UNIT 11. COLONISATION AND PRE-ROMAN CIVILISATIONS.

1. THE ORIGIN OF THE IBERIAN AN CELTIC PEOPLES.

By the start of the 1st millenium BC the peoples of the Iberian Penisula were still living in the Bronze Age, but between the years 1.000 and 500 BC, peoples from northern Europe (indoeuropeans) and Eastern Mediterranean (phoenicians and greeks) came to the Iberian Peninsula. As a result, two large groups formed: the Iberians and the Celts

1. 1. The indo-european peoples.

The Indoeuropeans came from the great planes of Central Europe and crossed over the Pyreness between the 10th and 5th centuries BC.
How was their way of life:

• They worked with iron.
• and economy based on ceral cultivation and grazing.
• They cremated the dead and placed their ashes in urns.

 They reached the Peninsula in several waves, y a partir del siglo VIII a. c., ocuparon el Norte y el centro de la Península (celtas).

1. 2. Colonisation by the eastern mediterranean people.

During the 1st millenium BCpeoples from the Eastern Mediterranean founded colonies along the Mediterranean coast: greeks, phoenicians and carthaginians:

• The Phoenician were merchants that came from today's Lebanon . From the 11th to the 8th century BC, they controlled the trade in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Carthage was a phoenian colony in North Africa era una colonia fenicia, which in the 5th century BC became the dominat trade power in the Mediterranean Sea.

 1. 3. The formation of the celtic and iberian peoples.

Contact between the indigenous population and the new comers gave rise to the Celtic and Iberian Cultures.:

• In the East and South of the Peninsula, the influence of Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians gave rise to the Iberian culture.
• In the North and the Center, the influence of the indoeuropeans gave rise to the Celtic and Celtiberian cultures.

These pre-Romans peoples were inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula when the Roman arrived.

2. THE PHOENICIANS, GREEKS AND CARTHAGINIANS.

The colonisers brought new knowledge and technological advances to the Iberian Peninsula:

• Writing.
• New crops (olives and grapes), agricultural techniques and domestic animals (chickens and cats).
• The use of iron and mining techniques.
• Fish salting.
• Potter's wheel.
• Use of money.

2. 1. Phoenician and Greek colonisation.

• The Phoenicians settled in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. They founded Gadir (Cádiz) in 1.000 BC and other colonies in the south east.
• The Greeks came from the city of Phocaea in the 7th century and founded colonies on the east coast like Emporion.

The Phoenicians and the Greeks traded with the indigenous population. They exchanged metals and salted products for manufactured goods (textiles, jewellery and ceramics).

2. 2. The Carthaginians.

From the 5th BC the Carthaginians fought against the Greeks to control the Iberian Coast. Finally took control of the trade in metals (tin and silver) and fish salting factories.
In the 3th century, the carthaginians occupied the east coast and the south of the Iberian Peninsula to recruit soldiers and acquire metals to fight against Rome.

2. 3. Phoenician and Punic art.

The main characteristics of the Phoenician art were:

•  Egyptian and Assyrian influence.
• Rigid and forward-facing.
• Made in stone and bronze.
• Had a religious function.

3. Tartessos.

Between the years 1.000 y el 500 BC the tartessian civilization developed in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.  This civilization dissapeared as a result of the exhaustion of the mines and the Carthaginesian conquest.

3. 1. Tartessos and its area of influence.

Tartessos extended out to the west of Andalusia and south of Extremadura, although its centre was located in the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cadiz.

3. 2. Economic importance.

• Tartessos was rich in silver, gold copper and iron mines and had workshops dedicated to the manufacture of metal objects.
• Play a key role in the Atlantic routes from Galicia and the British Isles which supplied the eastern mediterranean it tin, silver and lead.
• The trade with the Greeks and the Phoenicians, exchanging mineral products for luxury goods (perfumes, amber, ceramics and jewellery).

 3. 3. An aristocratic society.

• There were an aristocracy that controlled the kingdom's territory, trade and wealth.
• They had a writing system due to the Phoenician influence.
• They worshipped eastern gods.

4. THE CELTS AND THE CELTIBERIANS.

We have to distinguish between:

• celts who occupied the north and west of the Iberian Peninsula.
• celtiberians, who occupied the Ebro Valley and the Meseta and were very influenced by the Iberian culture.

4. 1. The way of live of the celts.

They lived in villages with walls and moats located near sources of water and arable land. The houses were circular and were made of adobe.
Their eonomy was self-sufficient. They were nomadic farmers who made ceramics, woven wool products and metal tools. They did not trade with other peoples and did not use money.
They were organised into family clans; several clans formed a tribe which occupied a territory.

4. 2. Celtics and celtiberian culture.

Unlike the Celts, the Celtiberian practised writing.
They worshiped the Celtic deities and the Celtic funeral rites (cremation).

4. 3. Celtic art.

The main celtic works of art were:

• Verracos: zoomorphic scultpures made from stone. Rough and simplified.
• Gold and silver jewellery (neckrings, brooches) and weapons.
• Objects with geometric decoration or stylised animal, plants or human figures.

Celtiberian writing.

Toros de Guisando.

5. IBERIAN PEOPLES.

The iberian culture was the result of the influence of the colonisers from eastern Mediterranean in the east and south of the Peninsula.

5. 1. Way of life.

 The iberians lived in fortified cities located in high places and near a water source. The houses were rectangular with adobe walls and roofs made of straw.
 The economy was based in:

• rain-fed farming (cerals, olives, grapes and vegetables).
• livestock farming (bulls, oxen, donkeys and horses).
• artisanship: weaving and ceramics.
• trade which resulted in the use of money.

The iberians were organised in traibes who shared the same languages. The society was hierarchical:

• a warrior-like aristocracy.
• artisans, merchants and soldiers.
• farmers, miners, servants, slaves.

Culture and religion.

The iberians used an alphabet influcenced by the Phoenicians and the Greeks.
They had an aminist religions: they believed that the elements had spirits and adopted female divinities from the East.
They buried their deads near their towns along funerary gods.

 

 

6. IBERIAN ART.

The iberians developed very rich art forms, but the most representative was the sculpture and stone relief.

6. 1. Shrines.

Most of the shrines were:

• located on high ground.
• large complexes with protective walls, couryards and several buildings.
• a small temple with one room and a central altar.

 6. 2. Necropoleis.

There were two types of tombs:

• Underground tombs with a stela pillar: a pillar base that support another pillar on top of it.
• In the south, chamber tombs covered with stone slabs.

6. 3. Votive offerings.

A votive offering is a figurine in the form of a human or animal, offered to the deity for protection or assistance.

6. 4. Sculptures and reliefs.

The main characteristics of the sculptures were:

• had a clear phoenician or greek influence.
• were made of sandstone or limestone.
• were polychrome.
• represented female figures (damas), warriors and real or imaginary animals.
• figures were forward-facing with a blank expression.
• were very detailed.

 The damas are female figures in the form of a bust (busto) or the whole body.

Dama de Baza, MAN. File: File:Museo_Arqueológico_Nacional_-_1969-68-155-123A_-_Dama_de_Baza_01.jpg Author: Relanzón, Santiago (photo) License: BY-SA 4.0

Dama de Elche.

Bicha de Balazote, MAN. File:Museo_Arqueológico_Nacional_-_18529_-_Bicha_de_Balazote_01.jpg Author: http://www.man.es/man/home.html License: CC BY-SA 4.0