Editing Minoan civilization (section)

===Early Minoan===
[[File:AMC_Early_Minoan_bird-shaped_vessel.jpg|thumb|150px|alt=An Early Minoan vessel shaped like a bird.|An Early Minoan bird-shaped vessel.]]

Early Minoan society developed largely continuously from local Neolithic predecessors, with some cultural influence and perhaps migration from eastern populations. This period saw a gradual shift from localized clan-based villages towards the more urbanized and stratified society of later periods.<ref name=TomkinsSchoepHandbook>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Tomkins |first1=Peter|last2=Schoep|first2=Ilse|year=2012 |title=Crete |editor-last=Cline |editor-first=Eric |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |pages=66–82 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0005|isbn=978-0199873609}}</ref>

'''EM I''' (c. 3100-2650 BC) is marked by the appearance of the first painted ceramics. Continuing a trend that began during the Neolithic, settlements grew in size and complexity, and spread from fertile plains towards highland sites and islands as the Minoans learned to exploit less hospitable terrain.<ref name=TomkinsSchoepHandbook/><ref>{{cite book |last=Watrous |first=L. Vance |year=2021 |title=Minoan Crete: An Introduction|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=35–38|isbn=9781108440493}}</ref>

'''EM II''' (c. 2650-2200 BC) has been termed an international era. Trade intensified and Minoan ships began sailing beyond the Aegean to Egypt and Syria, possibly enabled by the invention of masted ships. Minoan material culture shows increased international influence, for instance in the adoption of [[Minoan seals]] based on the older [[Ancient Near Eastern seals and sealing practices|Near Eastern seal]]. Minoan settlements grew, some doubling in size, and monumental buildings were constructed at sites that would later become palaces.<ref name=TomkinsSchoepHandbook/><ref>{{cite book |last=Watrous |first=L. Vance |year=2021 |title=Minoan Crete: An Introduction|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=38–48|isbn=9781108440493}}</ref>

'''EM III''' (c. 2200-2100 BC) saw the continuation of these trends.