Hallstatt C

  General Description   The Hallstatt culture, named after an archaeological site in Austria and traditionally divided into four phases, was the main cultural complex in Western Europe during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It coincides with the North Alpine complex, extending over modern-day central and southern Germany, northern Italy, and Switzerland. ^[1]
Population and political organization
In the Hallstatt C period, which lasted from around 700 to 600 BCE, ^[2] Hallstatt polities became increasingly integrated into the Mediterranean economy. Although the settlement pattern was still rather decentralized, ^[2] this period saw the proliferation of fortified sites. ^[3] These elevated settlements, covering between one and ten hectares, sprang up at strategic locations such as the confluence of rivers. They were often enclosed by earthworks and walls and associated with burial mounds and tumuli. ^[4]
Another important development of the Hallstatt C period was an increasing diversity in material culture, especially in ceramic and metal objects, as seen in the elaborate bronze hoards dating to this period. ^[3] The variability of artefact types may indicate the fragmentation of cultural zones and the creation of myriad princely territories with an average radius of c. 30 kilometres. ^[5] It is possible that a four-tiered administrative hierarchy developed during the Hallstatt C period. ^[6]

[1]: (Brun 1995, 14) Brun, Patrice. 1995. “From Chiefdom to State Organization in Celtic Europe.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and D. Blair Gibson, Cambridge University Press, 13-25. Cambridge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RZWRCEPH.

[2]: (Collis 1995, 75) Collis, John. 1995. “States without Centers? The Middle La Tène Period in Temperate Europe.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and D. Blair Gibson, 75-80. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QFU68CIQ.

[3]: (Brun 1995, 15) Brun, Patrice. 1995. "From chiefdom to state organization in Celtic Europe." In Celtic chiefdom, Celtic state. New Directions in Archaeology, edited by Bettina Arnold and D. Blair Gibson, 13-25. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RZWRCEPH.

[4]: (Arnold and Gibson 1995, 7) Arnold, Bettina, and D. Blair Gibson. 1995. “Introduction: Beyond the Mists: Forging an Ethnological Approach to Celtic Studies.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and Gibson, 1-7. New Directions in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/583XXU9Z.

[5]: (Brun 2007, 381) Brun, Patrice. 2007. “Une Période de Transition Majeure En Europe: De La Fin Du IVe Au Début Du IIe s. Av. J.-C.(La Tène B2 et C).” In La Gaule Dans Son Contexte Européen Aux IV e et III e Siècle Avant Notre Ère, edited by Christine Mennessier-Jouannet, Anne-Marie Adam, and Pierre-Yves Milcent, 377-84. Lattes: Edition de l’Association pour le Développement de l’Archéologie en Languedoc-Roussillon. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/D2ET47FZ.

[6]: (Arnold and Gibson 1995, 6-7) Arnold, Bettina, and D. Blair Gibson. 1995. “Introduction: Beyond the Mists: Forging an Ethnological Approach to Celtic Studies.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and Gibson, 1-7. New Directions in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/583XXU9Z.