Iberians and Celts

Iberians and Celts

1. Celtic is the term used by linguists and historians to refer, in a broad sense, to the people or group of peoples of the Iron Age who spoke Celtic languages, one of the branches of the Indo-European languages.

2. Origin of the Celts

   • Today the Celts are considered to be part of the Indo-European groups.
   • It is thought that part of the speakers of this linguistic family, coming from Anatolia or the steppes between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, emigrated to Europe, while other branches moved towards Iran and India.

3. Housing

   • The Celts lived in huts of arched timber with walls of wicker and roofs of thatch. The huts were generally gathered in loose hamlets. In several places each tribe had its own coinage system.

4. Farming

   • Earlier ploughs had been awkward affairs, basically a stick with a pointed end harnessed behind two oxen.
   • The Celts were farmers when they weren't fighting. One of the interesting innovations that they brought to Britain was the iron plough

5. Language

   • There was a written Celtic language, but it developed well into Christian times, so for much of Celtic history they relied on oral transmission of culture, primarily through the efforts of bards and poets

6. Druids

   • Another area where oral traditions were important was in the training of Druids.
   • There has been a lot of nonsense written about Druids, but they were a curious lot; a sort of super-class of priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and arbitrators

7. Religion

   • From what we know of the Celts from Roman commentators, who are, remember, witnesses with an axe to grind, they held many of their religious ceremonies in woodland groves and near sacred water, such as wells and springs.
   • The Romans speak of human sacrifice as being a part of Celtic religion. One thing we do know, the Celts revered human heads

8. The Celts at War

   • The Celts loved war
   • They took tremendous pride in their appearance in battle, if we can judge by the elaborately embellished weapons and paraphernalia they used.