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The Minoans were a civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea. Ceramic items created during the Neolithic period in Crete date to 7000 BC and the height of the Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC when their culture was superseded by the Mycenaean culture. The Minoans were one of the civilizations that flourished in and around the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age of Greece. These civilizations had much contact with each other, sometimes making it difficult to judge the extent to which the Minoans influenced, or were influenced by, their neighbors. Based on depictions in Minoan art, Minoan culture is often characterized as a matrilineal society centered on goddess worship.