Simulating Societal Resilience in Bronze Age Crete

The palatial structures of the Middle and Late Bronze Age (1900-1450 BCE) on the island of Crete have been the subject of archaeological research for over a century, but the broader social dynamics that caused dramatic changes in Minoan society are still not understood. Computer simulation offers a novel method to tackle this long-standing issue. This simulation analyzes how shifts in agricultural and economic policies affect the resilience of Minoan society when faced with both internal and external stress factors. With this model, I evaluate the impact of different agricultural strategies, land distribution schemes, and socio-economic models on the population sustainability, population density, and agricultural surplus of these Bronze Age communities. This is done as an effort to determine which social dynamics, in general, drive society to be more resilient and less vulnerable to collapse.