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Atlantic Europe

Coordinates:48°00′00″N2°00′00″W/ 48.0000°N 2.0000°W/48.0000; -2.0000
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Floristic regions in Europe

Atlantic Europeis ageographicalterm for the western portion of Europe which borders theAtlantic Ocean.The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as abiogeographical region.

It comprises theAtlantic Isles(Great BritainandIreland),Iceland,Belgium,theNetherlands,the central and northern regions ofPortugal,northwestern and northernSpain(includingGalicia,Asturias,Cantabria,Southern Basque Country,and some portions ofCastile and León), the southwestern and western portion ofFrance(Northern Basque Country), westernScandinaviaas well as western and northernGermany.

Weather and overall physical conditions are relatively similar along this area (with the exception of parts of Scandinavia and theBaltic), resulting in similar landscapes with commonendemicplant and animal species. From a strictly physical point of view most of the Atlantic European shoreline can be considered a singlebiogeographical region.[1][2]Physical geographerslabel this biogeographical area as theEuropean Atlantic Domain,part of theEuro-Siberian botanic region.[3]

Culture

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Origins

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Further information:Prehistoric Iberia

TheAtlantic Bronze Ageis a cultural complex of theBronze Ageperiod of approximately 1300–700 BC, that marked the economic and cultural exchange between the current territories ofPortugal,Spain,France,Great BritainandIreland.During this time, tin from throughout Atlantic Europe was traded in theMediterranean.Via theBell Beaker culture,Atlantic and Central Europe were in close cultural contact from at least the mid 3rd millennium BC, contributing to what would emerge as theCeltic cultureof the West/Central EuropeanIron Age.[4]

Archaeologists have noted that the prehistoric peoples of Atlantic Europe presented common traits, as shown byartifacts,artistic and architectural styles found in the region which attest to at least some form oftradeand/or cultural link.[5]In addition, a number of genetic studies seem to interrelate specific groups of population in parts of Atlantic Europe in contrast with, for example, Central orMediterranean Europe.[6][7]

Some examples of early cultural contact are theEuropean Megalithic Cultureand theAtlantic Bronze Age,or "carp's tongue sword complex".This refers to an industry mainly based on the west coast of France andBrittanybut which clearly had links with societies inIberiaandBritain,as evidenced by products such as thecarp's tongue swordand theend winged axe,which were widely bought and sold along the routes of the Atlantic seaways.

Atlantic Europe is also a term often used in reference to the territory occupied by theCeltic-speakingpeoples and Celtic influenced people of western Europe.[8]

Culture at present

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Atlantic Europe
Atlantic Arc[9]
Atlantic Europe
Rest of Europe

A number of authors have postulated that there still is a cultural continuum in Atlantic Europe, forming a cultural unit which has its roots in prehistoric times but remained until today mostly thanks to sea trade.Geographersalso mention the influence of the natural environment in the construction of a similarcultural landscapealong the western European coasts.

Some of the first geographers to consider this idea of Atlantic Europe wereOtero PedrayoandOrlando Ribeiro.Pedrayo stated in his studies aboutGaliciathat this territory was marked by a strong "Atlantic character", not Mediterranean, despite the fact of being part of a Mediterraneanstate(Spain). On the other hand, while researching about his nativePortugal,Ribeiro deepened the concepts of Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean Europe, linking southern Portugal more towards the Mediterranean culture and central and northern Portugal (together with Galicia and Asturias) to a pan-Atlantic European culture.

This idea would be further developed from the 1950s onwards by authors such as P. Flatrès,Emyr Estyn Evans,A. Bouhier, Meynier, J. García Fernández,Patrick O'Flanagan,Richard Bradley,Barry Cunliffe,Carlos Ferrás SextoandXoán Paredes,among others.

O'Flanagan, based on the theories of Pedrayo and Ribeiro, states that Atlantic Europe is a cultural reality that stretches along the coastal fringe of Europe, from Norway to South-Central Portugal (roughly down to theSantarémarea), and including Britain and Ireland. With this in mind, Paredes affirms that there exists a cultural landscape common to Atlantic (namely Celtic) Europe, mainly based on the settlement pattern, use and shared perception of thelived space,thus evidencing in itself a social and cultural internal cohesion and continuity.[10][11]

Bob Quinnin his documentary seriesAtlanteanspeculates that western EuropeanCeltic cultureis actually an earlier, pre-Celtic, Atlantic culture that included Atlantic Europe and people of theMaghrebsuch asBerbersand that it continues today.

Atlantic Europe in politics

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There is a multi-national association of regions, which acts as a co-ordinator of Atlantic European regions and its interests. This is theAtlantic Arc Commission.[12]Operative since 1989, it includes 26 regions from four member States - Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. The Atlantic Arc Commission is one of the sevenGeographical Commissions in the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe.[13]

Genetics

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The genetic link between the various Atlantic population is still under discussion. On the one hand, some studies show that modern and Iron Age British and Irish samples cluster genetically very closely with other North European populations, and not to southern atlantic Europeans in Spain and France.[14][15]However, as the authors acknowledge, the sample used is unlikely to include many members of smaller genetically isolated populations that exist within countries. On the other hand, an article published in the American Journal of Genetics indicate - after including samples from different regions within European countries - a shared ancestry throughout the Atlantic zone, from northwest Iberia (Galicia) to western Scandinavia that dates back to end of the last Ice Age.[16]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Indicative map of the European biogeographical regions 2005.ArchivedJuly 12, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  2. ^Map of the biogeographical regions of Europe
  3. ^Map of the floristic regions of Europe[circular reference]
  4. ^Cunliffe, B. and Koch, J.T.,Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature.Oxbow books, 2012.
  5. ^Bradley, R. (1997): Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe. Routledge
  6. ^Brian Donnelly (2004): "We are not Celts at all but Galicians; DNA research links the Scots, Irish and Welsh to north-western Spain",The Herald(Glasgow - UK), p. 15.
  7. ^Salas, A; Comas, D; Lareu, MV; Bertranpetit, J; Carracedo, A (1998)."mtDNA analysis of the Galician population: a genetic edge of European variation".Eur J Hum Genet.6(4): 365–75.doi:10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200202.PMID9781045.
  8. ^"Modern Celtic realm - National Geographic".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-27.Retrieved2007-08-13.
  9. ^"Atlantic Arc Commission".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-11-26.Retrieved2006-12-18.
  10. ^Paredes, X.M.Bases do Atlantismo Europeo Galego. Unha visión desde a Xeografía Cultural e Histórica.Tese de Licenciatura. Dept. de Xeografía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 1999
  11. ^Paredes, X.M., "A utilidade do celtismo. Celticidade galaica no S.XXI", in proceedings ofJornadas das Letras Galego-Portuguesas 2012-2014,DTS and SAGA. p. 175-190, 2015.
  12. ^"Atlantic Arc Commission".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-11-26.Retrieved2006-12-18.
  13. ^Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions
  14. ^Novembre J, Johnson T, Bryc K, et al. (November 2008), "Genes mirror geography within Europe",Nature,456(7218): 98–101,Bibcode:2008Natur.456...98N,doi:10.1038/nature07331,PMC2735096,PMID18758442
  15. ^Lao O, Lu TT, Nothnagel M, et al. (August 2008), "Correlation between genetic and geographic structure in Europe",Curr. Biol.,18(16): 1241–8,doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.07.049,PMID18691889
  16. ^McEvoy, Brian (2004)."The Longue Dure´e of Genetic Ancestry: Multiple Genetic Marker Systems and Celtic Origins on the Atlantic Facade of Europe".American Journal of Human Genetics.75(4): 693–702.doi:10.1086/424697.PMC1182057.PMID15309688.Retrieved22 November2022.

Sources

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  • Sykes, Bryan (2006).Blood of the Isles: exploring the genetic roots of our tribal history.London: Bantam.ISBN978-0-593-05652-3.

References

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  • Orlando Ribeiro,Portugal o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico,Lisboa, 1945.
  • Emyr Estyn Evans,The Atlantic Ends of Europe,Advancety Offsiders, London, 1958.
  • H.N. Savory, "Serpentiforms in Megalithic art: a link between Wales and the Iberian NW", inCadernos de Estudos Galegosno. 84, p. 80-89, Santiago de Compostela, 1973.
  • Patrick O'Flanagan,"La Europa Atlántica: Pasado y presente. Una revisión del concepto y de la realidad'", in proceedings ofCongreso Internacional: A periferia Atlántica de Europa: o desenvolvemento e os problemas socioculturais,Universidade de Santiago Compostela, 1992.
  • Patrick O'Flanagan, "Galicia en el marco geográfico e histórico de la Europa Atlántica", inXeográficano. 1, p. 115-133, 2001.
  • Barry Cunliffe,Facing the Ocean: The Atlantic and Its Peoples, 8000 BC to AD 1500,OUP,2001.
  • Francesco BenozzoandMario Alinei,"A área galega na prehistoria lingüística e cultural de Europa", inA Trabe de Ouro,no. 71, p. 13-39, Santiago de Compostela, 2007.
  • Barry Cunliffe. andJohn T. Koch,Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature,Oxbow books, 2012.
  • Xoán M. Paredes,"A utilidade do celtismo. Celticidade galaica no S.XXI", in proceedings ofJornadas das Letras Galego-Portuguesas, 2012-2014,DTS and SAGA, p. 175-190, 2015.
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48°00′00″N2°00′00″W/ 48.0000°N 2.0000°W/48.0000; -2.0000

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