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MW 21 March 2018

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maltatoday WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 News 5 PAUL COCKS THROUGH analysis of ancient soils, researchers at Queen's University Belfast have found that the first inhabitants ar- rived in Malta about 5900BC. Ground-breaking DNA analy- sis revealed they came from different parts of the Mediter- ranean and Europe, including Africa. Science portal Herit- age Daily reported yester- day that the research- ers also found that a second colonisation arrived in 3850BC from Sicily and last- ed an extraordinary 1,500 years in Malta without a break. Professor Caroline Malone from the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's has been work- ing at one burial site in Mal- ta since 1987 and her teams have excavated 220,000 bones, representing between 500 and 800 people dating from 3600- 2350BC. Over the last five years, with funding from the European Research Council, an interna- tional group of archaeological experts have been analysing the ancient bones and examining the wider landscapes, building a detailed picture of life in pre- historic Malta. The data – to be presented in Malta this week – has revealed that the first inhabitants were robust and healthy, with some of the best teeth that archaeolo- gists have ever analysed. One skull showed that sophisticated dental work had been carried out as early as 2500BC – an ab- scess had been lanced from the root of a tooth. Findings revealed that the in- habitants cared for their sick, injured and elderly and were hardy and determined, con- tinuing with their daily tasks, despite being in chronic pain from advanced bone degrada- tion. They survived on meat, cereals and pulses but as time went on they ate less meat and almost no fish. Professor Malone told Her- itage Daily that the team had made some fasci- nating discoveries on Malta, most recently through this interna- tional project. "I have been work- ing on the Prehisto- ry of Malta for over 30 years and the amount of detail we have extracted from these ancient skeletons is remarkable. They change the entire under- standing of the first Maltese people," she said. "Through radiocarbon dating we have now been able to pin- point that the first inhabitants arrived 700 years earlier than was previous thought, and we have also identified several epi- sodes of separate colonisation. Given the restricted land space of Malta, it is remarkable that the second colonisation survived for 1,500 years. This sort of set- tlement stability is unheard of in Europe and is impressive in terms of how they were able to live on an ever degrading land for such a period of time." By analysing soil cored from deep valleys, which contained ancient pollen and animal evi- dence from past environments, the researchers also made im- portant discoveries on climate change and the methods of farming that were used. Malone believes that climate change fluctuations made Malta uninhabitable in some peri- ods of prehistory. Her work has shown that there was a substan- tial break of around 1,000 years between the first settlers and the next group who settled per- manently on the Maltese islands and eventually built the mega- lithic temples. While the first inhabitants were able to survive for a long period of time, they ultimately had to downscale radically when the conditions became too diffi- cult. Their destructive farming methods had a catastrophic im- pact on the soil, and combined with drought, meant that even- tually it all came crashing down as the islands became much too dry to sustain dense agricultural practices. Malone insists that there's a lot to be learnt from the mistakes made by the first Maltese. The lack of water, coupled with the destruction of soil that takes centuries to form, can cause the failure of a civilisation. The sec- ond group of inhabitants in Mal- ta between 3850BC and 2350BC managed their resources ade- quately and even harnessed soil and food for over 1,500 years. It was only when climate condi- tions and drought became so extreme that they failed. The group of experts includ- ed researchers from Queen's University Belfast, University of Cambridge, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Malta, University of Plymouth, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage Malta and Heritage Malta. pcocks@mediatoday.com.mt Revealed: Malta is 700 years older than previously thought The first people to inhabit Malta arrived around 5900BC, 700 years earlier than history books indicate, according to researchers at Queen's University Belfast Professor Caroline Malone The Queen's University Belfast team on site in Malta

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