Hercynian Forest ( Hercynia Silva), north of the Danube and east of the Rhine was in their lands. Later they expanded towards the Middle Danube valley and to parts of the Balkans and towards inland central Asia Minor or Anatolia (Galatians). They lived Southern Central Europe (in the Upper Danube basin and neighbouring regions) which is hypothesized as the original area of the Celts ( Proto-Celts), corresponding to the Hallstatt Culture. Some of the tribes shown, such as the Serdi were Celts. Map 6: Tribes in Thrace before the Roman period. They only used the name “Celts” or “Galli” for the peoples and tribes of mainland Europe.

However, it is not fully known if this grouping of peoples, such as their languages, is a genealogical one (phylogenetic), based on kinship, or if it is a simple geographically based group.Ĭlassical Antiquity authors did not call the peoples and tribes of the British Islands as “ Celts” or “ Galli” but by the name “ Britons”. P-Celtic type languages are more innovative (*kʷ > p) while Q-Celtic type languages are more conservative. They are thought to have spoken Gaulish ( P-Celtic type), Lepontic ( P-Celtic type), Hispano-Celtic ( Celtiberian and Western Hispano-Celtic or Gallaecian) ( Q-Celtic type), Eastern Celtic or Noric (unknown type).

Many of the populations from these regions were called Celts by ancient authors. They lived in these many regions forming a large arc stretching across from Iberia in the west to the Balkans and Anatolia in the east. Iberian Peninsula – Spain and Portugal, in the northern, central and western regions southern Central Europe – upper Danube basin and neighbouring regions, large parts of the middle Danube basin and the inland region of Central Asia Minor or Anatolia. They were most of the population in Gallia, today's France, Switzerland, possibly Belgica – far Northern France, Belgium and far Southern Netherlands, large parts of Hispania, i.e. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Celts inhabited a large part of mainland Western Europe and large parts of Western Southern Europe ( Iberian peninsula), southern Central Europe and some regions of the Balkans and Anatolia. Proto-Indo-Europeans ( Proto-Indo-European speakers)Ĭontinental Celts were the Celtic peoples that inhabited mainland Europe.Map 2: Indo-European migrations as described in The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W.

Ancient market tribez