Question regarding the Lusotannan and the Iberians

[Cartaphilus]

So I expect at least one celtiberian faction (arevaci, for example) in EB2.
And an iberian faction will be perfect.

Lusotanan had strong celtic influences if they were not a celtic people.

[Sarcasm]

Lusotanan had strong celtic influences if they were not a celtic people.

That's highly debatable. In the end, we simply can't tell...and it's not like a Celt is a very defined term. What we do know, is that they appear more archaic both in art forms, fighting style, form of government, religion, topography and most important of all, language. Which in my opinion does not make them celts, but rather a different non-native branch of indo-europeans that get highly influenced at later times by migratory waves.

[blitzkrieg80]

Sarcasm puts it well. One could say by similar standards that the Germanic tribes were Celtic and actually some were (like the Belgians) but the term then becomes meaningless. Only concerning linguistic distinction can the term be used, while self identification is important also. La Tene and Halstatt may be closely linked with tribes later called Kelt but that by no means makes it clear that Celtic-speaking tribes were the only participants or instigators. Indo-European culture is closely linked to it all. The distinction between Illyrians and Thracians is similar, derived from Indo-European origin and close contacts, but they are culturally unique and significant in themselves and have their own Indo-European dialect (even if undocumented).

BUT there are plenty of non-IndoEuropeans who should not be discounted. The Megalithic culture common from the Mediterannean along the Atlantic all the way to Britain significantly points to this, imo.

[Jolt]

That's highly debatable. In the end, we simply can't tell...and it's not like a Celt is a very defined term. What we do know, is that they appear more archaic both in art forms, fighting style, form of government, religion, topography and most important of all, language. Which in my opinion does not make them celts, but rather a different non-native branch of indo-europeans that get highly influenced at later times by migratory waves.

Right. I was speaking in analogous terms, comparing West-Northern to South-Eastern Iberians.

[Cartaphilus]

I'm agree with Sarcasm, but this is not a closed question but a debatable one (see the work of prof. Villar of Salamanca University, "Los indoeuropeos y los orígenes de Europa"). We only know that Lusotanan were of indo-european origin, and they obviously had a strong celtic influence (as also the celtiberian tribes had) - over their culture and over their language.
But we ignore more than we know about them. So the experts are still arguing about if they were celts or not.


Obviously the best studies about pre-roman Hispania are the spanish ones. If you know/speak spanish I can tell you some good works about that question.