Find spot: Santorini, Akrotiri, Xeste 3, upper storey
Date: c. 1650 BCE

Clothing depicted: Heanos, kilt, detailed jewelry

Two girls in fine clothes gather saffron, the symbol of a Minoan goddess and possibly a symbol of new womanhood. Both girls have undeveloped breasts, but wear their heanoses open in front. The girl on the right, in the orange or yellow heanos (the color varies from photograph to photograph), has a small knot of hair at the back of her head, but the rest of her head is closely cropped, perhaps shaven. This echoes the hairstyle of the toddler in the Ivory Triad, suggesting that the girl on the right still has a child’s hairstyle, or has just barely started growing her hair out. The head of the girl on the left is covered with short curls, suggesting that she has been growing her hair out for a short while.

While the significance of the fresco is debated, it’s tempting to read it as ritual saffron-gathering engaged in by a nearly pubescent girl (on the right) and a girl who has recently reached puberty (on the left).

• Presentations of girlhood and womanhood in ancient Minoan frescoes