- Early Bronze Age : 3000- 2000 B.C.E
-Stone was the main source for building material
-Lerna was built and destroyed
Bronze was discovered and started to be cast and manufactured. Tools and weapons were made from bronze for Greek Citizens. Social classes were beginning to be created based on the access to bronze. The people with greater access would become wealthier. The wealthier people would start to become the kings and rulers of the Greek and Aegean cities. In this time, olives and wine were discovered, and were produced for the wealthier citizens of Greece. Houses were still very primitive at the time, constructed out of mud and stone. The towns were places close to water, on low terrain, so that crops could be grown better.
- Middle Bronze Age: 2000-1550 B.C.E
-Centered on the island of Crete
-Pottery Wheel
This was brought over from west Asia and improved the speed of making pottery
-During these 500 years, the Greeks were "idea less" but show a more political side after this.
In short not much was developed or done during this time
- Late Bronze Age: 1600- 1100 B.C.E
-Linear B was used to record taxes
- The siege of Troy was handed down verbally until it got to Homer
-Around 1200 B.C.E many palaces were destroyed
-Huge stone walls were constructed to protect palaces and cities
The late bronze age was a time of prosperity. The houses were improved heavily from the early bronze age, and society was more advanced. People were happy until (according to Greek mythology) the Trojan war started. The Trojan war marked the ending of the bronze age and the beginning of the dark ages.
- Dark Ages: 1100- 700 B.C.E
- The Greeks' economy was in bad shape
- During this time things got so bad it took 500 years to recoup what they lost
-Writing was lost
-They learned how to use iron
In the dark ages, there was very little access to education, and Greeks were, in the dark. The dark ages were a time where Greece had to develop new ideologies. During the dark ages the lack of education led to most people not knowing how to read and write. The alphabet that they created during this time was a new one. It paved the way for our modern letters today. The dark ages were a time where social classes were starting to change. Democracy was approached as an acceptable idea, and people caught on several hundred years after the dark ages.
Sources
Events
http://ancient-greece.org/resources/timeline.html
Summaries
http://ancientgreece.com/s/History/
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/history/middlebronze.htm