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Celtic Cultures
Anthropology 211
Notes Packet- Spring 2011
Professor K. Markley
Celtic Cultures- Spring 2011
Key Anthropological Terms and Concepts
Anthropology is the holistic study of humankind. Anthropology is unique among the disciplines
that study humans in that it encompasses everything involved with humans and human institutions
in its study of humankind. Areas that anthropologists study include; biology, evolution, culture,
history, cross-cultural comparisons, linguistics, politics, economics, religion, history, pre-history,
philosophy, etc. Anthropologists in the United States utilize the four-field approach to gain insights
and understandings of humankind. The four-fields of anthropology are;
Biological or Physical Anthropology: the study of humans as biological organisms.
Includes the study of the evolution of humans, human variation, and primatology.
Cultural Anthropology: study of human cultures around human institutions around the
world. The anthropology of religion is a subfield of cultural anthropology.
Linguistic Anthropology or Language and Culture: includes the study of language and
culture, the evolution of language, and the history of language.
Archeology: involves the study of human remains and human artifacts to understand
human pre-history.
Culture is one of the key concepts in anthropology. Anthropologists have spent a fair amount of
time working to come up with a definition of culture that satisfies all of the aspects of human
cultures around the world. There is no universally agreed upon definition of culture but most
anthropologists would agree that a definition of culture would include the following:
Culture is learned. You do not inherit your culture. You learn it in the culture that you are
raised in.
Culture is shared. Culture requires a community of people
Culture is symbolic. When you are a part of a culture you learn the various meanings of
the symbols in that culture. Depending on what culture you are raised in certain symbols
will be significant to you or insignificant to you.
Culture is adaptive. In that your culture tells you the acceptable way to live and survive.
The culture that we are raised in informs us what animals and plants are food sources,
what type of shelters to live in, and what clothing is appropriate to wear. The political and
economic systems of a society are also a part of the culture that people live in.
Culture is integrated. All of the different systems and institutions in the culture operate
together, such as the economic and political system along with the predominant belief
systems. No aspect of culture is isolated and each part affects the other parts. A change
in one area of a culture often affects other areas of the culture (a change in the economic
system can affect religious values and expressions.)
Ethnocentric- It is understand that individuals in all human groups view other groups thru their
own “cultural lens.” They judge their own culture as normal, rational and natural and other cultures
are perceived (consciously and unconsciously) as “less than” their own culture (less normal, less
rational, less reasonable, etc.)
Cultural Relativity- Is the counterpoint to ethnocentrism. It is a guiding principle and
understanding in anthropology. When you are learning about another culture you need to be
aware and conscious of your ethnocentrism. When studying and interacting with other cultures
you need to work to view these other cultures from their cultural lens. You need to suspend your
conscious judgment. In gaining insight into Homo sapiens, anthropologists see all cultures as
being equally valid expressions of the human essence.
Holistic- wholelistic”, looking at the whole picture. Anthropology is a holistic discipline in that the
comparative approach is used to gain insight into Homo sapiens . Another aspect of the holistic
approach is using the four fields of anthropology (cultural, physical, archeology and linguistics).
Looking at how the micro level (individual, family, small group) interrelates with the macro level
(institutional level-economic, political, societal level). A holistic perspective uses data from cultures
around the world as well as from the past.
Comparative approach- compare and contrast humans in cultures around the world and in
various cultures over time. The comparative approach allows us to gain insight into human
universals (things all human groups do or have, marriage for example) and how these cultural
universals vary among societies (cultural specifics).
Emic / Etic: Anthropologists gather data through participant-observation, which involves living
and working among the people that are being studied. Anthropologists use open ended questions
and observation to gain qualitative data about the cultures they are studying. This is in contrast to
psychologists and sociologists which tend to use questionnaires, and surveys as well as controlled
experiments in their study of humans and societies. One goal of anthropological fieldwork is to
gain the emic (insider) perspective of the people being studied. The emic perspective is to gain
“uncritical representations of reality shared by members of a given culture.” Once data has been
gathered an ethnography is written which involves putting forth the emic perspective and then
conducting an etic (outsider) analysis. Etic perspectives include “comprehensive, explanatory
representations of reality recognized by the scientific community.”
Ideal/Real: A key goal of ethnographic fieldwork is to get beyond what “people say they do” (ideal)
to “what people actually do” (real). Participant-observation is a great way to go from the ideal to
the real.
Theories in Cultural Anthropology:
Social Evolutionary Theory: This theory was influential in the mid 1800’s. As anthropologists,
and others, traveled around the world and saw different types of cultures and societies they
compared these cultures to their own. They believed that their society was the best and the most
advanced. They saw Western, European culture as having achieved “civilization” while the other
groups they observed, such as the Australian Aborigines, as being stuck in “savagery. Social
Evolutionary Theory was used to explain the differences they saw in cultures around the world.
Basically it says this:
1. All societies will progress through a series of stages from savagery, to barbarism, to
civilization. Societies progress at different speeds (some cultures are still stuck in savagery,
others have attained civilization).
2. The stage a society is at is determined by; their level of technology, subsistence means, belief
system, mating rules, descent system, economic system, political system, etc
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savagery- gathering of food, mating promiscuous (brother/sister mating prohibited), basic
unit of society small, nomadic “horde”, possessions ownded communally, bow & arrow
used, descent reckoned through females
barbarism- pottery invented, farming begun, incest prohibitions extended to include all
females in clan, development of metallurgy, descent reckoned through male line, practiced
polygny, concept of private property appeared
civilization- invention of writing, civil/state governments, monogamous family formation
Social Evolutionary Theory has been abandoned in anthropology as being ethnocentric,
racist and inaccurate.
Historical Particularism: Franz Boas originated this perspective. He felt that the social
evolutionary perspective was ethnocentric and biased. Historical particularism states that to
understand a culture you must gain insight into the history and material conditions under which a
culture developed (anthropologists must do fieldwork to gain this information). Boas stated that
anthropologists need to be culturally relative in their investigations. He also stated that you cannot
generalize about a variety of cultures by studying one culture and assuming similarities.
Functionalism: There are various types of functionalist theory but in general functionalism works
to explain the “function” of the customs and institutions that are prevalent in human societies. The
idea is that if an institution like marriage exists in all human groups then it must perform some
function for humans (or else why would it exist in all cultures). Functionalists focus at either the
individual (psychological level) or the social (societal) level. For instance the institution of marriage
“functions” to serve the individual (to help fulfill individuals biological and psychological needs) and
it also “functions” to serve the society (to help keep the society running smoothly, to minimize
conflicts, provide for rights and responsibilities for children).
Postmodernism: Postmodernism is a perspective that exists across multiple disciplines and can
be defined in a variety of ways. What is relevant in anthropology is an understanding of
Postmodernism as a reaction to earlier positivist perspectives. Positivists believed that humans
can be objective observers (for instance if they are trained in science) and that there is an objective
reality to be observed and documented through empirical observation. Postmodernists would state
that humans cannot be truly objective observers and there is no one objective reality to be found.
In anthropology postmodernism grew out of insights from feminist and ethnic minority
anthropologists who were highly critical of many of the ethnographies of their day and the past.
They saw these ethnographies as one-dimensional perspectives of the cultures being presented.
Most of the early anthropological fieldwork (like research in other fields) was done by white, upper
socioeconomic class, western, males. Postmodernists noted that the researchers were influenced
by their positionality and their status in their own culture (i.e. their key informants were males of a
similar status and they didn’t talk to females or those who were of lower status). Postmodernists
often work to “deconstruct” existing literature, ideas and ethnographies. Postmodernists see
societies as being engaged in a constant battle over opposing subjective interpretations.
Observations and interpretations of societies vary based on a persons gender, class, and ethnicity.
Issues such as who has power and voice in a society) are critical to postmodern scholars.
Postmodernism states that we cannot accurately describe any culture completely because we will
always be limited by our subjective perspectives and the perspectives of the informants that we
use. They assert that there is always variation in representations of “reality” based on a person’s
status. Postmodernists state that there is no one way of presenting history. A variety of historical
interpretations are valid, depending on your position and your perspective. A person’s
status/position should always be made explicit when writing historical or ethnographical
papers/books. An individuals status in a society is critical in impacting their perspective of a
society and its “reality” (i.e. what is their status).
Objective and Subjective knowledge:
The ordinary non-philosophical (i.e., oversimplified) view is that the word "subjective" is the
complete opposite (negation or contradictory) of the word "objective." If something is
subjective, it's not objective; if something is objective, it's not subjective. "Subjective" is
thought to mean "from someone’s point of view." " Objective" means "not just from
someone’s point of view." An objective matter is one that everyone (who is sane, rational,
and appropriately informed) will agree about. "Subjectivity" connotes lack of objectivity.
Ethical subjectivism is the view that since we can’t be "objective" about morality, morality
must be purely "subjective."
Revisionist history
Accepted paradigms are questioned, researched and overthrown, links to objective and subjective
knowledge. Most people, outside of academia, tend to view the history taught as being objective
(accepted by anyone/everyone who is reasonable). However, especially since the postmodern
movement of the 1960’s, most academics would acknowledge that much of the history we read is
subjective. Historical accounts must be linked to the individual writing the history, their status, their
time and place.
Anthropological Theory: Should the study of Humans be scientific or humanistic?
This is an ongoing debate in the anthropology. The debate centers around the goals of
anthropology as well as epistemological issues (i.e. can we actually study humans scientifically,
with all of the problems of subjectivity). This semester we will utilize both a scientific and
humanistic approach to the study of the Celts. Two basic approaches, outlined below, reveal these
two ways of studying human cultures. Cultural materialism is a theoretical orientation that focuses
on a scientific approach to the study of humans and human institutions while symbolic
anthropology focuses on a humanistic approach. Make sure to know the key aspects of each
theoretical orientation.
Cultural Materialism: Formulated by Marvin Harris. Harris stated that humans can and should be
studied scientifically (etic perspective- the outsider, scientific, ideally objective perspective). He
states that human beliefs and practices can be explained by looking at the material (environmental
and historical) conditions under which beliefs and practices arose. The environment constrains
and shapes the ways humans work to fulfill basic needs. All customs and beliefs, no matter how
exotic, can be explained rationally by looking at the material conditions under which they arose. All
aspects of culture are integrated, and so each aspect of culture affects other aspects of culture.
Harris states that the emic perspective (insider perspective- the subjective view of individuals
inside the culture) is not very helpful in gaining insights into human beliefs and behaviors because
he sees most humans everyday consciousness as being filled with “ignorance, fear and conflict.”
He does not see most humans as being capable of discerning why they believe and act the way in
which they do.
Cultural Materialism: Scientific approach, Etic perspective
 Goal is to find the cause and effect explanations for differences and similarities in beliefs and
practices in cultural groups around the world.
 This theory sees the material and environmental constraints (conditions & constraints imposed
by environment & technology) as leading to differences in beliefs & practices (beliefs are shaped
by material conditions).
 Human believes and behaviors have developed from a material history that can explain what
may seem to be irrational beliefs and behaviors but which in fact have a rational basis.
A materialist model of culture include three layers:
1) material foundation-economic mode of production, technology, population size
2) system of social organization, kinship patterns, marriage and family practices, politics, status
differentiation
3) ideology or belief system, ideas, beliefs, values (both secular and sacred)
Symbolic: Symbolic anthropologists are fundamentally concerned with the ways in which people
formulate their reality. The goal for symbolic anthropologists is to gain insight into the meanings
relevant to the members of a culture. Symbolic anthropologists utilize a humanistic approach to
gaining insights into human beings and cultures. They study people’s symbols, their literature, and
their games. The emic perspective is highly valued in symbolic and humanistic anthropology.
What people say about their cultural values and norms is considered very important.
Symbolic Anthropology: Humanistic, Emic perspective
 Goal is cultural interpretation, look to symbols, literature, games to gain insight into meanings
& experiences of a culture
 What does it mean to be a human in a particular culture, get at the “essence of being human”
Case Example: The Prohibition on eating of beef in India
In the United States in the 1970’s economists were analyzing issues of poverty and hunger in
India. It was observed that in India, where the majority of the people are Hindu, there is a religious
prohibition on the eating of beef. In America beef is a major source of protein. Some analysts
stated that if Indians would just give up this irrational food taboo that they would be able to alleviate
their hunger problems. In other words, they were going hungry because of an irrational religious
belief. It was observed that there was a surplus of cows in India and these cows could easily work
to feed the people of India. Below is an analysis by cultural materialists and symbolic
anthropologists into this issue.
Cultural Materialists: Marvin Harris looked into this issue and came to the conclusion that the
prohibition on the eating and killing of cows is rational. Harris stated that you must look at the
material conditions under which people live for explanations of food taboo’s. Remember Harris
emphasizes the idea that humans are rational, and there are almost always rational explanations
for the beliefs and practices that we have. He is most concerned with an etic analysis.
Harris stated that a prohibition on the eating of cows in India evolved over time because;
1) cows were essential as plow animals, if they were eaten in lean times, the people would
starve eventually because they would have no means to plow their fields
2) cows were needed for reproduction, to produce more animals for the future
3) cows were needed for their dung; dung is used as a fertilizer, it is burned in cow patties as
a source of heat and a means to cook food, and dung is mixed with water and made into a
paste for flooring.
Symbolic Anthropologists: Are concerned with looking into the meaning that a symbol holds for
a culture, they are concerned with the emic. Symbolic anthropologists note that the cow
symbolizes life to Hindu’s. Cows “represents our soul, our obstinate intellect, and our unruly
emotions, however the cow also supercedes us because it gives so much and yet takes nothing
beyond grass and grain.” Ghandi “stated that cows made agriculture possible” and agriculture
made life possible. Cows are viewed as a virtual sustainer of life for humans. Indians state that “if
no other source of food existed humans could still survive on the cream, butter, milk provided by
this animal.”
Questions for The Celts- Peter Berresford Ellis
K. Markley- Spring 2011
Below are questions for each chapter in Ellis’s The Celts. These questions are your study guide
for this text. They are also the basis of your homework questions. After you read each chapter
you should be able to answer the questions from the text. Some of the questions will be fairly easy
to answer. Other questions may require that you re-read the text and critically think about the
answers, making your own determination (your own opinion based on the data and critical
reasoning). You will need a dictionary to look up some of the terms and it will be helpful to look up
some of the individuals listed and get a bit of background information. Some of the questions
reference anthropological terms, concepts and theories. Refer to the notes available on my
website and class lecture notes to answer these questions. If you can’t find the answer to a
question(s) ask in class.
The Celts Homework Questions: For each chapter you need to select three questions to answer
for each chapter. Your answers must be typed. If you have more than one chapter due for the
week, put all the answers on the same paper (if they fit). You will earn the full points if you clearly
and concisely answer the questions. Your homework should contain the following: your full name,
the title of the homework (e.g. Celts Ch 4), number each answer (you don’t have to write out the
question, just make sure to put the number of the question you are answering), and it must be
TYPED for class credit.
Preface
Terms; etymology, objective and subjective knowledge, mythology, lingua maternal, lingua franca,
insular, revisionist history, ethnocentric, culturally relative, holistic, postmodernism
1. What are the roots and geography of the Celts?
2. What was the material culture of the Celts (how did they get food, what was their level of
technology)?
3. What is the earliest time in which there is data and/or references to the Celts?
4. Where does the name Celt come from? What is the etymology of the word?
5. What geographic areas did the Celts cover in their greatest expansion? What timeframe was
this?
6. What key event occurred in 390BCE that set the tone for relations between the Celts and the
Romans? What key event occurred in 279BCE that set the tone for relations between the Celts
and the Greeks?
7. The Celts are described as a warlike, barbaric peoples. How would a postmodernist respond to
this question?
8. Review Ellis’s description of the Celts on pages xii-xiii, how does he characterize the Celts?
Does his portrayal sound objective or subjective? Ethnocentric or culturally relative? What is the
basis of your opinion?
9. List at least 5 attributes of the Celts as given by Ellis
10. How can we know about the Celts of the past (be specific as to the sources for the claims
about the Celts)? What type of data isn’t available?
11. What timeframe does this book focus on?
12. When was this book published? What is the controversy that broke out within a few months of
the publication of this book?
13. What is the title of the paper by the Megaw’s?
14. What is Simon James’s contention about the Celts? How else could Celtic culture have been
transmitted into Britain and Ireland?
15. Can you relate Ellis’s argument about the reality of individuals in the past calling themselves
Celtic to any other historical group of peoples? (Hint- think of the “founding” of the America’s)
16. What can we be sure of per Ellis? What can’t we be sure of per Ellis? Is Ellis’s approach
holistic?
17. What is the evidence for people speaking Celtic languages in the British Isles in the 6thcBCE?
18. Per Ellis do the Celts comprise a linguistic or biological group? What is the difference?
19. If the Celts are a linguistic group, not a biological group, can they be categorized as an ethnic
group? Why or why not?
20 What does it mean, that Simon James is accused of engaging in “anti-Celtic revisionism”?
21. Along with linguistic criteria, what other data or features are used to define the Celts?
22. How can modern politics be affected by archeology?
23. Who are the modern continental Celts?
24. What is the context and knowledge needed to understand the joke “Do you speak Iron Age”?
25. As a means of classification and naming what is the difference between; Iron Age peoples,
Celts, and Corieltauui? Which term do you think is more accurate?
26. What do you think Ellis means by the statement that the Celts have weathered other, similar
attempts to eradicate them? By whom? Why? When?
Chapter 1- Origins of the Celts
Terms: language families, language, dialect, bowdlerize, etymology, cognate, temporal,
ethnocentric, culturally relative, archeology
1. List three different sources for the origin of the word Celt
2. What etymology for Celt is related to the Druids? What piece of clothing is related to this
etymology?
3. What language family do Celtic languages originate from? How widespread are the languages
from this language family?
4. What is the difference between languages and dialects? How do dialects form? (class lecture)
5. What features do Indo-European languages have in common? What criteria is used to put a
language in a particular language family?
6. What is the speculation as to the Indo-European homeland (location, and data for speculation)?
7. List three similarities between Old Irish and Vedic Sanskrit cultures.
8. What is the word for knowledge in Sanskrit and Old Irish? What segment of Irish culture does
the word relate to?
9. What are the problems with trying to know the creation myths of the Celts?
10. Does Ellis see cultural traditions as rapidly changing and evolving. Or, as more static and
preserved over time? What is his data and reasoning for his opinion?
11. What category of deities does Ellis see both the Celts and the Indian Sanskrit speakers as
worshipping?
12. If we accept the classical writers the ancient Celts believed that they were physically
descended from the ___________ ______________ who was himself descended from _________
the divine waters. Is there any reason to doubt the accuracy of the classical writers assertion?
13. What are the three lines of evidence that show us Celtic peoples begin to appear as a
distinctive culture at the headwaters of the Danube, Rhine, and Rhone? What is the location of
these rivers? Which of these three lines of evidence are objective in their knowledge of the past?
Which line of evidence is the most trustworthy or valuable in giving us insight into the past?
14. What is a Romanised Celt?
15. What linguistic data shows the Celts homeland was in Switzerland and Germany?
16. What are the two distinct Celtic archeological cultures?
17. What features define the Hallstatt culture and its timeframe?
18. What features define the La Tene culture and its timeframe?
19. When do the Celts recede in size, territory, and power? What groups overtake them?
20. How do the Romans and others portray the pre-Christian Celts?
21. Who does Ellis see as the more unbiased classical sources on the Celts?
22. Do you think Julius Caesar is an ethnocentric or culturally relative source on the Celts? What
is your data and reasoning?
23. What is the problem with how the Celts have been portrayed per Ellis?
Chapter Two- An Illiterate Society?
Terms; genealogy, holistic, postmodernism
1. At the beginning of the chapter there is a quote stating that little definite is known about the
Celts because they left no written records. What data is available to gain insight into the Celts?
2. Were the Celts illiterate or did they just not desire to put their language into a written form?
What does Caesar say as to why the Celts didn’t write down their philosophies and rituals? How
do we (can we) know the truth?
3. What are the various languages that the Celts were literate in and wrote in? How many pieces
of textual evidence is there of Celtic writings?
4. Was it likely the Celts had one homogenous language? Why or why not?
5. What is one of the most fascinating texts found and why is it so fascinating?
6. What are the lines of evidence for Celtic literacy?
7. Per Ellis what is the context we should take into account when considering the evidence for
Celtic literacy? Is Ellis holistic in his analysis?
8. Ellis talks of a Celtic school of writers. When did they emerge? Where did they come from?
What language did they use a lingua franca?
9. When was the bulk of Celtic learning, story telling and history taken from oral to written form?
10. What is Ogam? Where does the name come fro? How many inscriptions of Ogam have been
found?
11. What does the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain, compiled in 1400CE tell us about what may have
happened to Ogam writings?
12. What does the flowering of Irish literature demonstrate?
13. When did the English begin its conquest of Ireland? When was the start of the destruction of
Irish language and libraries?
14. What is the context that Ellis wants us to know in regards to the survival of Irish writings?
15. What do we know about early Welsh literature?
16. What survives in Irish and Welsh literature that reveals much about their early social systems?
How do these documents give insight into early Celtic society?
17. What are the Fenechus or Brehon Laws? When are they thought to have originated? When
were they first put to writing?
18. What other codified laws does Ellis compare the Brehon Laws to?
19. What other literary treasures does Irish literature hold that is revealed by archeological finds?
20. What is the Coligny Calender?
21. How far back do the Irish Kings genealogies go?
22. To what does the following statement refer to and what can we infer from its sentiments? “Can
that nation be deemed barbarous in which learning shared the next honours to royalty?”
Chapter 3- Celtic Kings and Chieftains
Terms; caste system, class system, cognate, autocratic kingship, primogeniture, tanist, matrilineal
descent, patrilineal descent, ritual
1. Ellis states that with the first identifiable Celtic culture the Celts were ruled by kings who were
immensely rich. What was this culture? What data is used to identify this culture? How do we
know the kings were so wealthy?
2. How was the Celtic caste system set up and categorized? Is this division of society common or
uncommon? Do we have any societies today that are divided in this way?
3. What is the word for king in Celtic languages? What is the history of the meaning of this word?
What is the difference between a king and a god?
4. What is represented in the ritual in which the king mates with the goddess of sovereignty?
5. What is represented in the bull festival of the Celts (ritual, meaning, symbolism)? What
evidence do we have for the significance of bulls to the Celts?
6. What is the ritual between Irish Kings and horses (meaning, symbol, ritual)?
7. How did Celtic kings gain their position (inherited, elected, etc.)? What could have lead to
Caesars confusion as to how the Celts kings came to their position?
8. What evidence is there for women as queens/rulers among the Celts? What bias did the
Romans have in regards to women rulers?
9. What can we deduce from the changes in the Hallstatt period (the four phases) and into the La
Tene period in relationship to the role of kings and chieftons?
10. What can we deduce from the Vix burial (gender roles, material culture, trade, etc.)?
11. What can we deduce from the Hochdorf burial (gender roles, material culture, trade, etc.)?
12. What does it mean “to go west”?
13. What is the data and reasoning as to the lack of royal graves in Britain? What other
geographic area has a lack of rich princely graves?
14. When do we start to have names for Celtic kings?
15. Who is Vercingetorix, what did he do and what happened to him?
16. Who is Boudicca, what did she do and what happened to her?
17. How did the conquerors disguise the longevity of the Celtic kingdoms in the north-west?
18. Who is the last king of Cornwall and when does he lose his crown?
19. When was Wales annexed to England?
20. When did the kings of Ireland have to surrender their titles?
21. What is significant about the genealogies of Irish aristocracy, and what are the different
opinions about these genealogies?
Chapter 4- The Druids
Terms: Romanphiles, propitiate, ethos, Renaissance, context, noble savage, ignoble savage
1. What is the Druid industry Ellis refers to (guess)? In what form does it exist today?
2. What professional occupations comprise the caste that the Druids occupied? Where do they
fall in relationship to the other castes (top, bottom, etc.)?
3. Who first records the name of the Druids? What timeframe are they first written about and what
is the meaning of the word druid?
4. In what geographic areas do classical writers talk of Druids and in what areas aren’t they
mentioned? What can be said about their limited references to the Druids?
5. What does gutuatri mean? Do we have an equivalent role in our society?
6. Which classical writers speak of the Druids and what are the differences in how they speak of
the Druids and Celts?
7. The written works of Poseidonious and Timagenes have been lost in time. What significance do
their writings still have on our understandings of the Druids?
8. How are the Druids described? What are the key features of their role in society, beliefs, rituals,
and symbols that are known today?
9. How does Pliny describe the Druids? What is Nora Chadwicks view of this description of the
Druids? What is the truth?
10. What is fascinating about Tacitus’s writings of the Gauls attempts to stir up insurrection in
69CE? What does it reveal about oral tradition?
11. What was the context within which Roman writers wrote of the Druids? What law was enacted
in 54CE?
12. Historically Europeans have characterized other peoples they have encountered as either
noble or ignoble savages (often the same people will be portrayed in either light at different places
times). To which camp does Professor Stuart Piggott suggest the Alexandrian school falls? What
is Piggott’s opinion as to reliable data available on the Druids?
13. Would Professor Stuart Piggott likely accept Dion Chrysostom’s writings on the Druids? Why
or why not? What does Chrysostom say about the Druids?
14. According to Diogenes Laertius what is the triad basis of their Druidic belief?
15. When were Druidic beliefs and practices put in writing? Did this eliminate the biased
perspectives of the pro-Roman writers?
16. Was it a natural progression for Druids to adopt the new teachings of Christianity (your opinion
based on data)?
17. What is meant by the Celtic Church?
18. What was Pelagius accused of doing? What timeframe did he exist? To what degree did his
teachings affect the Celtic Church?
18. What is Ellis’s opinion of modern day Druidic movements?
Chapter 5 Celtic Warriors
Terms: paradigm, pax Romana, postmodernism, cultural materialism
1. Paradigms influence human observations and interpretations. What paradigms and context do
you think influenced Roman writers portrayal of the Celts?
2. What would a postmodernist say in response to Ellis’s question “Is the Romans portrayal of the
Celts just?
3. Why did the Senones march on Rome and occupy it? What code of behavior did the Romans
break? Do you think this code of behavior was an international law between nations or an
understanding within a group of nations?”
4. When did the Celts occupy Rome, how long did they stay and what did they require to leave?
5. How can archeology be an antidote to the prejudices of Roman writers?
6. Is it better to have a bronze helmet or an iron helmet for protection? Is it better to have a
decorated helmet or a plain helmet? What iconography do we find on helmets?
7. How was the Celtic shield used?
8. What other forms of protection did the Celts have? What weapons did they have and how were
they used?
9. What was the Celts “secret weapon” and how was it used?
10. What is significance of the Battle of Telamon (225BCE)?
11. Pausanias’s description of the Celtic cavalry is disputed by Ellis in what respect? What is your
opinion?
12. What is needed to use the horse effectively in warfare?
13. Did the Celts likely go naked into battle as is sometimes claimed? What do warriors usually
wear into battle?
14. What lines of evidence can be used to look at “were the insular Celts egalitarian farmers
without a warrior class or a stratified, agricultural society with a warrior class?
15. What battle tactic using shields did the Romans learn from the Celts?
16. What are the key points in the discussion about the Celts being defeated by pax Romana?
What is Dr. Simon James’s explanation? What different cultural values influenced the way the
Romans and Celt fought?
17. Was a request for help from outsiders (Romans, English, etc.) by a disgruntled Celtic leader a
common means by which outsiders came to control Celtic lands?
18. What excuse did Caesar use to invade Britain? Did the Celts practice primogeniture?
19. In what situations could a single combat determine a conflict?
20. Were women warriors?
21. Within Roman fighting troops, what was the relationship between the troops and
commanders? What was the relationship between fighting troups and their leaders among the
Celts?
22. What was the age of choice for the Celts?
23. The Celts clearly loved going to war and that is why they went into battle screaming, yelling
and singing. Use class data and reasoning to evaluate this claim about the Celts, what is your
response?
Chapter 6 Celtic Women
Terms: derbfhine, polygamous, patriarchal
1. What do we know of the princess of Vix? What is the significance of this burial? (class lecture)
2. What data can we use to discern the roles and lives of Celtic women?
3. Who was Queen Teuta (timeframe, geographic area, what did she do)?
4. Who was Chiomara (timeframe, geographic area, what did she do)?
5. Who was Queen Cartimandua (timeframe, geographic area, what did she do)?
6. Queen Boudicca and her story is one of the most well known of the early Celts. Who was she
and what did she do (timeframe, tribe, geographic area)?
7. Is it likely the women listed above were exceptions or did they play a common role for Celtic
women? What data could you use to make your decision?
8. Were the Celts or the Romans barbarian in their actions? Can you come up with a culturally
relative definition for barbarian?
9. Were there female Druids?
10. What is meant by the statement that the individuals discussed in Irish history are
“mythological”?
11. Who was Medb of Connacht and what does the Tain Bo Cuailgne (The Raid text) reveal about
her status in Celtic society?
12. What do the laws of our society reveal about the status of women?
13. What do the Brehon laws of early Ireland reveal about the status of women in Celtic society?
14. Rome was a strongly patriarchal society. Why would the empress Julia Augusta be upset by
the rights Celtic women? Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to be positive about a female having
rights?
15. Can you speculate as to nine different types of marriage? How many types of marriage do we
have in the USA today?
16. For what reasons was divorce permissible?
Chapter 7 Celtic Farmers
Terms: subsistence, agriculture, plough, cultural materialism
1. Humans have historically engaged in five major types of subsistence (the way in which food is
procured). What type of subsistence did the early Celts engage in? (class lecture)
2. How did Caesar describe the lives of British Celts?
3. Ellis states that the plough is the basis of agriculture. Where do we find the first representation
of this plough? What is so special about the Celtic plough?
4. What technology and practices marked a major change in intensive farming for the British
Celts?
5. What is the significance of the wheel and iron in farming?
6. What crops did the Celts grow?
7. How did the Celts store and preserve their food without electricity?
8. What is pastoral farming? What do we know about the Celts and the animals they farmed?
How do we get this data?
9. What was the role of cattle and pigs in Celtic culture (address subsistence, myth, symbol,
ritual)?
10. What do the Brehon Laws reveal about the responsibility of farmers to their community?
Chapter 8 Celtic Physicians
Terms: trephination, votive offering, botany
1. What does Grave 7 at Obermenzing reveal about Celtic medical practices?
2. What evidence can we use to understand early Celtic medical practices?
3. Why was trephination done by the Celts?
4. What was the role of water in healing (physically, mentally, spiritually)? What data can we use
to answer this question?
5. What were the Springs of Sequana and what votive offerings were found there?
6. How was the sweating house, such as was found at Inishmurray in Donegal Bay, used?
7. What was Belenus a diety for?
8. Who is the god of medicine in Irish mythology? What stories are associated with this god?
9. What were Druidic physicians skilled in?
10. What is the significance of mistletoe to the Druids?
11. In pre-Christian Europe what was the typical view of illness, causation and cures?
12. What do the Brehon Laws reveal about medicine and health care among the Celts? How
similar were the Celts in this regard to other European communities?
13. What was the role of astrology in healing?
Chapter 9 Celtic Cosmology
Terms: astronomy, astrology, cosmology, epistemology, Age of Reason
1. Caesar lists some of the activities of the Druids. Compare his list to the different fields of study
and work in our society today. Are there any jobs/professions which combine all of the roles of the
Druids in today’s society?
2. What is the difference between astrology and astronomy (address how is knowledge obtained in
each field, and what claims to knowledge are made)? Are they compatible?
3. What is the Coligny Calendar (type of calendar, when developed, what does it state)? What are
the differences between the Coligny Calendar and Julian Calendar?
4. In what timeframe do we find a great deal of written evidence on the insular Celts?
5. What is the earliest evidence of zodiac signs in Britain?
6. Aibhistin, an Irish astronomer (655CE) was the first Christian writer to proclaim that the Three
Wise Men were _______________? Does this make sense, why or why not?
7. What did Dr. Dan MacCarthy of Trinity College in Dublin find when he collated the observations
of astronomical phenomena between 442CE to 1133CE? How did he resolve the conflict between
the Irish and Italian records of a supernova in the Crab Nebula?
8. How did the knowledge of Irish astronomers and astrologers change in the 11thcCE?
9. What do the parallels between Celtic cosmology and the cosmology of the Veda’s reveal?
10. How did the Celts view the heavens and relate to them?
Chapter 10 Celtic Road Builders
Terms: loan word, focal vocabulary, relative dating methods, absolute dating methods,
dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, fossilization, anaerobic, (class lecture linguistics and dating
methods)
1. Prior to the archeological discoveries of the 1970’s what would a discerning student of the Celts
likely think about the situation of the early Celts roadways? What lines of evidence, along with
critical thinking, could be used to look into the question of the Celts transportation system?
2. How many Celtic words does Dr. Stuart Piggott estimate were adopted into pre-empire Latin?
What is meant by pre-empire Latin? What is the significance of these early loan words?
3. When did the Romans start road-building? When did the Celts arrive at the gates of Rome?
4. What is the history of the wheel? What is the significance of the wheel to the Celts (address
material, mythological and symbolic significance)?
5. What is a felly and what is the significance of the Celts giving the felly a double thickness?
6. What is the evidence for Celtic roadways? What is the timeframe for the Corlea roadway?
How big were Celtic roadways? Where have the oldest Celtic roadways been found?
7. To what degree does the archeological, historical and linguistic evidence converge to give us a
picture of Celtic road-building and transport?
8. What do the Brehon Laws reveal in regards to the Celts and roadways?
9. What is the history of the Celtic word for chariot in Latin? What conclusions can we draw from
the high preponderance of Celtic words in Latin from an early date?
10. If the Celts required sailing ships to pay a toll what does this reveal about their shipbuilding
and sea travel?
11. The extensive trade between Ireland and Britain reveals what about Celtic travel n the seas?
12. What were the main exports of Britain to the Mediterranean world?
13. What are the three types of ships listed in the Brehon Laws?
14. Who was St. Brendan of Clonfert (when did he live, what did he do)? What was the
significance of the explorer Tom Severin repeating St. Bredan’s journey (how did he do this, how
similar was his journey to St. Brendan’s)?
15. How did the various Celtic tribes communicate with each other?
Chapter 11 Celtic Artists and Craftsmen
Terms: diffusion, independent invention (class lecture)
1. What is Polybius’s view of the Celts and their arts and science? Who was Polybius (where
from, timeframe, audience he wrote for, etc.)? What data can be used to evaluate his statement?
2. When did Celtic arts and crafts evolve into a distinctive form? How is the art of the Celts
characterized? What speculation is there in regards to the lack of human figures?
3. When did Celtic art flourish? What was the content of their art? What type of art did they create
(pictures, statues, etc.)
4. When did the Celts first start making coins? What Celts made coins and what Celts did not?
What images were put on coins? What are the most popular animals on Celtic coins?
5. What was the standard of value that was the basis for Celtic money?
6. What did the cross symbolize to the Celts?
7. What was the foundation of the Celts technical advancement?
8. Why were the smiths in Celtic society ranked as a part of the intellectual caste? What gods are
associated with smiths?
9. Besides metalworking what other technologies did the Celts develop? What does the 3rdcBCE
sword found at Kirkburn in Yorkshire tell us about the Celts level of technology and artwork?
Chapter 12 Celtic Architecture
Terms; megalith, wattle huts
1. What are the two popular views of Celtic architecture? How are these views false? What data
undermines this false perception of the Celts?
2. When was Newgrange built? What is Newgrange?
3. What timeframe do we find Scottish buildings and what is known about them?
4. What are oppida, when were they built, and what is different about them from earlier sites?
5. What type of buildings are found in Britain and Ireland?
6. What changed in the 2ndcBCE with Celtic settlements?
7. What do we know of Numantia (time frame, place, history)?
8. Why does Ellis state that the most important cities and towns of the Celtic world were; Alesia,
Bibracte and Gergovia in France, Heidengraben and Manching in Germany, and Stare Hradisko
and Zavist in eastern Celtic areas?
9. What impedes our understanding of what Celtic Europe looked like?
10. Why does Scotland have more surviving Celtic construction?
11. What is a broch? When and where did they first appear, how many have been found?
12. What is a crannog? Why would the Celts have built on crannogs? What level of science and
technology would be needed to build crannogs?
13. What do the Brehon Laws tell us about builders and building?
Chapter 13 Celtic Religion
Terms: bowdlerized, polytheistic, triune, functionalism
1. Where do most people get their knowledge of Celtic religion? What are the stereotypes of
Celtic religion? How valid or invalid is the general conceptions of Celtic religion?
2. What evidence is available to gain knowledge of the early Celts religion?
3. How did Greek and Roman writers add to the confusion over Celtic religion?
4. What do we know of Cernunnos? What is speculated?
5. Where did the Celts believe their origins lay?
6. What does it mean that most of the major Celtic deities were venerated in the form of triune
gods and goddesses?
7. How does the worship of gods and goddesses in triune form relate to Celtic philosophy?
8. What do we know of Lugh? Of Ogman? Of Caulos?
9. Who was Brigit? St. Brigit?
10. What are the difficulties of the Celtic pantheon?
11. What were Celtic beliefs about the human head? What practices did this belief lead to? What
myths existed in regards to the human head?
12. What were the Celtic beliefs in regards to an afterlife? The soul? Karma? Reincarnation?
13. Does Ellis think the Celts philosophy came about by independent invention or by diffusion?
14. What do you think about the statement “they lent sums of money to each other which are
repayable in the next world, so firmly are they convinced that the souls of men are immortal”? Do
you think this was likely an actual practice among the Celts? Why or why not?
15. List at least four synonyms for the Otherworld that the Celts used.
16. What is known about the Otherworld, specifically how do you get there, what is it like, where is
it, what happens at Samhain, who are the gatekeepers?
17. What do Pomponius Mela and Caesar state about the Druids? Does this indicate that political
power was secular or religious among the Celts?
18. What have we established so far in regards to the Celts and; their gods, the soul and the
Otherworld? Did the Celts have a moral code? If you were a functionalist what role would you see
a moral code as having?
19. What is the linguistic basis for the old Irish word for truth? What is the role of truth in Celtic
beliefs? What do the Veda’s say about truth?
20. Who was Pelagius and what did he argue?
21. Who was Augustine of Hippo and what were his views?
22. Who prevailed in Christian theology, Pelagius or Augustine? Does the British Celtic bishop
Fastidius echo Pelagius or Augustine? What cultural values of the Celts does he espouse?
23. What forms of divination did the Celts engage in? Was it likely that the Druids “divined from
the death throes of human victims? What data do we have to evaluate this contention? What does
Ellis state is repeated ad nauseam?
Chapter 14 Celtic Myth and Legend
Terms; mythology
1. When were the insular Celtic traditions first put into writing? What timeframe do the stories
come from?
2. If the Tain Bo Cuailgne is a window on the Iron Age, what timeframe is this?
3. What is meant by the statement that the Christian scribes bowdlerized the pagan myths and
gave them a Christian veneer? Can you come up with an example of this?
4. The first story of Irish mythology is the __________________ ________________. This tells
the tales of the _________________ of Ireland. How many groups invaded Ireland? Which group
form the gods and goddesses? What are the differences between the Children of Danu and the
Children of Domhnu? What happens at the end of the cycle?
5. Who are the Iberian Celts?
6. What happens to the old gods and goddesses of Ireland? What are they called now? Who is
the best known fairy?
7. What is the history of leprechauns?
8. What are the Ulster Cycle tales about? How significant is the Tain Bo Cuailgne in Irish myth?
9. What is the third group of Irish tales? What is the last group of tales? Who is Fionn Mac
Cumhail?
10. How many tales are there from early Irish mythology? How many stories are known today?
How many are unedited and untranslated? How does Ellis characterize Irish myth?
11. Where do the real parallels to Irish mythology reside? What do we see in these stories (what
happens to the deities and humans)?
12. When did the Brythonic forms of Celtic diverge from Goidelic forms? What groups speak PCeltic and what groups speak Q-Celtic?
13. What story is seen as an early Arthurian saga? What culture does it come from?
14. Who is Taliesin? What types of transformations does he go through before he becomes
Taliesin? What culture is he from?
15. What do we know of the Continental or Gaulish Celtic mythology?
16. What is the symbolism of ravens? What goddess is connected to this symbolism? When does
the great Red Branch champion Cuchulainn know he is finished?
17. Who is the most famous of Celtic mythological figures? What do we know about him? How
have the tales changed over time?
18. What is Geoffrey of Monmouth’s role in Arthurian legend?
19. What are the classic essential elements in the story of Tristan and Iseult? Would this be a
likely story today? Why or why not?
20. What is the significance of the cauldron to the Celts? What is found at Gundestrup?