History of Malta

History of Malta

Neolithic and Temple period

People first arrived in Malta around 5900 BC, as is evidenced by studies of ancient soils. These first Neolithic people probably arrived from Sicily (about 100 kilometers or 62 miles north), but DNA analysis shows that they originated from different parts of the Mediterranean, including both Europe and Africa. They were mainly farming and fishing communities, with some evidence of hunting activities. They apparently lived in caves and open dwellings. During the centuries that followed there is evidence of further contacts with other cultures, which left their influence on the local communities, evidenced by their pottery designs and colors. The farming methods degraded the soil and over the centuries the islands became too dry to sustainable agricultural practices. This occurred partly due to climate change and drought, and the islands were uninhabited for about a millennium.

A second wave of colonization arrived from Sicily in around 3850 BC. One of the most notable periods of Malta's history is the temple period, starting around 3600 BC. The Ġgantija Temple in Gozo is one of the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. The name of the complex stems from the Maltese word ġgant, which reflects the magnitude of the temple's size. Many of the temples are in the form of five semicircular rooms connected at the centre. It has been suggested that these might have represented the head, arms and legs of a deity, since one of the commonest kinds of statue found in these temples is a fat woman — a symbol of fertility. The civilization which built the temples lasted for about 1500 years until about 2350 BC, at which point the culture seems to have disappeared. There is speculation about what might have happened and whether they were completely wiped out or assimilated,[citation needed] but it is thought that the collapse occurred due to climate conditions and drought.