Midwifery and neolithic Malta : interpreting and contextualizing two terracotta figurines

Abstract

The Maltese archipelago has a 5,000 year (pre)history of statuettes, votive offerings, and midwifery. Taking two examples of terracotta female figurines from the Neolithic, this study explores the possibilities for meaning and interpretation of these statuettes which lie outside the norm of prehistoric Maltese figurines. One figurine from the Tarxien temple complex shows a pregnant female whose body contains bits of bone and shell placed into particular anatomical parts while the clay was still wet. The other figurine examined is another pregnant female figurine, but this example was found with five clay “twists” that are commonly recognized as fetuses in varying stages of development. The usual interpretation of all prehistoric female figurines as representations of the “Great Mother Goddess” is herein avoided as an overarching theory with inadequate supporting evidence or anthropological value. Using the archaeological record, material culture studies, and ethnographic data, this paper proposes that these unique sculptures served as objects of sorcery by midwives on behalf of her client(s).