Prehistoric Spain
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 Cave painting of a bison from Altamira |
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Prehistoric Spain is a time period covering human development from the first hominins in Spain to the beginning of recorded history.
Contents |
[edit] Early hominins
Spain has a wealth of prehistoric sites. Many of the best preserved prehistoric remains are in the Atapuerca region, rich with limestone caves that have preserved a million years of human evolution. Among these sites is the cave of Gran Dolina, were six hominin skeletons, dated between 780,000 and 1 million years ago, were found in 1994. Experts have debated whether these skeletons belong to the species Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or a new species called Homo antecessor. In the Gran Dolina, investigators have found evidence of tool use to butcher animals and other hominins, the first evidence of cannibalism in a hominin species. Evidence of fire has also been found at the site, suggesting they cooked their meat.
Also in Atapuerca, is the site at Sima de los Huesos, or “Pit of Bones.” Excavators have found the remains of 30 hominins dated to about 400,000 years ago. The remains have been tentatively classified as Homo heidelbergensis and may be ancestors of the Neanderthals. No evidence of habitation has been found at the site except for one stone hand-ax, and all of the remains at the site are of young adults or teenagers. The age similarity suggests the remains were not the result of accidents. The seemingly deliberate placement of remains and lack of habitation may mean that the bodies were deliberately interred in the pit as a place of burial, which would make the site the first evidence of hominin burial.
Spain was also the first country where remains of Neanderthals were found when a Neanderthal skull was found in Forbes’s Quarry in Gibraltar in 1848. However, Neanderthals were not recognized as another species until the discovering of remains in Neandertal, Germany in 1856. Subsequent Neanderthal discoveries in Gibraltar have also been made including the skull of a 4 year old child and preserved excrement on top of baked mussel shells.
Neanderthal remains have been found at other sites within Spain including Zafarraya where a Neanderthal mandible and Mousterian tools, associated with the Neanderthal culture, were found in 1995. The mandible was dated to 30,000 years ago and the tools to 27,000. These dates make the Zafarraya remains the youngest evidence of Neanderthals and have expanded the timeline of Neanderthal existence. The more recent dating of the remains also provides the first evidence for prolonged co-existence between Neanderthals and modern man. Some have also suggested that the newer remains in Spain suggest Neanderthals were driven out of Central Europe by modern man to the Iberian peninsula were they sought refuge.
[edit] Stone Age Modern Man
Modern men appeared in Spain about 35,000 years ago. At this time, the Aurignacian culture dominated Europe. L'Arbreda Cave in Catalonia contains Aurignacian cave paintings, as well as earlier remains from Neanderthals. Around 20,000 years ago the Aurignacian culture was replaced by that of the Solutreans, who produced some of the finest flint work of the Stone Age allowing them to produce lighter projectile weapons, among other advantages. Despite the superior production abilities of the Solutrean culture, it was replaced by the Magdalenian culture around 17,000 years ago. The Magdalenians period marked the height of cave painting.
By far the most significant cave painting site in Spain is Altamira, dated from about 16,000 to 9,000 BC. Altamira is part of the Cantabrias region where many more caves with paintings have been found. In Altamira, excavators have found evidence of human occupation alongside the paintings. These artifacts include evidence of Solutrean occupation in addition to the Magdalenians, to whom most of the painting is attributed to. The Magdalenians used charcoal, ochre, haematite, and animal fat to produce the elaborate display in the cave, the most noteworthy part of which is the Polychrome Ceiling, with many images of bison and other animals. In addition to the grand scale of the paintings, the Stone Age artists also used comparatively advanced artistic techniques. Because of the cave paintings’ scale and quality, some have called Altamira the “The Sistine Chapel of Quaternary art."
The Magdalenians were replaced by the Azilian culture around 10,000 years ago. The Azilians were the final Paleolithic culture to occupy Spain and extended their time span into the Mesolithic age. During the Mesolithic period, cave art continued to advance, especially in the Levant area of Spain.
Spain has many ruins of megalithic monuments created during the Neolithic period and continued into the Chalcolithic or Copper Age. The monuments share many similarities with other Megalithic structures throughout Europe, including those in Brittany and Malta. Dolmens are an especially common structure built by the Neolithic Spaniards.
[edit] The Metal Ages
Several different cultural groups inhabited Spain before the arrival of colonizers, and eventually, the Romans.
The Beaker People spread throughout Europe c. 2000 BC and carried with them knowledge of metal work and their unique pottery designs. The group may have originated in Spain or Portugal.
The Vascon people inhabited northern Spain from an unknown date. The Vascons were mentioned by the Romans upon their arrival to Spain. The Vascons were likely the ancestors of the modern Basque people whose language, probably the descendent of the Vascon language, has been a linguistic enigma. The language is outside the regionally dominant family of Indo-European languages and has no known similarities with other language families.
The Los Millares culture developed in the third millennium B.C. Centered on the Los Millares site, the culture spread throughout Andalucia and eastern Spain. The Los Millares site contained a complex defensive system with multiple rings of walls and a necropolis with a false dome.
The Los Millares culture fell to the El Argar culture, which lasted from c. 1800 B.C. to c. 1400 B.C. The El Argar mined extensively for their metal working, including bronze work. The culture disappeared abruptly in 1400 B.C.
Another Spanish lost civilization were the Tartessos, now known only through historical references and scattered artifacts. The Tartessos people had advanced knowledge of both metal working and navigation. They sailed to the British isles to trade for tin and other metals. They then traded these with Phoenicians who, possibly as early as 1100 B.C., established the city of Cadiz as a trading post. Tartessos disappeared in the sixth century B.C. Nothing of Tartessos remains except scattered artifacts and historical references by classical civilizations. The city is thought to have been at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river and now likely lies beneath its marshy delta.
The Iberians arrived in Spain sometime in the third millennium B.C. Most scholars believe the Iberians came from somewhere farther east in the Mediterranean, although some have suggested that they originated in North Africa. The Iberians settled along the eastern coast of Spain. The Iberians lived in isolated communities structured as tribes. They also had a knowledge of metal working, including bronze, and agricultural techniques. In later years, the Iberians evolved into a more complex civilization with urbanized communities and social stratification. They traded metals with the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians.
The Celts of Europe entered Spain through two separate migrations in the ninth and seventh centuries B.C. They generally settled along the northern part of Spain and assimilated various other groups into Celtic culture. The Celts mixed with the Iberians to form the Celtiberians who integrated the Celtic tradition and knowledge of iron working with Iberian culture.
The Phoenicians of Asia, Greeks of Europe, and Carthaginians of Africa all colonized parts of Spain to facilitate trade. The Phoenicians founded Cadiz, the oldest city in Western Europe, in 1,100 B.C. The Phoenicians continued to use Cadiz as a trading post for several centuries and left a variety of artifacts, most notably a pair of sarcophaguses from around the fourth or third centuries B.C. The Greek colony at what now is Marseilles began trading with the Celtiberians on the eastern coast around the eight century B.C. The Greeks finally founded their own colony at Ampurias during the sixth century B.C.
After their defeat by Rome in the First Punic War (which ended in 241 B.C.), the African based Carthaginians began to extend their conquest of Spain to expand their empire further into Europe. In the Second Punic War, Hannibal marched his armies, which included Iberians, from Africa through Spain to cross the Alps and attack the Romans in Italy. In 202 B.C., At the end of the Second Punic War, Carthage had lost Spain, and Rome began its conquest and occupation of the Iberian peninsula, thus beginning the era of Roman Spain.
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