Spain

Abstract

A bridge between Europe and Africa, the Iberian peninsula has absorbed influences from both regions. The original inhabitants were Iberians, who spoke a non Indo-European language, and Celtic peoples, who were mainly to the north and west of the peninsula. From the 8th century BC the Phoenicians established trading colonies such as Gades (Cádiz), importing metalworking skills, music and literacy in the form of a semi-syllabic script. The Greeks established a trading settlement in Catalonia named Empirion (now Ampurias) around 575 BC, and there is evidence of other Greek and Phoenician settlements along the Mediterranean coast.