Many of the characteristics of the Dark Ages are known. There was a rapid shift from bronze to iron technology, pictorial representation ended, luxury disappeared, and religion was practically non-existent. After one hundred and fifty years, however, new innovations began to appear around 1050. A new style of pottery, labeled protogeometric, was produced and by 1000 B.C. Greek expansion across the Aegean began. This large scale migration implies an outward-looking vision similar to that of the European explorers during the renaissance.
The Greeks crossed the Aegean and settled in Asia Minor by bands matching the dialects of the Greek language.