History of Spain: Early People
Prehistoric Spain
In the Atapuerca hills in the north
of Spain fossils of primitive hunters were discovered which are at least 780,000
years old. These represent some of Europe's oldest human remains. It
is estimated that modern humans appeared around 40,000 years ago. At Altamira
in Cantabria there are cave paintings of bison, deer, and
other animals which are estimated to be 14,000 years old which provide evidence of a
sophisticated Paleolithic hunting culture.
Iberians, Basques and Celts
A group of people from North Africa crossed
the Straits of Gibraltar about 1500 BC. These Iberians developed a
system of handwriting and built the first towns, they were well established on
the peninsula within the next half century. The western Pyrenees were inhabited
by the Basques whose arrival probably predates the arrival of the Iberians.
Around 700 BC the Celts
migrated from France into northern Spain and imposed their Indo-European
language and culture on the indigenous population. In central Spain Iberians and Celts
slowly merged into a people called the Celtiberians who first dominated the central plateau and the west, and then occupied
the peninsula’s eastern coast.
To this day there are marked regional
differences between the peoples of Spain which can be traced back to these
times.
Phoenicians and Carthaginians
The
Phoenicians, a people
from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, were attracted to the mineral
wealth of Spain as early as 1100
BC. Archaeological evidence suggests that Cádiz, Spain’s oldest Phoenician city,
was founded in the 8th century BC. Seafaring Greeks established several colonies
on the east coast by the 600s BC, including Ampurias
and Sagunto. The Greeks traded with the Celtiberians
and the Phoenicians.
Carthaginians from the North African
city of Carthage arrived in the 500s BC and overthrew their Phoenician predecessors.
In 228 BC they founded Cartagena as their capital. Archaeological evidence
suggests that Carthaginian and Iberian cultures
coexisted peacefully.
Romans
The Romans were another rising
Mediterranean power and trade rivalry with the Carthaginians lead to the First
Punic War (264-241 BC) when Rome defeated Carthage and forced it to surrender
its possessions in Sicily. Carthage then looked to the Iberian Peninsula to
rebuild its trading empire. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca conquered
southern and eastern Spain from and founded a colony at Barcelona. His son, Hannibal, seized the Greek
colony of Saguntum, violating an agreement with Rome regarding the limits of
Carthage’s expansion on the Iberian Peninsula. This lead to the Second
Punic War (218-201 BC), during which Hannibal used Spain as the base for an
invasion of modern Italy. By 206 BC the Romans had forced Carthage out of Spain.
Pre-historic sightseeing
Avila: Los Toros de Guisando
(Celtic stone figures).
Antequera (Malaga): Menga and
Viera chambers and Romeral dolmen.
Benaojan (Malaga): La Pileta
Cave (Cave art).
Nerja (Malaga): Nerja Cave.
Puente Viesgo (Cantabria):
Iberian images at the Castillo Cave outdate Altamira.
Santillana del Mar (Cantabria):
Altamira Cave
Roman
Spain >
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