Insular monument building : a cause of social stress? : the case of prehistoric Malta
Prehistoric monument building, particularly that on islands, is reviewed. The insularity and nature of island societies and the question of possible social stress arising from these activities is posed. The degree of stress must be quantified and the technique of energetics analysis is the best available. Prehistoric Malta is chosen for detailed examination of these questions. The island is first described, including its location, geography, geology, climate and extant remains, together with the cultural phases and possible structure of its society. The rationale of an energetics analysis is covered with several examples of its application and a justification of its utility for Malta. The Ggantija temple is chosen for particular study and detailed drawings of its remains are given. The architecture of the original temple is hypothesised and the materials involved quantified. For each material the unit labour costs of procurement (including the location of sources), transport, preparation and construction are estimated. By combining the quantities of materials used with the unit labour costs, the total labour requirements are computed. A sensitivity analysis, allowing for significant variation of all the important
Clark, Jacob Daniel
Archaeology
Insular monument building : a cause of social stress? : the case of prehistoric Malta. Prehistoric monument building, particularly that on islands, is reviewed. The insularity and nature of island societies and the question of possible social stress arising from these activities is posed. The degree of stress must be quantified and the technique of energetics analysis is the best available. Prehistoric Malta is chosen for detailed examination of these questions. The island is first described, including its location, geography, geology, climate and extant remains, together with the cultural phases and possible structure of its society. The rationale of an energetics analysis is covered with several examples of its application and a justification of its utility for Malta. The Ggantija temple is chosen for particular study and detailed drawings of its remains are given. The architecture of the original temple is hypothesised and the materials involved quantified. For each material the unit labour costs of procurement (including the location of sources), transport, preparation and construction are estimated. By combining the quantities of materials used with the unit labour costs, the total labour requirements are computed. A sensitivity analysis, allowing for significant variation of all the important
insular monument building cause social stress case prehistoric malta prehistoric_monument building particularly island review insularity nature island society question possible social stress arise activity pose degree stress must quantify technique analysis best available prehistoric malta chosen detail_examination question island first_describe include location geography geology climate extant remain together cultural phase possible structure society rationale analysis cover several example application justification utility malta temple chosen particular study_detail drawing remain give architecture original temple material involve quantified material unit labour cost procurement include location source transport preparation construction estimate combine quantity material use unit labour cost total labour requirement compute sensitivity analysis allow significant variation important