Maureen Green, age 14, of Helena, Mont., for her question:
WHAT WAS THE AEGEAN CIVILIZATION?
Aegean civilization refers to four cultures that developed on the islands and shores of the Aegean sea between 3000 B.C. and 1100 B.C.
The four Aegean civilizations were the Minoan culture, which developed on the island of Crete; the Helladic, which centered on the Greek mainland; the Cycladic, which developed on the central islands of the Aegean Sea; and the Troadic or Trojan, which centered around the ancient cities of Troy and the Hellespont, which is now called the Dardanelles, a narrow channel in present day northwestern Turkey.
Ail of these cultures started in the Aegean Sea area in the period when men discovered how to make bronze by extracting copper ore and blending it with tin.
The Aegean Bronze Age was one of the truly great cultural and artistic periods in history. Aegean peoples were skilled painters, master craftsmen and fine architects. They built richly decorated palaces surrounded by massive walls.
Although the Aegeans developed their own system of writing, unfortunately they left no written history. The fine Aegean civilization crumbled during the 1100s B.C. when invaders from the north overran Greece and advanced to the Aegean islands and Asia Minor.
By 1100 B.C., the Aegean civilization was destroyed. The great craftsmanship, the art of writing and the building skills of the Aegean civilization were forgotten. Most trade stopped and the region changed little during the next 300 years.
All we really know about the Aegean civilization has been uncovered by archeologists, the scientists who study the remains of ancient peoples to learn about them and their lives.
The modern study of the Aegean civilization started with a German archeologist named Heinrich Schiieman who conducted the first scientific excavation on the site of Troy in 1870. Then through the years other scientists have uncovered valuable information about this early civilization.
Archeologists have used their discoveries to determine when major changes took place in crafts, building or pottery, or when new peoples entered the Aegean region.
Archeologists divided the Aegean cultures into three main periods: Early, from 3000 B.C. to about 1900 B.C.; Middle, from about 1900 B.C. to 1580 B.C.; and Late, from 1580 B.C. to 1100 B.C.
The Minoan culture was the first important European civilization. The people were skilled traders, artists and builders. Their huge palaces are considered architectural masterpieces.
The Heiladic culture developed on the Greek mainland. The people were skilled craftsmen and builders. They made handsome pottery.
The Cycladic culture produced sailors, fishermen and traders.
The Troadic culture developed around the city of Troy. Archeologists have uncovered nine different cities at the site of Troy. The first seven existed during the Bronze Age. The sixth lasted from about 1900 B.C. to 1300 B.C. The seventh may have been the one described in Homer s Iliad and Odyssey. Archeologists believe this city was destroyed by Greeks from the mainland in the late 1200s B.C.