Celtic from the West 3: Atlantic Europe in the Metal Ages — Questions of a Shared Language(Celtic Studies Publications)

The Celtic languages and groups called Keltoi (i.e. ‘Celts’) emerge into our written records at the pre-Roman Iron Age. The impetus for this book is to explore from the perspectives of three disciplines—archaeology, genetics, and linguistics—the background in later European prehistory to these developments. There is a traditional scenario, according to which, Celtic speech and the associated group identity came in to being during the Early Iron Age in the north Alpine zone and then rapidly spread across central and western Europe. This idea of ‘Celtogenesis’ remains deeply entrenched in scholarly and popular thought. But it has become increasingly difficult to reconcile with recent discoveries pointing towards origins in the deeper past. It should no longer be taken for granted that Atlantic Europe during the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC were pre-Celtic or even pre-Indo-European. The explorations in Celtic from the West 3 are drawn together in this spirit, continuing two earlier volumes in the influential series.

Table of Contents:
 Introduction BARRY CUNLIFFE & JOHN T. KOCH 1 part I: Archaeology 1. Behind the Warriors: Bell Beakers and Identities in Atlantic Europe (3rd millennium BC) Laure Salanova 13 2. The Lost Cultures of the Halberd Bearers: a non-Beaker ideology in later 3rd millennium Atlantic Europe stuart needham 40 3. Closed for Business or Cultural Change? Tracing the re-use and final blocking of megalithic tombs during the Beaker period catriona d. Gibson 83 4. Copper mining, Prospection, and the Beaker Phenomenon in Wales—the significance of the Banc Tynddol gold disc Simon Timberlake 111 5. Burial Practices in Ireland during the Late 3rd millennium BC— connecting new ideologies with local expressions kerri cleary 139 6. Stelae, Funerary Practice, and Group Identities in the Bronze and Iron Ages of SW Iberia: a moyenne durée perspective Dirk brandherm 179 7. Language Shift and Political Context in Late Bronze Age Ireland: some implications of hillfort chronology William O’Brien 201 8. Metal, Metalwork, and Specialization: the chemical composition of British Bronze Age swords in context Peter Bray 229 9. Emerging Settlement Monumentality in North Wales during the Late Bronze and Iron Age: the case of Meillionydd Raimund Karl 247 10. Ephemeral Abundance at Llanmaes: Exploring the residues and resonances of an Earliest Iron Age midden and its associated archaeological context in the Vale of Glamorgan Adam Gwilt, Mark Lodwick, Jody Deacon, Nicholas Wells, Richard Madgwick, & Tim Young 277 [ v ] FRONT MATTER CW3.indd 5 15/01/2016 15:52:40 part II: Genetics 11. The Genetic Structure of the British Populations and their Surnames Bruce J. Winney & Walter F. Bodmer 305 12. Archaeogenetic and Palaeogenetic Evidence for Metal Age Mobility in Europe Maria Pala, Pedro Soares, & Martin B. Richards 321 part III: Linguistics 13. Archaeology and Language Shift in Atlantic Europe J. P. Mallory 345 14. The Question of a Hamito-Semitic Substratum in Insular Celtic and Celtic from the West Steve Hewitt 365 15. Phoenicians in the West and the Break-up of the Atlantic Bronze Age and Proto-Celtic JOHN T. KOCH 383 16. Ancient Personal Names in the Iberian Peninsula and Parallels in Celtic Inscribed Artefacts from Early Medieval Britain and Ireland Fernando Fernández Palacios 429 17. ancillary study: Sound Change, the Italo-Celtic Linguistic Unity, and the Italian Homeland of Celtic Peter Schrijver 465 18. ancillary study: Celtic as Vasconized Indo-European? Three structural arguments Theo Vennemann 475 Index 495

About the Author :
Professor John Koch is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales. His interests include the languages, literatures, and civilizations of the early Celtic peoples from prehistory through the early Middle Ages. His works have developed original ideas in such fields as the earliest Welsh poetry, the Mabinogi, Continental Celtic, Irish saga literature, St Patrick, the classical authors’ descriptions of the ancient Celts, and Bronze Age and Iron Age archaeology. He is the author of groundbreaking volumes, such as The Gododdin of Aneirin and The Celtic Heroic Age , has co-authored major innovative works, such as The Inscriptions of Early Medieval Brittany , and has contributed widely to international volumes and journals. He is the co-editor of all three Celtic from the West volumes. Barry Cunliffe was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. He has worked on many of the iconic British excavations including Fishbourne Roman Palace, Danebury Hillfort and Hengistbury Head. He is an authority on the Iron Age and the Celts, and the author of many scholarly and popular publications including The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe, Britain Begins, and The Celts, A Very Short Introduction.

Review :
Given the debate over the genetic impact of eastern peoples and how western data does, or does not, fit into the wider pattern, these detailed studies will be crucial in comparing and contrasting the differing evidence of genetic and cultural data.