The Vaccaei or 'Vaccei' were a pre-Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 Celtic people of Spain which inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania

Hispania

Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....

.

Origins

The Vaccaei were probably largely of Celtic descent. Their name may be derived from the Celtic word vacos meaning a slayer since they were celebrated fighters;and perhaps related,like the celtiberian

Celtiberians

The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...

 Belli

Belli

The Belli, also designated ‘Beli’ or ‘Belaiscos’ were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic Celtiberian people that lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC.- Origins :.The Belli were of Celtic origin and part of the Celtiberians...

 to the Belgians

Belgae

The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...

, Bellovaci

Bellovaci

The Bellovaci were among the most powerful and numerous of the Belgic tribes of north-eastern Gaul conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 BC. The name survives today in the French city of Beauvais, called by the Romans Caesaromagus.- Geography :...

 that entered the Peninsula and settled the main river high plains. They often acted in consort with their neighbours, the Celtiberi, suggesting they may have been part of the Celtiberian

Celtiberians

The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...

 peoples. They had a strict egalitarian society practising land reform and communal food distribution. This society was part of an Hispano-Celtic

Hispano-Celtic language

Hispano-Celtic is a hypernym to include all the linguistic varieties of Celtic spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of the Romans :...

 substrate which explains the cultural, socio-economic, linguistic and ideological affinity of the Vaccaei, Celtiberians

Celtiberians

The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...

, Vettones

Vettones

The Vettones were one of the pre-Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula .- Origins :...

, Lusitani, Cantabri

Cantabri

The Cantabri were a pre-Roman Celtic people which lived in the northern Atlantic coastal region of ancient Hispania, from the 4th to late 1st centuries BC.-Origins:...

, Astures and Callaeci. The Vaccean civilization was the result of a process of local evolution, importing elements from other cultures, whether by new additions of people or cultural and trading contacts with neighbouring groups. It is also believed that was from these Vaccei that the warlike Arevaci

Arevaci

The Arevaci or ‘Aravaci’ , were a pre-Roman Celtic people who settled in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania and which dominated most of Celtiberia from the 4th to late 2nd centuries BC...

 stemmed from around the late 4th Century BC to conquer the eastern meseta .

Culture

Archeology has identified the Vaccei with the 2nd Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 ‘Duero Culture’ – which evolved from the previous early Iron Age ‘Soto de Medinilla’ (ca. 800-400 BC) cultural complex of the middle Duero basin –, being also affiliated with the Turmodigi

Turmodigi

The Turmodigi were a small and obscure pre-Roman ancient Spanish people that occupied the area within the Arlanzón and Arlanza river valleys in the 2nd Iron Age.- Origins :Of mixed origins, the Turmodigi remain a mysterious people...

. This is confirmed by the statigraphic study of their settlements, where have been found elements of the Vaccean culture on top of the remains of earlier cultures. For example, at Pintia

Pintia

Pintia is the name of an ancient city of the Vaccaei, situated in the area around Padilla de Duero, in the modern province of Valladolid, central Spain....

 (modern-day Padilla de Duero–Valladolid

Valladolid

Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...

), there is evidence of continuous human settlement since Eneolithic times to the Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

, when the Vaccean period arose. The necropolis at Pintia is currently being excavated by an international field school students’ team every summer under the supervision of the University of Valladolid

University of Valladolid

The University of Valladolid is a public university in the city of Valladolid, province of Valladolid, in the autonomous region of Castile-Leon, Spain...

 and the Federico Wattenberg Center of Vaccean Studies.
They were distinguishable by a special social structure of collectivist type which enabled them to exploit successfully the wheat- and grass-growing areas of the western plateau

Location

The Vaccean homeland extended throughout the center of the northern Meseta, along both banks of the Duero River. Their capital was Pallantia (either Palencia

Palencia

Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...

 or Palenzuella) and Ptolemy

Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...

 lists in their territory some twenty towns or Civitates, including Helmantica/Salmantica (Salamanca), Arbucala (Zamora), Pincia or Pintia (Padilla de Duero – Valladolid), Intercantia (Paredes de Nava

Paredes de Nava

Paredes de Nava is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain.It is the birthplace of Renaissance painter Pedro Berruguete. Some paintings by him can be seen in the predella of the local church of Santa Eulalia. Other sights include the church of St. Martin ....

 – Palencia), Cauca (Coca

Coca, Segovia

Coca is a municipality in the province of Segovia, central Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located 50 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital city of Segovia, and 60 kilometres from Valladolid. Coca is known for its 15th Century Mudéjar castle...

 – Segovia), Septimanca (Simancas

Simancas

Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León...

), Rauda (Roa

Roa, Burgos

Roa is a Spanish town and municipality in the south of the province of Burgos. It has a population of roughly 3,000 people. The closest airport is in Valladolid....

), Dessobriga (Oserna) and Autraca or Austraca – located at the banks of the river Autra (Odra), seized from the Autrigones

Autrigones

Location of the tribe of the Autrigones.The Autrigones were a pre-Roman people of ancient Spain, described by the Roman historian Paulus Orosius as neighbours of the Gallaeci, and thus had their homeland in the northwest of Hispania.-Location:Their historical territory now lies split between the...

 in the late fourth Century BC – to name but a few. Although its borders are difficult to define and shifted from time to time, it can be said to have occupied all of the province of Valladolid

Valladolid (province)

Valladolid is a province of central/northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Zamora, León, Palencia, Burgos, Segovia, Ávila, and Salamanca....

, and parts of León

León (province)

León is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.About one quarter of its population of 500,200 lives in the capital, León. The weather is cold and dry during the winter....

, Palencia

Palencia (province)

Palencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid....

, Burgos

Burgos (province)

The province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladolid. Its capital is the city of Burgos...

, Segovia

Segovia (province)

Segovia is a province of central/northern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Burgos, Soria, Guadalajara, Madrid, Ávila, and Valladolid....

, Salamanca

Salamanca (province)

Salamanca is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Zamora, Valladolid, Ávila, and Cáceres; and by Portugal....

 and Zamora

Zamora (province)

Zamora is a Spanish province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.The present-day province of Zamora province was one of three provinces formed from the former Kingdom of León in 1833, when Spain was re-organised into 49 provinces.It is bordered by...

. By the time of the arrival of the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, the Cea

Cea River

The Cea River is a river of northeastern Spain. It is an affluent of the Esla River, and its course runs through the provinces of León, Valladolid, and Zamora. It is 157 km long. Its source lies in the municipality of Prioro, in León province. It arises from the spring called Fuente del...

 and Esla rivers separated the Vaccaei from the Astures in the northeast, while a line traced between the Esla and the Pisuerga rivers was the border with the Cantabri

Cantabri

The Cantabri were a pre-Roman Celtic people which lived in the northern Atlantic coastal region of ancient Hispania, from the 4th to late 1st centuries BC.-Origins:...

. To the east, the Pisuerga and Arlanza rivers marked the frontier with the Turmodigi

Turmodigi

The Turmodigi were a small and obscure pre-Roman ancient Spanish people that occupied the area within the Arlanzón and Arlanza river valleys in the 2nd Iron Age.- Origins :Of mixed origins, the Turmodigi remain a mysterious people...

, and a little farther south, the Arevaci

Arevaci

The Arevaci or ‘Aravaci’ , were a pre-Roman Celtic people who settled in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania and which dominated most of Celtiberia from the 4th to late 2nd centuries BC...

 were their neighbors and allies. On the south and southeast lay the Vettones

Vettones

The Vettones were one of the pre-Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula .- Origins :...

 in an area that roughly corresponds to the distribution of verraco

Verraco

The verracos are granite megalithic monuments, sculptures of animals that are to be found in the west of the Iberian meseta - the high central plain of the Iberian peninsula - in the Spanish provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Zamora, and Cáceres, but also in the north of Portugal and Galicia...

s around the highlands of Ávila and Salamanca and Aliste

Aliste

Aliste may refer to several municipalities in comarca of Aliste, in the Zamora province of northern Spain:*Mahide de Aliste*Rábano de Aliste*Riofrío de AlisteAlternately, it may refer to a comarca within Zamora:*Aliste...

(Zamora

Zamora (province)

Zamora is a Spanish province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.The present-day province of Zamora province was one of three provinces formed from the former Kingdom of León in 1833, when Spain was re-organised into 49 provinces.It is bordered by...

), between them and the Lusitanians

Lusitanians

The Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...

. It is likely that there was some contact with the latter to the west of Zamora.