Map 4 Distribution of Greek dialects in the early Classical Period.
The end of the Submycenaean Period coincides approximately with the transition in Greece from the
Bronze Age to the Iron Age, and this transition accompanies the beginnings of a protracted period of
recovery for the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands. Contact with Cyprus inspired this technological
change in the Greek world, and it is possible that contact with Cyprus inspired a change to a new style of
pottery decoration as well. This style is known as “Protogeometric” since it serves as a precursor to the
“Geometric” style, the justification for whose name will become immediately apparent. Pottery of the
Protogeometric Period (roughly 1050 to 900 BC) is characterized by the use of a faster potter’s wheel in
its fabrication and by the practice of using a compass and multiple brushes connected to one another at
equal intervals so that the vessel can be decorated with concentric circles or arcs (figure 17). But it is not
only the style of decoration that differentiates Protogeometric from Submycenaean pottery. Potters and
painters (if, indeed, these were different individuals) in the tenth century also began to take much greater
care in the preparation of the clay, in the modeling of the vessels, and in the integration of painted
decoration and shape of vase. Ceramic ware of the Protogeometric Period shows a notable improvement
in terms of the symmetry of the vessels and in the technical details of the work both in the clay and in the
glaze. The potters of the tenth century also began to experiment with a much greater variety of shapes.