ABSTRACT
Within temperate Europe, the zone north of the Alps but south of the North European Plain, there was a main stream of development which presented a fairly homogeneous picture in terms of social and economic development, and in material culture. This will form the main theme of this brief study. On its periphery, in the German Mittelgebirge, the Alpine valleys, the Atlantic coast of France, and western Britain, there was a number of more disparate groups, varied in material culture, and with social and economic trajectories that differed considerably from that of the main zone. Because of their lack of homogeneity, these societies are dealt with only in passing, or not at all. Space precludes any other approach, even though they formed an integral part of iron age society, being the source of major raw materials such as metals and salt, and even though at the time of the Roman conquest, they played a disproportionate role in military events, as their low level of social organization and often mountainous environment made permanent conquest difficult.
