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The earliest civilization to appear around Greece was the Minoan civilization in Crete, which lasted approximately from 3650 (Early Minoan) BC to 1450 BC, and on the Early Helladic period on the Greek mainland from ca. 2800 BC to 2100 BC.
Little specific information is known about the Minoans (even the name is a modern appellation, from Minos, the legendary king of Crete). They have been characterized as a pre-Indo-European people, apparently the linguistic ancestors of the Eteo-Cretan speakers of Classical Antiquity, their language being encoded in the undeciphered Linear A script. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas trade, taking advantage of the land's rich natural resources. Timber at that time was an abundant natural resource that was commercially exploited and exported to nearby lands such as Cyprus, Egypt and the Aegean Islands.
Although the causes of their demise are uncertain, they were eventually invaded by the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece. Their invasion took place around 1400 BCE, and in conjunction with the Thera eruption, they present a likely scenario for the final end of the Minoan civilization. According to this theory, the Minoan fleet and ports were irrevocably destroyed by the colossal Mediterranean waves. Possible climatic changes affected crops for many years, which in turn could have led to famine and social breakdown. The Mycenaean invaders wrote the final chapter to a civilization that flourished for some 1600 years.
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