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Late Basquisation is a much debated hypothesis
which places the arrival of the first Basque-speakers in north-eastern Iberia from
Aquitaine in V or VI CE.
Main
current theories
The Basque language is a language isolate that has survived the
arrival of Indo-European languages in western Europe.
There are two main hypotheses concerning the historical
geographical spread the Basque language:
The latter hypothesis, known as the late Basquisation of the
Western Basque areas has been defended by historians and philologists such as Claudio Sánchez
Albornoz, Manuel Gómez Moreno, Jürgen Untermann and Francisco Villar.
The Basque-Spanish linguist Koldo Mitxelena raised important
objections against that hypothesis; however, recent archaeological
findings of Aquitanian morphology (as it is presumed by the
analysis performed by such authors as Agustín Azkarate, Iñaki
García Camino, Mikel Unzueta, and others) point to an important
migration dated in the V-VI centuries and give the theory a new
lease of life.
In his 2008 book Historia de las Lenguas de Europa
(History of the Languages of Europe), the Spanish philologist and
hellenist Francisco Rodríguez Adrados has
updated the debate by arguing that the Basque language is older in
Aquitaine than in the Spanish Basque country, and it now inhabits
its current territory because of pressure of the Celtic
invasions.[3]
Evidence
According to this perspective, over a more ancient autochthonous
Indo-European occupation, evidence appears of important Celtic
establishments in the current territory of the Basque Country
(though apparently not in the Pyrenean valleys of Navarre). Both
cultures coexisted, the Celtic elements being socially predominant,
until the arrival of the Romans. This is observed all over Álava and Biscay, thus being concluded that the Caristii and Varduli were not Basque tribes
or peoples, but that they were Indo-Europeans like their neighbors
Autrigones, Cantabri, and Beroni. That
is, the first autochthonous peoples over those areas were not
Pre-Indo-European Basques, as it has been traditionally assumed,
but they would be Indo-European. Or at least such Indo-Europeans
extensively and deeply imposed themselves over the previous
Pre-Neolithic substrate. Later it is observed that both Álava and
Navarre were strongly romanized. The well known part of the Basque
depression called saltus was only barely inhabited, and at
the places where it was there was evidence of Roman vestiges.
According to Julio Caro Baroja, el ager
(another part of the Basque depression) was as romanized as the
rest of the Iberian Peninsula. So, when did the Basque language
arrived there and where did it came from? The answer that sustains
this hypothesis is that the Basque language expansion occurred
between the V and IX centuries, much later than currently
believed.
Late Basquisation is supported by the following evidence:
- Abundance of ancient Indo-European onomasty before Romanization (as
pointed by María Lourdes Albertos Firmat).[4]
- Absence of vestiges in Basque language prior to romanization,
in stark contrast with Aquitaine.
- Deep romanization of the Basque depression (both the
ager and the saltus, as indicated by Caro Baroja
and Juan José Cepeda).
- Expansion of the Basque language at the Early Middle
Ages.
- Homogeneity of the Basque dialects at the Early Middle
Ages (pointed out by Luis Michelena).
- Archaeological vestiges (Aldaieta, Alegría, etc.)
- The genetic boundary between the Basques and their southern
neighbors is quite abrupt, while it has a more diffuse character
between Basques and their northern neighbors, which might indicate
a displacement from Aquitaine to the south. (Luigi Luca
Cavalli-Sforza).[5]
References
- ^
Francisco Villar, Blanca M. Prósper (2005), Vascos, Celtas e
Indoeuropeos. Genes y lenguas. Salamanca: Universidad de
Salamanca
- ^
Villar, Prosper, Ibid, p.513
- ^
El vasco es mas antiguo
em Aquitania que en el pais vasco
- ^
Francisco Villar(2001), La complessità dei livelli di
stratificazione indoeuropea nell’Europa occidentale, in G. Bocchi e
M. Ceruti (eds.), Le radici prime dell’Europa. Gli intrecci
genetici, linguistici, storici, Bruno Mondatori, Milano, pp.
209-234. “As far as the Basques are concerned, it is on the
contrary unsure whether their presence in the Iberian peninsula was
particularly extended or dense. Very few place or people names of
Basque etymology can be traced in ancient sources, even in those
concerning the historically Basque areas; in these too ancient
place and people names have a prevailing IE
character.” Translation by Mario Alinei[1](2003).
- ^
Cited in History of Basque by Larry Trask, page 9.
Bibliography
- María Lourdes Albertos (1974) El culto a los montes entre
los galaicos, astures y berones y algunas de las deidades más
significativas. Estudios de Arqueología Alavesa 6:147-157.
ISSN 0425-3507
- Agustín Azkárate (1993) Francos, aquitanos y vascones al
sur de los Pirineos. Archivo Español de Arqueología.
66:149-176. ISSN 0066-6742
- Agustín Azkárate (2004) El País Vasco en los siglos
inmediatos a la desaparición del Imperio Romano. En
Historia del País Vasco. Edad Media (siglos V-XV):23-50.
84-9797-039-X
- Julio Caro Baroja (1945) Materiales para una historia de la
lengua vasca en su relación con la latina. 84-7148-254-1
- Juan José Cepeda (1999) Dos depósitos monetarios de época
altomedieval romana procedentes de Aloria (Álava). CSDIC:
215-228.
- Juan José Cepeda. 2001. El yacimiento arqueológico de
Aloria.
- Iñaki García Camino. 2002. Arqueología y poblamiento en
Bizkaia, siglos VI-XII.
- Manuel Gómez Moreno. 1951. De epigrafía vizcaína. Boletín
de la Real Academia de Historia 128:210-217.
- Luis Michelena. 1988. Sobre historia de la lengua
vasca.
- Claudio Sánchez Albornoz. 1976. Vascos y navarros en su
primera historia.
- Theo Vennemann. 2003. Europa Vasconica - Europa Semítica.
Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 138.
- Francisco Villar & Blanca María Prósper (2005) Vascos,
celtas e indoeuropeos. Genes y lenguas. 84-7800-530-7
- Mikel Unzueta. 1994. Indigenismo prerromano en la vertiente
cantábrica del País Vasco: fuentes documentales y contexto
arqueológico. Illuntzar 94:101-112.
- Mikel A. Unzueta, J. A. Ocharan. 1999. Aproximación a la
conquista romana del Cantábrico oriental: el campamento o campo de
batalla de Andagoste (Cuartango, Álava). Regio
Cantabrorum: 125-142.
- Larry Trask (1997) The history of Basque.
0-415-13116-2