“Time and Chance”: Unraveling Temporality in North-Central Neopalatial Crete

This article demonstrates how archaeology may go beyond the construction of chronological frameworks to address fundamental issues of temporality in the past. It addresses a variety of methodological issues for exploring this topic and, building upon a previous spatial analysis, argues that past experiences can only be unraveled by means of many different perspectives. Drawing from our current understanding of chronological change in north-central Crete, shifts in prosperity on the household level are explored in order to emphasize the dynamism of the Neopalatial period. Past constructions of temporality are examined through the discussion of changing ritual practices and the use of writing. Finally, the attitude of those living in the Neopalatial period toward their own history is analyzed, with the conclusion that they actively sought a break from the past to construct a brave new world.