Another experiment of Homo Sapiens
During my five days in Malta, I managed to visit three sites of big stones in two days – they are officially known as Megalithic Temples of Malta and there are a total of 7 of them. They say they were built in the Neolithic era, sometime between 3600 and 2500 BC, making them as old or older than the pyramids of Giza, Egypt. The oldest one, Ggantija temple, was built about 5,500 years ago, and it is the second oldest human-made structure only after Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, which dates back about mind-boggling 10,000 years.
Initially, I was intrigued by their old age. In fact, their appearance is rather simple – one can call them piles of big stones. But as I learned more, something in me was saying that I could not simply “move on”– I had to stop and observe my thoughts and feelings around the remains.
At first, I lingered on the sense of frustration that I could not attempt to fathom what their lives and perspectives were like. Their time predates any structured verbal language was invented. I could not imagine how they communicated and expressed, how they regarded themselves and each other, and how they thought about nature and the occasional disasters that devastated them. And it felt wrong to conveniently assume that they were our ancestors and that they occupy an early point on the linear line of humanity’s evolution. Perhaps a richer understanding of their society can be achieved if we try to see them as a case of an isolated experiment of Homo Sapiens.
Having mentioned the former, scholars believe the temples were built and used for religious rituals, based on other items and fire marks found. I think this brings modern humans and the ancient ones together, in that we all need common beliefs, i.e., shared narratives that guide us through life. Without them, the ancient people could not have carried, let alone lifted, those gigantic stones with primitive tools, which must have caused them immense pain and grief. This asks me: what is my story that keeps my life going? And what do my stones look like that I’m working hard to carry and lift?
I believe that the ultimate freedom lies in knowing that there is no stone that I must carry to prove myself, but I also know that it takes a lot of wisdom and courage to materialize the lesson in my daily life.
-Ggantija, Gozo, Malta
Hagar Qim, Malta
2024 April 29
