Iberians
Origins and Ethnogenesis
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources (among others, Herodotus, Strabo, Polybius, Pausanias) identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. The Roman sources also use the term Hispani to refer to the Iberians. The term Iberian, as used by the ancient authors, had two distinct meanings. One, more general, referred to all the populations of the Iberian peninsula without regard to ethnic differences. The other, more restricted, confined the term to the people living in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, where by the 6th century BC they had absorbed cultural influences from the Phoenicians and the Greeks.
Culture
The Iberians in the strict sense were divided into two large groups: the eastern Iberians, who inhabited the eastern and northeastern parts of the Iberian Peninsula, and the southern Iberians, who lived in the southern part of the peninsula. The eastern Iberians were culturally influenced by the Greeks, who had established colonies along the coast. The southern Iberians, in contrast, had come under the influence of the Phoenicians, who had founded their own colonies in the south. Despite these differences, there was also a common Iberian culture with certain shared characteristics, such as the use of a non-Indo-European language, the practice of cremation in urnfields, and a strong warrior tradition.
Language and Writing
The Iberian language, like the rest of the non-Indo-European languages of the peninsula, is poorly understood. It was written in a script derived from the Phoenician alphabet, and later in a dual variant, northeastern Iberian and southeastern Iberian scripts. The northeastern Iberian script is almost completely deciphered, but there are still some doubts about certain aspects. The southeastern Iberian script, on the other hand, remains largely undeciphered. The Iberian language, based on the reading of the northeastern Iberian script, seems to be a language isolate, not related to any known language family.
Economy
The Iberians were primarily a rural people, who lived in small villages and hamlets. Their economy was based on a combination of agriculture (cereals, grapes, olives), livestock farming (sheep, goats, pigs, cattle), and fishing. They also exploited the mineral wealth of the peninsula, mining silver, lead, iron and copper. The Iberians produced a variety of goods, such as pottery, textiles, metalwork, and jewelry, which they traded with other Mediterranean peoples.
Art
Iberian art, a subset of Iron Age art, displays a strong local character and reflects influences from the Greeks and Phoenicians. Iberian sculpture, in stone and bronze, was especially sophisticated, with representations of the human figure in a variety of poses, and also of animals. Iberian pottery, which was often painted, shows a progression from geometric designs to more complex figurative representations.
Religion
The Iberian religious practices were influenced by their Greek and Phoenician neighbors. They built sanctuaries in high places, where they made offerings of pottery, metal objects, and animal sacrifices. The Iberians believed in an afterlife, and cremated their dead, depositing the ashes in urns, which were then buried. The Iberians also practiced divination, and believed in the power of certain objects, such as amulets and talismans, to protect them from evil spirits.
End of the Iberian Culture
The Iberian culture gradually disappeared as the Roman influence spread throughout the peninsula. By the 1st century AD, the Iberians had been largely Romanized, and their language had disappeared. The last vestiges of the Iberian culture survived in the mountainous regions of the peninsula, until they too were absorbed by the expanding Roman civilization.