The aim of this study is to present water and wastewater technologies used during the Minoan (ca. 3200–1100 BC) and Etruscan (ca. 800–100 BC) civilizations. The basic technologies considered are: water harvesting and distribution systems, cisterns, g...
Four types of archaeogenetic data mining are used to investigate the origin of the Minoans and the Uralic peoples: (1) six SNP mutations related to eye, hair, and skin phenotypes; (2) whole-genome admixture analysis using the G25 system; (3) an analy...
The Minoan peak sanctuaries call for systematic comparative research as an island-bound phenomenon whose significance to the (pre)history of medicine far transcends the Cretan context: they yield clay anatomical offerings attesting to the earliest kn...
This paper explores an innovative educational program designed to protect and promote the geocultural heritage of Minoan Crete. The program applies environmental education and sustainability principles while integrating theater in education, a novel...
Over the past century, monumental architecture has been at the center of attention of heritage professionals, stakeholders, and the public. On the contrary, vernacular architecture, which constitutes the majority of our built heritage, especially at...
Ceramic objects in whole or in fragments usually account for the majority of findings in an archaeological excavation. Thus, through examination of the values these items bear, it is possible to extract important information regarding raw materials p...
During the Bronze Age, the inhabitants of regions of Crete, mainland Greece, and Cyprus inscribed their languages using, among other scripts, a writing system called Linear A. These symbols, mainly characterized by combinations of lines, have, since...
This review evaluates Minoan and Indus Valley hydro-technologies in southeastern Greece and Indus Valley Pakistan, respectively. The Minoan civilization first inhabited Crete and several Aegean islands shortly after the Late Neolithic times and flour...
This work characterizes ancient mortars used in construction of the Bronze Age Minoan port at Kommos in Crete. The port dates from c. 1850 BCE with port facilities at the harbor and residences on the Central hillside and the Hilltop. A Greek, Phoenic...
Wild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) link...
Environmental determinism is often used to explain past social collapses and to predict the future of modern human societies. We assess the availability of natural resources and the resulting carrying capacity (a basic concept of environmental determ...
In this article, several archaeological, historical and other aspects of aqueducts in Crete, Greece, since the prehistoric times until today, are reviewed and presented. In Crete, since the Minoan era, various water management techniques that are fou...
The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of aqueduct technologies through the millennia, from prehistoric to medieval times. These hydraulic works were used by several civilizations to collect water from springs and to transport it to settle...
Since the early 19th century, linguists have collected enough linguistic data to draw a remarkably stable Uralic language family tree. However, the traditional Uralic language family tree has two main problems. First, it lacks a reliable chronology b...
Many agricultural production areas worldwide are characterized by high variability of water supply conditions, or simply lack of water, creating a dependence on irrigation since Neolithic times. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the...
This paper investigates plant remains at three ritual sites from Bronze Age Crete: Kophinas, Knossos Anetaki and Petras. To date, ritual contexts on the island have been little investigated from an archaeobotanical standpoint. Analysis of the plant m...
Water fountains are part of every human settlement, and historical and mythological stories. They are the source from which life-sustaining water was distributed to people until piped systems started providing fresh tap water inside buildings. In man...
Throughout history, various civilizations developed methodologies for the collection and disposal of human waste. The methodologies throughout the centuries have been characterized by technological peaks on the one hand, and by the disappearance of t...
Prehistoric Hellenic civilizations like many other civilizations believed in gods and thought they had influence on the everyday life of the people. During the Bronze Ages the explanations of illness and health problems were based on mythological, di...
The use of water cisterns has been traced back to the Neolithic Age; this paper thus presents a brief historical development of water cisterns worldwide over the last 5500 years. This paper is not an exhaustive presentation of all that is known today...
Often treated as an accessory science, organic residue analysis (ORA) has the capacity to illuminate otherwise hidden aspects of ancient technology, culture, and economy, and therein can play a central role in archaeological inquiry. Through ORA, bot...
In the past six decades since its inception, nautical archaeologists have excavated and studied the hulls, cargoes, and other remains of ancient watercraft. However, shipwrecks themselves only tell part of the story. The archaeological record is repl...
Contaminated water and poor sanitation are associated with disease transmission. Absent, inadequate, or improperly managed water resources and sanitation systems expose individuals to preventable health risks. Billions of people lack access to these...
Although there is evidence of surface-based storm drainage systems in early Babylonian and Mesopotamian Empires in Iraq (ca. 4000–2500 BC), it is not until after ca. 3000 BC that we find evidence of the well organized and operated sewer and drainage...
Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology in learning environments is one of the latest challenges for educators and education policymakers. Conversational AI brings new possibilities for alternative and innovative Information and Commun...
In this review, hydro-technological advancements in the Hellenic world throughout the millennia are considered in relation to the scientific developments and perceptions of the natural world articulated by Greek thinkers. Starting with the advanced h...
Egyptian and Greek ancient civilizations prevailed in eastern Mediterranean since prehistoric times. The Egyptian civilization is thought to have been begun in about 3150 BC until 31 BC. For the ancient Greek civilization, it started in the period of...
At the beginning of human history, surface water, especially from rivers and springs, was the most frequent water supply source. Groundwater was used in arid and semi-arid regions, e.g., eastern Crete (Greece). As the population increased, periodic w...
Agricultural developments require changes in land surface and subsurface hydraulic functions as protection from floods, reclamation of flooded land, irrigation, and drainage. Drainage of agricultural land has a long history and apparently traces back...
The Romans were well aware of the strategic importance of Crete and tried, by any means possible, its final conquest. The island was under Roman rule over four centuries (ca 67 BC–330 AD). Under Roman rule, Crete witnessed a growth of its population...
The Greek region is known as one of the most seismically and tectonically active areas and it has been struck by some devastating tsunamis, with the most prominent one being the 365 AD event. During the past decade significant research efforts have b...
The reliability of the narrative of the Biblical Exodus has been subject of heated debate for decades. Recent archaeological studies seem to provide new insight of the exodus path, and although with a still controversial chronology, the effects of th...
This study presents the initial scientific characterization of the recently discovered Rhizoliths Petrified Forest of Chania, located at Stavros in the Akrotiri peninsula of Crete, Greece. Unlike most known petrified forests that primarily preserve t...
Anomalies in animal behavior and meteorological phenomena before major earthquakes have been reported throughout history. Bio-mimetics or bionics aims at learning disaster anticipation from animals. Since modern science is reluctant to address this...
In ancient Hellas, water management began in the early Minoan Era (ca. 3200–1100 BC) and was related to the geomorphology, the geology, the topography, and the local climatic, hydrological, and socio-political conditions. Historical and archaeologic...