According to the oldest documentary sources, the "Ora Maritima " of Avieno, and Herodotus, already in the s. VI BC, as some in the Stelae anthroponyms Southwest seem to confirm. For the Iberian Peninsula comes another problem: the meaning and difference between Celtic and Celt?beros. Well, Celtic, Greek and Celtici Keltoi in Latin, which probably earliest use was to distinguish the Celtic peoples who were not, while Celtiberian, Celtiberia both Romans and Greeks, the Celts seem to differentiate Hispanics be a restrictive term, referring only to those who lived in the highlands between the Iberian and the Plateau, which clashed with Rome more crudely. The key lies in the identification and differentiation archeological Celtic peoples so, to find its origin, evolution and personality.
The Iberian Peninsula suffered a double process of influence during the first millennium BC, first, a Mediterranean influence, while the other, a process Celtizaci?n affected the central and western areas mainly. The culture of "urnfield", which had been identified with the Celts until now, has been delimited in the north, therefore, the thesis "invasion" is faced with the difficulty that this area does not match the area geographical and language of the Celts, as well as they were speaking the Iberian companies, as seems to indicate the epigraphy and historical references.
According to current research, from the Bronze Age, the interior of the Peninsula live in Cogotas I call culture, mixed economy of agriculture and cattle transhumance ovic?pridos and local, which from the second millennium BC has been absorbing influences from the Atlantic Bronze. By the s. IX a. C. Tartessian world materials appear as elbow fibulae, swords, ceramics, geometric decorations and other influences, more mild, "urnfield" as a result of border areas. This substrate may be related to Indo-European linguistic elements, called pre-or Proto, preserved in place names, and anthroponyms ethnonyms as the initial P retains the Lusitano, the celtib?rica different language, posterior tongue, or ideological elements such as rite of exposing the bodies of the warriors to the vultures between Celts and vacceos, tradition prior to incineration rite "urnfield, as seen in some ceramics and as indicated Silica Numantian Italic and Aelian. This substrate can also be observed maintenance of worship fisiol?tricos related rocks, such as sanctuaries Ulaca, das Cabe?o Smithies, Lamas Moledo ..., with the waters as evidenced by the offerings of the Late Bronze Age weapons, with which sacred forests seen in place names that keep Nemet-or very archaic deities without human form that start with Bandu-Navia-o Reve, which are a component Indo-European.
Celtic sculpture is represented mainly by the boars, animal figures that resemble bulls, cattle guards. Are characteristic of this animal sculptures Guisando Bulls (Avila).
This substrate Proto remained in the west and north, but also occurs among people of the interior, as Carpetanos, Vacceos and Vettones, Lusitano and Galaicos in the west, and probably as saturated, Cantabria, Berones, Turmogos and Pelendoses. Substrate would be fragmented and absorbed by the expansion of culture from s. celtib?rica VI BCE hypothesis that can explain the similar cultural, linguistic and ideological education of all peninsular Celtic populations, and also serves to differentiate the Celts of the Celts.
The explanations are twofold. One, the "invasion" traditional, reflecting the arrival of humans who bring culture is formed, which has been impossible to document, not knowing what their place of origin, and above all, means of arrival. The other, not excluding movements of people, especially the elite warriors, is a complex formation of acculturation and development that gives the Celtic origin of the various components.
Fortified settlements, and later explain the hierarchy Oppido territory that emerges in relation to the seasonal migration of livestock to avoid the summer drought of the plateau (known as August) and winter hardness of the mountains. This type of economy would produce a social hierarchy headed by the warrior class would, as suggested by further historical sources.
The rite of cremation urn, can be explained by influences of "urnfield", as in the Celt?beros or Vettones. The construction of mounds as Pajaroncillo, or lined trails may be due to ethnic differences, chronological and social. The brooches, ornaments, swords antennas, documenting the use of iron from the early stages of introduction from the colonial world (Phoenicians and Greeks), showing multidirectional influences, both as traspirenaicas Mediterranean, making it impossible to think of a single pathway arrival or a common origin. Be regarded as objects of prestige of the elite warriors, whose major development would be helped by trade with the Mediterranean colonial world, and the organization of pastoral and warlike interior. It is therefore understandable that the number of these objects in the regalia as a minority and there are local variations, due to its exchange and dissemination of local handicraft imitation.
Falcata: In Hispania also used a sword which is also unknown origin
This hierarchical organization and war, coupled with the introduction of iron rich product and developed rapidly, explains the formation of the feature Celtib?rica Culture and its tendency to expand resulting in a process of "Celtizaci?n" from other populations, and clashed with the Romans. The process of "Celtizaci?n" explains the appearance of archaeological features, linguistic, socioeconomic and attributable to common Celt?beros: Celtiberian as weapons in the necropolis of horse brooches, place names in-briga, anthroponyms and place names in Seg-; anthroponyms "celtius" or "ambatus" suprafamiliares organizations that are reflected in the genitive plural, hospitality agreements, including a common religious element, as Lug.
This indicates the existence of a nuclear area in the highlands of the Iberian and the Eastern Plateau, the Celtiberia, from where the celtizaci?n seems to have spread to western lands, very permeable because it is a pastoral area of environment and substrate sociocultural. This process is after the formation of the necropolis Celtiberian from s. VII a. C., for example, culture is Vettones Las Cogotas "celtiza" from s. V a. C., appearing later in Extremadura, southern Portugal and Andalusia, as well as the Upper Ebro Valley and the Northwest.
It is a batch process and is only interrupted by the arrival in Rome. This expansion of documents Pliny (3, 13) to say that celtici of Andalusia came from Celt?beros of Lusitania. Similarly, the Lusitania anthroponym Celtius in ethnic epithet is explained as Celtic in areas not originally from the West. This "celtizaci?n" later confirmed by the place names in-briga trained in Roman times: Iuliobriga, August?briga ...
To understand the Celts of the Iberian Peninsula should be borne in mind that were permeable to the influences of its neighbors, especially in material culture. Contact with the Iberians involved the assimilation of Mediterranean elements, reflected in the concept of material differentiation Celtiberian and other Celtic cultures, but keep language and socio-ideological organization of elite warriors. These elites "celtizadas" were widespread in the West, appearing as Vettones peoples, Lusitano, and Galaicos Astures, and even put the Iberians have reached, as the relief of Osuna and Liriano take Celtic-style weapons. The mercenary cause movements of people, which could well determine control of a city by Celtic elites, and this presence may explain the presence of fibulae of La Tene in Sierra Morena.
This process would not be timely, but long and intermittent in time with a significant "celtizaci?n" gradual, ie, differentiated by area and time, giving us a complex picture that allows us to understand the lack of uniformity of celtizaci?n Iberian Peninsula.
bibliography
• Almagro-Gorbea, M. (1991): Los Celtas en la Pen?nsula Ib?rica. En Garc?a Castro, J. A. Los Celtas en la Pen?nsula Ib?rica. Revista de Arqueolog?a, n?mero monogr?fico. P?ginas: 12-17.
• Almagro-Gorbea, M. (1993): Los Celtas en la Pen?nsula Ib?rica: origen y personalidad cultural. En Almagro-Gorbea, M. y Ruiz Zapatero, G (Eds.): Los Celtas: Hispania y Europa. Editorial Actas. Madrid. P?ginas: 121-173.