Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541494
6 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 21 NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS A forthcoming book is set to become the first major publi- cation to assess Malta's newly identified Mesolithic past and its connection to the islands' earliest Neolithic farming com- munities. The Very First Mal- tese: Hunter-Gatherers and Early Farmers at Both Sides of the Gozo Channel brings to- gether four decades of research by Dutch cultural anthropolo- gist Veronica Veen and archae- ologist Adrian van der Blom, offering a reassessment that challenges long-held assump- tions about the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. Veen and van der Blom first uncovered evidence of deep prehistory in 1991 when they investigated the Latnija cave near Ċirkewwa, publishing findings that revealed the pres- ence of three prehistoric cul- tures dating back to the Għar Dalam phase. Their work fea- tured prominently in Maltese media and in five of their books published between 1992 and 2022. The topic resurfaced in 2025 after a Max Planck Institute project which, while searching for Pleistocene megafauna, in- advertently uncovered Meso- lithic layers dating to 6500 to 5500 BC. The study, published in Nature, generated attention for suggesting that Malta's ear- ly hunter-gatherers could cross the Gozo Channel. However, the Dutch researchers note that they had already demonstrated in 1992 that early Neolithic set- tlers, partly contemporary with the Mesolithic groups, were crossing the same stretch of sea between 6000 and 5800 BC. Their new book draws on a fresh review of fieldwork con- ducted between 1987 and 1991, identifying at least ten addi- tional Mesolithic sites, many situated alongside early Neo- lithic settlements. The concen- tration of sites on both Marfa Ridge and the Qala area points to a long-lasting interaction between the two communities, who would have lived within sight of each other for centu- ries. Among the most striking findings is evidence of an inde- pendent Maltese neolithisation process, including what ap- pears to be a form of primor- dial earthenware discovered at a Gozitan site already known for producing the earliest Ne- olithic material on the islands. The authors suggest that at least five of the seven early Ne- olithic migrations into Malta may have first made landfall in this area. The book also provides es- sential context for the Latni- ja cave discoveries, which the authors say were overlooked in the Nature publication despite the availability of their earlier works The First Maltese (1992 and 2022). Compact yet critical in scope, the new volume distils 40 years of research spanning archae- ology, symbolic anthropology and art history, work the au- thors argue identifies the earli- est detectable Maltese culture, including what they describe as the Very First Maltese Art, cre- ated by women. New study to redefine Malta's earliest prehistory with evidence The Latnija cave as photographed by the authors during the discovery of its rich prehistoric past in 1991 Top: A multi-functional tool of 6.7 cm as once probably used by a left- handed person. Right: Field note from 1990 about a worked beach cobble, found at the early neolithic and mesolithic site near Qala. Limestone, 10.5 cm. Translation: Large beach pebble of lime-stone, 10.5 cm, knapped, at least 5 times, plus 5 pieces more that looked like flakes of lower coralline. Left: cortex smooth.