Abstract:This paper integrates the results of recent bioarchaeological and spatial analyses at one of the largest collective burial sites in Europe, the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum on Gozo. This suite of new approaches has addressed demography, funerary practices, interactions with the dead, and the changing use of space. Modelling structural events and reconstructing funerary practices from 2900 to 2350 cal BC, we trace persistent variation and flexibility in the use of space over time. Taphonomic analysis shows that young… Show more
“…Cazzella and Recchia (2015) emphasised the large numbers of people buried in hypogea, who surely could not all belong to an elite. Likewise, Thompson et al (2020) discuss how the diversity of burial practices and high numbers of non-adult remains and approximately equal ratio of the sexes at the Xagħra Circle are consistent with an egalitarian society. Cazzella and Recchia (2015) also discussed how the final stages of construction at Tas-Silġ meant a "less confined scheme of entry" (p. 96), in contrast to the frequent idea that temples show increasing restriction of access to certain areas (e.g., Trump, 2002).…”
Section: Destruction and Desecration? Damage To Temples And Their Contentsmentioning
The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.
“…Cazzella and Recchia (2015) emphasised the large numbers of people buried in hypogea, who surely could not all belong to an elite. Likewise, Thompson et al (2020) discuss how the diversity of burial practices and high numbers of non-adult remains and approximately equal ratio of the sexes at the Xagħra Circle are consistent with an egalitarian society. Cazzella and Recchia (2015) also discussed how the final stages of construction at Tas-Silġ meant a "less confined scheme of entry" (p. 96), in contrast to the frequent idea that temples show increasing restriction of access to certain areas (e.g., Trump, 2002).…”
Section: Destruction and Desecration? Damage To Temples And Their Contentsmentioning
The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.
“…Archaeological evidence from excavated sites shows evidence for increased ritual activity at 2500 cal. BC (McLaughlin et al, 2020a;Thompson et al, 2020), and whilst the phasing of the Maltese temples remains difficult (Grima, 2008), it has been suggested that the present form of most megalithic sites on the islands reflects a final episode of restructuring and ritual elaboration at a crucial point towards the end of the Temple Period (Malone, 2007). Episodes of crisis management have been noted in monument-building societies elsewhere, as in the Sardinian Bronze Age (Ialongo, 2018), although in the case of the Maltese Islands the recovery was short lived.…”
This paper reviews the evidence for long term trends in anthropogenic activity and population dynamics across the Holocene in the central Mediterranean and the chronology of cultural events. The evidence for this has been constituted in a database of 4608 radiocarbon dates (of which 4515 were retained for analysis following initial screening) from 1195 archaeological sites in southern France, Italy and Malta, spanning the Mesolithic to Early Iron Age periods, c. 8000 to 500 BC. We provide an overview of the settlement record for central Mediterranean prehistory and add to this an assessment of the available archaeological radiocarbon evidence in order to review the traditional narratives on the prehistory of the region. This new chronology has enabled us to identify the most significant points in time where activity levels, population dynamics and cultural change have together caused strong temporal patterning in the archaeological record. Some of these episodes were localized to one region, whereas others were part of pan-regional trends and cultural trajectories that took many centuries to play out fully, revealing prehistoric societies subject to collapse, recovery, and continuing instability over the long-term. Using the radiocarbon evidence, we model growth rates in the various regions so that the tempo of change at certain points in space and time can be identified, compared, and discussed in the context of demographic change. Using other published databases of radiocarbon data, we have drawn comparisons across the central Mediterranean to wider prehistoric Europe, and northern Africa. Finally, we include a brief response to the synchronously published but independently developed paper (Palmisano et al. in J World Prehist 34(3), 2021). While there are differences in our respective approaches, we share the general conclusions that large-scale trends can been identified through meta-analyses of the archaeological record, and these offer new perspectives on how society functioned.
“…First, the age profile of Xagħra burials coincides closely with expectations of the mortality rates of a full early farming community, namely high infant and adolescent mortality and a relatively equal balance of adult males and females. 59 Second, the spatial analysis of the mortuary remains suggests a rich and elaborate treatment of the burials as one community, 9 , 60 , 61 -12166603600450-2819404725035 and finally, the chosen samples are drawn from different parts of the site and span the entirety of its use.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“… 8 One example was the development of multi-chambered rock-cut tombs, such as that at Xagħra circle, Gozo ( Figure 1 ). 7 This monumentalized underground tomb yielded the remains of hundreds of individuals 9 and underwent remodeling and enlargement until around 2500 BC when it was abandoned, possibly as part of a wider population decline or replacement. Figure 1 Location of the samples within the Maltese Xagħra Circle site (A) Location of the Maltese archipelago within southern Europe.…”
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