The First People of Malta

A special episode of Times Talk is revealing an exclusive, first look into a groundbreaking discovery led by two Maltese archaeologists, which has altered the history of Malta and the Mediterranean.

In this episode, professors Eleanor Scerri and Nicholas Vella sit down with Times of Malta to explain how their team unearthed 8,500-year old remains from a cave in Mellieħa that confirmed there were humans in Malta at least a thousand years before the first farmers were thought to have arrived.

The discovery adds another chapter to Malta's prehistory and changes the global scientific community's understanding of the technological capabilities of hunter-gatherer communities at the time.

Earlier this week, just a few days before their discovery was published in one of the world's leading scientific journals Nature, Times Talk was granted access by the archaeologists to the unearthed remains that are now being housed at the University of Malta.

The episode features footage of several bones, stone tools and other human-made remains that led to the discovery, along with interviews with four of the researchers in their laboratory and at the Mellieħa cave where the remains were found.

[timesofmalta]

English subtitles are available for the Maltese parts of this video. Activate them by clicking on the 'CC' icon.

[nickh]

1. Another brilliant video by TOM, well done!
2. Dream job, hats off to all members and scientists
3. Being such a small and main island aka "Bridge" between Africa and Europe, this would make perfect sense and proud to see where we came from to where we are now, ejja minn hemm lahwa!
4. I feel sad for the kids that need to learn this new info for their exams haha

[islandsedition]

I've visited this site over the last decade numerous times. I always thought it was a fantastic cave that must have had some history. It is almost invisible from even it's closest surroundings, and the presence of a couple of natural springs near by make it an ideal shelter from any point since the natural enclosure eroded to offer an entrance.

Glad to find that the researchers continue to reinvestigate these sites.

There is a smaller cave near Selmun that might also have been a suitable shelter.

[qaswedfr]

Hope the site is preserved before it is vandalised and lost

[pseyedoc]

Wonderful discovery!! Proset.Great podcast

[qaswedfr]

the cave walls under the soil may have preserved diagrams and art

[ForeverMods]

Keep up the great work. Love watching your videos

[ghejnuni]

Interessanti mmens. Proset tal-produzzjoni u l-informazzjoni

[Red_Green_Woke]

My Maltese Mother and my Maltese Uncle, John Sare, taught me so much about Maltese History and Pre-History.
So I am not surprised by this latest news.
Delighted is actually how I would describe my reaction.
Hunter Gatherers have always been a fascination for me

I was born in London, England and I grew up knowing more about Malta’s History and Pre-History from my late Maltese Mother and late Maltese Uncle John Sare than my own Country of Birth.

[juliemercer]

Could you have an English translation of this video pls. I was in the Museum of Archaeology Valletta last week with a friend who is a history buff there in Malta. He sent me this link saying everything I told you last week needs to be changed 😅.

[Truthbetoldfinally]

Next up, in say a further 20 years of archaeological /geological basic theory reconsideration and re-evaluation, you’ll get to the cart-ruts explanation too. Great progress well done.

[darkmpio]

Graham Hancock might've been right all along....

[qaswedfr]

So we have new discoveries, new information as new Maltese, European and global history

[DettaXkem]

Great work congratulations this is so amazing 🎉

[RodsDeguara]

mela isa hem stat ta fat li il kacca hija kultura tradizjonali maltija!

[RitaGalea-oinh]

Hemm ghar iehor bejn had dingli u l buskett u fih anke oqbra u simili ta dan ahjar jitawlulu ukoll prosit.

[jools]

Why not do the video in English? It would make sense to appeal to the largest audience possible

[joringauci]

Prosit ta l iskoperta, TOM jekk jogghobkhom ibqaw agornawna bl isvilupp grazzi. Interessanti mmens.

[grimakenneth]

Prosit tal-iskoperta li saret. Imma aħjar id-dottoressa jew il-professura tiskopri l-Malti!!

[ellulta]

I would like to ask the following
1. Why do we assume that they must have traveled from somewhere to here and not people who were here from an earlier period
2. And why Sicily?
3. Someone swam not many years ago between Sicily and Gozo. Why do we assume that one must have come on some floating object?
3. Why do we assume that those deer were not brought over from abroad for a special occasion maybe and eaten in this cave. Why don't we wait for more discoveries in other locations in Malta before we come up with all these conclusions
4. How sure are we that the results saying up to 9000 years know exactly what they are doing
5. I would love to believe that all that is being said is true and correct but unlike many people who accept what is told I like to ask questions to decide whether I wish to accept this info. I'm a tourist guide in Malta and Gozo and have explained several prehistoric sites to tourists and while doing so I also get feedback from people so the points above are probably coming from my realization during 20 yrs of guiding that one must not entirely believe what is written in history books.
6. As a rock climber ( free climber) I have spent hours and evenings (maybe camped too) and also was part of a clean up of this cave once. It is truly a special cave.. With fig trees. Nowadays it's the cave where men and women scream as they try to climb it's overhangs where some of the best climbers in the world try their new projects and open more routes.