Material Culture

Classification of Ancient Germanic Tribes

Table 2

Record	Languages	Tribes	Settlement
- 4^th c. B.C. – Pytheas, Greek astronomer and geographer - 1^st c. B.C. – Julius Caesar< Roman general and statesman - 1^st c. A.D. – Pliny the Elder, Roman naturalist: classification of the Germanic tribes:	East Germanic	The Vindili (including the Goths and the Burgundians)	Eastern part of Germanic territory
	Western Germanic	The Ingaevones	North-western part of Germanic territory, the shores of the Northern Sea, modern Netherlands
		The Istsaevones	The western part of the Germanic territory, on the Rhine (the Franks)
		The Hermiones	Southern part of the Germanic territory (southern Germany)
	Northern Germanic	The Hilleveones	Scandinavia
- 2^nd c. A.D. Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian	Characterized the	social structure of the	old Germanic tribes

According to Julius Caesar, the Germans were pastoralists, and the bulk of their foodstuffs—milk, cheese, and meat—came from their flocks and herds. Some farming was also carried out, the main crops being grain, root crops, and vegetables. Both the cattle and the horses of the Germans were of poor quality by Roman standards. The Iron Age had begun in Germany about four centuries before the days of Caesar, but even in his time metal appears to have been a luxury material for domestic utensils, most of which were made of wood, leather, or clay. Of the larger metal objects used by them, most were still made of bronze, though this was not the case with weapons. Pottery was for the most part still made by hand, and pots turned on the wheel were relatively rare. The degree to which trade was developed in early Germany is obscure. There was certainly a slave trade, and many slaves were sold to the Romans. Such potters as used the wheel—and these were very few—and smiths and miners no doubt sold their products. But in general the average Germanic village is unlikely to have used many objects that had not been made at home. Foreign merchants dealing in Italian as well as Celtic wares were active in Germany in Caesar's time and supplied prosperous warriors with such goods as wine and bronze vessels. But from the reign of Augustus onward, there was a huge increase in German imports from the Roman Empire. The German leaders were now able to buy whole categories of goods—glass vessels, red tableware, Roman weapons, brooches, statuettes, ornaments of various kinds, and other objects—that had not reached them before. These Roman products brought their owners much prestige, but how the Germans paid for them is not fully known.

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