Ancient Celtics

The ancient Celts lived in families that were made up of 4 generations that all descended from the same great-grandfather. They ate on a floor with earthen or wooden dishes. Most Celts were warriors or mercenaries that enjoyed fighting. They wore practical and warm clothing rather than fashionable clothing. They made their villages and forts on top of hills because it was easy to defend and gave them a good view of the countryside. They existed in Northern Europe.

RELIGION

The ancient Celts cremated, buried with grave goods, and buried their dead. They had 2 religious festivals each year, one on May 1st and one on November 1st. May 1st was called Beltane, and animals started to graze the fields. November 1st was called Samhain, and it was the Celtic New Year. Then animals would come in from the fields for winter (this evolved into Halloween). They had political and religious leaders called Druids. They were polytheistic and had lots of nature related gods and goddesses. They were also very superstitious. British Celts became Christians in late Roman times. After death they believed that you would go to Otherworld, and live another life there. When you died in Otherworld you would return to Earth, and live another life here. This cycle would continue forever.

GOVERNMENT

The ancient Celts were never united under 1 ruler. They had many different tribes, and sometimes kings would rule multiple tribes. Some joined the Roman Empire when conquered, but some didn't. This led to some betrayals between Celts. They fought for their tribe, not their country. They reached their peak at about 200 B.C.

TRADE & OCCUPATION

The ancient Celts traded al over Europe and the Mediterranean area. Some of their occupations included salt miners, smiths, craft smiths, warriors, mercenaries, slaves, and farmers. They supplied Rome with many slaves and would trade a slave for 1 jar of find wine. This is how the Romans got many slaves. The slaves were often captured war prisoners.

ACHIEVEMENTS & INTERESTING FACTS

They used iron instead of bronze tools because iron was stronger. They had lots of poems and legends that were passed on by mouth because the Druids didn't let the Celts learn how to read or write. When the Druids lost power they wrote these stories down. They made a calendar with lucky days on it. Some ancient Celtic tribal names have been turned into country or city names, like Paris (Parisii) and Belgium (Belgie).They dominated most of Europe before Roman times. They also defeated the Roman forces at Allia.