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The creation of the Celtic entity: migration or acculturation?
Conference
Published on
07 June 2015
Updated on
13 June 2017
Colloquia
The archaeology of Migrations
International colloquium organized by Inrap, in partnership with the National Museum of Immigration History.
November 12 and 13, 2015 at the National Museum of Immigration History.
Archaeology of Migrations
by Patrice Brun, université Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne
Celtic migrations in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC towards Northern Italy, Central Europe and Asia Minor are well studied and have never been a cause for debate. In contrast, the migratory or non-continuous nature of the initial expansion of a large, Celtic cultural entity has incited a fundamentally ideological head-on opposition. The history of the ideas behind this issue allows for a better understanding of the current theoretical standpoints. I had myself suggested that the creation of this vast Celtic culture should be dated to the 3rd century BC, and its manifestation explained by the growing trade networks led by social elites, notwithstanding individual and small group migrations. However, over these last few months, results from genetic analysis seem to have shed serious doubt on this idea which favours the influence of cultural dynamics. Finally, I will lay out the questions raised by these results and propose a few answers compatible with the current state of archaeological knowledge.
Patrice Brun is an archaeologist. First a Research Fellow and now Research Supervisor at the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), since 2007 he is Professor of European protohistory at the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. His area of research covers the 7000 year period B.C.E, from the adoption of a mixed farming economy to that of a State economy in the non-Mediterranean region of Europe. He has twelve publications and around one hundred scientific articles to his name. While working on micro-regional and regional programs (in particular the Protohistoric Excavation Program in the Aisne valley), he has always been interested in larger issues affecting the whole of the European continent: trade, different forms of settlement in space, the social significance of deposit practices and identity dynamics. This multi-scale and cross-disciplinary approach is used to enrich his thinking with regards to his speciality area: explaining the social changes which led to the creation of the State.
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