Celtic or not Celtic Islanders
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Prior to the arrival of the Romans many of the indigenous inhabitants of Ireland and Britain spoke various Celtic dialects. The classical writers began to report on Keltoi [Celtic] activity ca 600 BCE, but none of them included the residents of Ireland and Britain in this classification. A distinction that merits analysis.Identificationj of the Celts is dependant on genetics,linguistics and cultural diversity.Any relationship between the Iron Age Celts and modern Celtic speakers can be tenous.
The Celtic tradition emerged in Bavaria /Baden- Wurttemberg, Germany during the Halstatt D era [ca 750-600 BCE]The Halstatt culture [ca 750-450 BCE] was initially associated with Pontic steppe type horses, wagon wheels with spokes, iron swords, warrior burials and opulent grave gifts [eg; Chinese silk embroidery]. Locally made copies of Halstatt D artifacts have been retrieved from archaeological excavations in Ireland and Britain [B Cuncliffe, 1997]. The origin of these Celts is rather complex and to degree conjectural. D Faux [2008] postulated that the Celts had a significant indigenous component, which was derived, from their Bavarian/Baden Wurttemberg heartland in Germany, with variable roots from the Neolithic and possibly earlier. The LBK culture [ca 5000-4600 BCE] had its greatest proliferation of archaeological sites in the Celtic homelands. A number of the Catacomb people from the Pontic steppes north of the Black Sea moved to the Middle Danube Basin. These newcomers and the Urnfield culture [ca 1350-750 BCE] contributed directly to the Halstatt Celtic tradition [B Cuncliffe, 1997]. The Urnfield culture had two elements. The principal Swabian group was located in South Hesse and Baden Wurttemberg . The Rhemish-Swiss segment encompassed the Rhine-Palatine, Switzerland and eastern France [D Faux, 2008].
The Horgen tradition [ca 3250-2850 BCE] might have evolved from the Pfyn lake dwellers of southern Germany and northern Switzerland [Zurich and Constance Lakes]. These populations resided in an area with a high concentration of Y chromosome haplogroup S28-R1b1c10, which is common today in the Bavarian/Baden Wurttemberg Celtic heartland. At the end of the Bronze Age the descendants of these people were forced to move to higher ground to escape from inundation. They may have influenced and/or genetically contributed to the Halstatt/La Tene Celtic Traditions, [ibid].
From ca 500-400 BCE Halstatt D and La Tene cultural elements spread to France, NE Iberia, the southern Netherlands, England and Ireland. They may have been dispersed along commercial networks [Powell, 1980]. Local NE Iberian communities adopted some elements of the Halstatt/La Tene cultural packages [eg: swords, equine gear, etc], which could have been introduced by traders or mercenary warriors. La Tene artifacts were found at the Quintana de Gormaz burial site. An inscribed plaque at Botarria is one of a number, that attests to the Celtiberian language in NE and north central Iberia ca 400 BCE. There cold have been La Tene enclaves in this region B Cuncliffe, [1997] contends that there were no indications of a massive influx of newcomers and that the Celtiberian tradition was largely a local development. He speculated, that the Iberians might have adopted or modified a tongue that was widely used to conduct commercial transactions. Central European Celts seldom used the written word.
Iron Age burials at Yorkshire Wolds, England, resemble those at Champage, the Ardennes and the Middle Rhine Valley ca 400-100 BCE. The interments could be related to the Arras culture, but vary in some aspects from those in Europe [I Stead, 1991]. The presence of two wheel cart- chariot burials in Yorkshire, with at least one outlier in Scotland could infer the presence of an elite [?] enclave of La Tene merchants and/or warriors [B Cuncliffe, 2001].
When the La Tene culture evolved from the Hastatt D tradition, it had a Scythian component, which gave impetus to the warrior class. La Tene elite burials in Switzerland contained more weapons and opulent grave goods. The Celtic power base shifted to the Rhine River and Moselle valleys [J de Narvarro, 1972]. The Halstatt C salt mine production continued to decline as commerce and metallurgy gained economic significance. Art and craft production achieved high standards during this era. La Tene armed intrusions progressively increased and eventually became full scale assaults. When they sacked Rome, the Celts became part of recorded history.
Numerous influxes of newcomers contributed to the genetic diversity of Britain and to a lesser degree of Ireland. S Oppenheimer [2006] estimated that the Y chromosome R1b9 and its seven sub-groups contributed ca 27% to the extant male gene pool of Britain and that ca 45% of British males were descendants of R1b10 and its nine sub groups. These lineages were introduced separately from the south after the Younger Dryas [ca9700 BCE].The Iberian male connection to Britain/Ireland occurred prior to the introduction of haplogroup R1b3f to Iberia about 3.0-2.0Ka ago,because it does not have an appreciable presence in the northern Isles. Y chromosome haplogroup I [I1a and I1c] moved up the Danube River Valley to NW Europe ca 6850-4850 BCE, which might be associated with the dispersal of LBK pottery. I1a is common in NW Germany [ca 25%] and Denmark [ca37%]. I1a-2 occurs throughout Scandinavia, with a ca 14% presence in Schleswig-Holstein and in NW Germany. Haplogroup I has contributed ca 16% to the present day male population of Britain and is primarily concentrated in England and Scotland [ibid]. M Richards [2003] estimated the Neolithic female arrivals to Ireland and Britain from ca 4100 BCE made a ca 23-12% contribution to the mtDNA gene pool.
S Oppenheimer [2006] proposed that the Neolithic influxes of people could have impacted on the evolution of the Celtic dialects. B Cuncliffe [2001] speculated that Celtic could have developed as a trade language along the "Sea Road". These theories are not incompatible. Inscriptions on megaliths from Portugal to Orkney share a number of basic symbols, which implies communication along the "Sea Road". When people do not speak the same language, symbols impart a concept [C Sarre, 2010].Forester [2003] contends that a single Celtic language was introduced to Britain/Ireland [possibly from Brittany],where it subsequently branched into two seperate dialects [conjectural]. S Oppenheimer [2006] contends that Celtic place names are common in Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Scotland, France and Spain, but are rare in the Basque Lands and east of the Rhine River, with a relatively low incidence in England.
J Koch [2013] researched more than a hundred Tartessian inscriptions extending over 300km in SW Iberia. Huelva/Rio is a core area,with the greatest concentration in southern Portugal and with a second concentration in Upper Guadiana,where there are a large number of warrior stelae.The Tartessian inscriptions are in a Palaeohispanic semisyllabary inscription system.There appear to have been cultural changes at Medellin,the homeland of the Tartessian inscriptions ,during the Bronze/Iron Age transition.The language of the inscriptions is conjectural.There are Indo-European verbs with Celtic [?] place names and affinities to an early Semetic alphabet,possibly inferring appreciable contact with the Phoenicians.The populace of Medellin may have devised this form of communication to preserve their cultural identity.The inscriptions extend over a large territory,which might have included people speaking various languages and having different social backgrounds. The Celtic languages appear to have originated in various regions of Europe and the relevant data does not support a single Celtic entity across Europe [ibid].
The Y chromosome haplogroup S28- R1b1c10 [U152] could serve as a Halstatt/La Tene genetic marker. It has a ca 20% presence in SE Sweden and in the vicinity of Vestfold, Norway. Although there were three influxes of La Tene people into Denmark and numerous Celtic artifacts have been retrieved from Jutland and the adjacent islands, S28-R1b1c10 has a minimal presence among the relatively low number of adequately sequenced genetic samples in Denmark. This lineage has a ca 5% frequency in England, which is concentrated in the old Dane Law lands and the Arras/Parsii area of Yorkshire. While the latter is probably a direct La Tene contribution to the male genes of England, there is not sufficient "diagnostic" data to ascertain, whether central European males brought the S28-R1b1c10 genetic marker directly to the old Dane Law lands prior to the Roman era or whether it was subsequently indirectly introduced by the Norse invaders. [D Faux, 2008].
Collis [2011] contends that the trumpet shape/scroll was the most distinctive feature of Celtic art.Specific artifacts types could be a material representation of certain populations and possibly of their migratory petterns.The Hallstatt/La Tene artifacts are the basis for the analysis of Iron Age Celtic art. The stylistic chronologies and typologies vary from those in Ireland/Britain.The middle La Tene sword style has four distinct groupings,which were identified in Hungary,Switerland,Britain and Ireland. The latter two were fabricated from brass,while iron was preferred on mainland Europe.To a degree art may have partially compensated for illiteracy in some Iron Age societies.
About the onset of the Iron Age the Atlantic Fringe trade networks gradually began to wane, coinciding with the growth of commodity exchange in the Mediterranean region,which eventually extended into central and northern Europe.Intially ornamentation and manufacture tended to be localized across early Iron Age Europe.The fabrication of the Nauhiem fibulae heralded the introduction of mass production during the last two centuries BCE and the distribution of artifacts across Europe became more extensive.However south of the Pyrennes there was a distinct pattern of ornamentation and artifact manufacture, indicating that local production did not conform to La Tene traditions.Although the distribution of Celtic artistic endeavours became more widespread temporally during the Iron Age,many regions maintained varying components of their own cultueral identity.Dwellings in Britain/Ireland wre generally round,contrasting with the rectangular ones on MAinland Europe. Post 200BCE the use of coinage became more common [H Donnelly,2013].
Subject to the future acquisition of more definitive genetic information [eg fully sequenced samples], there is no reliable evidence of a significant Halstatt/La Tene male presence in in England ca 750-1 BCE.The late Iron Age inhabitants of Ireland and Britain appear to have spoken Celtic dialects, but there is no definitive evidence of a Halstatt/La Tene relationship.
Prior to the arrival of the Romans many of the indigenous inhabitants of Ireland and Britain spoke various Celtic dialects. The classical writers began to report on Keltoi [Celtic] activity ca 600 BCE, but none of them included the residents of Ireland and Britain in this classification. A distinction that merits analysis.Identificationj of the Celts is dependant on genetics,linguistics and cultural diversity.Any relationship between the Iron Age Celts and modern Celtic speakers can be tenous.
The Celtic tradition emerged in Bavaria /Baden- Wurttemberg, Germany during the Halstatt D era [ca 750-600 BCE]The Halstatt culture [ca 750-450 BCE] was initially associated with Pontic steppe type horses, wagon wheels with spokes, iron swords, warrior burials and opulent grave gifts [eg; Chinese silk embroidery]. Locally made copies of Halstatt D artifacts have been retrieved from archaeological excavations in Ireland and Britain [B Cuncliffe, 1997]. The origin of these Celts is rather complex and to degree conjectural. D Faux [2008] postulated that the Celts had a significant indigenous component, which was derived, from their Bavarian/Baden Wurttemberg heartland in Germany, with variable roots from the Neolithic and possibly earlier. The LBK culture [ca 5000-4600 BCE] had its greatest proliferation of archaeological sites in the Celtic homelands. A number of the Catacomb people from the Pontic steppes north of the Black Sea moved to the Middle Danube Basin. These newcomers and the Urnfield culture [ca 1350-750 BCE] contributed directly to the Halstatt Celtic tradition [B Cuncliffe, 1997]. The Urnfield culture had two elements. The principal Swabian group was located in South Hesse and Baden Wurttemberg . The Rhemish-Swiss segment encompassed the Rhine-Palatine, Switzerland and eastern France [D Faux, 2008].
The Horgen tradition [ca 3250-2850 BCE] might have evolved from the Pfyn lake dwellers of southern Germany and northern Switzerland [Zurich and Constance Lakes]. These populations resided in an area with a high concentration of Y chromosome haplogroup S28-R1b1c10, which is common today in the Bavarian/Baden Wurttemberg Celtic heartland. At the end of the Bronze Age the descendants of these people were forced to move to higher ground to escape from inundation. They may have influenced and/or genetically contributed to the Halstatt/La Tene Celtic Traditions, [ibid].
From ca 500-400 BCE Halstatt D and La Tene cultural elements spread to France, NE Iberia, the southern Netherlands, England and Ireland. They may have been dispersed along commercial networks [Powell, 1980]. Local NE Iberian communities adopted some elements of the Halstatt/La Tene cultural packages [eg: swords, equine gear, etc], which could have been introduced by traders or mercenary warriors. La Tene artifacts were found at the Quintana de Gormaz burial site. An inscribed plaque at Botarria is one of a number, that attests to the Celtiberian language in NE and north central Iberia ca 400 BCE. There cold have been La Tene enclaves in this region B Cuncliffe, [1997] contends that there were no indications of a massive influx of newcomers and that the Celtiberian tradition was largely a local development. He speculated, that the Iberians might have adopted or modified a tongue that was widely used to conduct commercial transactions. Central European Celts seldom used the written word.
Iron Age burials at Yorkshire Wolds, England, resemble those at Champage, the Ardennes and the Middle Rhine Valley ca 400-100 BCE. The interments could be related to the Arras culture, but vary in some aspects from those in Europe [I Stead, 1991]. The presence of two wheel cart- chariot burials in Yorkshire, with at least one outlier in Scotland could infer the presence of an elite [?] enclave of La Tene merchants and/or warriors [B Cuncliffe, 2001].
When the La Tene culture evolved from the Hastatt D tradition, it had a Scythian component, which gave impetus to the warrior class. La Tene elite burials in Switzerland contained more weapons and opulent grave goods. The Celtic power base shifted to the Rhine River and Moselle valleys [J de Narvarro, 1972]. The Halstatt C salt mine production continued to decline as commerce and metallurgy gained economic significance. Art and craft production achieved high standards during this era. La Tene armed intrusions progressively increased and eventually became full scale assaults. When they sacked Rome, the Celts became part of recorded history.
Numerous influxes of newcomers contributed to the genetic diversity of Britain and to a lesser degree of Ireland. S Oppenheimer [2006] estimated that the Y chromosome R1b9 and its seven sub-groups contributed ca 27% to the extant male gene pool of Britain and that ca 45% of British males were descendants of R1b10 and its nine sub groups. These lineages were introduced separately from the south after the Younger Dryas [ca9700 BCE].The Iberian male connection to Britain/Ireland occurred prior to the introduction of haplogroup R1b3f to Iberia about 3.0-2.0Ka ago,because it does not have an appreciable presence in the northern Isles. Y chromosome haplogroup I [I1a and I1c] moved up the Danube River Valley to NW Europe ca 6850-4850 BCE, which might be associated with the dispersal of LBK pottery. I1a is common in NW Germany [ca 25%] and Denmark [ca37%]. I1a-2 occurs throughout Scandinavia, with a ca 14% presence in Schleswig-Holstein and in NW Germany. Haplogroup I has contributed ca 16% to the present day male population of Britain and is primarily concentrated in England and Scotland [ibid]. M Richards [2003] estimated the Neolithic female arrivals to Ireland and Britain from ca 4100 BCE made a ca 23-12% contribution to the mtDNA gene pool.
S Oppenheimer [2006] proposed that the Neolithic influxes of people could have impacted on the evolution of the Celtic dialects. B Cuncliffe [2001] speculated that Celtic could have developed as a trade language along the "Sea Road". These theories are not incompatible. Inscriptions on megaliths from Portugal to Orkney share a number of basic symbols, which implies communication along the "Sea Road". When people do not speak the same language, symbols impart a concept [C Sarre, 2010].Forester [2003] contends that a single Celtic language was introduced to Britain/Ireland [possibly from Brittany],where it subsequently branched into two seperate dialects [conjectural]. S Oppenheimer [2006] contends that Celtic place names are common in Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Scotland, France and Spain, but are rare in the Basque Lands and east of the Rhine River, with a relatively low incidence in England.
J Koch [2013] researched more than a hundred Tartessian inscriptions extending over 300km in SW Iberia. Huelva/Rio is a core area,with the greatest concentration in southern Portugal and with a second concentration in Upper Guadiana,where there are a large number of warrior stelae.The Tartessian inscriptions are in a Palaeohispanic semisyllabary inscription system.There appear to have been cultural changes at Medellin,the homeland of the Tartessian inscriptions ,during the Bronze/Iron Age transition.The language of the inscriptions is conjectural.There are Indo-European verbs with Celtic [?] place names and affinities to an early Semetic alphabet,possibly inferring appreciable contact with the Phoenicians.The populace of Medellin may have devised this form of communication to preserve their cultural identity.The inscriptions extend over a large territory,which might have included people speaking various languages and having different social backgrounds. The Celtic languages appear to have originated in various regions of Europe and the relevant data does not support a single Celtic entity across Europe [ibid].
The Y chromosome haplogroup S28- R1b1c10 [U152] could serve as a Halstatt/La Tene genetic marker. It has a ca 20% presence in SE Sweden and in the vicinity of Vestfold, Norway. Although there were three influxes of La Tene people into Denmark and numerous Celtic artifacts have been retrieved from Jutland and the adjacent islands, S28-R1b1c10 has a minimal presence among the relatively low number of adequately sequenced genetic samples in Denmark. This lineage has a ca 5% frequency in England, which is concentrated in the old Dane Law lands and the Arras/Parsii area of Yorkshire. While the latter is probably a direct La Tene contribution to the male genes of England, there is not sufficient "diagnostic" data to ascertain, whether central European males brought the S28-R1b1c10 genetic marker directly to the old Dane Law lands prior to the Roman era or whether it was subsequently indirectly introduced by the Norse invaders. [D Faux, 2008].
Collis [2011] contends that the trumpet shape/scroll was the most distinctive feature of Celtic art.Specific artifacts types could be a material representation of certain populations and possibly of their migratory petterns.The Hallstatt/La Tene artifacts are the basis for the analysis of Iron Age Celtic art. The stylistic chronologies and typologies vary from those in Ireland/Britain.The middle La Tene sword style has four distinct groupings,which were identified in Hungary,Switerland,Britain and Ireland. The latter two were fabricated from brass,while iron was preferred on mainland Europe.To a degree art may have partially compensated for illiteracy in some Iron Age societies.
About the onset of the Iron Age the Atlantic Fringe trade networks gradually began to wane, coinciding with the growth of commodity exchange in the Mediterranean region,which eventually extended into central and northern Europe.Intially ornamentation and manufacture tended to be localized across early Iron Age Europe.The fabrication of the Nauhiem fibulae heralded the introduction of mass production during the last two centuries BCE and the distribution of artifacts across Europe became more extensive.However south of the Pyrennes there was a distinct pattern of ornamentation and artifact manufacture, indicating that local production did not conform to La Tene traditions.Although the distribution of Celtic artistic endeavours became more widespread temporally during the Iron Age,many regions maintained varying components of their own cultueral identity.Dwellings in Britain/Ireland wre generally round,contrasting with the rectangular ones on MAinland Europe. Post 200BCE the use of coinage became more common [H Donnelly,2013].
Subject to the future acquisition of more definitive genetic information [eg fully sequenced samples], there is no reliable evidence of a significant Halstatt/La Tene male presence in in England ca 750-1 BCE.The late Iron Age inhabitants of Ireland and Britain appear to have spoken Celtic dialects, but there is no definitive evidence of a Halstatt/La Tene relationship.
