Show Summary Details

Page of


date: 30 May 2020

Abstract and Keywords

‘Representation’ is one of the key cultural practices through which meanings are produced and exchanged. This article undertakes a literary and art criticism of historic and contemporary representations of prehistoric Malta, with particular reference to the senses, in order to chart, historicize, and contextualize the sensory experiences and perceptions that have surrounded the development of archaeology in Malta over the last four centuries. It considers how different generations of antiquarians and archaeologists have represented or denied the senses in the texts and images that describe their experiences and understandings of the landscape, inhabitants, and prehistoric antiquities of the Maltese Islands. Based on these criticisms, the article offers the potential for such studies to be re-evaluated as culturally determined forms of representation that provide a wealth of information about the changing representational conventions, politics, and sensory perceptions of their creators.

Keywords: representation, cultural practices, Malta, archaeologists, art criticism


Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

