The term pre-Roman peoples refers to those peoples who originated from the territories that were conquered by the Roman Empire, in this way, if we focus on the Iberian Peninsula we have to talk about the Iberians, the Tartessians and the Celts.
Pre-Roman peoples: The Iberians
In order to talk about the Iberians, archaeologists and historians have had to base themselves on the archaeological remains found, select their customs and way of life, since there have been no stories or chronicles that narrate their history. The best known piece of Iberian art is the Lady of Elche.
The so-called Iberians were at least a dozen tribes that were settled on the plateau and the interior, being their native ancestors of the peninsula. The Iberian peoples did not use the same idiomwere a series of dialects that had different writing systems, although there are some short inscriptions, it has been -for the moment- impossible to create a vocabulary or understand the grammar of the Iberians.
The towns of the Iberians were made up of not very wide streets, rather straight and distributed the houses according to their work, as for example the artisans were settled in areas where it was easier for them to carry out their work, while the more structured houses were found in more “noble” areas. The size of the house used to be 25 square meters, with a single quadrangular floor plan and had a central room, a secondary room and a patio. Inside is where the fire was made that lit up the room, heated it and also served for cooking.
As for his outfit we found that everyone opted for a linen tunic and bundled up in the cold with a wool cape, but we found differences between men and women. Their tunic went to the knees, hers went to the feet. Women, for special events, could wear a mantilla or headdress. This type of clothing was comfortable and simple, although they had border decorations.
They cultivated cereals and legumes (barley, wheat, millet, oats, broad beans, lentils), improving their way of cultivation in the 5th century BC with the grate plow and the use of livestock to plow the fields. They did not practice fallow because they alternately sowed cereals. Refering to cattle raising they had horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, cows, pigs and chickens, but they only slaughtered them when the animal was unproductive or very old, at which time they took advantage of everything from the animal.
As for his religion It is believed that they worshiped the Mother Goddess and had temples or sanctuaries that became pilgrimage areas. In turn, these spaces may have been used as meeting places to make political decisions.
When the Roman Empire ended up conquering what was called Hispania, the Iberians were diluted with their conquerors, which caused their language, writing and customs to be lost, which is why today its historical reconstruction is so difficult. For this reason, many affirm that the Iberians they lost their identity by romanizing.
Pre-Roman peoples: The Celts
As with the Iberians, we find that they have not left written documents about their history, but we do know that they had a great oral tradition which subsequently became legends. In turn, the fierce and warrior character of the Celts is better known due to the writings of the Romans, who did document it.
The Celts were a conglomeration of tribes of different origins and it is believed that the Celts settled in the Iberian Peninsula arrived from northern Europe in the 7th century BC. That said, they have been unified under the same name since they shared religion, language and traditions, as well as their frequent migratory movements.
Celts they did not have a centralized power, which is believed to have been one of the disadvantages that caused them to be conquered by the Romans. There were only two areas of the Celts that were able to maintain both their customs and their language, which were the former territories of Ireland and Wales.
The celtic warriors they did not fight as an army and had their own convictions about what was an honorable fight, which of course was not reciprocated by their opponents and made them more vulnerable. They went on foot to the battlefield (except for the victorious warriors), generating rhythmic sounds by hitting their bronze or wooden shields, shouting loudly at the enemy and blowing their war trumpets. They fought naked, they only left a choker around their necks, and painted their bodies blue, while wearing weapons such as slingshots, spears and swords. After the battles won, great feasts were held that could last for days, where they celebrated with music and poets who sang of the deeds accomplished.
The houses of the Celts are called hill forts, today you can see in Galicia some archaeological remains or reconstructions such as O Castro de Santa Trega. The forts were built inside a walled area, circular houses that had one floor but it is believed that some houses could have two floors. The house was used to eat and sleep, usually outside. Each house had an outside hall and inside “a lareira” where they cooked.
The role of celtic women it was much more relevant than that of other parallel or later societies, such as the Greeks or the Romans. They were skilled fighters, had legal rights to property after marriage, were important leaders, and held important positions.
As for his beliefs, In many houses, triskeles or runes could be seen outside the houses, which were symbols of protection, at the same time that they could be used as shields to differentiate themselves from other families. The Celts had multiple gods whose names could vary depending on the area: Lug, Endovelico, Nabia, Taranis, and they believed in the afterlife.
The Romans expected the Celts to practice large-scale prisoner sacrifices (whether this is an exaggeration or not is not known), just as they have been described as performing animal and human sacrifices as offerings to the gods. As for the burials a special rite was made to those warriors who died during combat for their life in the afterlife.
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