7.3 Europe: 1000 to 700 b.c.  (Page 4/4)

Farther north there was ever increasing pressure from the Germanic tribes with some Teutons already moving up the Elbe and Rhine. The oldest Germanic wind instruments date back to 800 B.C. In a triangular area in northern Europe bounded by the rivers Aller and Saal in the west, a line running east from the river Somme to the Taunus mountains to the head of the Saal, and by the North Sea coast on the northwest, there were no Celts, and before the Germanic tribes began their migrations from the east and north, the people in this area spoke an older language than either Celtic or German. Some place-names in this region still bear the stamp of this unknown tongue, another example of ancient Europeans who did not speak an Indo-European tongue. (Ref. 8, 91)

Western europe

In the early part of this period, the people of western Europe were in a middle Bronze Age, speaking languages at present unknown. In Spain the Phoenicians had reached the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir River in Andalusia and they traded for metals mined by the natives, who seem to have been mainly Basques. The largest Phoenician city was Tarshish (Greek - Tartessos) and the script they used is called Tartessian, an only slightly modified Phoenician. The ships of Tarshish were the largest sea-going vessels known to the ancient world.

The first Indo-European speaking tribes who emigrated into France between 900 and 700 B.C. ran into the Ligurians who were short, muscular farmers, dangerous in battle. They had already had contact with Greek traders and Greek civilization. (Ref. 91) By the end of the 8th century B.C. Indo-European peoples were pouring into all areas of western Europe and even before that there was extensive trading occurring from the continent to Britain, as evidenced by the imported tools, weapons and trinkets. It will be recalled that the possibility of still earlier migrations of Celtic-speaking people to the British Isles was mentioned in the last chapter. It is possible that the Picts of Scotland were descended from the prehistoric Abernethy Culture, people who may have migrated from Germany to Scotland about 1,000 B.C. Our very limited knowledge of their language suggests a mixture of Celtic and some older speech. They were excellent metalsmiths and had a symbolic art which survives on some stones. (Ref. 65,43,45).

Scandinavia

Denmark continued in an extended Bronze Age with a non-egalitarian society based on a mixed farming and herding economy. But the Danes were also highly skilled metallurgists and carpenters and had contacts with central Europe. The political leader was also the religious leader and there was an elite class who controlled trade and religion. While in the early Bronze Age, preceding the period under discussion, the dead were buried in wooden coffins, in later times (1,100-500 B.C.) cremation was common and the ashes were of ten placed in a pottery urn. Archaeologists have uncovered about 350 hoards of bronze and occasional gold objects which may have represented religious offerings of some kind. The objects included tools, swords, neckrings, armbands, brooches, belt ornaments, buckets, cups, bridle bits and shields, all of excellent workmanship, perhaps constructed by very specialized craftsmen. Eighty-one of the hoards, dated from the 9th to the 8th centuries, B.C., all contain women's ornaments in what appear to be special sets. The presence of animal bones and harvesting sickles in some hoards suggest that part of the purpose of the hoards was to insure fertility of the crops and herds. (Ref. 257) The Danes also developed their own Iron Age, using bog-iron. The people of Jutland of this period were the Vandals about whom we shall hear much more in later chapters.

Southern Sweden also continued its Bronze Age culture at this time and there was a general spread of Teutonic tribes throughout the area.

Eastern europe

Along the Baltic coast were German tribes and Balts. From the Elbe east to beyond the Oder were the proto-Slav, Urnfield Culture Lusatians, destined to become the Western group which had migrated from the east Carpathians to the Dnieper area became the Eastern Slavs. Some 140 miles northwest of Warsaw the Lusatian town of Biskupin has been excavated, showing an extra-ordinary stone enclosed area of five acres with one hundred identical houses arranged in thirteen rows, all made of oak and pine. a 130 yard-long wooden causeway linked the city, which was originally on an island in a lake, to the mainland. It is obvious that in addition to being skilled in the use of wood these people had a high social development, and some feel that their knowledge was carried over later to the Druids of the Celtic people.

By 800 B.C. the Eastern Slavs were completely conquered by the ferocious Scythians who took over the area about the Black Sea. The Slavs of this region were the ancestors of the Russian, Ukranian and White Russian peoples, and they had an innate aptitude for work in metal. The Scythians were primarily of Indo-European stock but may have had some added Mongol elements. In addition to dominating the local Slavs, the Scythians displaced the Cimmerians who had previously occupied the north shore of the Black Sea about the Scythians because much that has been described about them has come from Herodotus' The Persian Wars (Ref. 92) and one must always take this tales "with a grain of salt". In Book IV he described a visit to Scythia and wrote of their legends and customs. These included various barbarous activities including their propensity for beheading an enemy, then skinning him and making coats, caps and cushions from the skin. The skulls may have been used for drinking cups, after gilding of the interiors. The blood of the first victim was always drunk and scalps were taken to be later used as napkins. Herodutus told of hard, cruel men with leathery skin, filthy hair, wild cavernous eyes and many wives, all loving strong wine and smoking hashish while living chiefly in the saddle. (Ref. 92, 176, 8) They must not have been completely savage, however, as archeologists have shown that they produced highly developed arts and crafts with gold necklaces, miniature, cast animal figures and delicate glass ware. (Ref. 91) ***(*Page 1185) Additional Notes

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