilization of Atlantis. In addition to works by the excavators of the site, Spyridon Marinatos ( "Some Words About the Legend of Atlantis") and Christos Doumas ("Thera: Pompeii of the Ancient Aegean"), "Unearthing Atlantis" is a welcome introduction to Thera and the legendary ancient Aegean civilizations.

REVIEW: Was Atlantis, the fabled continent described by Plato, actually the Mediterranean isle of Thera, which was destroyed by a volcano and tidal wave in 1628 B.C.? Paleontologist Pellegrino makes an intriguing case for this thesis. The Minoan isle, heart of a naval empire which controlled much of the Greek mainland, sustained a city with multi-storied, exquisitely decorated buildings and a technology later copied by Greece. An archeological dig begun in 1967 has turned up parallels to Plato's account of Atlantis, including the Theran custom of bull-worship and the identical colors of rocks in walls. Pellegrino speculates that a drifting cloud from volcanic Thera struck fear into the Egyptian pharaoh, facilitating the Jews' exodus. In a highly personal narrative, he ranges far afield in support of his theory, sifting evidence from Mount Saint Helens to the Greenland ice cap. Photos. [Publishers Weekly]. REVIEW: "Unearthing Atlantis" is a fascinating journey through space and time, replete with memorable images and stimulating ideas. Pellegrino successfully avoids the gullibility of earlier writers on Atlantis, while maintaining a sense of honest wonder.

REVIEW: Pellegrino argues that the legend of Atlantis describes a Minoan civilization destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 17th century B.C. Not New Age drivel, Pellegrino presents compelling evidence that the Greek island Thera and the Minoans gave rise to the Atlantis myth. A respectable account of the current archaeological dig.

REVIEW: In a synthesis of historical and literary, archaeological and paleontological detective work, Charles Pellegrino transfixes us with his exploration of the origins of Atlantis. A look at what is almost certainly the real Atlantis. First-quality writing about one of the past two centuries' most important archaeological discoveries.

READER REVIEWS:

REVIEW: One of the better archaeologists/anthropologists able to explain things lost or forgotten in the Ancient World. Perhaps no one other than Sitchin could inspire thought and wonder into the workings of Lost America, or Lost Africa, the Mediterranean, or of the dynasties that no longer exist, or are quite difficult to interpret, Yet Charles Pellegrino is one of the talented ones to do just that. Between geology and archaeologists, few others have enough insight or inspiration to rediscover that which was once discovered, then lost again.

You'll read this thing, and next you'll be visiting some library, website, and figuring out your own quest to satisfy your thirst for more information. You will see the world and continental drift from other vistas, and you'll realize just how many changes you probably didn't know about; or those angles that never occurred to you to look for. My warning to you is that no matter how many times you read this, and works like it, every time you go back and look at it again, a new candle will light up and you'll get or see things that you missed during the previous reads. Besides, the author explains most of this in plain English to help your quest for further light and knowledge.

REVIEW: First and foremost: Yes, it did exist. The significance of an ancient Atlantis existing in our past and flourishing to a point that the Minoan civilization is a millennium ahead of it's time is unprecedented. With emphasis on the exaggerations and mythological components added to Plato's story, it becomes necessary to provide factual information to contradict the erroneous speculations. And essentially, that is how this book comes into play.

In all reality, Atlantis was a rather small volcanic isle within the Mediterranean Sea, Northwest of the larger Island Crete where the Minoan empire had also settled. Due to several fortunate details, including being surrounded by ocean, hot springs, a volcano and so forth they advanced beyond belief and beyond the very grasp of the most enthusiastic human imagination. All the characteristics that would aid the Minoans in mastering the ocean with its own Navy, utilizing aqueducts with warm and cool flowing water, showers and flush toilets, also lead to the most tragic demise known to both the ancient and modern worlds.

And at this point, the author expresses the reader's wonder about such people, capable of such things, wonder about the possibilities of landing on the moon before even the birth of Christ, or colonies near Alpha Centauri which would seem possible if only nature had spared us that one disaster. Perhaps the Minoans could have accomplished these tasks that now only appear to exist at the nucleus of science fiction. That is, had they lived to truly influence the "modern" world in that sense.

Dr. Pellegrino introduces fact and differentiates it from the fiction surrounding Atlantis. His conclusions are also quite logical, for example Plato's embellishment of the story described to Solon in Egypt, by placing Atlantis in the far, vast and unknown Atlantic Ocean as an Africa-sized continent nearly 9000 years old. The errors that could contribute to ridiculous numbers such as 9000 years and possibilities as to several facts and myths regarding Atlantis are presented as well, including the likely mistake between Linear A and B zero, and the idea of Noah living to see the age of 950 as a thought of the time.

The author provides reasoning that may have affected the nature of the story, such as why the island sank, its hanging gardens and technological achievements, while weaving in the archaeological finds that back his ideas. What is by far the greatest aspect of the book aside from the author's understanding of how dramatic such a story was, is his comments about the true beauty of the island and its people, the art frescoes within every home, the rich vegetation and the fleet of ships docked in a natural port. The contrast of what was to what exists now is just so...

This is not to mention Thera's (Atlantis') influence on not only the downfall of the Minoan civilization but its impact on biblical stories, surrounding areas like Egypt and Turkey, and the wonder behind such power the earth can release within a fraction of a second. Pellegrino's ability to tie science in with history to interpret a story as grand as that of the Minoans is extraordinary. The details of the excavation and research are also enthralling.

The author is eloquent and interesting. He'll engulf you in a world you'll never want to leave. The beauty that is the fresco of Madonna Lilies is to Thera what the Grand Staircase was to Titanic. The greatest civilization was devoured by the hand that fed them, yet it isn't as dismal as one tends to think. The one event that wiped out the Minoans is the one event that will ensure the Minoans will last forever. You'll have much to ponder about!

REVIEW: Yes, this book is about the real Atlantis. It really did exist, but not in the literal way that Plato described it, and certainly not in the way that New Age speculation "theorists" want it to. The subject matter is immensely important, and the author's enthusiasm makes this book a truly exciting experience. The long story made short is that "Atlantis" was in reality a small island in the east Mediterranean way back around 1600 BC. Thera was a part of the Minoan Empire, and, being a group of islands between Egypt and Greece, had not only the world's first navy, but aqueducts (long before the famous Roman water systems) and a surprisingly highly-evolved culture.

Then one day, the volcano at the center of Thera exploded with as least six times the power of Krakatoa (the 1883 eruption that was heard over 2000 miles away), and within seconds 2/3 of the island was in the stratosphere. This was all before even the Greeks became the dominant force in the region, and so the sudden disappearance of the Minoans (who dominated trade between Europe and Africa) not surprisingly became various stories passed down through the generations, which is where Plato heard it.

Plato's description of an entire continent all the way out in the Atlantic that sunk into the sea turned out to be an embellishment on what was, by then, just a myth. He was essentially trying to make a point about how quickly even the most powerful civilization can crumble, and what he said was passed down through the ages, in one form or another, to us. This is how and why these Art Bell "experts" have hijacked this subject and nailed it onto their "theories" of other subjects that have been blown completely out of proportion, such as the Bermuda Triangle, life on Mars, Bigfoot, etc.

Case in point: just because Atlantis was advanced by ancient standards, no, they did not have airplanes or lasers. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but REAL history isn't "Spear of Destiny" garbage: it's how real people really lived, not whatever garbage you want it to be. Of course, this book was an emotional one to read: an ancient culture creating such high technology (a millennium ahead of its time), only to be totally annihilated in just seconds.

If the downfall of Rome and the ensuing loss of knowledge and the onset of the Dark Ages is considered to be historically tragic, this story is then the most epic catastrophe ever. The author points out that if they were doing what took another 1000 years for the Romans to figure out (such as running water through pipes), who knows what these people might have managed to do? Maybe we would have been on the moon 2000 years ago. We'll never know.

This subject is fascinating and important, and I would, of course, highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to find a huge missing piece of history, or to anyone trying to scrape that layer of filth known as "New Age speculation" off of some really solid history: the real thing is far more interesting than the National Enquirer version.

REVIEW: Atlantis as both a concept and an historical reality appeal to the romantic and the practical in all of us. Dr. Pellegrino's beautiful writing raises once again the idea that the volcano "Thera" on the island of Santorini wiped out the Minoan civilization and sent Minoans (our name - not theirs) as refugees to countries around the Mediterranean rim. Those who arrived in Caanan were called "Philistines" and may be ancestral to today's Palestinian people.

At the same time, according to this book, the Egyptian pharoah refused to release Moses (there's an Egyptian name, eg Tut-mose and so on) and his people from their "servitude" in Egypt. Darkness by day, rivers of blood and the famous escape scene (which may represent the Theran tsunami) result in a second group of fleeing refugees arriving in Caanan claiming they were promised or given the land. Four thousand years later, whether one believes in Plato's Atlantis or not, the story of the Volcano of Thera is a fascinating one.

Get yourself a copy of the King James' Bible as Dr. Pellegrino presents Biblical citations often in his work and it is very helpful to be able to read along and mark all the juicy bits for later. Fire and brimstone, the voice of angels, the clap of the celestial trumpets, lighted pillars of flame, the gnashing of teeth and wailing of the wounded - all make sense when viewed through a volcanic perspective. Reading about Krakatoa, Vesuvius and Thera all in a group both in Dr. Pellegrino's work and that of Simon Winchester gives a very interesting view into the role of volcanos and other geological processes on human history.

Certainly in our own age, we have seen the awesome power of tsunami waves, as the December 26, 2004 wave took away a quarter of a million people. Waves produced by Thera were nearly 30 stories high and washed inland for miles and miles - producing a channeled scablands in Turkey almost as far as Mount Ararat. Dr. Pellegrino never pointed this out, but if "Noah's flood" were a river flood - the ark would have been washed out to sea. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights and the ark ended up on a mountain, raising the interesting possiblity that this event, too is associated with volcanic darkness and accompanying tsunamis.

Get this book. Even if you believe Plato's Atlantis was anywhere or nowhere at all - you'll learn a lot and be dragged along by the beautiful and evocative writing every inch of the way. I'll never think of Vesuvius the same way again - and I'm a trained Geologist. I only wish I'd read Dr. Pellegrino's books when I was teaching. I think my students would have been much more excited by volcanoes - because I sure would have been!

REVIEW: "Unearthing Atlantis: An Archaelogical Odyssey to the Fabled Lost Civilization" by Charles Pellegrino is an enchanting, well researched, well rounded book about the Greek island of Santorini and the volcanic explosion which probably destroyed Minoan civilization. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time; it was very difficult for me to put down, as Pellegrino expertly combines history, archaeology, art, literature and science to write a comprehensive story of the lost civilization of Santorini/ Atlantis. As a matter of fact, I found myself studying, not just reading, this book, and am currently rereading it a second time. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Greek history, Atlantis, or a good mystery.

REVIEW: Being somewhat of an Atlantisphile, I approached this book with the same sense of excitement and cynicism that I do with most works on the subject. I had never read any of Pelligrino's books and so I really did not know what to expect. Needless to say, I have never been so overwhelmed by one book in my life.

I am a student of Anthropology, with an idea of pursuing Archaeology. I have read numerous works by noted Archaeologists, and never have I seen someone put so much passion for the search of history and knowledge down on paper the way Pelligrino does in this book. He opens up a land heretofore unknown and gives it as much life as if you were there. We are honored at the chance to learn of the late Spirydon Marinatos' work, as well as numerous other subjects that seemingly do not relate to one another, yet Pelligrino somehow can tie into the discovery of a vase or something even less signficant in this small archipelago.

I thought when I bought it that I would be reading another work about a land where airplanes flew and other such nonsense...what I did find was the work of an explorer on the ultimate journey - the pursuit of truth.

REVIEW: Pellegrino is a paleontologist. His perspective is the millions of years, and against this backdrop, the Bronze Age volcanic eruption on Thera shrinks into one episode: The Minoan city, including another Stone Age, lies beneath the pumice layer. Among them are the bones of dwarf elephants that populated this place when it was not yet an island. These include mussels that grew there when it was lying at the bottom of the sea. Including dinosaur bones. Pellegrino is a bestselling author. He writes very clearly. Tasteful. He creates the very big connections and whether everything is correct in detail is not his concern. Sometimes I have the suspicion that he is saying things simply because they sound good. The story of the excavation on Thera and what role Acrotiri's excavator Spyridon Marinatos, his daughter Nanno and his student and successor Christos Doumas play and played are very interesting in the book. The book is excellent to read on vacation. It encourages us to think about the transience and meaning of life and opens up perspectives. It is certainly not a scientific work.

REVIEW: I read this book while spending a week in Santorini. It was the perfect book to read while sitting on the beach, looking at all the tourists and imagining how different and more advanced Theran life must have been like 37 or so centuries ago, before the volcano took away two thirds of the island to create one of the most scenic, photographed places on earth. The thought that the Theran volcano explosion caused the pestilence and plagues mentioned in the Bible was startling. Could it be true? Could Thera be the lost Atlantis? Well, why not? Read it for yourself and see. And check out the Theran wall paintings excavated in Akrotiri on the web, especially the one with the unique antelopes that only exist in one part of Africa to this day and see if you don't start to wonder yourself about what really happened.

REVIEW: The brilliant scholar and adventurer Charles Pellegrino has been called "the real Indiana Jones", and for good reason. He pursues archaeological and historical mysteries with the same exciting flair, but his accounts go far deeper than any film. In this, he pursues the age-old mystery of Atlantis, presenting a highly credible argument that this was actually the historical island of Thera that erupted in the seventeenth century B.C. Pellegrino veers effortlessly between periods millions of years apart, and manages to make this historical hunt every bit as suspenseful and exciting as any Steven Spielberg film. Once you read any one of his astonishing works, you'll be a die-hard fan for life.

REVIEW: This is simply the best book I have read about archaeology since "Gods, Graves, and Scholars". And it is the first book about the scientists who search for the past (actually written by one of them) that teaches us how to actually think in terms of deep time. Read this book and you will emerge from the "Mediterranean Genesis" chapter never viewing your own town, or anyplace on Earth, quite the same, ever again.

The story of Atlantis itself, following the Frost/Marinatos hypothesis about the Minoan catastrophe of 1628 B.C. (a date finally fixed in stone by the Pellegrino synthesis), filtering down through history as the "kernel of truth" behind Plato's cautionary tale, is really the first book ever to approach this unsinkable subject from a purely archaeological and geological perspective, with no particular ax to grind.

One learns why not even a small island, much less a continent, could have plunged through the ocean floor without leaving a significant and very easily seen geologic trace. Either Plato's Atlantis was based on an (only marginally) embellished and poorly understood account of history's largest known volcanic explosion (Thera/Santorini), or, according to Pellegrino, Atlantis did not exist at all. And to top all: the whole archaeological adventure is wrapped in some of the most elegant prose I have ever read.

REVIEW: I'm a history buff with a better than average knowledge of the Eastern Mediterranean, but I was astounded by Pellegrino's extraordinary ability to integrate and analyze data from seemingly disparate sources and disciplines. His argument for Thera as Atlantis is totally convincing and captivating - you won't want to put it down. He skillfully recreates the advanced civilization that flourished there and truly moves the reader. This book will haunt you long after you finish it. I loaned my copy to a friend who was going there on vacation - all I got back was a postcard of the excavations! If anyone hears of a pending reprint please let me know.

REVIEW: This book makes me want to catch a plane to Thera and help with the excavation. Lots of history and plenty of concrete evidence to turn the hardened cynic into a believer. It's a complete journey through time back to the dinosaurs and more. Like the author stated, the brain is a 3-pound time machine. This book is only 1 pound.

REVIEW: Fascinating and convincing! I have always had a general interest in Atlantis and lost civilizations, but I never expected to be so fascinated with the topic. Thanks to Pellegrino, I came away with a much richer understanding of historical events in the Mediterranean than I had ever hoped. His theories on Atlantis are totally believable, overlaying some interesting new twists for historians to consider.

REVIEW: I have been fascinated with the story of Atlantis and the Thera volcano since I was a child. This book is one of the best I have read on the subject. Pellegrino does an excellent job of describing the Thera volcano itself and it's effects across the globe, how it changed world history and the archaeological evidence and uncovering the lost Minoan civilization.

REVIEW: This is a beautifully written book. The author has a keen sense of the majesty of time and he very effectively imparts this greater view to the reader. He deals with the background to a very significant find in ancient civilization.

REVIEW:

REVIEW: This book details the story of "Thera", a Mediterranean island volcano which erupted in 1500 BC annihilating the Minoan culture and may have been responsible for the stories of the flood, the sinking of Atlantis and the Egyptian plagues which were described in the bible.

REVIEW: This is an excellent book. If you have ever visited Santorini this will tell you what you saw, and what you may have missed! After reading this, you may decide to put a trip to Santorini on your 'bucket list'.

REVIEW: The author is brilliant, and draws on all his resources to help the reader understand this and its historical context.

REVIEW: I like the book and found it an informative narrative. This book is based on facts and while not exhaustive, is still miles away from all the Atlantis New Age pulp drivel of speculation and fantasy. I bought the book for my grandson to help guide him towards the truth through fact and critical thinking versus the subjective occult fantasy nonsense that comprises much of the Atlantis printed subject matter.

REVIEW: Amazing and mind blowing is an understatement. Read this book for perspective on western civilization and our planet. Pellegrino's unique method of transferring information is nonpareil.

REVIEW: There's no better writer than Pelligrino when dealing with ancient history, with the exception of Velicovski on things Egypt.

REVIEW: Read this many years ago and love it!

REVIEW: This is a fascinating book. Read it!

REVIEW: This was my second copy reread it just as good as I remember.

REVIEW: Good theory based on pretty good research.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: Bronze Age Minoan Civilization: The Minoan civilization flourished in the Middle Bronze Age on the island of Crete located in the eastern Mediterranean from about 2000 BC until about 1500 BC. The Minoans made a significant contribution to the development of Western European civilization as it is known today. This was achieved through their unique art and architecture and the spread of their ideas through contact with other cultures across the Aegean. Labyrinth-like palace complexes, vivid frescoes depicting scenes such as bull-leaping and processions, fine gold jewelry, elegant stone vases, and pottery with vibrant decorations of marine life are all particular characteristics of Minoan Crete.

The archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans was first alerted to the possible presence of an ancient civilization on Crete by the fact that ancient carved seal stones were being worn as charms by native Cretans in the early 20th century. Excavating at Knossos from 1900 to 1905 Evans discovered extensive ruins which confirmed both literary and mythological the ancient accounts. Those ancient accounts recorded the prior existence of a sophisticated Cretan culture and possible site of the legendary labyrinth and palace of King Minos. It was Evans who coined the term Minoan in reference to this legendary Bronze Age king.

Evans seeing what he believed to be the growth and decline of a unified culture on Crete divided the island’s Bronze Age into three distinct phases largely based on different pottery styles. First stretching from about 3000 through 2100 BC was the Early Minoan Bronze Age. This was followed by the Minoan Middle Bronze Age which extended from about 2100 through 1600 BC. Last was the Late Minoan Bronze age of about 1600 through 1100 BC. These phases were subsequently refined by adding numbered sub-phases to each group, such as “MM II” (Middle Minoan Bronze Age II).

Radio-carbon dating and tree-ring calibration techniques have helped to further refine the dates. These refinements show that the Early Bronze Age began as early as about 3500 BC rather than 3000 BC. The refinements also indicate that the Late Bronze Age began around 1700 BC rather than 1600 BC. An alternative to this series of divisions instead focuses on the events occurring in and around the major Minoan “palaces”. This division has four periods. First is the Prepalatial Period which extended from about 3000 BC through somewhere between 2000 and 1900 BC. The Protopalatial Period then picks up around 2000 or 1900 BC and runs through 1700 BC. The Neopalatial Period runs from about 1700 BC through somewhere between 1470 and 1450 BC. Last the Postpalatial picks up where the Neopalatial Period left off, around 1470 or 1450 BC through 1100 BC.

Both of these schemes have since been challenged by more modern archaeology and approaches to history and anthropology in general. These all prefer a more multilinear development of culture on Crete. This entails a more complex developmental scenario involving conflicts and inequalities between settlements. It also takes into account their cultural differences as well as their obvious similarities. Minoan settlements, tombs, and cemeteries have been found all over Crete but the four principal palace sites in order of size were Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, and Zakros. Minoan palaces exerted some kind of localized control. This was particularly true in the gathering and storage of surplus commodities.

At each of these sites, large, complex palace structures seem to have acted as local administrative, trade, religious, and possibly political centers. The relationship between the palaces and the power structure within them or over the island as a whole is not clear. This is due to a lack of archaeological and literary evidence. However it is clear that at a minimum the palaces exerted some kind of localized control. This was particularly so with respect to the gathering and storage of surplus commodities. These included wine, oil, and grain, as well as precious metals and ceramics. Small towns, villages, and farms were spread around the territory and were seemingly controlled by a single palace. Roads connected these isolated settlements to each other, the main center, and the palace.

There is a general agreement among historians that the palaces were independent from each other up to around 1700 BC. Thereafter they all came under the sway of Knossos. This is evidenced in the records by a greater uniformity in architecture and the use of Linear A writing across various palace sites. The absence of fortifications in the settlements suggests a relatively peaceful co-existence between the different communities. However there was also a prominent presence of weapons such as swords, daggers, and arrowheads. As well equally prominent were defensive equipment such as armor and helmets. Together these suggest that peace may not have always been enjoyed. Minoan roads as well have evidence of regular guardhouses and watchtowers. These suggest that at a minimum banditry troubled the unprotected traveler.

The palaces themselves covered two periods. The first palaces were constructed around 2000 BC. Then following destructive earthquakes and fires they were rebuilt again around 1700 BC. These second palaces survived until their final destruction between 1500 BC and 1450 BC. It’s likely that they were destroyed once again by either earthquake and/or fire. However there is a possibility they may have been destroyed by a hostile invading military force. The palaces were well-appointed. They were monumental structures with large courts, colonnades, ceilings supported by tapered wooden columns. They possessed staircases, religious crypts, light-wells, extensive drainage systems, and large storage magazines. They even had ‘theater’ areas for public spectacles or religious processions.

The palaces reached up to four stories high. They spread over several thousand square meters (tens of thousands of square feet). The palaces were very complex in layout. There were frescoes depicting the sport of bull-leaping. The worship of bulls was prominently evidenced by the presence throughout the palace complexes of sacred bulls’ horns. These were accompanied by depictions of double axes, also known as “labrys” in stone and fresco. The combined effect of all of these elements may have given birth to the legend of Theseus and the labyrinth-dwelling Minotaur. This was one of the most popular tales in later classical Greek mythology.

The religion of the Minoans remains sketchy. However some details are revealed through art, architecture, and artifacts. These include depictions of religious ceremonies and rituals such as the pouring of libations, making food offerings, processions, feasts, and sporting events like bull-leaping. Natural forces and nature in general manifested in such artworks as a voluptuous female mother-earth goddess figure and male figure holding several animals. These figures seem to have been revered. Palaces contain open courtyards for mass gatherings and rooms often have wells and channels for the pouring of libations. Bulls are prominent in Minoan art and their horns are an architectural feature of palace walls. Bull horns were also a general decorative element in jewelry, frescoes, and pottery decoration. Dramatic rural sites such as hilltops and caves often show evidence of cult rituals being performed there.

The sophistication of the Minoan culture and its trading capacity is evidenced by the presence of writing. First from about roughly 2000 BC through 1700 BC was Cretan Hieroglyphic. This was followed by Linear A script, predominantly found on various types of administrative clay tablets. Both scripts are as yet undeciphered). Seal impressions on clay were another important form of record keeping. A further example of the culture’s high degree of development is the variety and quality of The art forms practiCed by the Minoans. Pottery finds reveal a wide range of vessels from wafer-thin cups to large storage jars known as “pithoi”. Ceramics were initially hand-turned but then increasingly made on the potter’s wheel.

In decoration there was a progression from flowing geometric designs in Kamares ware to vibrant naturalistic depictions of flowers, plants, and sea life in the later Floral and Marine styles. Common pottery shapes include three-handled amphorae, tall beaked-jugs, squat round vessels with a false spout, beakers, small lidded boxes, and ritual vessels with figure-of-eight-shaped handles. Stone was also used to produce similar vessel types and rhyta. Rhyta were ritual vessels for pouring libations often in the shape of animal heads. Large-scale figure sculpture has not survived but there are many figurines in bronze and other materials. Early types in clay show the dress of the time with men who were colored red and depicted wearing belted loincloths. Women were colored white and depicted in long flowing dresses and open-fronted jackets. A leaping acrobat in ivory and the faience snake goddess are notable works which reveal the Minoan love of capturing figures in active striking poses.

There are also magnificent frescoes from the walls, ceilings, and floors of the palaces. These reveal the Minoans’ love of the sea and nature. They also give insights into religious, communal, and funeral practices. Fresco subjects range in scale from miniature to larger-than-life size. The Minoans were one of the earliest cultures to paint natural landscapes without any humans present in the scene. Perhaps this is the strongest indication of their admiration for the natural world. Animals too were often depicted in their natural habitat. For example depictions of monkeys, birds, dolphins, and fish are abundant. Minoan frescoes were often framed with decorative borders of geometric designs. However on occasion the principal fresco would go beyond conventional boundaries such as corners and covered several walls of a single room. Oftentimes the fresco would completely surround the viewer. Minoan artists took their skills to the royal palaces of Egypt and the Levant. This was especially so with respect to fresco painters.

As a seafaring culture the Minoans were also in contact with foreign peoples throughout the Aegean. This is evidenced by the Near Eastern and Egyptian influences in their early art. It is also evidenced in their later export trade. This was most notably true with respect to the exchange of pottery and foodstuffs such as oil and wine. The Minoans traded in return for precious objects and materials such as copper from Cyprus and Attica, also ivory from Egypt. Especially in the Cyclades several Aegean islands also display the characteristics of a palace-centedd economy and political structure. Perhaps they were patterning their palace culture, economy, and politics on that of Crete.

The reasons for the demise of the Minoan civilization continue to be debated. Most palaces and settlements show evidence of fire and destruction dated to around 1450 BC. However Knossos was not destroyed until perhaps a century later. The rise of the Mycenaean civilization in the mid-second millennium BC on the Greek mainland and the subsequent evidence of their cultural influence on later Minoan art and trade make them the most likely cause. However other suggestions include earthquakes and volcanic activity with a consequent tsunami.

The eruption of nearby Thera, the present-day island of Santorini, may have been a particularly significant detrimental event. However the exact date of this cataclysmic eruption is disputed, and therefore its connection with the end of the Minoan period remains unclear. The most likely scenario was probably a fatal mix of natural environmental damage and competition for wealth weakening the structure of society. Ultimately this was then exploited by invading Mycenaeans. Whatever the cause, most of the Minoan sites were abandoned by 1200 BC. Crete would not return to the Mediterranean stage of history until the 8th century BC when it was colonized by Archaic Greeks [Ancient History Encyclopedia]. Minoan Art: Greek art and architecture had remarkably influenced the societal, cultural and artistic flowerings during the Renaissance period in Europe. And now one can see the clear inspiration behind those late medieval masterpieces, courtesy of statues that were discovered in Crete by archaeologists from the Greek Ministry of Culture. Found inside a Roman-era villa, the 21-inch high sculptures depict the Greek gods (and brother-sister twins) Artemis and Apollo, and date to the 1st or 2nd century A.D.

The villa was located inside the city of Aptera, a formerly powerful ‘city-state’ from western Crete that was unfortunately destroyed by an earthquake in 7th century A.D. Now interestingly, the figurine of clothed Artemis (wearing a chiton or Greek tunic) was made from copper, while the antithetically nude Apollo was carved from marble. Additionally, the posture of Artemis – which seems to be ready to shoot a bow, was also constructed with an ornately designed heavy copper base. On the other hand, red traces of paint are still decipherable along the pedestal of Apollo’s figure.

Judging from their visual impact, suffice it to say that the sculptures are still in an excellent state of preservation. Historians are specially impressed with the white material – that defines their respective eyes, still being sustained after 1,900 years or so. And even more fascinating is the conjecture put forth by the archaeologists that pertains to how these statues were probably not of local made. They might have been imported specifically to decorate the luxury Roman-era villa, thus mirroring our present-day ritzy scenarios. [Realm of History.Com].

A Roman Crete Egyptian Crocodile: Discovery of a crocodile-shaped limestone waterspout that once adorned a Roman temple at Gortyn in central Crete provides evidence of close links between the island and Egypt. Excavations conducted by Antonino Di Vitta, director of the Italian School at Athens, revealed that the temple was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), remodeled in the fourth century, and finally quarried for limestone at an unknown date.

Brightly painted and fashioned with eye sockets that once held shining glass paste, the crocodile waterspout was found covered by rubble in a sewer, where it had eluded ancient quarrymen. Di Vitta says the crocodile is one of four that once adorned the temple's entablature and represents an early example of the use of Egyptian motifs on Roman temples in Crete.

From fragmentary inscriptions found on the temple, it appears a certain Titus Pactumeius Magnus, a Cretan by birth and prefect of Egypt, built and dedicated the temple to the Roman emperors. Di Vitta says it is likely Pactumeius built the temple to advertise the high offices he held or once held to his family and friends on Crete.

The waterspout will be on display at the "Crete-Egypt" exhibition at the Heraklion Museum in Crete this fall, then possibly on permanent view at a new museum in Messara in south-central Crete. [Archaeological Institute of America].

Ancient Hellenic Greece: "The Hellenic World" is a term which refers to that period of ancient Greek history between 507 B.C. (the date of the first democracy in Athens) and 323 B.C. (the death of Alexander the Great). This period is also referred to as the age of Classical Greece and should not be confused with The Hellenistic World which designates the period between the death of Alexander and Rome's conquest of Greece (323 - 146 - 31 B.C.). The Hellenic World of ancient Greece consisted of the Greek mainland, Crete, the islands of the Greek archipelago, and the coast of Asia Minor primarily (though mention is made of cities within the interior of Asia Minor and, of course, the colonies in southern Italy). This is the time of the great Golden Age of Greece and, in the popular imagination, resonates as "ancient Greece".

The great law-giver, Solon, having served wisely as Archon of Athens for 22 years, retired from public life and saw the city, almost immediately, fall under the dictatorship of Peisistratus. Though a dictator, Peisistratus understood the wisdom of Solon, carried on his policies and, after his death, his son Hippias continued in this tradition (though still maintaining a dictatorship which favored the aristocracy). After the assassination of his younger brother (inspired, according to Thucydides, by a love affair gone wrong and not, as later thought, politically motivated), however, Hippias became wary of the people of Athens, instituted a rule of terror, and was finally overthrown by the army under Kleomenes I of Sparta and Cleisthenes of Athens.

Cleisthenes reformed the constitution of Athens and established democracy in the city in 507 B.C. He also followed Solon's lead but instituted new laws which decreased the power of the aristocracy, increased the prestige of the common people, and attempted to join the separate tribes of the mountain, the plain, and the shore into one unified people under a new form of government. According to the historian Durant, "The Athenians themselves were exhilarated by this adventure into sovereignty. From that moment they knew the zest of freedom in action, speech, and thought; and from that moment they began to lead all Greece in literature and art, even in statesmanship and war". This foundation of democracy, of a free state comprised of men who "owned the soil that they tilled and who ruled the state that governed them", stabilized Athens and provided the groundwork for the Golden Age.

The Golden Age of Greece, according to the poet Shelley, "is undoubtedly...the most memorable in the history of the world". The list of thinkers, writers, doctors, artists, scientists, statesmen, and warriors of the Hellenic World comprises those who made some of the most important contributions to western civilization: The statesman Solon, the poets Pindar and Sappho, the playwrights Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus and Aristophanes, the orator Lysias, the historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the philosophers Zeno of Elea, Protagoras of Abdera, Empedocles of Acragas, Heraclitus, Xenophanes, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the writer and general Xenophon, the physician Hippocrates, the sculptor Phidias, the statesman Pericles, the generals Alcibiades and Themistocles, among many other notable names, all lived during this period.

Interestingly, Herodotus considered his own age as lacking in many ways and looked back to a more ancient past for a paradigm of a true greatness. The writer Hesiod, an 8th century B.C. contemporary of Homer, claimed precisely the same thing about the age Herodotus looked back toward and called his own age "wicked, depraved and dissolute" and hoped the future would produce a better breed of man for Greece. Herodotus aside, however, it is generally understood that the Hellenic World was a time of incredible human achievement. Major city-states (and sacred places of pilgrimage) in the Hellenic World were Argos, Athens, Eleusis, Corinth, Delphi, Ithaca, Olympia, Sparta, Thebes, Thrace, and, of course, Mount Olympus, the home of the gods.

The gods played an important part in the lives of the people of the Hellenic World; so much so that one could face the death penalty for questioning - or even allegedly questioning - their existence, as in the case of Protagoras, Socrates, and Alcibiades (the Athenian statesman Critias, sometimes referred to as `the first atheist', only escaped being condemned because he was so powerful at the time). Great works of art and beautiful temples were created for the worship and praise of the various gods and goddesses of the Greeks, such as the Parthenon of Athens, dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin) and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (both works which Phidias contributed to and one, the Temple of Zeus, listed as an Ancient Wonder).

The temple of Demeter at Eleusis was the site of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries, considered the most important rite in ancient Greece. In his works The Iliad and The Odyssey, immensely popular and influential in the Hellenic World, Homer depicted the gods and goddesses as being intimately involved in the lives of the people, and the deities were regularly consulted in domestic matters as well as affairs of state. The famous Oracle at Delphi was considered so important at the time that people from all over the known world would come to Greece to ask advice or favors from the god, and it was considered vital to consult with the supernatural forces before embarking on any military campaign.

Among the famous battles of the Hellenic World that the gods were consulted on were the Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.) the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis (480 B.C.), Plataea (479 B.C.,) and The Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.) where the forces of the Macedonian King Philip II commanded, in part, by his son Alexander, defeated the Greek forces and unified the Greek city-states. After Philip's death, Alexander would go on to conquer the world of his day, becoming Alexander the Great. Through his campaigns he would bring Greek culture, language, and civilization to the world and, after his death, would leave the legacy which came to be known as the Hellenistic World. [Ancient History Encyclopedia].

Greek Colonization: Ancient Greek Colonization. In the first half of the first millennium B.C., Greek city-states, most of which were maritime powers, began to look beyond Greece for land and resources, and so they founded colonies across the Mediterranean. Trade contacts were usually the first steps in the colonization process and then, later, once local populations were subdued or included within the colony, cities were established. These could have varying degrees of contact with the homeland, but most became fully independent city-states, sometimes very Greek in character, in other cases culturally closer to the indigenous peoples they neighbored and included within their citizenry.

One of the most important consequences of this process, in broad terms, was that the movement of goods, people, art, and ideas in this period spread the Greek way of life far and wide to Spain, France, Italy, the Adriatic, the Black Sea, and North Africa. In total then, the Greeks established some 500 colonies which involved up to 60,000 Greek citizen colonists, so that by 500 B.C. these new territories would eventually account for 40% of all Greeks in the Hellenic World. The Greeks were great sea-farers, and traveling across the Mediterranean, they were eager to discover new lands and new opportunities.

Even Greek mythology included such tales of exploration as Jason and his search for the Golden Fleece and that greatest of hero travelers Odysseus. First the islands around Greece were colonized, for example the first colony in the Adriatic was Corcyra (Corfu), founded by Corinth in 733 B.C. (traditional date), and then prospectors looked further afield. The first colonists in a general sense were traders and those small groups of individuals who sought to tap into new resources and start a new life away from the increasingly competitive and over-crowded homeland.

Trade centers and free markets (emporia) were the forerunners of colonies proper. Then, from the mid-8th to mid-6th centuries B.C., the Greek city-states (poleis) and individual groups started to expand beyond Greece with more deliberate and longer-term intentions. However, the process of colonization was likely more gradual and organic than ancient sources would suggest. It is also difficult to determine the exact degree of colonization and integration with local populations. Some areas of the Mediterranean saw fully-Greek poleis established, while in other areas there were only trading posts composed of more temporary residents such as merchants and sailors.

The very term 'colonization' infers the domination of indigenous peoples, a feeling of cultural superiority by the colonizers, and a specific cultural homeland which controls and drives the whole process. This was not necessarily the case in the ancient Greek world and, therefore, in this sense, Greek colonization was a very different process from, for example, the policies of certain European powers in the 19th and 20th centuries A.D. It is perhaps here then, a process better described as 'culture contact'. The establishment of colonies across the Mediterranean permitted the export of luxury goods such as fine Greek pottery, wine, oil, metalwork, and textiles, and the extraction of wealth from the land - timber, metals, and agriculture (notably grain, dried fish, and leather), for example - and they often became lucrative trading hubs and a source of slaves.

A founding city (metropolis) might also set up a colony in order to establish a military presence in a particular region and so protect lucrative sea routes. Also, colonies could provide a vital bridge to inland trade opportunities. Some colonies even managed to rival the greatest founding cities; Syracuse, for example, eventually became the largest polis in the entire Greek world. Finally, it is important to note that the Greeks did not have the field to themselves, and rival civilizations also established colonies, especially the Etruscans and Phoenicians, and sometimes, inevitably, warfare broke out between these great powers.

Greek cities were soon attracted by the fertile land, natural resources, and good harbors of a 'New World' - southern Italy and Sicily. The Greek colonists eventually subdued the local population and stamped their identity on the region to such an extent that they called it 'Greater Greece' or Megalē Hellas, and it would become the most 'Greek' of all the colonized territories, both in terms of culture and the urban landscape with Doric temples being the most striking symbol of Hellenization.

Some of the most important poleis in Italy were Cumae (the first Italian colony, founded circa 740 B.C. by Chalcis), Naxos (734 B.C., Chalcis), Sybaris (circa 720 B.C., Achaean/Troezen), Croton (circa 710 B.C., Achaean), Tarentum (706 B.C., Sparta), Rhegium (circa 720 B.C., Chalcis), Elea (circa 540 B.C., Phocaea), Thurri (circa 443 B.C., Athens), and Heraclea (433 B.C., Tarentum). On Sicily the main colonies included Syracuse (733 B.C., founded by Corinth), Gela (688 B.C., Rhodes and Crete), Selinous (circa 630 B.C.), Himera (circa 630 B.C., Messana), and Akragas (circa 580 B.C., Gela).

The geographical location of these new colonies in the centre of the Mediterranean meant they could prosper as trade centers between the major cultures of the time: the Greek, Etruscan, and Phoenician civilizations. And prosper they did, so much so that writers told of the vast riches and extravagant lifestyles to be seen. Empedokles, for example, described the pampered citizens and fine temples of Akragas (Agrigento) in Sicily as follows; "the Akragantinians revel as if they must die tomorrow, and build as if they would live forever". Colonies even established off-shoot colonies and trading posts themselves and, in this way, spread Greek influence further afield, including higher up the Adriatic coast of Italy. Even North Africa saw colonies established, notably Cyrene by Thera in circa 630 B.C., and so it became clear that Greek colonists would not restrict themselves to Magna Graecia.

Greeks created settlements along the Aegean coast of Ionia (or Asia Minor) from the 8th century B.C. Important colonies included Miletos, Ephesos, Smyrna, and Halicarnassus. Athens traditionally claimed to be the first colonizer in the region which was also of great interest to the Lydians and Persians. The area became a hotbed of cultural Endeavour, especially in science, mathematics, and philosophy, and produced some of the greatest of Greek minds. Art and architectural styles too, assimilated from the east, began to influence the homeland; such features as palmed column capitals, sphinxes, and expressive 'orientalising' pottery designs would inspire Greek architects and artists to explore entirely new artistic avenues.

The main colonizing polis of southern France was Phocaea which established the important colonies of Alalia and Massalia (circa 600 B.C.). The city also established colonies, or at least established an extensive trade network, in southern Spain. Notable poleis established here were Emporion (by Massalia and with a traditional founding date of 575 B.C. but more likely several decades later) and Rhode. Colonies in Spain were less typically Greek in culture than those in other areas of the Mediterranean, competition with the Phoenicians was fierce, and the region seems always to have been considered, at least according to the Greek literary sources, a distant and remote land by mainland Greeks.

The Black Sea (Euxine Sea to the Greeks) was the last area of Greek colonial expansion, and it was where Ionian poleis, in particular, sought to exploit the rich fishing grounds and fertile land around the Hellespont and Pontos. The most important founding city was Miletos which was credited in antiquity with having a perhaps exaggerated 70 colonies. The most important of these were Kyzikos (founded 675 B.C.), Sinope (circa 631 B.C.), Pantikapaion (circa 600 B.C.), and Olbia (circa 550 B.C.). Megara was another important mother city and founded Chalcedon (circa 685 B.C.), Byzantium (668 B.C.), and Herakleia Pontike (560 B.C.). Eventually, almost the entire Black Sea was enclosed by Greek colonies even if, as elsewhere, warfare, compromises, inter-marriages, and diplomacy had to be used with indigenous peoples in order to ensure the colonies' survival.

In the late 6th century B.C. particularly, the colonies provided tribute and arms to the Persian Empire and received protection in return. After Xerxes' failed invasion of Greece in 480 and 479 B.C., the Persians withdrew their interest in the area which allowed the larger poleis like Herakleia Pontike and Sinope to increase their own power through the conquest of local populations and smaller neighboring poleis. The resulting prosperity also allowed Herakleia to found colonies of her own in the 420s B.C. at such sites as Chersonesos in the Crimea.

From the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C., Athens took an interest in the region, sending colonists and establishing garrisons. An Athenian physical presence was short-lived, but longer-lasting was an Athenian influence on culture (especially sculpture) and trade (especially of Black Sea grain). With the eventual withdrawal of Athens, the Greek colonies were left to fend for themselves and meet alone the threat from neighboring powers such as the Royal Scythians and, ultimately, Macedon and Philip II.

Most colonies were built on the political model of the Greek polis, but types of government included those seen across Greece itself - oligarchy, tyranny, and even democracy - and they could be quite different from the system in the founder, parent city. A strong Greek cultural identity was also maintained via the adoption of founding myths and such wide-spread and quintessentially Greek features of daily life as language, food, education, religion, sport and the gymnasium, theatre with its distinctive Greek tragedy and comedy plays, art, architecture, philosophy, and science. So much so that a Greek city in Italy or Ionia could, at least on the surface, look and behave very much like any other city in Greece. Trade greatly facilitated the establishment of a common 'Greek' way of life. Such goods as wine, olives, wood, and pottery were exported and imported between poleis.

Even artists and architects themselves relocated and set up workshops away from their home polis, so that temples, sculpture, and ceramics became recognizably Greek across the Mediterranean. Colonies did establish their own regional identities, of course, especially as they very often included indigenous people with their own particular customs, so that each region of colonies had their own idiosyncrasies and variations. In addition, frequent changes in the qualifications to become a citizen and forced resettlement of populations meant colonies were often more culturally diverse and politically unstable than in Greece itself and civil wars thus had a higher frequency. Nevertheless, some colonies did extraordinarily well, and many eventually outdid the founding Greek superpowers.

Colonies often formed alliances with like-minded neighboring poleis. There were, conversely, also conflicts between colonies as they established themselves as powerful and fully independent poleis, in no way controlled by their founding city-state. Syracuse in Sicily was a typical example of a larger polis which constantly sought to expand its territory and create an empire of its own. Colonies which went on to subsequently establish colonies of their own and who minted their own coinage only reinforced their cultural and political independence.

Although colonies could be fiercely independent, they were at the same time expected to be active members of the wider Greek world. This could be manifested in the supply of soldiers, ships, and money for Pan-Hellenic conflicts such as those against Persia and the Peloponnesian War, the sending of athletes to the great sporting games at places like Olympia and Nemea, the setting up of military victory monuments at Delphi, the guarantee of safe passage to foreign travelers through their territory, or the export and import of intellectual and artistic ideas such as the works of Pythagoras or centers of study like Plato's academy which attracted scholars from across the Greek world.

Then, in times of trouble, colonies could also be helped out by their founding polis and allies, even if this might only be a pretext for the imperial ambitions of the larger Greek states. A classic example of this would be Athens' Sicilian Expedition in 415 B.C., officially at least, launched to aid the colony of Segesta. There was also the physical movement of travelers within the Greek world which is attested by evidence such as literature and drama, dedications left by pilgrims at sacred sites like Epidaurus, and participation in important annual religious festivals such as the Dionysia of Athens.

Different colonies had obviously different characteristics, but the collective effect of these habits just mentioned effectively ensured that a vast area of the Mediterranean acquired enough common characteristics to be aptly described as the Greek World. Further, the effect was long-lasting for, even today, one can still see common aspects of culture shared by the citizens of southern France, Italy, and Greece. [Ancient History Encyclopedia].

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

THE BRONZE AGE:

A Brief Overview: The Bronze Age is a historical period that was characterized by the use of bronze, in some areas proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system proposed in modern times for classifying and studying ancient societies. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by producing bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Bronze itself is harder and more durable than other metals available at the time, allowing Bronze Age civilizations to gain a technological advantage. Worldwide the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition.

While iron is naturally abundant its high melting point of about 2800 farenheit (1538 centigrade) placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC. Tin's low melting point of 450 farenheit (232 centigrade) and copper's relatively moderate melting point of 1985 farenheit (1085 centigrade) placed them within the capabilities of the Neolithic pottery kilns. Neolithic (late Stone Age) pottery kilns date back to about 6,000 BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than 1650 farenheit (900 centigrade). Copper-tin ores occur only rarely in nature. This is evidenced by the fact that there were no tin-alloyed bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing. According to archaeological evidence cultures in Mesopotamia developed cuneiform script and in Egypt hieroglyphs as the earliest practical writing systems.

The overall period is of course characterized by widespread use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction and development of bronze technology were not globally synchronous. Human-made tin bronze technology requires precise production techniques. Tin must be mined mainly as the tin ore cassiterite and smelted separately. It is then added to molten copper to produce a tin-copper bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of extensive use of metals and of developing trade networks. A 2013 study suggests that the earliest tin-alloy bronze dates to the mid-5th millennium BC in a Vinča culture site in Serbia), although this culture is not conventionally considered part of the Bronze Age. However the dating of the bronze artifact has been disputed.

Western Asia and the Near East were the first regions widely recognized by scholars to enter the Bronze Age. This began with the rise of the Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer in the mid 4th millennium BC. Cultures in the ancient Near East were along with India and Egypt termed a “cradle of civilization". Those cultures in the Near East practiced intensive year-round agriculture, developed a writing system, invented the potter's wheel, created a centralized government, written law codes, city and nation-states and empires. They embarked on advanced architectural projects, introduced social stratification, economic and civil administration, slavery, and practiced organized warfare, medicine and religion. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy, mathematics and astrology.

The Bronze Age in the Near East can be divided into Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age periods. Though these divisions are not applicable globally, in the Near East the Early Bronze Age is generally agreed to encompass from 3300 to 2100 BC. The Middle Bronze Age is considered to be from 2100 through 1550 BC. And the Late Bronze Age from 1550 to 1200 BC. In nearby Anatolia the Bronze Age is generally associated with the Hittite Empire. The Hittite Empire was established in Hattusa in northern Anatolia from the 18th century BC. By the 14th century BC the Hittite Kingdom was at its height. It encompassed central Anatolia, southwestern Syria as far as Ugarit, and upper Mesopotamia.

Around 1180 BC there was a period of turmoil in the Levant which many historians associate with the sudden arrival of the “Sea Peoples”. The origin and identity of the Sea Peoples is an area of uncertainty and controversy amongst ancient historians. It has been suggested and debated that the Sea Peoples were Sicilian, Etruscan, Trojan, Mycenaean or from the general area of the Aegean Sea; Minoan, early Phoenician/Philistine, or from non-Etruscan Italy. Written Egyptian sources describe them but do not identify them. The record from the Stele at/from the Battle of Tanis reads, “...They came from the sea in their war ships and none could stand against them..." As a result of their incursions into Anatolia the Hittite kingdom disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states. Some of these smaller city-states survived until as late as the 8th century BC.

Arzawa in Western Anatolia during the second half of the second millennium BC likely extended along southern Anatolia in a belt that reaches from near the Turkish Lakes Region to the Aegean coast. Arzawa was the western neighbor of the Middle and New Hittite Kingdoms. Arzawa was sometimes a rival and sometimes a vassal of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. The Assuwa League was a confederation of states in western Anatolia that was defeated by the Hittites around 1400 BC. Arzawa has been associated with the much more obscure Assuwa generally located to its north. It probably bordered it, and may even be an alternative term for it, at least during some time periods.

In Ancient Egypt the Bronze Age begins in the Proto-Dynastic period, about 3150 BC. The archaic Early Bronze Age of Egypt is known to scholars of Egyptian history as the Early Dynastic Period. It immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, which occurred about 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties. It lasts then from the Proto-Dynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom. With the First Dynasty the capital of Ancient Egypt moved from Abydos to Memphis. A unified Egypt was ruled by an Egyptian god-king.

Abydos remained the major holy land in the south. The hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilization took shape during the Early Dynastic Period. These would include art, architecture and many aspects of religion. Memphis in the Early Bronze Age was the largest city of the time. In the 3rd millennium BC Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement. The “Old Kingdom” of the regional Bronze Age is the name given to the period. This was the first of three "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley. The other two succeeding kingdoms are known as the “Middle Kingdom” and the “New Kingdom”. Between these kingdoms are what are known as historians as “intermediate periods”.

The First Intermediate Period of Egypt is often described as a "dark period" in ancient Egyptian history. It spanned about 100 years after the end of the Old Kingdom from about 2181 to 2055 BC. Very little monumental evidence survives from this period, especially from the earliest part of it. The First Intermediate Period was a dynamic time when the rule of Egypt was roughly divided between two competing for power bases: Heracleopolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt. These two kingdoms would eventually come into conflict. The kings of Thebes eventually conquered the north. This resulted in the reunification of Egypt under a single ruler during the second part of the 11th Dynasty.

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt lasted from 2055 to 1650 BC. During this period the Osiris funerary cult rose to dominate Egyptian popular religion. The period comprises two phases. It starts with the 11th Dynasty which ruled from Thebes. It concluded with the 12th and 13th Dynasties centered on el-Lisht. The unified kingdom was previously and traditionally considered to comprise the 11th and 12th Dynasties. However historians now consider at least a portion of the 13th Dynasty to belong to the Middle Kingdom. During the Second Intermediate Period Ancient Egypt again fell into disarray for a second time. This time period was between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom.

The Period is best known for the reign of the Hyksos, who ruled ancient Egypt during the 15th and 16th dynasties. The Hyksos first appeared in Egypt during the 11th Dynasty. They began their ascent to power during the 13th Dynasty. The Hyksos emerged from the Second Intermediate Period in control of Avaris and the Delta. By the 15th Dynasty they ruled Lower Egypt. They were not expelled from Egypt until the end of the 17th Dynasty.

The New Kingdom of Egypt lasted from the 16th to the 11th century BC. It was also known as the “Egyptian Empire”. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period. It was Egypt's most prosperous time and marked the peak of Egypt's power. The later New Kingdom of the 19th and 20th Dynasties is often referred to as the Ramesside period. It is so named after the eleven pharaohs that took the name of Ramesses during the period between 1292 and 1069 BC.

Elam was a pre-Iranian ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia. In the Old Elamite or Middle Bronze Age Period Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian Plateau. These kingdoms were initially centered in Anshan. From the mid-2nd millennium BC it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a crucial role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Iranian Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it.

The Oxus civilization was a Bronze Age Central Asian culture. It was centered on the upper Amu Darya, or “ Oxus”, during the period of about 2300 to 1700 BC. In the Early Bronze Age the culture of the Kopet Dag oases and Altyndepe developed a proto-urban society. This corresponds to level IV at Namazga-Tepe. Both Altyndepe and Namazga-Tepe were major ancient population centers in present-day Turkmenistan near the Iranian border. Altyndepe was a major center even then. Pottery was wheel-turned. Grapes were grown. The height of this urban development was reached in the Middle Bronze Age around 2300 BC, corresponding to level V at Namazga-Depe. This Bronze Age culture is called the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex.

The Kulli culture was similar to those of the Indus Valley Civilization. It was located in present-day in southern Balochistan from about 2500 to 2000 BC. The area is a region of present-day Pakistan, and was known in Hellenic times as “Gedrosia”. Agriculture was the economic base of these people. At several places, dams were found, providing evidence for a highly develop water management system. Konar Sandal is associated with the hypothesized "Jiroft culture" of Iran. This was a 3rd millennium BC culture postulated based on a collection of artifacts confiscated in 2001.

In the Levant modern scholarship has divided the chronology of the Bronze Age Levant into “Early” or “Proto Syrian”. This corresponds to the Early Bronze Age. Then the succeeding period is known as “Old Syrian”. This corresponds to the Middle Bronze Age. Finally the “Middle Syrian” period corresponds to the Late Bronze Age. The term “Neo-Syrian” is used to designate the early Iron Age. The old Syrian period was dominated by the Eblaite first kingdom, Nagar and the Mariote second kingdom. The Akkadian conquered large areas of the Levant and were followed by the Amorite Kingdoms from around 2000 to 1600 BC. These Amorite Kingdoms arose in Mari, Yamhad, Qatna, and Assyria. From the 15th century BC onward the term “Amurru” is usually applied to the region extending north of Canaan as far as Kadesh on the Orontes River.

The earliest known Ugaritic contact with Egypt comes from a carnelian bead found in Ugarit identified with the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senusret I, who reigned from 1971 to 1926 BC. This is as well the first exact dating of Ugaritic civilization. A stela and a statuette from the Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III have also been found in Ugarit. However, it is unclear precisely when these monuments got to Ugarit. In the Amarna letters messages from Ugarit around 1350 BC were discovered. They were written by Ugarit Ammittamru I, Niqmaddu II, and his queen. From the 16th to the 13th century BC Ugarit remained in constant contact with Egypt and Cyprus, then known as “Alashiya”.

The Mitanni was a loosely organized state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from about 1500 to 1300 BC. Founded by an Indo-Aryan ruling class that governed a predominantly Hurrian population, the Mitanni came to be a regional power after the Hittite destruction of Kassite Babylon created a power vacuum in Mesopotamia. At its beginning the Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the Thutmosids. However with the ascent of the Hittite Empire, the Mitanni and Egyptians allied to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. At the height of its power during the 14th century BC the Mitanni had outposts centered on its capital, Washukanni. Archaeologists have located this site on the headwaters of the Khabur River. Eventually the Mitanni succumbed to the Hittite and later Assyrian attacks. It was reduced to a province of the Middle Assyrian Empire.

The Israelites were an ancient Semitic-speaking people of the Ancient Near East. They inhabited part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods, approximately from the 15th to 6th centuries BC. The Israelites lived in the region in smaller numbers after the fall of the monarchy. The name "Israel" first appears around 1209 BC. This was at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the very beginning of the Iron Age. The name appears on the Merneptah Stele raised by the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah.

The Arameans were a Northwest Semitic semi-nomadic and pastoral people who originated in what is now modern Syria, or Biblical Aram. They were a distinct population during the Late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. Large groups migrated to Mesopotamia, where they intermingled with the native Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian population. The Aramaeans never formed a unified empire. They were divided into independent kingdoms all across the Near East. After the Bronze Age collapse their political influence was confined to many Syro-Hittite states. These were entirely absorbed into the Neo-Assyrian Empire by the 8th century BC.

The Mesopotamian Bronze Age began about 3500 BC and ended with the Kassite period. The Kassite Period was from about 1500 to 1155 BC. The usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used with respect to the Mesopotamian Bronze Age. Instead division primarily based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people. Ur, Kish, Isin, Larsa and Nippur were the major cities in the Middle Bronze Age. Babylon, Calah and Assur in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations.

The Akkadian Empire became the dominant power in the region from about 2335 through 2154 BC. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire the Sumerians enjoyed a renaissance during the Neo-Sumerian Empire. The origins of Assyria are found as early as the 25th century BC. Assyria became a regional power during the Old Assyrian Empire from about 2025 through 1750 BC. The earliest mention of Babylon appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC. Babylon was at that time merely a small administrative town.

The Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later it briefly took over the other city-states. By so doing it formed the short-lived First Babylonian Empire. This is also known to contemporary historians as the Old Babylonian Period. Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia all used the written East Semitic Akkadian language for official use and as a spoken language. By that time the Sumerian language was no longer spoken. However the Sumerian language was still in religious use in Assyria and Babylonia. It would remain so used until the 1st century AD.

The Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in later Assyrian and Babylonian culture. This was despite Babylonia itself was founded by non-native Amorites, unlike the more militarily powerful Assyria. And it was also despite the fact that Babylonia was often ruled by other non-indigenous peoples. These included Kassites, Arameans and Chaldeans, as well as its Babylonia’s Assyrian neighbors.

In Central Asia the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex is dated to about 2400 to 1600 BC. Also known as the Oxus civilization, it was a Bronze Age civilization in Central Asia. It was located in what is present-day northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan. It was centered on the upper Amu Darya, or Oxus River. Its sites were discovered and named by the Soviet archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi in 1976. Bactria was the Greek name for the area of “Bactra” (modern Balkh), in what is now northern Afghanistan. Margiana was the Greek name for the Persian satrapy of “Marguš”, the capital of which was Merv, in modern-day southeastern Turkmenistan. According to recent studies [28] the region civilization was not a primary contributor to later South-Asian genetics.

The Altai Mountains in what is now southern Russia and central Mongolia have been identified as the point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon. It is theorized that there were significant changes in climate in this region around 2000 BC. The ensuing ecological, economic and political changes triggered a rapid and massive migration. The populations of this region migrated westward into northeast Europe, eastward into China and southward into Vietnam and Thailand. This migration took place across a frontier of some 4,000 miles in just five to six generations.

The migration led to peoples from Finland in the west to Thailand in the east employing the same metal working technology. In some areas the same techniques of horse breeding and riding arose. It is further conjectured that the same migrations spread the Uralic group of languages across Europe and Asia. Some 39 languages of this group are still extant, including Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian. However recent genetic testing in south Siberia and Kazakhstan support a contrary theory. The testing supports the hypothesis that the spread of bronze technology occurred via Indo-European migrations eastwards. Bronze technologies were well known for quite a while in western regions.

In China the earliest bronze artifacts have been found in the Majiayao culture site dating to between 3100 and 2700 BC. The term "Bronze Age" has been transferred to the archaeology of China from that of Western Eurasia. There is no consensus or universally used convention delimiting the "Bronze Age" in the context of Chinese prehistory. By convention the "Early Bronze Age" in China is sometimes taken as equivalent to the "Shang Dynasty" period of Chinese prehistory, 16th to 11th centuries BC). The "Later Bronze Age" as equivalent to the "Zhou Dynasty" period (11th to 3rd centuries BC). From the 5th century BC onward there is evidence of an "Iron Age" technology. However many scholar argue that that the "Bronze Age" proper never ended in China. Their arguments are supported by the fact that there was no recognizable transition from the “Bronze Age” to an "Iron Age".

Significantly bronze art together with the jade art that precedes it was seen as a "fine" material for ritual art when compared with iron or stone. Stone only became popular for tombs in the Han. Stone tombs replaced wooden temple structures under probable Indian influence. Bronze metallurgy in China originated in what is referred to as the Erlitou period. Some historians argue this places the Bronze Age within the range of time controlled by the Shang Dynasty. Other historians believe the Erlitou sites belong to the preceding Xia Dynasty. The U.S. National Gallery of Art defines the Chinese Bronze Age as the "period between about 2000 BC and 771 BC. This is a period that begins with the Erlitou culture and ends abruptly with the disintegration of Western Zhou rule.

The widespread use of bronze in Chinese metallurgy and culture dates to significantly later. Many scholars believe that the introduction and widespread use of bronze was probably due to Western influence. It could be that bronze work developed inside China independent of outside influence. However the discovery of European mummies in Xinjiang, China suggests a possible route of transmission from the West. This could have occurred beginning in the early second millennium BC. In either event, whether bronze metallurgy developed internally or spurred by external trade contacts, it is speculation since there is a lack of direct evidence either way. A few human mummies alone cannot provide sufficient explanation of metallurgical technology transmission. Furthermore the oldest bronze objects found in China so far were discovered at the Majiayao site in Gansu rather than Xinjiang.

The Shang Dynasty of the Yellow River Valley rose to power after the Xia dynasty around 1600 BC. The Shang Dynasty is also known to some scholars as the Yin dynasty. Some direct information about the Shang Dynasty comes from Shang-era inscriptions on bronze artifacts. However most information comes from oracle bones which bear glyphs that form the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters. The oracle bones have included turtle shells, cattle scapulae, or other bones. Iron is found from the Zhou dynasty, but its use is minimal. Chinese literature dating to the 6th century BC attests knowledge of iron smelting. However bronze technology continues to be the most significant metallurgical industry in the archaeological and historical record for some time after this.

Historians point out that iron did not supplant bronze at any period prior the end of the Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. Even after that point in time, bronze vessels made up the majority of metal vessels through the Later Han period, or to 220 AD. Chinese bronze artifacts generally are either utilitarian or "ritual bronzes". Utilitarian bronzes include, for instance, spear points or adze heads. Ritual bronzes are more elaborate versions in precious materials of everyday vessels, as well as tools and weapons. Examples are the numerous large sacrificial tripods known as dings in Chinese. There were many other distinct shapes.

Surviving identified Chinese ritual bronzes tend to be highly decorated. Oftentimes the decorations take the form of the taotie motif. This involved highly stylized animal faces. These appear in three main motif types: those of demons, of symbolic animals, and abstract symbols. Many large bronzes also bear cast inscriptions. These comprise the great bulk of the surviving body of early Chinese writing. They have immensely helped historians and archaeologists piece together the history of China. This is especially true of the Zhou Dynasty, 1046 to 256 BC. The bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty document large portions of history. This history is not to be found in the extant manuscripts that were often composed by persons of varying rank and possibly even social class.

Furthermore the medium of cast bronze lends the record they preserve a permanence not enjoyed by manuscripts. These inscriptions can commonly be subdivided into four parts. There’s first a reference to the date and place. The second is the naming of the event commemorated. The third is the list of gifts given to the artisan in exchange for the bronze. Last is a dedication. The relative points of reference these vessels provide have enabled historians to place most of the vessels within a certain time frame of the Western Zhou period. This has allowed them to trace the evolution of the vessels and the events they record.

The beginning of the Bronze Age on the Korean peninsula occurred around 1000 to 800 BC. The Korean Bronze Age culture derives from the Liaoning and Manchuria. Nonetheless it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects. The Mumun pottery period is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels. These form a large part of the pottery assemblage over the entire length of the period, but especially 850 to 550 BC. The Mumun period is known for the origins of intensive agriculture and complex societies. This applies not only to the Korean Peninsula, but to the Japanese Archipelago as well.

The Middle Mumun pottery period culture of the southern Korean Peninsula gradually adopted bronze production somewhere between 700 and 600 BC. This occurred following a period when Liaoning-style bronze daggers and other bronze artifacts were exchanged as far as the interior part of the Southern Peninsula during the time period between 900 and 700 BC. The bronze daggers lent prestige and authority to the personages who wielded and were buried with them. High-status megalithic burials occurred at south-coastal centers such as the Igeum-dong site. Bronze continued to be an important element in ceremonies and as for mortuary offerings until 100 AD.

The introduction of Bronze Age technology to the Japanese archipelago occurred during the beginning of the Early Yayoi period, about 300 BC. This period witnessed the introduction of both metalworking and agricultural practices brought in by settlers arriving from the continent. Bronze and iron smelting techniques in particular spread to the Japanese archipelago through contact with other ancient East Asian civilizations. This was particularly due to immigration from and trade with the Korean peninsula and ancient Mainland China. Iron was mainly used for agricultural and other tools, whereas ritual and ceremonial artifacts were mainly made of bronze.

The Bronze Age on the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BC with the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization. Inhabitants of the Indus Valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead and tin. The Late Harappan Culture dates from 1900 to 1400 BC. It overlapped the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Due to this overlap it is difficult to date this transition accurately. It has been claimed that a 6,000 year old copper amulet manufactured in Mehrgarh in the shape of wheel spoke is the earliest example of lost wax casting in the world.

In Ban Chiang, Thailand bronze artifacts have been discovered dating to 2100 BC. However according to the radiocarbon dating on the human and pig bones in Ban Chiang, some scholars propose that the initial Bronze Age in Ban Chiang was in late 2nd millennium, almost a thousand years later. Ban Non Wat in Thailand is a site recently excavated and proved to be a rich site with over 640 graves excavated. Many complex bronze items excavated may have had social value connected to them. Ban Chiang however is the most thoroughly documented site in Thailand and Southeast Asia. It has the clearest evidence of metallurgy when it comes to Southeast Asia.

In general the site has a rough date range of late 3rd millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD. The site has produced various artifacts such as burial pottery dating from 2100 to 1700 BC). The site has also produced fragments of bronze and copper-base bangles. What's most interesting about this site however is not just limited to the old age of the artifacts. What is particularly significant is that the artifacts related to the technology suggest on-site casting from the very beginning. The on-site casting supports the theory that Bronze was first introduced in Southeast Asia as fully developed. This would support the presupposition that bronze technology was an innovation from a different country.

Some scholars believe that the copper-based metallurgy was disseminated from northwest and central China via south and southwest areas such as Guangdong province and Yunnan province. They postulate that bronze technology finally spread into southeast Asia around 1000 BC. Archaeology also suggests that Bronze Age metallurgy may not have been as significant a catalyst in social stratification and warfare in Southeast Asia as in other regions. Scholars believe that social structure shifted away from chiefdom-states to a heterarchical network. Data analyses of various contemporaneous regional sites have consistently led researchers to conclude that there was no entrenched hierarchy.

In Nyaunggan, Burma, bronze tools have been excavated along with ceramics and stone artifacts. Dating of these artifacts is still currently broad, estimates ranging anywhere from 3500 to 500 BC. In Vietnam the first bronze drums, called the Dong Son drum, were uncovered. Dating back to the Neolithic Age they were excavated in and around the Red River Delta regions of Northern Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the prehistoric Dong Son Culture of Vietnam. Archaeological research in Northern Vietnam indicates an increase in rates of infectious disease following the advent of metallurgy.

Skeletal fragments in sites dating to the early and mid-Bronze Age evidence a greater proportion of lesions than in sites of earlier periods. There are a few possible implications of this. One is the increased contact with bacterial and/or fungal pathogens due to increased population density and land clearing/cultivation. The other one is decreased levels of immunocompetence in the metal age due to changes in the diet caused by agriculture. The last is that there may have been an emergence of infectious disease in the Da But period that evolved into a more virulent form in the metal period.

With respect to the Bronze Age in Europe, a study in the journal Antiquity published in 2013 reported the discovery of a tin bronze foil from the Pločnik archaeological site securely dated to about 4650 BC. It also reported on 14 other artifacts from Serbia and Bulgaria dated to before 4000 BC. These finds have shown that early tin-bronze was more common than previously thought. The tin-bronze technology evidently developed independently in Europe 1500 yearsbefore the first tin bronze alloys in the Near East.

The production of complex tin bronzes lasted for about 500 years in the Balkans. The evidence for the production of such complex bronzes disappears at the end of the 5th millennium, i.e., shortly before 4000 BC) This coincides with the collapse of large cultural complexes in north-eastern Bulgaria and Thrace in the late 5th millennium BC. Tin bronzes using cassiterite tin would be reintroduced to the area again some 1500 years later.

The Aegean Bronze Age began around 3200 BC when civilizations in the region first established a far-ranging trade network. This network imported tin and charcoal to Cyprus. In Cyprus copper was mined and alloyed with the tin to produce bronze. Bronze objects were then exported far and wide and supported the trade. Isotopic analysis of tin in some Mediterranean bronze artifacts suggests that they may have originated from Great Britain. Knowledge of navigation was well developed at this time. Navigation skills reached a peak of skill not exceeded until 1730 when the invention of the chronometer enabled the precise determination of longitude. The only possible exception may have been by Polynesian sailors.

The Minoan civilization based in Knossos on the island of Crete appears to have coordinated and defended its Bronze Age trade. Illyrians are also believed to have roots in the early Bronze Age. The Aegean Bronze Age “collapsed” around 1200 BC, leading to what historians oftentimes term the “Greek Dark Ages” The era was characterized by invasions, destruction, and population emigrations. Bronze Age collapse theories have described aspects, causes, and ramifications of the end of the Bronze Age in this region. At the end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean region, the Mycenaean administration of the regional trade empire followed the decline of Minoan primacy.

Several Minoan client states lost much of their population to famine and/or pestilence. This would indicate that the trade network may have failed. The failure would have precluded the trade in basic agricultural products that would previously have relieved such famines and prevented illness caused by malnutrition. It is also known that in this era the breadbasket of the Minoan empire was the area north of the Black Sea. This region too suddenly lost much of its population. The loss in population may have led to a loss of commensurate capacity to cultivate crops. Drought and famine in Anatolia may have also led to the Aegean collapse by disrupting trade networks. The Aegean might have no only been unable to import agricultural products, but also may have been prevented the Aegean from accessing bronze and luxury goods.

The Aegean collapse has been attributed to the exhaustion of the Cypriot forests and the coal they produced causing the end of the bronze trade. These forests are known to have existed into later times. Experiments have shown that charcoal production on the scale necessary for the bronze production of the late Bronze Age would have exhausted them in less than fifty years. The Aegean collapse has also been attributed to the fact that as iron tools became more common. The primary justification for the tin trade ended as demand for bronze production ceased, and that trade network ceased to function as it did formerly. The colonies of the Minoan empire then suffered drought, famine, war, or some combination of those three. And they no longer had access to the distant resources of their former empire which might have enabled a recovery.

The Thera eruption occurred around 1600 BC less than 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Crete. Thera is more commonly known today as Santorini. Speculation includes a tsunami from Thera destroying Cretan cities. A tsunami may indeed have destroyed the Cretan navy in its home harbor. In turn the Minoans then lost crucial naval battles. The net result was that around 1450 BC the cities of Crete were sacked and burned. The Mycenaean civilization then took over Knossos. Most historians and chronologists believe that the eruption of Thera occurred in the late 17th century BC. If that is true then its immediate effects belong to the Middle to Late Bronze Age transition, and not to the end of the Late Bronze Age. However the eruption and the ensuing devastation could have triggered the instability that led to the collapse of Knossos. The subsequently to the collapse of Bronze Age society overall.

Archaeological findings including some on the island of Thera suggest that the center of the Minoan civilization at the time of the eruption was actually on Thera rather than on Crete. According to this theory the catastrophic loss of the political, administrative and economic center due to the eruption precipitated the decline of the Minoans. Add to that the damage wrought by the tsunami to the coastal towns and villages of Crete. A weakened political entity with a reduced economic and military capability and fabled riches would have then been more vulnerable to conquest. Indeed the Santorini eruption is usually dated to about 1630 BC. The Mycenaean Greeks first enter the historical record a few decades later around 1600 BC. The later Mycenaean assaults on Crete which occurred around 1450 BC), and subsequently upon Troy around 1250 BC, would have been according to this theory a continuation of the steady encroachment of the Greeks upon the weakened Minoan world.

In Central Europe the early Bronze Age Unetice culture of 1800 to 1600 BC includes numerous smaller groups like the Straubing, Adlerberg and Hatvan cultures. Some very rich burials such as the one located at Leubingen with grave gifts crafted from gold point to an increase of social stratification already present in the Unetice culture. All in all cemeteries of this period are rare and of small size. The Unetice culture is followed by the middle Bronze Age Tumulus Culture from about 1600 to 1200BC. The Tumulus Culture was is characterized by inhumation burials in tumuli, or barrows. In the eastern Hungarian Körös tributaries the early Bronze Age first saw the introduction of the Mako culture. This was followed by the Otomani and Gyulavarsand cultures.

The late Bronze Age Urnfield culture stretched from about 1300 through 700 BC. It was characterized by cremation burials. It includes the Lusatian culture in eastern Germany and Poland. The Lusatian culture ran from 1300 through 500 BC) and continued into the Iron Age. The Central European Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age Hallstatt culture which ran from about 700 through 450 BC. Important Bronze Age archaeological sites include Biskupin in Poland, Nebra in Germany, Vráble in Slovakia, and Zug-Sumpf, Zug, in Switzerland.

The Bronze Age in Central Europe has been divided chronologically into Bronze Age A1 (BzA1) which encompassed the period 2300 to 2000 BC. The archaeological artifacts characteristic of the period are triangular daggers, flat axes, stone wrist-guards, flint arrowheads. The period following A1 was Bronze Age A2 (BzA2), which encompassed the period of 1950–1700 BC. The archaeological artifacts which characterized this period were daggers with metal hilt, flanged axes, halberds, pins with perforated spherical heads, and solid bracelets. Following Bronze Age A1 and A2 were Bronze Age phases of the Hallstatt Cultural A and B (Ha A and HaB).

The Apennine Culture was also called Italian Bronze Age. This was a technology complex of central and southern Italy spanning the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. The Camuni were an ancient people of uncertain origin. According to the 1st century Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, they were Euganei. According to the 1st century Greek historian Strabo, they were Rhaetians who lived in Val Camonica during the Iron Age. Human groups of hunters, shepherds and farmers are known to have lived in the area since the Neolithic.

Located in Sardinia and Corsica, the Nuragic civilization lasted from the early Bronze Age of about the 18th century BC to the 2nd century AD when the islands were already Romanized. They take their name from the characteristic Nuragic towers of the pre-existing megalithic culture which built dolmens and menhirs. The nuraghe towers are unanimously considered the best-preserved and largest megalithic remains in Europe. Their effective use is still debated. Some scholars consider them to be monumental tombs.

Other scholars believe they were built as houses for mythological giants. Other scholars believe that they were utilized as fortresses. Others believe them to be ovens for metal fusion. Yet others believe that they were built as prisons. Finally there are those who believe that they were built as temples for a solar cult. Around the end of the 3rd millennium BC Sardinia exported towards Sicily a culture that built small dolmens that served as tombs, as it has been ascertained in the Sicilian dolmen of “Cava dei Servi”. These were trilithic or polygonal in shape. From this region the culture and its iconic domens reached Malta island and other countries of Mediterranean basin.

The Terramare was an early Indo-European civilization in the area of what is now Pianura Padana in northern Italy, as well as in other areas of Europe. The Terramare predate the Celts. They lived in square villages of wooden stilt houses. These villages were built on land, but generally near a stream. The villages were characterized by roads that crossed each other at right angles. The whole complex denoted the nature of a fortified settlement. Terramare was widespread in the Pianura Padana, especially along the Panaro river, between Modena and Bologna. The civilization developed in the Middle and Late Bronze Age between the 17th and the 13th centuries BC.

The Castellieri Culture developed in Istria during the Middle Bronze Age. Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf. In the contemporary world it is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. The Castellieri Culture lasted for more than a millennium, from the 15th century BC until the Roman conquest in the 3rd century BC. It takes its name from the fortified boroughs that characterized the culture.

The Canegrate culture developed from the mid-Bronze Age until the Iron Age, or from about the 13th century BC. It was centered around the Pianura Padana, in what are now western Lombardy, eastern Piedmont and Ticino. It takes its name from the township of Canegrate. There in the 20th century some fifty tombs with ceramics and metal objects were found. The Canegrate culture migrated from the northwest part of the Alps and descended to Pianura Padana from the Swiss Alps passes and the Ticino.

The Golasecca Culture developed starting from the late Bronze Age in the Po plain. It takes its name from Golasecca, a locality next to the Ticino where. There in the early 19th century abbot Giovanni Battista Giani excavated its first findings comprising some fifty tombs with ceramics and metal objects. Remains of the Golasecca culture span an area of about 20,000 square kilometers or almost 8,000 square miles. The region they inhabited included from the Po plain south to the Alps, between the Po, Sesia and Serio rivers. The culture dated from the 9th to the 4th century BC.

The Atlantic Bronze Age of Western Europe was a cultural complex of the period of approximately 1300 to 700 BC. It included different cultures in Portugal, Andalusia (Spain), Galicia (France), and the British Isles. It was marked by economic and cultural exchange. Commercial contacts extended to Denmark and the Mediterranean. The Atlantic Bronze Age was defined by many distinct regional centers of metal production. These centers of product were unified by a regular maritime exchange of some of their products.

In Great Britain the Bronze Age is considered to have been the period from around 2100 to 750 BC. Migration brought new people to the islands from the continent. Recent tooth enamel isotope research on bodies found in early Bronze Age graves around Stonehenge indicates that at least some of the migrants came from the area of modern Switzerland. Another significant site is Must Farm, near Whittlesey. Recently the most complete Bronze Age wheel ever to be found was discovered there. The Beaker culture displayed different behaviors from the earlier Neolithic people, and cultural change was significant.

Integration is thought to have been peaceful, as many of the early henge sites were seemingly adopted by the newcomers. The rich Wessex culture developed in southern Britain at this time. However the climate was deteriorating. Where once the weather was warm and dry, it became much wetter. As the Bronze Age continued the changing weather forced populations away from easily defended sites in the hills and into the fertile valleys. Large livestock farms developed in the lowlands. These appear to have contributed to economic growth and inspired increasing forest clearing.

The Deverel-Rimbury culture began to emerge to exploit Te commercial conditions of the Bronze Age. This occurred during the second half of the Middle Bronze Age from about 1400 through 1100 BC. Devon and Cornwall became major sources of tin for much of Western Europe. Copper was also extracted from sites such as the Great Orme mine in northern Wales. Social groups appear to have been tribal but with growing complexity and hierarchies becoming apparent.

The burial of the dead had been until this period generally communal. However the was a notable transition to individual burials as the culture entered the Bronze Age. In the Neolithic a large chambered cairn or long barrow housed the dead. Early Bronze Age people buried their dead in individual barrows. These are commonly known and marked on modern British Ordnance Survey maps as tumuli. Alternatively in the Early Bronze Age if burials were not in tumuli, they would sometimes be in cists covered with cairns.

The greatest quantities of bronze objects in England were discovered in East Cambridgeshire. The most important of these were in Isleham where more than 6500 pieces were recovered. The alloying of copper with zinc or tin to make brass or bronze was practiced soon after the discovery of copper itself. One copper mine at Great Orme in North Wales extended to a depth of 70 meters (230 feet). At Alderley Edge in Cheshire carbon dates have established early mining activities dated at around 2280 to 1890 BC. The earliest identified metalworking site at Sigwells, Somerset is much later. It is dated by the presence of Globular Urn style pottery to approximately the 12th century BC. The identifiable sherds from over 500 mold fragments included a perfect fit of the hilt of a sword in the Wilburton style held in Somerset County Museum.

The Bronze Age in Ireland commenced around 2000 BC when copper was alloyed with tin and used to manufacture Ballybeg type flat axes and associated metalwork. The preceding period is known as the Copper Age and was characterized by the production of flat axes, daggers, halberds and awls in copper. The Bronze Age in Ireland is divided into three phases. The first phase is known as the Early Bronze Age and ran from about 2000 to 1500 BC. The second phase is known as the Middle Bronze Age and ran from about 1500 to 1200 BC. Last the third phase is known as the Late Bronze Age and ran from about 1200 through 500 BC.

Ireland is also known for a relatively large number of Early Bronze Age burials. One of the characteristic types of artifact of the Early Bronze Age in Ireland is the flat axe. There are five main types of flat axes. First was the Lough Ravel common to about 2200 BC. Second was the Ballybeg which was common to about 2000 BC. Third was the Killaha type flat axe also common to about 2000 BC. Fourth was the Ballyvalley type flat axe produced from about 2000–to 1600 BC. The fifth type of flat axe known as the Derryniggin type was common to about 1600 BC). There were also a number of metal ingots in the shape of axes.

The Bronze Age in Northern Europe spans the entire 2nd millennium BC. This included the Unetice culture, Urnfield culture, Tumulus culture, Terramare culture, and Lusatian culture, and lasted through about 600 BC. The Northern Bronze Age was both a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian pre-history stretching from about 1700 through 500 BC. Sites reached as far east as Estonia. Succeeding the Late Neolithic culture its ethnic and linguistic affinities are unknown in the absence of written sources. It is followed by the Pre-Roman Iron Age.

The Northern European Bronze Age cultures were relatively late. They came into existence via the external impetus of trade. Nonetheless Northern European Bronze Age sites present rich and well-preserved objects made of wool, wood and imported Central European bronze and gold. Many rock carvings depict ships. The large stone burial monuments known as stone ships suggest that shipping played an important role. There exist thousands of rock carvings depicting ships.

Most probably representing sewn plank built canoes that were utilized in warfare, and for fishing and trade. These types of plank built canoes may have a history as far back as the Neolithic period. They continued in use into the Pre-Roman Iron Age, as evidenced by the Hjortspring boat. There are many mounds and rock carving sites from the period. Numerous artifacts of bronze and gold are found. No written language existed in the Nordic countries during the Bronze Age. The rock carvings have been dated through comparison with depicted artifacts.

Arsenical bronze artifacts of the Maykop culture in the North Caucasus have been dated around the 4th millennium BC. The Maykop culture was responsible for the spread of arsenical bronze technology over southern and eastern Europe. The Yamnaya culture was a Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age culture of the Southern Bug/Dniester/Ural region. The culture was prevalent in these locales of the of the Pontic steppes from about the 36th through 23rd centuries BC. The culture is also known in English as Pit-Grave Culture or Ochre-Grave Culture. The Catacomb culture comprised several related Early Bronze Age cultures. It occupied what is presently Russia and Ukraine during the period of about 2800 to 2200 BC. The Srubna culture was a Late Bronze Age culture which existed from the 18th to 12th centuries BC. It was a successor to the Yamnaya and the Poltavka cultures.

Iron and copper smelting appeared around the same time in most parts of Africa. As such most African civilizations outside of Egypt did not experience a distinct Bronze Age. Evidence for iron smelting appears earlier or at the same time as copper smelting in Nigeria around 900 to 800 BC; Rwanda and Burundi somewhere between 700 and 500 BC; and Tanzania somewhere around 300 BC. There is a longstanding debate about whether the development of both copper and iron metallurgy were independently developed in sub-Saharan Africa or were introduced from the outside across the Sahara Desert from North Africa or the Indian Ocean. Evidence supporting either theory for independent development or outside introduction are scarce and subject to active scholarly debate. Scholars have suggested that both the relative dearth of archaeological research in sub-Saharan Africa as well as long-standing prejudices have limited or biased our understanding of pre-historic metallurgy on the continent.

The Bronze Age in Nubia however was well-established as early as 2300 BC. Copper smelting was introduced by Egyptians to the Nubian city of Meroë around 2600 BC. Meroë is located in modern-day Sudan. A furnace for casting bronze has been found in Kerma. The furnace is dated to between 2300 and 1900 BC. Copper smelting took place in West Africa prior to the appearance of iron smelting in the region. Evidence for copper smelting furnaces was found near Agadez, Niger that has been dated as early as 2200 BC. However the evidence is not conclusive. Many scholars argue that evidence for copper production in this region before 1000 BC is uncertain. Confirmed evidence of copper mining and smelting has been found at Akjoujt, Mauretania. The evidence is suggestive of small scale production during the period 800 to 400 BC.

In pre-Columbian Mesoamerica the Moche civilization of South America independently discovered and developed bronze smelting. Bronze technology was developed further by the Incas and used widely both for utilitarian objects and sculpture. A later appearance of limited bronze smelting in Western Mexico suggests either contact of that region with Andean cultures or separate discovery of the technology. The Calchaquí people of Northwest Argentina also develop an indigenous bronze technology.

Trade and industry played a major role in the development of the ancient Bronze Age civilizations. Artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is clear that these civilizations were not only in touch with each other but also trading with each other. Early long-distance trade was limited almost exclusively to luxury goods like spices, textiles and precious metals. Not only did this make cities with ample amounts of these products extremely rich, but also led to an intermingling of cultures for the first time in history.

Trade routes were not only over land but also over water. The first and most extensive trade routes were over rivers such as the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates. This spurred the growth of cities on the banks of these rivers. The domestication of camels at a later time also helped encourage the use of trade routes over land. These overland routes linked the Indus Valley with the Mediterranean. This led to towns sprouting up in numbers anywhere and everywhere there was a pit-stop or caravan-to-ship port [Ancient History Encyclopedia].

SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS: We always ship books domestically (within the USA) via USPS INSURED media mail (“book rate”). Most international orders cost an additional $19.99 to $53.99 for an insured shipment in a heavily padded mailer. There is also a discount program which can cut postage costs by 50% to 75% if you’re buying about half-a-dozen books or more (5 kilos+). Our postage charges are as reasonable as USPS rates allow. ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE discount, typically about $5 per book (for each additional book after the first) so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs.

Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost.

We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. Please note for international purchasers we will do everything we can to minimize your liability for VAT and/or duties. But we cannot assume any responsibility or liability for whatever taxes or duties may be levied on your purchase by the country of your residence. If you don’t like the tax and duty schemes your government imposes, please complain to them. We have no ability to influence or moderate your country’s tax/duty schemes.

If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less any non-refundable fees imposed by eBay Please note that though they generally do, eBay may not always refund payment processing fees on returns beyond a 30-day purchase window. So except for shipping costs and any payment processing fees not refunded by eBay, we will refund all proceeds from the sale of a return item. Obviously we have no ability to influence, modify or waive eBay policies.

ABOUT US: Prior to our retirement we used to travel to Eastern Europe and Central Asia several times a year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers. Most of the items we offer came from acquisitions we made in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) during these years from various institutions and dealers. Much of what we generate on Etsy, Amazon and Ebay goes to support worthy institutions in Europe and Asia connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. Though we have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, our primary interests are ancient/antique jewelry and gemstones, a reflection of our academic backgrounds.

Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia antique gemstones are commonly dismounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset. Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them originally crafted a century or more ago. We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting.

Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from us. There is a $3 fee for mailing under separate cover. I will always respond to every inquiry whether via email or eBay message, so please feel free to write.