La Tène Anthropoid Art in Britain: Changes in Style and People

Abstract

This paper examines the evidence for La Tène anthropomorphic artwork in the pre-Roman British Iron Age. The available dataset for such objects displays a marked contrast, with only a handful of examples known for the period preceding the later 2nd century BC, and a comparative abundance for the final two centuries before the Roman conquest. Although various influences may have contributed to this pattern, it is likely that this pattern is the result of changing self-perceptions among Iron Age populations in Britain. Such changes are known from elsewhere in the ethnographic literature, and such accounts may serve as a guide to interpreting the changing pattern for La Tène anthropomorphic art in Britain.