Atlantic Europe
|
|
Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean
At its widest definition, it comprises Spain, Portugal, north and western France and the British Isles. In some cases Iceland, the Low Countries and Scandinavia are also included.
Archaeologists have noted that the prehistoric peoples of Atlantic Europe had certain things in common as shown by artefacts and architectural styles found in the region which attest to at least some form of trade link.
An example is the Atlantic Bronze Age, or carp's tongue sword complex which refers to an industry which centred on the west coast of France and Brittany but which clearly had links with societies in Iberia and Britain as its products, such as the carp's tongue sword and the end winged axe were widely bought and sold along the routes of the Atlantic seaways.
Atlantic Europe is a convenient term for many of the Celtic peoples of western Europe, present in the archaeological record.