Full Title: EXPLORING CELTIC ORIGINS: New ways forward in archaeology, linguistics, and genetics.
Series: Celtic Studies Publications XXII
Edited By: Barry Cunliffe and John T. Koch
Published By: Oxbow Books
Published: 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78925-088-6
Pages: 212 including General Index
Synopsis:
Review: This latest book from Barry Cunliffe “focuses on a research programme, based in the centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies at Aberystwyth in collaboration with the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, designed to explore the origins of the Celts and of the Celtic Language family.” (P. IX)
I love the way it is structured, basically a bunch of essays with their own further reading section after each essay.
The first two chapters are a summerization of the Celtic From the West hypothesis and a set up of the next four chapters. They were written by Cunliffe and Koch respectively.
The next chapters were written by many experts in the fields of linguistics, archaeology, and genetics as well as chemistry. There was a lot of good information which was at times interesting, and other times REALLY confusing. There is a little bit for everyone to nibble on: DNA, linguistics, Atlantic connections, Beakers and much more. Even those who are proponents of the Kurgan Hypothesis will find something for them in the pages of this book.
It took me a while to read it because it was such an interesting mix. I’m still not sure about the Celtic From the West hypothesis; there is evidence but not exactly, there are certainly a lot of holes still to be filled in. However, in the end, it is not a hypothesis that you can summarily dismissed.
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