The artistic convention of showing men as darker and women as lighter (because of how much time they spend outdoors) is also found in Bronze Age Minoan/Mycenaean art. There were definitely contacts between the Minoans and the Egyptians—Sir Arthur Evans was able to create his chronology for Minoan civilization based on imported Egyptian artifacts, and Cretans are depicted in 2nd millennium Egyptian art. Also the Thera frescoes show blue monkeys which may have reached there via Egypt (Ethiopia is the northern end of their range).