Atlantic Europe
Atlantic Europe is a geographical term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as a biogeographical region.
It comprises the
Weather and overall physical conditions are relatively similar along this area (with the exception of parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic), resulting in similar landscapes with common endemic plant and animal species. From a strictly physical point of view most of the Atlantic European shoreline can be considered a single biogeographical region.[1][2] Physical geographers label this biogeographical area as the European Atlantic Domain, part of the Euro-Siberian botanic region.[3]
Culture
Origins
The
Archaeologists have noted that the prehistoric peoples of Atlantic Europe presented common traits, as shown by
Some examples of early cultural contact are the
Atlantic Europe is also a term often used in reference to the territory occupied by the
Culture at present
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. Geographers also mention the influence of the natural environment in the construction of a similar cultural landscape along the western European coasts.
Some of the first geographers to consider this idea of Atlantic Europe were
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 Sexto and Xoán 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 the Santarém area), 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 the lived space, thus evidencing in itself a social and cultural internal cohesion and continuity.[10][11]
Atlantic Europe in politics
There is a multi-national association of regions, which acts as a co-ordinator of Atlantic European regions and its interests. This is the Atlantic 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 seven Geographical Commissions in the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe.[13]
Genetics
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
- Atlantic Biogeographic Region
- Atlantic Modal Haplotype
- Celts and Norsemen
- Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)
- Oceanic climate
- Paleolithic continuity theory
Notes
- ^ Indicative map of the European biogeographical regions 2005. Archived July 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Map of the biogeographical regions of Europe
- ^ Map of the floristic regions of Europe[circular reference]
- ^ Cunliffe, B. and Koch, J.T., Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature. Oxbow books, 2012.
- ^ Bradley, R. (1997): Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe. Routledge
- ^ 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.
- PMID 9781045.
- ^ "Modern Celtic realm - National Geographic". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ^ "Atlantic Arc Commission". Archived from the original on 2006-11-26. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
- ^ 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
- ^ Paredes, X.M.,"A utilidade do celtismo. Celticidade galaica no S.XXI", in proceedings of Jornadas das Letras Galego-Portuguesas 2012-2014, DTS and SAGA. p. 175-190, 2015.
- ^ "Atlantic Arc Commission". Archived from the original on 2006-11-26. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
- ^ Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions
- PMID 18758442
- PMID 18691889
- PMID 15309688. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
Sources
- Sykes, Bryan (2006). Blood of the Isles: exploring the genetic roots of our tribal history. London: Bantam. ISBN 978-0-593-05652-3.
References
- 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", in Cadernos de Estudos Galegos no. 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 of Congreso 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", in Xeográfica no. 1, p. 115-133, 2001.
- OUP, 2001.
- Francesco Benozzo and Mario Alinei, "A área galega na prehistoria lingüística e cultural de Europa", in A Trabe de Ouro, no. 71, p. 13-39, Santiago de Compostela, 2007.
- Barry Cunliffe. and John 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 of Jornadas das Letras Galego-Portuguesas, 2012-2014, DTS and SAGA, p. 175-190, 2015.
External links
- Haplogroup R1b distribution map
- Macdonald's Haplogroup map
- Monuments in Atlantic Europe
- Rock Art in Atlantic Europe
- From the Neolithic to the Atlantic Bronze Age
- Atlantic Arc Commission - The European organisation for governmental and economical cooperation of the regions of Atlantic Europe
- Conference of Cities of the Atlantic Arc