During the 3rd millennium BC farming was thoroughly established on the island of Crete. The population increased and important settlements flourished throughout the island, at sites such as Knossos, Phaestos, Mallia, Mochlos and Gournia. However the Cretan Early Minoan culture was not yet the same across the whole island and some regional variations can be seen. New types of higher quality pottery, and the increase in the amount and variety of metal objects show that at this time craftspeople made major technological advances.

Overseas contacts developed during this period and Crete gradually became part of the wider network of more developed, powerful and wealthy Near Eastern states. Sites such as Mochlos on the north-east coast of Crete seem to have become flourishing ports, and exotic items have been found there. Raw materials were imported, as were finished goods such as stone vases from Egypt. In terms of social developments, some elite groups at the largest settlements may have become quite wealthy. Social and cultural changes possibly contributed to the rise of an aristocracy and their palaces as seen in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.