Editing Knossos (section)

===Neolithic period===
Knossos was settled around 7000 BC during the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]], making it the oldest known settlement in Crete. Radiocarbon dating has suggested dates around 7,030-6,780 BCE.<ref>Facorellis, Yorgos & Maniatis, Y. (2013). Radiocarbon Dates from the Neolithic Settlement of Knossos: An Overview. 10.2307/j.ctt5vj96p.17.</ref> The initial settlement was a hamlet of 25–50 people who lived in [[wattle and daub]] huts, kept animals, grew crops, and, in the event of tragedy, buried their children under the floor. Remains from this period are concentrated in the area which would later become the central court of the palace, suggesting continuity in ritual activity.<ref name="McD12" /><ref>{{cite book | title=The prehistory of Asia Minor: from complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies | first=Bleda S | last=Düring | location=New York| publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2011 | page=126}}</ref><ref name="McEnroe 2010 12–17">{{cite book | title=Architecture of Minoan Crete: constructing identity in the Aegean Bronze Age | first=John C | last=McEnroe | location=Austin | publisher=University of Texas Press | year=2010 | pages=12–17}}</ref>

[[File:Neolithic pottery, AMH, 079001.jpg|thumb|Bowl with fork handles, pottery. Knossos, Early Neolithic, 6500–5800 BC. Also a ladle, and a three-legged vessel from later periods]]
In the [[Early Neolithic]] (6000–5000 BC), a village of 200–600 persons occupied most of the area of the later palace and the slopes to the north and west. Residents lived in one- or two-room square houses of mud-brick walls set on [[socle (architecture)|socle]]s of stone, either field stone or recycled stone artifacts. The inner walls were lined with mud-plaster. The roofs were flat, composed of mud over branches. The residents dug hearths at various locations in the centre of the main room. This village had an unusual feature: one house under the West Court contained eight rooms and covered {{convert|50|m2|sqft| abbr=on}}. The walls were at right angles and the door was centred. Large stones were used for support under points of greater stress. The fact that distinct sleeping cubicles for individuals was not the custom suggests storage units of some sort.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The settlement of the [[Middle Neolithic]] (5000–4000 BC), housed 500–1000 people in more substantial and presumably more family-private homes. Construction was the same, except the windows and doors were timbered, a fixed, raised hearth occupied the centre of the main room, and [[pilaster]]s and other raised features (cabinets, beds) occupied the perimeter. Under the palace was the Great House, a {{convert|100|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} area stone house divided into five rooms with meter-thick walls suggesting a second storey was present. The presence of the house, which is unlikely to have been a private residence like the others, suggests a communal or public use; i.e., it may have been the predecessor of a palace. In the [[Late Neolithic|Late]] or Final Neolithic (two different but overlapping classification systems, around 4000–3000 BC), the population increased dramatically.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}