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| Tarxien culture | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tarxien culture |
| Period | Late Neolithic to Chalcolithic |
| Dates | circa 3150–2500 BCE |
| Region | Megalithic Malta |
| Culture preceded | Għar Dalam culture |
| Culture followed | Bronze Age Malta |
Tarxien culture is a late Neolithic archaeological horizon centered on Megalithic Malta, identified primarily through temple complexes, megalithic architecture, and figurative sculpture. Excavations by Sir Themistocles Zammit and subsequent fieldwork by Sir Temi Żammit, Alberto A. G. Evans, John Evans, David H. Trump, Antonio Annetto Caruana, R. J. C. Atkinson, and opposite teams have produced stratigraphic sequences that connect the Tarxien phase to the Ġgantija phase, Skorba phase, and later Bronze Age horizons across the central Mediterranean. Comparative studies reference ethnographic parallels with Cycladic culture, Sicilian prehistory, Maltese folklore, and Mediterranean exchange networks involving Sardinia, Sicily, and the Italian Peninsula.
The Tarxien phase is dated by typological seriation and radiocarbon assays carried out by Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, British School at Rome researchers, University of Malta laboratories, and the Archaeology Data Service; prominent chronologists include Colin Renfrew and Giovanni Lillie. Stratigraphy at Malta temples alongside assemblages from Għar Dalam cave, Xagħra Circle, Ġgantija, and Skorba have established relative phases such as the Ġgantija phase, the Saflieni phase, and the Mġarr phase; parallels are drawn with Late Neolithic contexts in Sardinia, Sicily, and Apulia. Key proponents in chronology debates include David H. Trump, Caroline Malone, John Evans, and Mario Buhagiar, with discussions framed in journals like Antiquity, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, and the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology.
Principal temple complexes attributed to the phase include the type-site excavations at Tarxien, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Skorba, Ġgantija, and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum; field projects led by Malta Antiquities Authority, Heritage Malta, and international teams from the University of Cambridge, University of Malta, University of Oxford, and the National Museum of Archaeology revealed megalithic façades, trilithons, apsidal chambers, orthostats, and corbelled roofing. Architectural studies reference construction techniques comparable to those documented at Bouqras, Talayot sites in Menorca, Nuragic towers in Sardinia, and rondels of central Europe; conservation work by English Heritage, ICOMOS, UNESCO, and the World Monuments Fund informed stabilisation at Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim. Prominent archaeologists associated with site publication include Temi Żammit, David H. Trump, John H. Evans, Chris Scarre, and Rupert Bruce-Mitford.
Excavations recovered decorated megalithic stone-carvings, spiral motifs, trilithic sockets, clay figurines, polished stone axes, flint tools, grooved bone implements, and incised pottery wares whose typologies were compared with assemblages from Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, and the Aegean Islands. Ceramic studies reference burnished ware, bowl forms, and incised motifs catalogued by teams from the National Museum of Archaeology (Valletta), British Museum, Louvre, and Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas; key artifact analysts include Annette L. G. Evans, Margaret Guido, and John H. Evans. Figurines exhibiting corpulence and stylised eyes invite parallels with Cycladic idols, Neolithic Anatolian figurines, and Iberian prehistoric art examined in comparative frameworks by Colin Renfrew and Marija Gimbutas. Metallurgical traces, beads of worked calcite and serpentine, and stone vases connect to exchange with Neolithic Sicily, Calabria, and Maltese maritime craft traditions recognized by maritime archaeologists like George Bass.
Interpretations of community size, labor mobilisation, and craft specialization derive from settlement data at Żebbiegħ, Borġ in-Nadur, and Tas-Silġ, demographic models proposed by scholars such as David H. Trump, Caroline Malone, and Colin Renfrew, and faunal analyses by zooarchaeologists from University of Cambridge and University of Rome La Sapienza. Agricultural evidence from pollen cores, carbonized cereals, and archaeobotanical assemblages recovered at Għajn Tuffieħa, Mellieħa, and Marsaxlokk links cereal cultivation and caprine herding to contacts with Sicily, Sardinia, and mainland Italy documented in maritime exchange studies by Barry Cunliffe and John Mann. Craft production is inferred from knapping debris, grooved stone polishing, and ceramic workshops analogous to those recorded at Neolithic sites in Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the Aegean.
Ritual interpretation draws on architectural alignments at Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim, carved phallic and spiral motifs, human and animal figurines, and mortuary deposits within the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and other burial contexts; comparative ritual frameworks cite parallels with Hypogeum practices studied by Sir Arthur Evans, continental megalithic tombs, and Sardinian sacred wells. Osteoarchaeological studies, isotope analyses by labs at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, and Bayesian chronological models influenced by radiocarbon results inform debates over secondary burial, excarnation, and ancestor veneration proposed by researchers such as Margaret Cox and Andrew Chamberlain. Interpretations reference religious landscapes and processional routes comparable to Maltese festa traditions, Bronze Age cultic sites in Sardinia, and Bronze Age sanctuaries in Sicily.
The transition to Bronze Age Malta involves demographic shifts, technological adoption of metallurgy, and changing settlement patterns observed in stratigraphic sequences and material turnover at Tas-Silġ, Borġ in-Nadur, and Xagħra; scholars including David H. Trump, Caroline Malone, and Colin Renfrew debate the pace of change and continuity. Legacy discussions consider the listing of Maltese megalithic temples as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the influence on Maltese national identity studied by historians at the University of Malta, and the role of conservation agencies such as Heritage Malta, ICOMOS, and UNESCO in preserving temple complexes. Comparative perspectives link the Maltese Late Neolithic corpus to Mediterranean prehistory narratives involving Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the broader scope of Neolithic Europe advanced by scholars like Marija Gimbutas and Colin Renfrew.
Category:Prehistoric cultures in Europe