Modern humans first arrived on the islands about 5200 BCE. These immigrants were Neolithic (stone age) hunters and farmers who came from Sicily. At this time the islands were covered by forests and brush lands. The sea levels were much lower which meant that the islands were larger and closer to Sicily. The dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants which were living on the islands soon became extinct. These early inhabitants grew cereal crops, raised domestic livestock, and worshipped a fertility figure.
The earliest evidence of human occupation on Malta is found at Ghar Dalam Cave. The cultural remains at this archaeological site suggest a connection with the Sentinello culture on Sicily. Flint at the site originated in Sicily and the obsidian was from the Aolian Islands. Archaeologists refer to this earliest occupation as the Ghar Dalam Phase.
During the Mgarr Phase (3600 to 3500 BCE), the people of Malta began developing complex rock cut tombs. During this time period contact with Sicily was reduced and the sea levels reached their present height. During this time there is a religious emphasis on the culture of the Mediterranean Great Mother.
By 3000 BCE, the people of Malta were developing some of the earliest monumental architecture. There is some evidence of a connection with the megalithic Chassy culture of France. This cultural connection is in the form of pottery with crested decorations and handles with V-shaped holes.
The trefoil temples at Ta Hagrat, Skorba, and Kordin III appear to have developed out of the layout of the oval houses. These had sunken floors and were entered on the long side. They were combined with conceptions of rock-cut tombs to create artificial caves which symbolized the entrance to the womb of mother earth. To the original oval structure was added an apse (an arched vault) opposite the entrance, or two ovals were joined, one behind the other. This joining of two ovals provided the classic design of the temples of Ggantija South and Hagar Qim. Massive boulders—some up to 20 feet long and weighing 50 tons—formed the outer wall at Ggantija. Here 13-foot-high monoliths were used as doorjambs of the entrance.
The outer wall is shown above.
Over time, the temples became more complex by adding more rooms into an intricate labyrinth. The outer room tended to increase in size, perhaps an indication of its increasing ritual importance. The interior central apse became smaller, often becoming a niche. Small openings, called oracle holes, led to tiny spaces behind the interior walls. The blocks on the interior wall became decorated with pecked designs.
The temples at this time were filled with human statues of corpulent figures. While many of these were female, some had no indication of gender.
Archaeologists have discovered twenty-four temples, many of which are found in pairs. As a result there appear to have been fourteen sanctuaries fairly evenly spaced out over the two islands. Some people have suggested that this represents a territorial division comparable to modern parishes.
Uniform grooves, often labeled as “cart tracks” or “cart ruts” are found at several locations. These may have been caused by wooden-wheeled carts eroding the soft limestone.
Hypogeum is a Greek word which means “underground” and is the name of an underground structure that was started about 3000 BCE. Over a period of several centuries, people carved out a series of rooms on three levels. Using red ochre, the people painted the rooms with spiral or geometric designs. It appears that the Hypogeum was a ritual structure, perhaps used for meditation, or for healing. In addition, it served a funerary function and it is estimated that it contained about 7,000 burials.
Shown above is a Sleeping Lady figure from the Hypogeum.
After about 2500 BCE, Malta appears to be depopulated. Some archaeologists have suggested that the decline in population came about because of environmental factors, perhaps due to the overexploitation of a fragile environment.