The "Late Basquisation" hypothesis set the historical geographical spread of the Basque or theproto-Basque language later in history. It suggests that at the end of theRoman Republic and during the first centuries of theEmpire, migration of Basque-speakers from Aquitaine overlapped with anautochthonous population whose most ancient substrate would beIndo-European.[2] The migration is alleged to have increased, with peaks in the 6th and 7th centuries.[3]
In his 2008 bookHistoria de las Lenguas de Europa (History of the Languages of Europe), the Spanish philologist andhellenistFrancisco Rodríguez Adrados has updated the debate by arguing that the Basque language is older in Aquitaine than in the Spanish Basque country, and it now inhabits its current territory because of pressure of the Celtic invasions.[4]
According to the hypothesis of Late Basquisation, on top of a more ancient autochthonous Indo-European occupation, evidence appears of important Celtic establishments in the current territory of theBasque Country (though apparently not in the Pyrenean valleys ofNavarre). Both cultures coexisted, the Celtic elements being socially predominant, until thearrival of the Romans. This is observed all overÁlava andBiscay, thus being concluded that theCaristii andVarduli were not Basque tribes or peoples, but that they were Indo-Europeans like their neighborsAutrigones,Cantabri, andBeroni.
The Late Basquisation hypothesis puts forward the following evidence:
Abundance of ancient Indo-Europeanonomasty beforeRomanization (as pointed out by María Lourdes Albertos Firmat).[5]
Absence of vestiges in Basque language prior to romanization, in stark contrast with Aquitaine.
Deep romanization of the Basque depression (both theager and thesaltus, as indicated by Caro Baroja and Juan José Cepeda).
Homogeneity of the Basque dialects in the Early Middle Ages (pointed out by Luis Michelena).
Archaeological vestiges (Aldaieta, Alegría, etc.)
The genetic boundary between the Basques and their southern neighbors is quite abrupt, while it has a more diffuse character between Basques and their northern neighbors, which might indicate a displacement from Aquitaine to the south. (Cavalli-Sforza).[6]
^Francisco Villar (2001), La complessità dei livelli di stratificazione indoeuropea nell’Europa occidentale, in G. Bocchi e M. Ceruti (eds.), Le radici prime dell’Europa. Gli intrecci genetici, linguistici, storici, Bruno Mondatori, Milano, pp. 209-234. “As far as the Basques are concerned, it is on the contrary unsure whether their presence in the Iberian peninsula was particularly extended or dense. Very few place or people names of Basque etymology can be traced in ancient sources, even in those concerning the historically Basque areas; in these too ancient place and people names have a prevailingIE character.”Translation byMario Alinei"The Paleolithic Continuity Theory: An Introduction". Archived fromthe original on 2008-04-05. Retrieved2008-04-12.(2003).
María Lourdes Albertos (1974)El culto a los montes entre los galaicos, astures y berones y algunas de las deidades más significativas. Estudios de Arqueología Alavesa 6:147-157. ISSN 0425-3507
Agustín Azkárate (1993)Francos, aquitanos y vascones al sur de los Pirineos. Archivo Español de Arqueología. 66:149-176. ISSN 0066-6742
Agustín Azkárate (2004)El País Vasco en los siglos inmediatos a la desaparición del Imperio Romano. EnHistoria del País Vasco. Edad Media (siglos V-XV):23-50. 84-9797-039-X
Julio Caro Baroja (1945)Materiales para una historia de la lengua vasca en su relación con la latina. 84-7148-254-1
Juan José Cepeda (1999) Dos depósitos monetarios de época altomedieval romana procedentes de Aloria (Álava).CSDIC: 215-228.
Juan José Cepeda. 2001.El yacimiento arqueológico de Aloria.
Iñaki García Camino. 2002.Arqueología y poblamiento en Bizkaia, siglos VI-XII.
Manuel Gómez Moreno. 1951. De epigrafía vizcaína. Boletín de la Real Academia de Historia 128:210-217.
Luis Michelena. 1988.Sobre historia de la lengua vasca.
Claudio Sánchez Albornoz. 1976.Vascos y navarros en su primera historia.
Theo Vennemann. 2003.Europa Vasconica - Europa Semítica. Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 138.
Francisco Villar & Blanca María Prósper (2005)Vascos, celtas e indoeuropeos. Genes y lenguas. 84-7800-530-7
Mikel Unzueta. 1994. Indigenismo prerromano en la vertiente cantábrica del País Vasco: fuentes documentales y contexto arqueológico.Illuntzar 94:101-112.
Mikel A. Unzueta, J. A. Ocharan. 1999. Aproximación a la conquista romana del Cantábrico oriental: el campamento o campo de batalla de Andagoste (Cuartango, Álava).Regio Cantabrorum: 125-142.
