Graeber and Wengrow note that Minoan Crete "remains a kind of beautiful irritant for archaeological theory" (434)
archaeologist Colin Renfrew titles his 1970s-era book on the prehistory of the Aegean The Emergence of Civilization
this culture had a system of writing that has never been deciphered ("Linear A")
"Pretty much all the available evidence from Minoan Crete suggests a system of female political rule" (438)
"By far the most frequent depictions of authority figures in Minoan art show adult women in boldly patterned skirts that extend over their sholders but are open at the chest" (435)
Minoan trade was brisk in "feminine" artifacts--Egyptian sistra, cosmetic jars, figures of nursing mothers, scarab amulets
Graeber and Wengrow note that some of these are associated with "gynocentric rites"
Minoan houses and palaces contain bathing chambers or "lustral basins"
"Minoan art makes almost no reference to war, dwelling instead on scenes of play and attention to creature comforts. All this is in marked contrast to what was happening on the Greek mainland. Walled citadels arose at Mycenae, Pylos and Tiryns around 1400 BC, and before long their rules launched a successful takeover of Crete, occupying Knossos and assuming control of its hinterland"