Who were the Minoans?

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC.[1] It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Will Durant referred to it as “the first link in the European chain.”[2] The early inhabitants of Crete settled as early as 128,000 BC, during the Middle Paleolithic age.[3][4] However it was not until 5000 BC that the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared, marking the beginning of the civilization.