The Celts' History

"Hello class! Welcome! To start off today's lecture, I'm going to quickly talk to you all about the Celts. I realize that it can get very tedious, but if you get through this I might let you all out early. So please listen and take notes." Gabriella exclaimed, she didn't know why but she was excited and it had been a long time that she got excited about absolutely nothing at all. She didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially since she hadn't been happy for a few years now.

Gabriella waved her wand and writing started to appear, key notes and words the class would need to look into more on their own. "The name Celt originated from the ancient Greeks, who called the barbarian peoples of central Europe Keltoi. Rather than being a broad cultural genetic race, the Celts were a broad cultural-linguistic group. The area where they lived became a constantly changing collection of tribal nations. Unlike most, the Celts were never an empire ruled by one government, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. One government isn't always enough in some situation. For us it works, but for the Celts it wasn't what they needed." She paused in her rambling and took a sip of her water, watching all the students curiously to see if any had already nodded off.

She licked her lips before continuing. "The ancestors of the Celts were the people of the Urnfield culture, they were so called because they buried their dead in cremation urns in flat ground. Between the years 1200 and 700 BC, they spread westward from their eastern European homeland into the area of modern Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Here, their culture developed into a recognizably Celtic form." Her eyes got bright as she continued to talk, this was why she had chose history. It was a passion of hers and she got so into what she was studying and researching, it was just who she was. "The earliest stage of Celtic culture is called the Hallstatt, after a village in the Austrian Salzkammergut where archeologists discovered important artifacts. At Hallstatt and other places with the hall name (Hallein, Helle, Schwabisch Hall) the Celts' wealth was based upon salt extraction and sale. The technology of iron was also embraced by innovative Celtic blacksmiths, who produced the best metal in Europe that was in great demand outside Celtic Areas. An important two-way trade developed between the Celts and the Greeks, both in their homeland, and their colonies in what is now southern France." Gabriella walked through the desks to make sure everyone was taking notes and paying attention. Whether they were interested in the subject was beside the point.

"By the seventh century BC, the Hallstatt people had become prosperous in the salt and iron businesses. In around 650 BC, the Celts began to re-exchange raids with the Greeks and Etruscans, elements of whose culture they adopted. By adding and adapting Graeco-Etruscan elements to the Hallstatt culture, the characteristically Celtic style of art came into being. As a result of this, in northeastern France, Switzerland, and the middle Rhine, a new stage of Celtic development took place." Gabriella took a deep breath and sat on her desk, too lazy to keep standing any longer.

"Archeologists call it the early La Tene period, after the definitive artifacts found at La Tene, on Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland. During the Classical period of Greece and Rome, Celtic culture was predominant north of the Alps. Celtic technicians of the La Tene period were technically superior to their Greek and Roman counterparts. Their superior weaponry, including a new type of sword, chain mail, and chariots, enabled the Celts to mount military expeditions against neighboring tribes and nations, including the Greeks and Romans. Celtic fighting men had such a good reputation that they were in great demand as mercenaries. The warrior culture was at the heart of Celtic society, as the heroic sagas of ancient Ireland record."

Gabriella trailed off and looked around. It seemed that the students were paying more attention than usual, but you never knew with students. They were masters at working around systems. So it was either that, or they were zoned out, pretending to be paying very close attention. She liked to think it was the former. She smiled at all of them and gave them a slight nod. "Okay, well, since you all seemed to do as I asked, you are all dismissed. Thank you!"


Questions
1. Where did the Celt name originate from?
2. What did the Celt's do between the years 1200 and 700 BC?
3. What culture were the Celtic ancestors apart of?
4. What resources were in high demand?
5. Will in the blanks: Their superior weaponry, including a new type of sword, chain mail, and _____, enabled the Celts to mount military ________ against neighboring tribes and nations, including the _______ and Romans.

1-2 Paragraphs of Notes