History of Malta
Malta has been inhabited since 6400 BC initially by Mesolithic hunter gatherers, who were replaced by Neolithic farmers from Sicily around 5400 BC. These farmers practiced mixed farming after clearing most of the existing conifer forest that dominated the islands, but their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world.