THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE FORMATION AND SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Abstract

The study of the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula is approached as a comprehensive interdisciplinary process, in which various scientific perspectives are coordinated, and the reconstruction of the past is carried out by integrating data from history, archaeology, linguistics, genetics, and other sciences, since none of these disciplines alone can provide a complete picture of societal development, its culture, history, and language; in this context, the interaction of the main components of typological-prehistoric research acquires particular significance.

Firstly, history and archaeology complement each other: history analyzes past events, whereas archaeology provides material evidence of the existence of ancient societies, including artifacts, architectural structures, and inscriptions; secondly, the interrelation of linguistics and history allows for tracing the imprints of past eras in language, as historical linguistic methods make it possible to reconstruct migration processes, intercultural contacts, and stages of cultural transformations; thirdly, cultural anthropology examines traditions, beliefs, and social structures, which can often be adequately interpreted only in the context of the historical processes that shaped them; fourthly, literary and oral traditions, represented by myths, epic texts, and folk narratives, preserve historical memory and reflect the fundamental cultural values of society.

The application of typological-prehistoric analytical methodology enables a closer approximation to reconstructing a fuller picture of the life of ancient communities, as well as understanding the processes of language emergence and the subsequent development of cultural and linguistic systems across different societies.

Therefore, history, culture, and language are closely interconnected, as each of these spheres contributes specifically to the comprehensive study of a people and the evolution of its linguistic system over historical time; the study of the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula allows for a deeper understanding of certain aspects of contemporary Spanish society, particularly the formation of its linguistic tradition, although definitive conclusions about the language of distant ancestors are not always possible.