Early colonization of the Maltese Islands : the status questionis

Abstract

This paper tries to lay down the present state of the question regarding human settlement on the Maltese archipelago before the Bronze Age. It will analyse the evidence for the probable processes by which these early colonization movements took place. In northwest Europe the problem of the rise and spread of megalithism is now known to be intricately connected with the spread of farming and other cultural expressions that characterise the Neolithic way of life. Occurring on a relatively remote group of islands the Maltese megalithic phenomenon is sui generis and other mechanisms must have operated for its rise and unique development. An attempt is made to identify these mechanisms.