Late Neolithic Cultures From 4500 3250 B.C. example essay topic

The history of the Iberian Peninsula (today's Spain and Portugal) is busy with migrations, invasions, and the involvement of various people groups. For perspective, Site Timeline records the date of the appearance of Earth as 4.5 billion B.C., the extinction of dinosaurs along with the appearance of primates as 65 million B.C., the first motion picture starring Raquel Welch in 1 million B.C. (this timeline has a sense of humor), and the first anatomically modern humans appear in Africa and migrate across Asia in 130,000-100,000 B.C. In 30,000 B.C., humans probably first appear in North and South America, and cave murals are first drawn in European caves. The European History website notes that in 32,000 B.C., "Neanderthal man is located at Zafar raya, southern Spain, and in 29,000 B.C., "Neanderthals are still evident at Andalusia toward Gibraltar, Spain". In 25,000 B.C., "archeological discovery of a txistu flute suggests the Basque culture existed at this time in the current territory of France / Spain/Portugal. The Basque are believed to represent the indigenous peoples of Europe and their language is not related to any other language of the world".

Archaea News shares that genetics is being used to help trace the migration of the Basque from East Africa to Asia and on to where they settled in France and Spain. The cave paintings in northern Spain are thought to be painted by the Basque. Cave art is also located in the south east coastal region of Spain. The paintings show dress, weapons, dancing, and hunting activities. The Magdalenian culture (18,000 to 8,000 B.C.) is an example of cave and antler art, the most elaborate being in northern Spain.

In 10,000 B.C., global warming reduced the game population, causing the people to migrate and turn to plant life and seafood to eat. The Azilian or Painted Pebble culture was located in Northern Spain at this time. European History states that by 8,500, Spain is occupied by the Iberian Caps in culture. This culture is closely related to cultures in Africa who migrated north through Spain.

Site Timeline dates 4000 B.C. for "Iberians migrate to today's Spain, from either northern Africa or central Europe". The Metropolitan Museum website's Met Timeline shows the Iberian Peninsula having Late Epi paleolithic and Early Neolithic cultures from 6000-4500 B.C., Late Neolithic cultures from 4500-3250 B.C., Chalcolithic cultures from 3250-2250 B.C., and Early Bronze Age from 2250-1500 B.C. Also, in 4500 B.C., "the earliest farming takes place on the Iberian Peninsula as established by grains of cultivated barley found in a cave site near Alicante, Spain. Sedentary agriculture fosters cooperation among communities and the formation of villages consisting of animal pens and huts made from branches". Later, in 4500-3250 B.C., "the rarity of open-air settlements suggests the continuation of a relatively mobile society. Collective burials in Iberia are found in natural caves and in a variety of artificial chambers. In Portugal, the construction of megalithic tombs is well under way".

From 3250-2250 B.C., Central Portugal and southeast Spain develop fortified settlements. Because of agriculture, these villages have long-term occupation. Hints of distinction between social status and rank are found within and between these communities. They used polished stone tools, made ceramics, and practiced a cult of the dead. Between 3000-2000 B.C., "evidence for the 'Almeria n culture' is found throughout the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. The preference is for open-air villages and simple chambered tombs".

The Early Bronze Age (2250-1500 B.C.) and the Middle and Later Bronze Age (1500-700 B.C.) are characterized by the Met Timeline. "Across the Italian and Iberian peninsulas there are significant migrations, changes in settlement patterns, and an influx of eastern Mediterranean goods". Specifically, in 1700-1000 B.C., "the Agaric culture in southeast Spain is marked by a change in settlement patterns. Villages are moved to defensible hilltops, and houses change from round to rectangular. Instead of collective burials in chambered tombs or caves, the dead are buried individually under house floors with many burial goods indicating personal wealth".

In 1100 B.C. Phoenicians from Tyre arrive in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula and establish a settlement at Gadir (Cadiz), followed by four other settlements. Also, the Met Timeline states, "By bartering with local populations for their mineral wealth, the Phoenicians gained political and cultural control over the indigenous communities". The Phoenicians were really the first to make contact with the Iberians. They were also a great factor in the development of the Iberians from a group of tribes into a civilized nation.

The Phoenicians introduced writing to the Iberians. The Iberian Peninsula is the focus of the Met Timeline for the years, 1000 B.C. to 1 A.D., with the dates of the Iberian Culture being 600 B.C. to 200 A.D. "In the first half of the millennium, Celtic tribes across the Pyrenees mix with the Iberians to form the Celt iberians, a large ethnographic group in the north central part of the peninsula. In the south, Iberian culture is influenced by civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean through trade and colonies established first by the Phoenicians, and later the Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans". Site Timeline has 500 B.C. as the date when Celts begin invading and "absorb" the Iberians.

The Celts were the first "clearly definable group of immigrants from central or northern Europe". The Met Timeline lists the following as other key dates. In 600 B.C., "Phocaea ns, Greeks from northern Ionia, found a trading station at Emporia in Tartessus, a region of south Spain. Tartessus' trade with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians made it wealthy".

However Tartessus collapsed in 540 B.C. after the Battle of Algeria, when Tartessus was defeated by the forces of the Carthaginians and the Etruscans. The Punic Wars occurred from 264-201 B.C. The first Punic War resulted in the defeat of Carthage by Rome. The Carthage commander, Hamilcar Barca, established his command at Gadir (Cadiz). Barca took over Spain with its rich silver mines and built a fort at Akra Leuk e (Alicante). The second Punic War began when Carthage attacks Saguntum. The Met Timeline states that "Troops led by Hannibal (son of Hamilcar Barca) cross the Pyrenees, then north over the Alps, to assemble on the banks of the Po.

When the Roman general Publius Scipio lands at Emporium and Roman conquest of Spain begins. The Carthaginians are defeated at Zama. Carthage surrenders and is forced to pay an enormous war indemnity and abandon all its possessions in the Iberian Peninsula". Finally, in 27-19 B.C., Caesar Augustus begins the Cantabria n Wars which result in Roman control over Spain and Portugal.