Late Minoan soft stone seals have traditionally been dismissed as low-value objects due to their modest materials and perceived technological simplicity. This lecture challenges that assessment by applying Value Orientation Theory and material culture frameworks to reconsider how value may have been conceptualized differently in (Late) Minoan society.

What if the value of soft stone seals resided not in their material worth or technological complexity, but in what they did? – How they generated meaning through social practice. Three analytical dimensions are at the basis of this re-evaluation. First, action: crafting and imprinting processes transformed raw stone into material condensations of skill, attention, and relational engagement between maker, user, and observer. Second, locus: seals crafted from locally sourced Cretan stones embodied place-identity. Third, temporality: centuries of seal production and use materialized tradition, with wear and circulation possibly becoming signs of enduring value rather than degradation.

By foregrounding value as emergent rather than intrinsic, this lecture aims to move beyond modern aesthetic biases that equate precious materials with status and offer another perspective on how we as archaeologists may assess object significance across the material record of the Aegean Bronze Age.