Stone-Aged Living
Recently, on the Mediterranean island of Malta, I lay my left hand on a multi-thousand year old megalith while holding a 2024 mobile phone in my right. And I wondered about the people and lifestyles responsible for both. The Megalith Builders of Malta lived approximately in 3000 BC—during the New Stone Age— on an island 17 miles long and 9 miles wide. Since the island had no known volcanos, the air presumably was relatively pure. The natural environment contained mammals, such as red deer, wild boar, rodents, and sea life, such as fish, dolphins, and seals. The fabricated environment was created through the efforts of small family- and kin-based groups. Using stone tools, animal bones, and wood, the inhabitants created what arguably are among the oldest megaliths on earth, consisting of a series of large stone blocks, some weighing several tons. They sustained themselves through farming, herding, and fishing. In short, the world of the neolithic Maltese req...