There are two theories concerning the origins of Iberians:

• One theory suggests that they arrived in Spain sometime during the Neolithic period, with their arrival being dated as early as the fourth millennium BC. Most scholars adhering to this theory believe from archaeological, anthropological and genetic evidences that the Iberians came from a region farther east in the Mediterranean. Others have suggested that they may have originated in North Africa. The Iberians would then have initially settled along the eastern coast of Spain, and possibly spread throughout the rest of the Iberian Peninsula later on.

• An alternative theory states that they were part of the original inhabitants of Western Europe and the creators/heirs of the great megalithic culture in all this area, a theory possibly supported by genetic studies. The Iberians would then be similar to the populations subdued by the Celts in the first millennium BC in Ireland, Britain and France.

External influences

The Celts arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in two waves in the early first millennium B.C. The Celtic culture dominated the Northern and Western Peninsula while the Iberians held the South. In the center, Celtic and Iberian culture mixed to give birth to the Celtiberians. This group, which fused both cultures, spread to the Eastern coast of what today is Spain.

The Iberians and the Celtiberians traded extensively with other Mediterranean cultures. Iberian pottery has been found in France, Italy, and North Africa. The Iberians also had extensive contact with Greek colonists who shared their cultural knowledge. The Iberians may have adopted some of the Greeks' artistic skill. Statues such as the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elx are thought to have been made by Iberians relatively well studied in art.

The Iberians and Celtiberians were placed under Carthaginian rule for a short time between the Second and Third Punic Wars. Both groups supplied troops to Hannibal's army. The Romans subsequently conquered the Iberian Peninsula and slowly repressed the local culture and language, but it was only until the reign of Emperor Augustus after the fall of the Roman Republic that the entire peninsula was conquered.