Activities per year
Abstract
Taphonomic modifications to Neolithic human skeletal remains from six rock-cut tombs in Malta has provided key information about funerary practices and the local environment. Application of microscopic analysis, computed tomography (CT) scanning, and 3D imaging of the modifications has allowed their comparison with similar examples in modern and archaeological skeletal material. The modifications are interpreted as pupal chambers and feeding damage by dermestid beetles. Based on observation of the behaviour and ecology of dermestid beetles, we suggest several scenarios for funerary practices at the Xemxija tombs which nuance our current understanding of collective burial during the late Neolithic in Malta.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 123-131 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science Reports |
Volume | 22 |
Early online date | 01 Oct 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2018 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Identification of dermestid beetle modification on Neolithic Maltese human bone: Implications for funerary practices at the Xemxija tombs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Activities
- 1 Invited talk
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Interdisciplinary approaches to work on the prehistory of Malta: the Fragsus Project
Malone, C. (Advisor)
24 Oct 2018Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Temple Landscapes: Fragility, change and resilience of Holocene environments in the Maltese Islands.
Malone, C., Stoddart, S., McLaughlin, R., Hunt, C., French, C. & Grima, R., 05 Nov 2020, Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. 569 p. (Fragsus Project Monographs; vol. 1)Research output: Book/Report › Book
Open Access -
Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.
Malone, C., McLaughlin, R., Barratt, R. & Parkinson, E. W., 2019, Houses of the dead?: Neolithic Studies Group Seminar papers 17. Barclay, A., Field, D. & Leary, J. (eds.). Oxford: Oxbow, Vol. 17. p. 15-37 23 p. (Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review