History of Galicia: Encyclopedia II - History of Galicia - Prehistory

History of Galicia - Prehistory

History of Galicia - The Megalithic culture

The Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, first by Neanderthals and then by modern humans.

Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias, western León, and Zamora formed a single megalithic area since the Neolithic and Chalcolithic (also called Copper Age) Ages, around 4500 - 1500 B.C.E.

This was the first great culture to appear in Galicia and was characterized by its surprising capacity for construction and architecture. This was combined with deep sense of religion, based on the cult of the dead, the mediators between man and the gods.

Many historians believe that Megalithic culture had two sources: an oriental source that was predominant in the Mediterranean area, and one in the Atlantic, which originated north of the Tagus River. The latter, because of its geographical proximity to Galicia, would explain the abundant traces of megalithic culture in this area. That this should be the first great culture also meant that it constituted one of the basic pillars that was to endow Galicia's cultural personality.

From this era there remain thousands of dolmens (mámoas), a type of tomb or sepulchre, throughout the entire territory. From its social organization it has been confirmed that it corresponded to some type of clan structure.

History of Galicia - The Bronze Age

The introduction of bronze-working techniques introduced a new cultural stage, when the new importance of metals resulted in intense mining activity. Some historians ^{[citation needed]} attribute the boom in this sector to the extremely dry and warm climate of the time which revealed, due to erosion it caused, the mining richness of the North.

Due to the fact that Galicia was also very humid since it was near the Atlantic, the towns of the Castilian plateau moved to the territory, thus increasing the population.

The increase in the number of inhabitants caused certain conflicts, but also contributed greatly to the mining surge with heavy production as much in weapons as in objects of usefulness. It goes without saying that the splendid jewels of gold and bronze were not amiss either. Pieces of jewellery crafted from Galician metals circulated throughout all of the Peninsula and Europe also.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Prehistory", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki