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Soundscapes of Temple Period Malta

Skeates, R.

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Abstract

During the later prehistoric Temple Period (c. 3400–2500 bc) we can begin to discriminate some of the diverse sounds and soundscapes that characterized the Maltese Islands. For example, we can imagine the sounds of the early farming communities, particularly in relation to the architecturally bounded spaces of their dwelling places. These combined the background noise of the subtly distinct island environment with the foreground noise familiar living things and routine activities (for example, the voices of children, women and men, barking dogs, bleating sheep and goats, buzzing flies, scratching hoes, crackling hearths, the slap of daubed clay). This dynamic blend of sound contributed to the islanders’ evolving sense of home. But communication through sound – presumably including music (for which we have no primary archaeological evidence for prehistoric Malta) – really came to the fore during dramatic ritual performances inside and outside the resonant, enclosed, and relatively dark spaces of the stone-walled tombs and monumental shrines (or ‘temples’) of the Temple Period. Here, a high premium is likely to have been attached to the right sounds and words (for example, music, rhetoric, echoes) made and heard at the right times by the right people, instruments, or perceived spiritual forces. These ritual sounds would have intensified the drama of the ceremonies, whilst serving as agents in their control.

Citation

Skeates, R. (2017). Soundscapes of Temple Period Malta. Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, 10(1), 61-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696x.2016.1267920

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 25, 2016
Online Publication Date Jan 9, 2017
Publication Date Jan 9, 2017
Deposit Date Jan 10, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture
Print ISSN 1751-696X
Electronic ISSN 1751-6978
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 1
Pages 61-67
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696x.2016.1267920

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