Castro culture (cultura castreja in Portuguese, cultura castrexa in Galician and cultura castreña in Spanish, Asturian and Leonese) is the archaeologists' descriptor for the culture of the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula (roughly present-day northern Portugal, Galicia, Asturias and northern and western León), from the end of the Bronze Age (9th century BC) until it was subsumed in local Roman culture. The most notable and permanent characteristic of this culture is their walled villages and hill forts, known as castros (from Latin castrum, castle). The area of these villages extends as far as the Cares river to the east and to the Douro River in the south.
The area of Ave Valley, was the core region of this culture, with a large number of small Castro settlements, but most importantly it had larger settlements, the cividades (from Latin civitas, city), also known as citânias by archeologists, due to their city-like structure: Cividade de Bagunte, Citânia de Briteiros, Citânia de Sanfins, and Cividade de Terroso.
Cividade de Bagunte was one of the largest cities with 50 hectares. The cities are surrounded by a number of smaller castros, some of which may have been defensive outposts of cities, such as Castro de Laundos, that was probably an outpost of Cividade de Terroso. A cividade may also have been the origin of Bracara Augusta, although there are no archaeological findings apart from an ancient parish name and pre-Roman baths. Bracara Augusta later became the capital of the Roman province of Gallaecia.
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History
The culture began to develop during the late Bronze Age as a result of strong cultural influence on the indigenous cultures coming from Central Europe and the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas. In the formative period that followed, which lasted until the 5th century BC, the castros extended from south to north and from the coast to the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. The culture continued to expand and develop for about two centuries, until it began to be influenced by the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC. The culture went through somewhat of a transformation, as a result of the Roman conquest and formation of the Roman province of Gallaecia in the heart of the Castro cultural area, until it finally died out in the 4th century AD, when the last hill forts were abandoned.[1]
Economy
The castro economy was based on many different kinds of agriculture. Some important crops were grains such as wheat and barley, and vegetables such as beans and turnips, among others. Various fruits were also harvested, such as chestnuts. Animals such as cows, horses, sheep, and pigs were raised domestically, while other animals, such as the deer, were hunted. Fish and shellfish, such as hake, were common.
Mining was an integral part of the culture as well. Gold, iron, copper, tin, and lead were the most common ores mined. Castro metallurgy refined the metals from ores and cast them to make various tools. Castro ceramics was also practiced in the region. Castro jewelry has roots from the Bronze Age and was gradually influenced by Central European and Mediterranean cultures. The most characteristic jewelry are bracelets, and pendant-type earrings. Sculpture was practiced more in the south of the region, and increased under Roman rule. Their weapons were mainly swords or dagger-type weapons.
Religion
The religious pantheon was extensive, judging from surviving inscriptions of the Gallo-Roman and Astur era, and definitely included cults and ceremonies to harmonize the people with natural forces. Funerary rites are mostly unknown, for the exception of Cividade de Terroso, where cremation was practiced.
Examples
- Castro de Coaña, Asturias, Spain [es]
- Castro del Chanu, León, Spain
- Castro Ventosa, León, Spain
- Castro de Baroña, Galicia, Spain
- Castro of Troña, Galicia, Spain
- Castro de Noega-Gijón, Asturias, Spain [es]
- Castro de Ulaca, Spain
- Castro de Alvarelhos, Trofa, Portugal
- Citânia de Sanfins, Paços de Ferreira, Portugal
- Citânia de Briteiros, Portugal [1]
- Castro do Vieito, Viana do Castelo, Portugal
See also
References
- e-Castrexo: Galician-Roman & Hillfort Cultures
- SILVA, A. J. M. (2009), Vivre au delá du fleuve de l'Oubli. Portrait de la communauté villageoise du Castro do Vieito, au moment de l'intégration du NO de la péninsule ibérique dans l'orbis romanum (estuaire du Rio Lima, NO du Portugal), Phd Thesis presented at Coimbra University in Mars 2009, 188p. PDF version.
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