The origins of Celtiberian settlement in the Upper Duero basin

Abstract

After a review of the geography of the Upper Duero basin and its human occupation during the later prehistoric period, the paper analyses the economic orientation of the known settlements in the area. A duality is firstly recorded in the sites, hill forts and villages, the first occupying the southern foothills of the Iberian mountain range and the second located in the Sorian territory south of the Duero river. An examination is made of the relations between the economic system and the local resources, and on the reasons for the aforementioned settlement duality and the origin of artificial defensive architecture in some of the sites. The different archaeological interpretations of this problem, and of the cemeteries associated to the settlements, known since long ago, are exposed subsequently. The presence of different ‘cultures’ or ‘ethnic groups’ in the area appears as a necessary conclusion of the whole process. Lastly, the different features of each group –settlement patterns, defensive systems, domestic architecture, material culture and burial customs - are described.