Skeates's specialism in the prehistoric Mediterranean, alongside his research expertise in mortuary practices, archaeological representation and visual culture, make him well placed to offer a new perspective on the enigmatic prehistory of the Maltese islands.
As the title describes, Skeates investigates a sensory landscape of prehistoric Malta. The prehistoric period is subdivided into sub-periods which span from 5200 bc through to 700 bc. Structured into seven chapters, Skeates takes the reader through themes which include ‘Dwelling Places’ (Chapter 4), ‘Monumental Buildings’ (Chapter 5) and ‘The Underworld’ (Chapter 6), fore-grounded by chapters on ‘The Maltese Sensescape’ (Chapter 3) and ‘The Senses Restrained’ (Chapter 2). The book is produced to a high standard, and is illustrated with high-quality black-and-white photographs and line drawings, totalling over seventy images, which serve both to illustrate technical details, as well as providing a visual insight into the archaeology discussed in the publication.
The primary chapters on sensory factors provide the reader with an in-depth analysis of the development of sensory approaches in archaeology and historic studies, taking the reader beyond the five senses, to consider themes of ‘equilibrium and kinaesthesia’ (balance and proprioception), ‘emotion’, ‘extra-sensory perception’ (sixth sense), and joining of the senses, ‘synaesthesia’. For each area of study, dwelling places, monumental buildings and caves/the underworld, the Maltese evidence is closely analysed, after an introduction to the theme which draws on relevant analysis taken from other prehistoric studies and from theoretical oversights more generally.
Skeates's approach draws on methodologies of advanced phenomenology, such as practised by Ruth Whitehouse and Sue Hamilton (Hamilton et al Reference Hamilton, Brown, Combs, Herring and Seager-Thomas2006), and material studies which seek to understand influences and experiences of users of past objects, architecture and landscapes. These insights are presented in the form of inventory analysis, thick description and creative writing. As well as an analysis of hundreds of publications on Malta, dating from the present day back to antiquarian accounts, Skeates's interpretations are placed in a modern context through his experiences of personal visits and observations which move beyond the visual to include a multi-sensory consideration of the island's prehistory.
It is not only Skeates's investigation of the evidence that provides interest for the reader but the style of presentation: each chapter includes a narrative account which uses creative writing to bring a new dimension and life to the interpretation. These inserts provide an engaging and ‘peopled’ perspective and are, by Skeates's own account, often speculative, yet they are grounded in evidence and provide an insightful, alternative avenue for interpretation, bringing past landscapes and monuments to life. Furthermore, they are considerately written, providing a narrative without assuming gender or age biases.
Skeates considers roles of memory and identity construction as created and reinforced through interactions in an environment which is both monumental and habited. For instance, he attributes temple building to local, kin-based farming communities, monuments that were physically built into the material remains of the living. Temples, he argues, combined concepts of house, shrine and tomb, alongside a core belief in the separation of the dead from the living, and the individual into corporate (p 163). Located in the hearts of settlements, the temples played an integral role in the everyday lives of inhabitants, while charging the quotidian with supernatural potency (p 197). Interpretations such as these are provided for the spheres of habitation, monumentality and mortuary practices, which culminate in a conclusion that returns, tangibly, to the founding concepts of investigation: the senses, including sight, sound, touch, smell and taste, alongside spatiality, emotions and synaesthesia. Finally, in the concluding chapter, each period of study is summarized in terms of ‘Sensual Cultures’, including the dynamics, claims and sensory landscapes of past inhabitants throughout the Early Neolithic, Later Neolithic, Temple Period and Bronze Age. The volume concludes with a reflection of such research in a modern context. It is clear that such accounts will contribute to future narratives of Malta's archaeological remains.
This volume is a fundamental addition to a growing body of research into Malta's prehistory, providing a new and refreshing approach to one of the world's most fascinating archaeological landscapes. The book is not only of interest to those researching the prehistory of the island, it is of value to the expansive audience of those concerned with archaeological methodology, interpretation and representation, and the role of the past in the present.
