Catalonia

The oldest human remains found in Catalonia date back to 450,000 years old and correspond to the so-called man of Talteüll, a Homo erectus discovered in a cave in the town of Talteüll (in present-day Northern Catalonia).

The oldest remains found in the current territory of Catalonia date from the lower palaeolithic and come from Puig d'en Roca (Girona), dating back 500,000 years.

Somewhat later are the remains of a female jaw found in the town of Banyoles (Girona), dated to approximately 45,000 years, in what would be the first vestige of Homo Sapiens in Catalonia.

Other important prehistoric sites in Catalonia include Capellades, Torroella de Montgrí and Pla de l'Estany. As for the cave paintings, one of the richest areas is the Sierra de la Pietat d'ulldecona, where depictions of daily life with men in hunting scenes appear.

The Neolithic represents the first revolution experienced by humanity, thanks to the generalization and the development of agriculture and livestock, the creation of nuclei of the stable population, the emergence of trade and ceramics, etc., deposits of neolithic most important in Catalonia are the cave of Fontmajor (l'espluga de Francolí), the caves of Large and Freda (Montserrat), the cave of Toll (Morà), among others.

In the year 1200 B.C. There is an arrival of Indo-European peoples that extend throughout Europe.

These new settlers brought with them a whole series of cultural changes. In the Catalan lands a whole series of villages with a Protourbana structure emerged, such as Genó, in the region of Segrià, or la Mussara, in the region of Baix Camp.

From the urban point of view, however, the most developed town is the one located in Puig Roig, in the Priorat region.

The first settlers came from the eastern Mediterranean in search of metals and to trade. Greeks and Phoenicians positively influenced the cultural development of the Iberian peoples from the eighth century BC. The most well-known and accredited Greek settlements in Catalonia are those of Emporion (Empúries), which means market, and Rhode (Roses). Emporion, with approximately 2,000 inhabitants, it was one of the most important commercial centres on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Thanks to the extensive excavation work conducted in Empúries, we can now see the remains of some of the economic activities that were carried out in that commercial population, such as the salting of fish, an activity that continues to be practiced just a couple of kilometres from the ruins, in l'Escala.

Catalonia and its economic activity

Economic activity was so important in this market town that it even had its own currency, the drachma emporitano, from the third century BC. Just in that same century the city was destroyed by the first Germanic invasions, causing the place to be completely uninhabited and abandoned until the beginning of archaeological excavations in 1908.

The Iberian culture is the result of the interaction of various foreign influences on substrates that already existed previously and that from the seventh century B.C. and until the year 50 B.C. defined the diverse ways of life of the indigenous society.

Despite what has been written on several occasions, the Iberians did not come from invading ethnic groups in North Africa or Europe. Although it is true that there was a vast variety of Iberian peoples of the peninsula, these groups share common characteristics related to the level of technological development and some artistic and cultural manifestations.

There are usually four periods in the evolution of Iberian culture in Catalonia.

The initial period, from the eighth century to the seventh century B.C. corresponds to the first contacts with the colonizing peoples and where the first iron objects appear. The ancient period, from the seventh century to the middle of the fifth century B.C. it corresponds to the consolidation of iberisation in Catalonia.

Catalonia and the Roman stage

The period of fullness, from the middle of the fifth century to the beginning of the Romanization, III BC, is the period of maximum development of the Iberian culture, and the period of decline will come from the landing of the Roman armies in the year 218 BC, which will put an end to this culture.

The Iberians were characterized by being a particularly bellicose people, based on a single-person structure strongly implanted and of great military power, an aspect of which they showed in their fight against the Roman invader.

But it was also a farming and livestock people and practiced trade, especially their renowned textile crafts.

They minted money that, at first, imitated the Emporitan drachma and lived in villages, usually on hills and promontories to facilitate their defence.

The Iberian script was based on a system of twenty-eight signs, of which its reading is known, but whose meaning has not yet been deciphered, partly due to the few written testimonies found.

Among the most important archaeological sites in Iberian villages is that of Ullastret (Girona).