This museum gave us an introduction and some background on the site of Akrotiri, which we visited afterwards. Our discussion took us back in time 3000 years before the Europeans, to the Neolitihic period (6800-3300 BC). This was a time when the economy was mostly based in stone, but was evolving to using metal, leading to the Early Bronze Age (3300-2000 BC) or the Cycladic period. This period was characterized by simple, but stylized, pottery. The Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC), or Minoan period, was the time when social hierarchy and commerce were established, and when Akrotiri existed. This put it before the Late Bronze Age Mycenaean civilization that we started at (1600-1200 BC).