Poland in antiquity

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Poland in antiquity was characterized by peoples from various archeological cultures living in and migrating through various parts of what is now Poland, from about 400 BC to 450–500 AD. These people are identified as Slavs, Celts, Germanic peoples, Balts, Thracians, Avars, and Scythians. Other groups, difficult to identify, were most likely also present, as the ethnic composition of archeological cultures is often poorly recognized. While lacking any written language to speak of, many of them developed a relatively advanced material culture and social organization, as evidenced by the archeological record; for example, richly furnished, "princely" dynastic graves.

Characteristic of the period was a high rate of migration of large groups of people, even equivalents of modern nations.^[1] This article covers the continuation of the Iron Age (see Bronze and Iron Age Poland), the La Tène and Roman influence, and Migration periods. The La Tène era is divided into:

• La Tène A, 450–400 BC
• La Tène B, 400–250 BC
• La Tène C, 250–150 BC
• La Tène D, 150–0 BC

400–200 BC is also considered the early pre-Roman period,^[2] and 200–0 BC the younger pre-Roman period (A). These eras were followed by the period of Roman influence:

• Early stage: 0–150 AD
  • 0–80 B₁
  • 80–150 B₂
• Late stage: 150–375 AD
  • 150–250 C₁
  • 250–300 C₂
  • 300–375 C₃

The years 375–500 AD constituted the (pre-Slavic) Migration Period (D and E).^[3]

Beginning in the early 4th century BC, Celts established a number of settlement centers. Most of these were in what is now southern Poland, which was at the outer edge of their expansion. Through their highly developed economy and crafts, they exerted lasting cultural influence disproportional to their small numbers in the region.^[4]

Expanding and moving out of their homeland in Scandinavia and Northern Germany, Germanic peoples lived in Poland for several centuries, during which period many of their tribes also migrated outward to the south and east (see Wielbark culture). With the expansion of the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes came under Roman cultural influence. Some written remarks by Roman authors that are relevant to the developments on Polish lands have been preserved; they give additional insight when compared with the archeological record. In the end, as the Roman Empire was nearing its collapse and the nomadic peoples invading from the east destroyed, damaged, or destabilized the various extant Germanic cultures and societies, the Germanic tribes left Central and Eastern Europe for the safer and wealthier western and southern parts of the European continent.^[5]

The northeast corner of today's Poland was and remained populated by Baltic tribes. They were at the outer limits of the significant cultural influence of the Roman Empire.^[6]