In the Beginning; Malta Prehistory

The following data has been placed in the appropriate ‘eras’ from Glacial times onwards:

Pre-Holocene

During this time, Malta was seen as part of a land-bridge connecting Europe to Africa.  Where it is believed groups of people transitted from both sides of the bridge. Maybe they also met in the middle. The part of the land-bridge connection Malta to Africa was the first to disappear, due to rising sea levels. The land-bridge connecting Malta to Europe disappeared later, the evidence for this is based on fossils of animals dating back to 250,000 B.C. found in a cave known as "Ghar Dalam" (the cave of darkness.) in Birzebbuga.  It is assumed that these animals travelled south during the Ice Age and settled in Malta until they became extinct. Fossils of animals found in the cave include those of dwarf elephant, bear, wolve, hippopotamus, deer and hyena; their remains can be seen in the museum near the site.  The cave is visitable because it is on the tourist trail. For those who are interested in the Pleistocene (a big word for geological sediments that were deposited in the late Quaternary from 1mill ya) it is especially interesting because of the fossil remains from the Ice Age that were found here.

Holocene

Early Man in Malta (Post-Holocene)

Controversy abounds around the presence of Palaeolithic man in Malta.  A number of cave drawings in Ghar Hassan (SE coast) are said to exist, possibly dating from the Palaeolithic, dated from perhaps about 20,000 years.

Microliths (tools) are said to have been found, but the evidence is tenuous. However two human teeth (taurodonts) were supposedly found in a Pleistocene deposit at Ghar Dalam that were originally dated to between 125,000 – 25,000 BC, that would have placed them within the European Neanderthal era.

In the 1960s with the advent of much more accurate dating techniques, relative dates were published for the teeth, and the conclusion was that they belonged to the ‘Neolithic’ (that is, post 5,000 BC).

Results from uranium dating may surprise us yet.  But as ever, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the interpretation of the evidence, and this has divided scholars.  To date no definite conclusion has been reached. Dr Robin Skeates at the University of Durham (WWW.DURHAM.AC.UK) is researching Maltese prehistory prior to the Neolithic. If you click on the above link it will take you to the University of Durham’s website, then search under his name for his research interests.

Palaeolithic To Neolithic And Onwards

At a time before humankind had dreamed of a wheel or a pyramid, advanced societies were emerging
in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and further eastwards.  These mysterious people had full-blown civilisations with their own political hierarchy, organised religion, skill specialisation and complex language.

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