HISP 225: Geography, Prehistory, Pre-Roman Iberia

Lecture 1 Flashcards

What do we know abt civilizations in iberia - earliest

• hominids established 1.2 million years ago

• Homo antecessor - hunter-gatherer survival

• Catalian meseta excavations

• unknown relationship to other hominids

What are the 3 main areas of the iberian penninsula?

1. Mediterranean Region

2. Central Plateau

3. Atlantic Region

What was the bronze age?

material wealth

• copper

• tin

• iron

What were the regional advantages of the Iberian Penninsula?

Crossroad of cultures

1. Contact with cultures of Northern Atlantic World (CELTS/FRANKS)

2. Contact w the cultures of northern and easter mediterranean (Phoenicians, Romans)

3. Contact with cultures of the southern Mediterranean (carthage, berbers, etc)

What (site) is the earliest evidence of humans in western europe? What did they find?

• Atapuerca

• Fragments of jawbone and teeth, dating back 1.1-1.2 milllion years

• Oldest tools

What is the most important archeological site within atapuerca?

• Put of Bones

• 1,600 human fossils

• 300,000-600,000 years old

• Earliest known evidence of DNA

What is the Cave of Altamira?

• 1879, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola amateaur archeologists

• Apogee of paleolithic cave art

• Window of prehistoric world

• 35,000 to 11,000 BC

What were the regions of the iberian peninsula before Carthaginian and roman Conquests

1. Iberos (east)

2. Celtic (Centre and northwest)

3. Turdetanian and Tartessian (south-west)

4. Aquitanian (North, basquian)

5. Greek (North mediterranean)

6. Phonecian settlements (Southern mediterranean and baleric islands)

7. Talaiotic culture in Menorca (Balerc islands)

Who were the iberos? What was their connection to mediterranean?

• Origin: North Africa.

• Iberian culture developed from 6th century BC

• Strong influence of eastern meditteranean (greek/phonecian)

• Notable features

  • Complex urban settlements

  • Diversified society, but not clearly centralized politically

  • Sophisticate art in stone and bronze

  • Iberian language

  • Developed 3 diff writing systems →undeciphered

  • Strong military and horses

  • Plain region → could travel easily

Who were the phonecians?

• arrived on iberian soil around 1100 bc @ gadir

• cadiz - rich deposits of metal ores

• Two pheonician settlements

  • cadiz

  • villarices

When and Where did Celtic Iberia arrive to Iberian Peninsula?

• 6th to 5th century BC

• Northwest and centre

Celtic Iberia and the Atlantic connection?

• Connected to Northern European Culture and Myths

• Strongly opposed to carthage and rome

What kind of language was celtiberian?

indoeuropean language

Greeks (not prioritized but learn)

• imported goods from 630 BC onwards

• 575 BC - founded rading centre at emporian

• Rhode and ampurias became important distibution points for greek ceramics and italian mealwork → helped by phoenecians

• more colonies unknown

Taratessos (not prioritized but learn)

• commericial exchange w phoenicians and indigenous iberians

• dame of elche and dama de boza

What were the 3 principal cultural groups in Iberia?

1. Western pyrenees - stronghold of basques

2. Celtic tribes

• iron using

• dominated N and W iberia

• Castros - round houses

3. Celeberian

   1. aragon - upper erbo valley and plains of estern mesta

   2. celtic and iberian traditions

Who were the pastoralists? What did they to to Iberian Alphabet?

Controlled the territory around the grazing areas through hill forts named castros.

What did the pastoralists do to Iberian alphabet?

→ Adapted it to celtic language

Who were the basques?

• Inhabited upper course of Ebro river and southern basin of western pyrennes

What are the 3 theories explaining the origin of the Basques

1. Native Theory

2. Basque-Iberism

3. Caucasian origin

Explain Native Theory

• Proposes that the basques are descendants of mesolithic hunter-gatherers

• DNA evidence is inconvlusive

• Studies link them to neolithic farmers, while others find no distinction from the broader iberian population

Explain Basque-Iberianism

• Suggests a direct connection bet. basque language and extinct iberian language

• First proposed by Strabo in the 1st century

• Lack of pre-roman written records makes it difficult to prove

• Longest theory

Caucasian Origin

• Highlights similarities between basque and caucasian languages (gregorian)

• DNA comparisons bet. Basque and Georgian populations reveal significant differences, but no definitive connections to other languages can be proven

What was tyre?What happened

• Last phoencian city-states of eastern mediterranean

• various abandoned trading centres

• once abandoned, taken over by carthage - needed to expand after 1st punic war

Who are the Carthage?

• Founded as a phoenician colony in northern africa

• 814 BC

• Grew into powerful mediterranean empire between 6th and 4th centuries BC

• Took over south of iberia

What was the Carthage’s conflict with Rome?

• Struggle for control of mediterranean

• Sparked Punic Wars

What was the strategic importance of the Carthage in the Iberian Peninsula

• Crucial region and source of silver

• Conquered by Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca

• Resistance persisted from celtic tribes in centre and east

• Used as a base during Second Punic War, involving Hannibal’s (son) crossing of ALPS with elephants

• Lost control of peninsula after 2nd punic war

• Final fall in 3rd Punic war

What are the key points of the carthage in the iberian peninsula?

• Carthaginian conquest placed iberian peninsula @ heart of conflict bet. two superpowers of ancient world

• Period contributed to unification of territory

• Led to decline of pre-existing civilizations (Iberos)

• Carthage’s defeat curtailed Phoenician and eastern mediterranean influence in the peninsula

Why did carthage expand to Iberian Peninsula?

• Carthage lost italian territory to Roman Empire

• Economics crisis

• Lost trade empire

• Composed of merceneries → weak

• held certain areas of southern iberia

Did iberia have the strongest merceneries?

Yes, rich in iron, horses, etc.

What jumpstarted the 2nd Punic War

• Roman’s violating treaty

• Expanded into Saguntum, Cathages' land

What is the sculpture of the Lady of Elche?

• Famous sculpture of Iberian Peninsula

• Display @ Louvre, before returned to spain