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Prehistory in theIberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the firstHomogenus representatives fromAfrica, which may range fromc. 1.5 million years (Ma) ago toc. 1.25 Ma ago, depending on thedating technique employed, so it is set atc. 1.3 Ma ago for convenience.[1]
The end of Iberian prehistory coincides with the first entrance of theRoman army into the peninsula, in 218BC, which led to the progressive dissolution ofpre-Roman peoples in Roman culture. This end date is also conventional, sincepre-Roman writing systems can be traced to as early as 5th century BC.[2]
Prehistory in Iberia spans around 60% of theQuaternary, withwritten history occupying just 0.08%. For the rest 40%, it was uninhabited by humans.[1] ThePleistocene, firstepoch of Quaternary, was characterized byclimate oscillations betweenice ages andinterglacials that produced significant changes in Iberia'sorography. The first and biggest period in Iberia's prehistory is thePaleolithic, which startsc. 1.3 Ma and ends almost coinciding with Pleistocene's ending,c. 11.500 years or 11.5ka ago. Significant evidence of an extended occupation of Iberia during this period byHomo neanderthalensis has been discovered. The first remains ofHomo sapiens have been dated from towards the end of the Paleolithic. For a short time, around 5 ka, bothspecies coexisted, until the former was finally driven to extinction.[3]
Holocene followed Pleistocene with a more homogeneous and humid climate, and the exclusive presence ofHomo sapiens. It includesMesolithic (c. 11.5 ka ago - 5.6 ka BC),Neolithic (c. 5.6 - 3.2 ka BC) and theMetal Ages:Chalcolithic or Copper Age (c. 3.2 - 1.9 ka BC),Bronze Age (c. 1.9 ka - 750 BC) andIron Age (c. 750 - 218 BC). The Mesolithic and Chalcolithic are transition periods, where characteristics of both the preceding and following ages can be found. Holocene hosted several progressive transformations: territorial and cultural differentiation amongHomo sapiens groups, birth of newsocial organizations andeconomies, transition fromhunting-gathering toagriculture andanimal husbandry, and arrival of new peoples from theMediterranean Sea andcentral Europe, with foundation ofcolonies.[1]
There are prehistoric remains scattered throughout the peninsula. Of notable importance is thearchaeological site of Atapuerca, in northernSpain, containing a million years ofhuman evolution and declaredWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 2000.[4][5]
TheLower Paleolithic begins in Iberia with the first human habitationc.1.3 Ma ago, and ends conventionally 128 ka ago,[1] making it the longest period of Iberia's Paleolithic. It is mainly studied from the humanfossils andstone tools found at archaeological sites, of which Atapuerca is of significant importance. It contains many animal andHomo antecessor fossils showing signs of stone tool manipulation for reaching thespinal cord, which constitute the first evidence ofcannibalism amongHomo.[5]
AtSima de los Huesos archaeologists have foundHomo heidelbergensis fossils, datedc. 430 ka ago, corresponding to around 30 individuals and with neither evidence of habitation nor of a catastrophic event, thus being hypothesized as the first evidence ofHomo burial.[5]DNA analysis from these fossils also suggest a process of continuoushybridization amongHomospecies throughout this period, until the final arrival ofHomo neanderthalensis.[5]
Middle Paleolithic (c. 128 – 40 ka ago) is dominated by an extended occupation of Iberia byHomo neanderthalensis or, more popularly,Neanderthals, who had a heavier body, higherlung volume and a biggerbrain thanHomo sapiens.Gorham's cave (Gibraltar) containsNeanderthal rock art, suggesting they had highersymbolic thought abilities than it was previously supposed. This period, like the previous one, is mainly studied from fossils and stone tools, which evolve into Mode 3 orMousterian. There is no extended usage ofbone orantlers for tool fabrication, and very littlewood usage evidence remains because ofdecomposition.
By contrast with Lower Paleolithic, when habitation was usually in open air and caves were used circumstantially (burial, tool fabrication,butchering), throughout this period caves are increasingly used for habitation, with remains of archaic home conditioning.[6] TheChâtelperronian culture, mostly found in southernFrance, is contemporaneous to the period of time when bothHomo neanderthalensis andHomo sapiens coexisted in Europe, and thus at first it was attributed to the latter, but the discovery of a full skeleton from the former changed its attribution toHomo neanderthalensis.[7] Some academics prefer to call it late Mousterian, and there is a debate on whether to consider it either a proper or a transitional industry, since chronologically it belongs to Middle Paleolithic but it shows characteristics of Upper Paleolithic industries.[7]
Upper Paleolithic (c. 40 - 11.5 ka ago) starts with theAurignacian culture, which is mostly found in northern Iberia (currentAsturias,Cantabria,Basque Country andCatalonia) in the beginning, and is the work ofHomo sapiens. It later expands throughout all of the Iberian peninsula and is followed by theGravettian. In Cantabria most Gravettian remains are found mixed with Aurignacian technology, thus it is considered "intrusive", in contrast with the Mediterranean area, where it probably means a real colonization.[8] The first indications of modern human colonization of the interior and the west of the peninsula are found only in this cultural phase.
Because of thelast glacial maximum, western Europe was isolated and developed theSolutrean culture, which shows its earliest appearances in Les Mallaetes (Valencia), with radiocarbon date 20,890 BP.[8] In northern Iberia there are two markedly different tendencies in Asturias and theVasco-Cantabrian area. Important sites areAltamira andSantimamiñe. The next phase isMagdalenian, even if in the Mediterranean area the Gravettian influence is still persistent.[8] In Portugal there have been some findings north ofLisbon (Casa da Moura, Lapa do Suão).[8]
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Iberia is host of impressive Paleolithiccave androck art.Altamira cave is the most well-known example of the former, being aWorld Heritage Site since 1985.[9]Côa Valley, inPortugal, andSiega Verde, in Spain, formed aroundtributaries intoDouro, contain the best preserved rock art, forming together another World Heritage Site since 1998.[10] Artistic manifestation is found most importantly in the northernCantabrian area, where the earliest manifestations, for example theCaves of Monte Castillo are as old as Aurignacian times. The practice of this mural art increases in frequency in the Solutrean period, when the first animals are drawn, but it is not until the Magdalenian cultural phase when it becomes truly widespread, being found in almost every cave.
Most of the representations are of animals (bison, horse, deer, bull, reindeer, goat, bear, mammoth, moose) and are painted in ochre and black colors but there are exceptions and human-like forms as well as abstract drawings also appear in some sites. In the Mediterranean and interior areas, the presence of mural art is not so abundant but exists as well since the Solutrean. The monumental Côa Valley haspetroglyphs dating up to 22,000 years ago. These document continuous human occupation from the end of the Paleolithic Age. Other examples includeChimachias,Los Casares orLa Pasiega, or, in general, the caves principally in Cantabria (in Spain).
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Around 10,000 BC, an interstadialdeglaciation called theAllerød Oscillation occurred, weakening the rigorous conditions of thelast ice age. This climatic change also represents the end of theUpper Palaeolithic period, beginning theEpipaleolithic. Depending on the terminology preferred by any particular source, theMesolithic begins after the Epipaleolithic, or includes it. If the Epipaleolithic is not included in it, the Mesolithic is a relatively brief period in Iberia.
As theclimate became warmer, the late Magdalenian peoples of Iberia modified their technology and culture. The main techno-cultural change is the process ofmicrolithization: the reduction of size of stone and bone tools, also found in other parts of the World. Also the cave sanctuaries seem to be abandoned and art becomes rarer and mostly done on portable objects, such as pebbles or tools.
It also implies changes in diet, as themegafauna virtually disappears when the steppe becomes woodlands. In this period, hunted animals are of smaller size, typically deer or wild goats, and seafood becomes an important part of the diet where available.
The first Epipaleolithic culture is theAzilian, also known asmicrolaminar microlithism in the Mediterranean. This culture is the local evolution of Magdalenian, parallel to other regional derivatives found in Central and Northern Europe. Originally found in the old Magdalenian territory ofVasco-Cantabria and the widerFranco-Cantabrian region, Azilian-style culture eventually expanded to parts of Mediterranean Iberia as well. It reflected a much warmer climate, leading to thick woodlands, and the replacement of large herd animals with smaller and more elusive forest-dwellers.
An archetypical Azilian site in the Iberian peninsula is Zatoya (Navarre), where it is difficult to discern the early Azilian elements from those of late Magdalenian (this transition dated to 11,760 BP).[8] Full Azilian in the same site is dated to 8,150 BP, followed by appearance of geometric elements at a later date, that continue until the arrival of pottery (subneolithic stage).
In the Mediterranean area, virtually this same material culture is often namedmicrolaminar microlithism because it lacks of thebone industry typical of Franco-Cantabrian Azilian. It is found in parts of Catalonia, Valencian Community, Murcia and Mediterranean Andalusia. It has been dated in Les Mallaetes at 10,370 BP.[8]
TheAsturian culture was a successor to the Azilian, moved slightly to the west, whose distinctive tool was a pick-axe for pickinglimpets off rocks.
In the late phases of the Epipaleolithic a new trend arrives from the north: the geometrical microlithism, directly related toSauveterrian andTardenoisian cultures of theRhine-Danube region.
While in the Franco-Cantabrian region it has a minor impact, not altering the Azilian culture substantially, in Mediterranean Iberia and Portugal its arrival is more noticeable. The Mediterranean geometrical microlithism has two facies:
The rock art found at over 700 sites along the eastern side of Iberia is the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world. It is strikingly different from the Upper Palaeolithic art found along the northern coast, with narrative scenes with large numbers of small sketchily painted human figures, rather than the superbly observed individual animal figures that characterise the earlier period.
When it appears in the same scene as animals, the human figure runs towards them. The most common scenes by far are of hunting, and there are scenes of battle and dancing, and possibly agricultural tasks and managing domesticated animals. In some scenes gathering honey is shown, most famously at Cuevas de la Araña en Bicorp (illustrated below). Humans are naked from the waist up, but women have skirts and men sometimes skirts or gaiters or trousers of some sort, and headdresses and masks are sometimes seen, which may indicate rank or status.
In the 6th millennium BC,Andalusia experiences the arrival of the first agriculturalists. Their origin is uncertain, but they arrive with already developed crops (cereals andlegumes). The presence of domestic animals instead is unlikely, as onlypig andrabbit remains have been found and these could belong to wild animals. They also consumed large amounts ofolives but it's uncertain too whether this tree was cultivated or merely harvested in its wild form. Their typical artifact is theLa Almagra style pottery, quite variegated.[8]
The Andalusian Neolithic also influenced other areas, notably Southern Portugal, where, soon after the arrival of agriculture, the firstdolmen tombs begin to be built c. 4800 BC, being possibly the oldest of their kind anywhere.[8]
C. 5700 BCCardium pottery Neolithic culture (also known asMediterranean Neolithic) arrives to Eastern Iberia. While some remains of this culture have been found as far west as Portugal, its distribution is basically Mediterranean (Catalonia, Valencian region, Ebro valley, Balearic islands).
The interior and the northern coastal areas remain largely marginal in this process of spread ofagriculture. In most cases it would only arrive in a very late phase or even already in the Chalcolithic age, together withMegalithism.
The location of Perdigões, inReguengos de Monsaraz, is thought to have been an important location. Twenty small ivory statues dating to 4,500 years BP have been discovered there since 2011. It has constructions dating back to about 5,500 years. It has anecropolis. Outside the location there is acromlech.[11] TheAlmendres Cromlech site, inÉvora, hasmegaliths from the late6th to the early 3rd millennium BC.[12] TheAnta Grande do Zambujeiro, also in Évora, is dated between 4000 and 3000 BC.[13][14] TheAntequera Dolmens date from after c. 3700 BC. TheDolmen of Cunha Baixa, inMangualde Municipality, is dated between 3000 and 2500 BC.[15] The Cave of Salemas was used as a burial ground during the Neolithic.[16]
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TheChalcolithic or Copper Age is the earliest phase ofmetallurgy.Copper,silver andgold started to be worked then, though these soft metals could hardly replace stone tools for most purposes. The Chalcolithic is also a period of increased social complexity and stratification and, in the case of Iberia, that of the rise of the firstcivilizations and of extensive exchange networks that would reach tothe Baltic andAfrica.The conventional date for the beginning of Chalcolithic in Iberia is c. 3200 BC. In the following centuries, especially in the south of the peninsula, metal goods, often decorative or ritual, become increasingly common. Additionally there is an increased evidence of exchanges with areas far away:amber from the Baltic andivory andostrich-egg products fromNorthern Africa.[8] A notable example in that regard is theIvory Lady fromTholos de Montelirio.
TheBell Beaker culture was present in Iberia during the Chalcolithic.[18]Gordon Childe interpreted the presence of its characteristic artefact as the intrusion of "missionaries" expanding from Iberia along the Atlantic coast, spreading knowledge of Mediterranean copper metallurgy. Stephen Shennan interpreted their artefacts as belonging to a mobile cultural elite imposing itself over the indigenous substrate populations. Similarly, Sangmeister (1972) interpreted the "Beaker folk" (Glockenbecherleute) as small groups of highly mobile traders and artisans. Christian Strahm (1995) used the term "Bell Beaker phenomenon" (Glockenbecher-Phänomen) as a compromise in order to avoid the term "culture".
The Bell Beaker artefacts at least in their early phase are not distributed across a contiguous areal as is usual for archaeological cultures, but are found in insular concentrations scattered across Europe. Their presence is not associated with a characteristic type of architecture or of burial customs. However, the Bell Beaker culture does appear to coalesce into a coherent archaeological culture in its later phase.
More recent analyses of the "Beaker phenomenon", published since the 2000s, have persisted in describing the origin of the "Beaker phenomenon" as arising from a synthesis of elements, representing "an idea and style uniting different regions with different cultural traditions and background.
"Archaeogenetics studies of the 2010s have been able to resolve the "migrationist vs. diffusionist" question to some extent. The study by Olalde et al. (2017) found only "limited genetic affinity" between individuals associated with the Beaker complex in Iberia and in Central Europe, suggesting that migration played a limited role in its early spread from Iberia. However, the same study found that the further dissemination of the mature Beaker complex was very strongly linked to migration. The spread and fluidity of the Beaker culture back and forth between the Rhine and its origin source in the peninsula may have introduced high levels ofsteppe-related ancestry, resulting in a near-complete transformation of the local gene pool within a few centuries, to the point of replacement of about 90% of the local Mesolithic-Neolithic patrilineal lineages.
The origin of the "Bell Beaker" artefact itself has been traced to the early 3rd millennium. The earliest examples of the "maritime" Bell Beaker design have been found at the Tagus estuary in Portugal, radiocarbon dated to c. the 28th century BC. The inspiration for the Maritime Bell Beaker is argued to have been the small and earlier Copoz beakers that have impressed decoration and which are found widely around the Tagus estuary in Portugal. Turek has recorded late Neolithic precursors in northern Africa, arguing the Maritime style emerged as a result of seaborne contacts between Iberia and Morocco in the first half of the third millennium BCE. In only a few centuries of their maritime spread, by 2600 BC. they had reached the rich lower Rhine estuary and further upstream into Bohemia and beyond theElbe where they merged withCorded Ware culture, as also in the French coast of Provence and upstream the Rhone into the Alps andDanube.
Important Chalcolithic settlements in Iberia includeValencina de la Concepción,Marroquíes Bajos andLos Millares.
A significant Chalcolithic archeological site in Portugal is theCastro of Vila Nova de São Pedro. Other settlements from this period include Pedra do Ouro and theCastro of Zambujal.[18]Megaliths were created during this period, having started earlier, during the late5th, and lasting until the early2nd millennium BC.[18] TheCastelo Velho de Freixo de Numão, inVila Nova de Foz Côa Municipality, was populated from about 3000 to 1300 BC.[19] The Cerro do Castelo de Santa Justa, inAlcoutim, is dated to the 3rd millennium BC,[20] between 2400 and 1900 BC.[18]
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It is also the period of the great expansion of megalithism, with its associated collective burial practices. In the early Chalcolithic period this cultural phenomenon, maybe of religious undertones, expands along the Atlantic regions and also through the south of the peninsula (additionally it's also found in virtually all European Atlantic regions). In contrast, most of the interior and the Mediterranean regions remain refractary to this phenomenon.
Another phenomenon found in the early chalcolithic is the development of new types of funerary monuments:tholoi andartificial caves. These are only found in the more developed areas: southern Iberia, from theTagus estuary toAlmería, and SE France.
From c. 3000 BC, urban communities began to appear, again especially in the south. The most important ones areLos Millares in SE Spain and Zambujal (belonging toVila Nova de São Pedro culture) in PortugueseEstremadura, that can well be calledcivilizations, even if they lack of the literary component.
It is very unclear if any cultural influence originated in the Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus?) could have sparked these civilizations. On one side thetholos does have a precedent in that area (even if not used yet as tomb) but on the other there is no material evidence of any exchange between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, in contrast with the abundance of goods imported from Northern Europe and Africa.[8]
Since c. 2150 BC, theBell Beaker culture intrudes in Chalcolithic Iberia. After the early Corded style beaker, of quite clear Central European origin, the peninsula begins producing its own types of Bell Beaker pottery. Most important is the Maritime or International style that, associated especially with Megalithism, is for some centuries abundant in all the peninsula and southern France.
Since c. 1900 BC, the Bell Beaker phenomenon in Iberia shows a regionalization, with different styles being produced in the various regions: Palmela type in Portugal, Continental type in the plateau and Almerian type in Los Millares, among others.[8]
Like in other parts of Europe, the Bell Beaker phenomenon (speculated to be of trading or maybe religious nature) does not significantly alter the cultures it inserts itself in. Instead the cultural contexts that existed previously continue basically unchanged by its presence.[citation needed]
![Stone idols, c. 3500-2700 BC.[21]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a%25C3%258Ddolo_calcol%25C3%25ADtico_M.A.N._07.JPG)
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![Gold wristguard from Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal.[22]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBra%25C3%25A7al_de_arqueiro%2c_verso%2c_Idade_do_Bronze.jpg)
The center ofBronze Age technology is in the southeast since c. 1800 BC.[8] There the civilization ofLos Millares was followed by that ofEl Argar, initially with no other discontinuity than the displacement of the main urban center some kilometers to the north, the gradual appearance of truebronze andarsenical bronze tools and some greater geographical extension. The Argarian people lived in rather large fortified towns or cities.
From this center, bronze technology spread to other areas. Most notable are:
Some areas like the civilization of Vila Nova seem to have remained apart from the spread of bronze metallurgy remaining technically in the Chalcolithic period for centuries.
Basically a continuation of the previous period. The most noticeable change happens in the El Argar civilization, which adopts the Aegean custom of burial inpithoi.[8] This phase is known as El Argar B, beginning c. 1500 BC.
The Northwest (Galicia and northern Portugal), a region that held some of the largest reserves oftin (needed to make true bronze) in Western Eurasia, became a focus for mining, incorporating bronze technology. Their typical artifacts are bronze axes (Group of Montelavar).
The semi-desert region ofLa Mancha shows its first signs of colonization with the fortified scheme of theMotillas (hillforts). This group is clearly related to theBronze of Levante, showing the same material culture.[8]
C. 1300 BC several major changes happen in Iberia, among them:
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Iron Age Iberia has two focuses: the Hallstatt-related Urnfields of the North-East and thePhoenician colonies of the South.
During the Iron Age, considered theprotohistory of the territory,Celts came, in several waves, possibly starting before 600 BC.[18]
Southwest Paleohispanic script, or Tartessian, seen inAlgarve andLower Alentejo from about the late 8th to the 5th century BC, is possibly the oldest script inWestern Europe. It could have come from theEastern Mediterranean, perhaps fromAnatolia orGreece.[18]
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Tempered steel tools were already in use on the Iberian peninsula in late 8th century BC.[24]
Since the late 8th century BC, theUrnfield culture of North-East Iberia began to develop iron metallurgy, and eventually elements ofHallstatt culture. The earliest elements of this culture were found along the lower Ebro river, then gradually expanded upstream toLa Rioja and in a hybrid local form toAlava. There was also expansion southward intoCastelló, with less marked influences reaching further south. Some offshoots have been detected along theIberian Mountains, possibly a prelude to the formation of theCeltiberi.[8]
In this period, the social differentiation became more visible with evidence of local chiefdoms and a horse-riding elite. These transformations may represent the arrival of a new wave of cultures from central Europe.
From these outposts in the Upper Ebro and the Iberian mountains, Celtic culture expanded into the plateau and the Atlantic coast. Several groups can be described:[8]
All these Indo-European groups have some common elements, like combed pottery since the 6th century and uniform weaponry.
After c. 600 BC, the Urnfields of the North-East were replaced by the Iberian culture, a process that wasn't completed until the 4th century BC.[8] This physical separation from their continental relatives would mean that the Celts of the Iberian peninsula never received the cultural influences ofLa Tène culture, includingDruidism.
ThePhoenicians of theLevant,Greeks ofEurope, andCarthaginians of Africa all colonized parts of Iberia to facilitate trade. In the 10th century BC, the first contacts between Phoenicians and Iberia (along theMediterranean coast) were made. This century also saw the emergence oftowns and cities in the southern littoral areas of eastern Iberia.
The Phoenicians founded the colony ofGadir (nowCádiz) near Tartessos. The foundation of Cádiz, the oldest continuously inhabited city in western Europe, is traditionally dated to 1104 BC, though, as of 2004, noarchaeological discoveries date back further than the 9th century BC. The Phoenicians continued to use Cádiz as a trading post for several centuries leaving a variety of artifacts, most notably a pair of sarcophaguses from around the 4th or 3rd century BC. Contrary to myth, there is no record of Phoenician colonies west ofAlgarve (namelyTavira), though there might have been some voyages of discovery. Phoenician influence in what is nowPortugal was essentially through cultural and commercial exchange with Tartessos.
In the 9th century BC, the Phoenicians, from the city-state ofTyre founded the colony ofMalaka (nowMálaga)[26] andCarthage (inNorth Africa). During this century, Phoenicians also had great influence on Iberia with the introduction theuse of Iron, of thePotter's wheel, the production ofolive oil andwine. They were also responsible for the first forms of Iberian writing, had great religious influence and accelerated urban development. However, there is no real evidence to support the myth of a Phoenician foundation of the city ofLisbon as far back as 1300 BC, under the nameAlis Ubbo ("Safe Harbour"), even if in this period there are organized settlements inOlissipona (modern Lisbon, inPortugueseEstremadura) with Mediterranean influences.
There was strong Phoenician influence and settlement in the city ofBalsa (modernTavira,Algarve), in the 8th century BC. Phoenician-influenced Tavira was destroyed by violence in the 6th century BC. With the decadence of Phoenician colonization of theMediterranean coast of Iberia in the 6th century BC many of the colonies are deserted. The 6th century BC also saw the rise of the colonial might ofCarthage, which slowly replaced the Phoenicians in their former areas of dominion.
The Greek colony at what now isMarseille began trading with the Iberians on the eastern coast around the 8th century BC. The Greeks finally founded their own colony atAmpurias, in the easternMediterranean shore (modernCatalonia), during the 6th century BC beginning their settlement in the Iberian peninsula. There are no Greek colonies west of theStrait of Gibraltar, only voyages of discovery. There is no evidence to support the myth of an ancient Greek founding ofOlissipo (modernLisbon) byOdysseus.
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The nameTartessian, when applied inarchaeology andlinguistics, does not necessarily correlate with the semi-mythical city ofTartessos but only roughly with the area where it is typically assumed it should have been.
The Tartessian culture of southern Iberia is actually the local culture as modified by the increasing influence of eastern Mediterranean elements, especially Phoenician. Its core area is Western Andalusia, but soon extends to Eastern Andalusia, Extremadura and the lands of Murcia and Valencia, where a Tartessian complex, rooted in the local Bronze cultures, is in the last stages of the Bronze Age (9th-8th centuries BC) before Phoenician influence can be seen clearly.
The full Tartessian culture, beginning c.720 BC, also extends to southern Portugal, where is eventually replaced by Lusitanian culture. One of the most significant elements of this culture is the introduction of thepotter's wheel, that, along with other related technical developments, causes a major improvement in quality of pottery. There are other major advances in craftsmanship, affectingjewelry,weaving andarchitecture.[8] This latter aspects is especially important, as the traditional circular huts were then gradually replaced by well finished rectangular buildings. It also allowed for the construction of the tower-like burial monuments that are so typical of this culture.
Agriculture also seems to have experienced major advances with the introduction of steel tools and, presumably, of theyoke and animal traction for theplow. In this period it's noticeable the increase ofcattle accompanied by some decrease ofsheep andgoat types.[8]
Another noticeable element is the major increase in economical specialization and social stratification. This is very noticeable in burials; some show off great wealth (chariots, gold, ivory), while the vast majority are much more modest. There is much diversity in burial rituals in this period but the elites seem to converge in one single style: a chambered mound. Some of the most affluent burials are generally attributed to local monarchs.
One of the developments of this period is writing, a skill which was probably acquired through contact with the Phoenicians.John T. Koch controversially claimed to have deciphered the extant Tartessian inscriptions and to have tentatively identified the language as an earlier form of the Celtic languages now spoken in the British Isles and Brittany in the book 'Celtic from the West', published in 2010.[27][25] However, the linguistic mainstream continues to treat Tartessian as an unclassified, possiblypre-Indo-European language, and Koch's decipherment of the Tartessian script and his theory for the evolution of Celtic has been strongly criticized.[28]
In theIberian culture people were organized in chiefdoms and states. Three phases can be identified: the Ancient, the Middle and the Late Iberian period.
With the arrival of Greek influence, not limited to their few colonies, the Tartessian culture begins to transform itself, especially in the South East. This late period is known as the Iberian culture, that in Western Andalusia and the non-Celtic areas of Extremadura is called Ibero-Turdetanian because of its stronger links with the Tartessian substrate.
Greek influence is visible in the gradual change of the style oftheir monuments that approach more and more the models arrived from the Greek world.[8] Thus the obelisk-like funerary monuments of the previous period now adopt a column like form, totally in line with Greek architecture.
By mid 5th century, aristocratic power was increased and resulted in the abandonment and transformation of the orientalizing model. Theoppidum appeared and became the socio-economic model of the aristocratic class. The commerce was also one of the principal sources of aristocratic control and power. In the southeast, between the end of the 5th and the end of the 4th century BC, appeared a highly hierarchical aristocratic society. There were different forms of political control. The power and control seemed to be in the hand of kings or reguli.
Iberian funerary customs are dominated bycremation necropolis, that are partly due to the persistent influences of theUrnfield culture, but they also include burial customs imported from the Greek cultural area (mudbrick rectangular mound).[8]
Urbanism was important in the Iberian cultural area, especially in the south, where Roman accounts mention hundreds ofoppida (fortified towns). In these towns (some quite large, some mere fortified villages) the houses were typically arranged in contiguous blocks, in what seems to be another Urnfield cultural influx.
TheIberian script evolved from the Tartessian one with Greek influences that are noticeable in the transformation of some characters. In a few cases a variant ofGreek alphabet (Ibero-Ionian script) was used to writeIberian as well.
The transformation from Tartessian to Iberian culture was not sudden but gradual and was more marked in the East, where it begins in the 6th century BC, than in the south-west, where it is only noticeable since the 5th century BC and much more tenuous. A special case is the northeast where the Urnfield culture was Iberized but keeping some elements from the Indo-European substrate.[8]
Also in the 6th century BC there was a cultural shift in southwest Iberia (southern Portugal and nearby parts of Andalusia) after Tartessos fell; with a strong Mediterranean character that prolonged and modified Tartessian culture. This occurred mainly in LowAlentejo andAlgarve, but had littoral extensions up to theSado mouth (namely the important city ofBevipo, modernAlcácer do Sal). The first form of writing in western Iberia (south ofPortugal), theSouthwest Paleohispanic script (still to be translated), dated to the 6th century BC, denotes strong Tartessian influence in its use of a modifiedPhoenician alphabet. In these writings the word "Conii" (similar to Cunetes orCynetes, the people ofAlgarve) appears frequently.
In the 4th century BC, theCeltici appear, a late expansion of Celtic culture into the southwest (southernExtremadura,Alentejo and northernAlgarve). TheTurduli andTurdetani, probably descendants of the Tartessians, though Celticized, became established in the area of theGuadiana river, in southern Portugal. A series of cities in Algarve, such asBalsa (Tavira),Baesuris (Castro Marim),Ossonoba (Faro) andCilpes (Silves), became inhabited by theCynetes.
In the 4th century BC,Rome began to rise as aMediterranean power rival to theNorth African basedCarthage. After suffering defeat to the Romans in theFirst Punic War (264–241 BC), the Carthaginians began to extend their power into the interior of Iberia from their south eastern coastal settlements but this empire was to be short lived. In 218 BC theSecond Punic War started and the Carthaginian generalHannibal marched his armies, which included Iberians, from Iberia, across the Pyrenees and the Alps and attacked the Romans in Italy. Starting in the north-east, Rome began its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
