Ancient Inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula
Where Can We Find the Oldest Human Remains in Europe?
One of the most important archaeological sites in the world is in Burgos, in a place called Atapuerca. In Atapuerca, they have found what are probably the oldest hominid remains in Europe. The oldest remains are of a hominid known as Homo Antecessor.
What Two Different Types of Hominids Last Populated the Peninsula?
Later, the Peninsula was populated by two different types of hominids: Homo Neanderthal, around 200,000 years ago, and finally, Homo Sapiens, 40,000 years ago.
Main Characteristics of the Paintings in Altamira
- The cave is covered by realistic animals and hand prints.
- The animals are mainly bison, painted in a very naturalistic way.
- The paintings are polychrome, using several colors.
- They used the surface of the cave to paint the animals, which made them much more realistic.
- They were made in the Paleolithic, 22,000 years ago.
Who Were the Tartessos?
The Tartessos had the first known state in the Peninsula. They were settled in the southwestern part of the Peninsula, around the Guadalquivir Valley. This area had plenty of metal, so trade with other civilizations around the Mediterranean was possible. Historians believe they developed a kind of writing.
Who Were the Celts?
- They came from central Europe and settled in the north and central part of the Peninsula.
- They placed their villages, called castros, in high places surrounded by defensive round walls, making them easy to defend.
- Their houses were made of adobe and stones covered with branches.
- Celts had a self-sufficient economy.
- As they produced all they needed, they had little trade with other peoples.
- Their main activities were livestock farming and metallurgy.
- They didn’t have a writing system.
Who Were the Iberians?
- They placed their villages in the south and east of the Peninsula.
- They lived in bigger villages than the Celts, like small city-states.
- Their houses were rectangular, made with adobe covered with branches.
- Their main activity was agriculture, but they also made pottery, textiles, and metal products.
- They traded with the Greeks and Phoenicians.
- Society was composed of:
- Kings and Nobles
- Artisans and Peasants
Main Colonizers of the Peninsula
A. Phoenicians
- The Phoenicians founded trading posts, including Gadir and Malaca.
- They traded with the indigenous peoples from the Peninsula (Tartessos and Iberians).
- Taught the indigenous cultures important innovations: writing, cultivating wine, salt, and the potter’s wheel.
B. Greeks
- The Phoenicians were their main rival in the trade competition.
- Created an important trading post in Emporium, in present-day Catalonia.
- As the Phoenicians did, they introduced important elements like money and olive trees to the indigenous peoples.
C. Carthaginians
- Originally a Phoenician colony, they arrived in the Peninsula and took control of all the Phoenician colonies that were in the Iberian Peninsula.
- The main settlement they founded was Qart Hadasth (nowadays Cartagena).