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7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 JAMES DEBONO A recent study by leading ar- chaeologists suggests that the decline of the Neolithic civili- sation in Malta was unexpected and preceded by "intensifying (building) activity" only to be followed by an abrupt end. The study also throws light on how despite environmental challenges Malta had managed to maintain a thriving popula- tion over thousands of years. "How could an apparently dense population, farming quite intensely, have main- tained continuity or sustained what seems to be a sufficient- ly productive environment if constantly engaged in over- production?" ask the authors of the study. The study is based on the radiocarbon dating of bones and artifacts from the Bro- chtorff Circle at Xagħra, achieved through the ToTL and FRAGSUS projects, which now "provides a more precise chronology for the sequence of development and use of a cave complex". The study suggests "appar- ent continuity" between the Żebbuġ phase (4000 BC) to the end of the Temple culture (2500 BC), "with indications that the population retained good health and nutrition." It also suggests "that the soil quality of the islands was ex- ceptionally good, although gradually in decline in the third millennium BC". This suggests that prehistoric people of Malta understood "how to manage the relatively marginal environment", with its marked seasonal aridity, wind, erosion, lack of dense vegetation or tree-cover and limitations of size, "in a man- ner that was sustainable". But this also demanded an intensive regime of "crop rota- tion, soil management and live- stock control which probably ensured "a degree of economic continuity and stability over the Tarxien period (3150-2500 BC). Milk production may be one explanation for the large number of "mature, even old, female cattle and sheep bones and sieves" and the abundance of pottery vessels "might ac- count for cheese making". Yet milking cows, which require up to 70 litres of water per day in summer, also posed problems due to water scarcity. Bulls predominate in artistic rep- resentations, but possibly this reflected "the rarity of mature beasts and their great value in feasting." Still, despite the environ- mental problems, "Malta and Gozo, small though they are, evidently maintained a rela- tively stable and viable eco- nomic system that in turn ena- bled the putatively crowded island community to survive over centuries". Yet something went wrong at the end of the temple period, which may well be linked to the role of temples as a sort of "communal club houses for formalised, ritualised feast- ing." In fact, the structures contain remarkable quantities of pottery, animal bone, fire pits, huge communal stone or ceramic cooking/ serving ves- sels, tethering places for ani- mals, altars and display areas, usually organised to maximise public viewing and participa- tion. Such events might well have undermined the sustain- ability of Neolithic Malta put- ting "stress on both people and their environment, demand- ing additional food production to meet the expectations of a doubtless competitive society. The study refers to dietary data currently under analy- sis to establish whether skel- etal material indicates reduced levels of meat eating towards the end of the Neolithic. Initial findings imply that cereals be- came more dominant with less and less meat being consumed. Evidence from pollen seems to suggest increasing drought episodes and fewer trees as the third millennium progressed, which implies that "environ- mental changes impacted on the productivity, seasonality and the social cohesion of Ne- olithic Maltese communities" which may well have become more hierarchical. Yet, so far, there is no evi- dence that faced with these environmental challenges, the inhabitants resorted to violence to ensure social co- hesion. In fact, exhaustive re-examination of the skel- etal material from the Xagħra Circle has identified only a few cases of trauma, which may have resulted from violence. It may well be the case that while temples served to reinforce cohesion the underground settings of the Xagħra Circle and the Ħal Saflieni hypoge- ums could have been related to an "ever tighter control of the dead." So, was Malta's distinct iden- tity in the temple period a re- sult of the island's insularity? Evidence suggests that this was not the case as Malta re- mained connected with its nearest neighbours. Yet by the third millennium BC, the cultural identity of Malta ap- pears to be quite distinct from Sicilian practices. The study suggests that Malta's identity consciously defied the tide in Spain and in Sicily, "a rein- forcement of locally important values of cooperation and con- sensus, against a wider tide of differentiation and accumula- tion". So what brought an end to centuries of stability and social cohesion? Curiously the evi- dence from Xaghra does not suggest "decades or centuries of decline." What "we see in- stead is a pattern of sustained or even intensifying activity, with renewed investment in the site made in the form of megaliths and other features during its final phases of use". The story of how a "long-lived and rich tradition was rather abruptly put aside" may well serve as a cautionary tale for future generations; decline may be unexpected, sudden and devastating. The study 'Island Questions: the Chronology of the Broch- torff Circle at Xagħra, Gozo, and its significance for the Ne- olithic sequence on Malta' was authored by Caroline Malon, Nathaniel Cutajar, T. Rowan McLaughlin, Bernardette Mer- cieca-Spiteri, Anthony Pace, Ronika K. Power, Simon Stod- dart, Sharon Sultana, Chris- topher Bronk Ramsey, Elaine Dunbar, Alex Bayliss, Frances Heal and Alasdair Whittle. Studies strengthen case for abrupt end of Malta's Neolithic culture Archaeological records show no imminent warning signs for sudden decline of unique Neolithic culture after centuries of stability and prosperity. Study also poses question on how inhabitants managed to thrive for so long in an arid island So, was Malta's distinct identity in the temple period a result of the island's insularity? Evidence suggests that this was not the case as Malta remained connected with its nearest neighbours The study states that there are indications that the population retained good health and nutrition