Paleohispanic

Paleohispanic refers to the languages and scripts used on the Iberian Peninsula before the spread of Latin and sustained Roman administration. The term is a scholarly umbrella for several linguistic traditions spoken in Iberia during the first millennium BCE and the early centuries CE. It signals the region’s linguistic diversity and long-standing contact across the western Mediterranean.

The main languages associated with Paleohispanic studies include Iberian, Tartessian, Aquitanian, Celtiberian, and other smaller varieties. Iberian is a non-Indo-European language known from inscriptions written in Iberian scripts, but its exact relationship to other languages remains unresolved. Tartessian, from the southwest, is one of the oldest Iberian inscriptions and remains debated in terms of its classification. Aquitanian is linked to the Basque-speaking area and is often regarded as the earliest attested form of Basque or closely related to it. Celtiberian is an Indo-European Celtic language known from inscriptions in the Iberian interior and is treated as part of the Paleohispanic record by virtue of its geographical and temporal context.

Scripts associated with Paleohispanic languages include Iberian scripts (northern and southern variants), the Tartessian script, and the Greco-Iberian alphabet, among others; many reflect Phoenician or Greek influence as well as local innovations.

Scholarly work on Paleohispanic languages addresses language contact, substrate effects, and the pre-Roman linguistic landscape of Iberia, illuminating ancient trade networks, cultural exchange, and the processes of Romanization in the western Mediterranean.