MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION

The Nature of Mycenaean Civilization

The Nature of Mycenaean Civilization

Introduction

The Mycenaean civilization flourished during the time span roughly between 1600 BC, when Helladic heritage was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete, and 1100 BC, when it perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization in the eastern Mediterranean. The collapse is routinely attributed to the Dorian invasion, whereas other theories describing natural disasters and weather change have been sophisticated as well.

Economy

The financial association of the Mycenaean kingdoms renowned from the texts seems to have been bipartite: a first assembly worked in the orbit of the castle, while another was self-employed. This reflects the societal structure seen above. But there was not anything to avert a person employed for the castle from running his own business.(Robbins, 2001)

The finances was supervised by scribes, who made note of incoming and outgoing products, assigned work, and were in ascribe of the distribution of rations. The "du-ma-te" seems to have been a sort of supervising quartermaster.

 

Agriculture

The territory of the Mycenaean kingdoms of Pylos and Knossos was split up into two parts: the "ki-ti-me-na", the castle land, and the "ke-ke-me-na", the communal land, cultivated by those the texts call "ka-ma-na-e-we", undoubtedly the "da-mo". The castle lands are those attested in the texts. One part makes up the "te-me-no" of the "wa-ka-na" and of the "ra-wa-ge-ta", as seen above. The other part was conceded as a perquisite to members of the castle administration. These lands might be worked by slaves or by free men to who the land had been leased.(Robbins, 2001)

Agricultural output in these kingdoms was along the lines of the customary "Mediterranean trilogy": kernel, olives, and grapes. The grains cultivated were wheat and barley. Olive orchards were sown for the output of olive oil. This was not only a foodstuff; it was much used as body oil and in perfume. Grapes were also cultivated, and several varieties of wine were produced. Besides these, flax was developed for linen apparel and sesame for its oil, and trees were sown, such as the fig.

Livestock consisted mainly of sheep and goats. Cows and pigs were less widespread because of their unwholesome aroma. Horses were kept chiefly for the dragging of chariots in battle.

 

 Industry

The association of artisanal work is especially well renowned in the case of the palace. The archives of Pylos show a specialized workforce, each employee belonging to a precise class and assigned to a specific location in the stages of output, especially in textiles.(Taylour, 1964)

The textile industry was one of the primary sectors of the Mycenaean economy. (Robbins, 2001)The tablets of Knossos disclose the whole string of connections of output, from the flocks of sheep to the stocking of the castle storerooms with the finished merchandise, through the shearing and the sorting of the wool in the workshops, as well as employed conditions in those workshops. The castle of Pylos engaged round 550 textile workers. At Knossos there were some 900. Fifteen distinct textile specialties have been identified. Next to wool, flax was the fiber most ...