Brittany is one of several peninsulas forming the Atlantic ends of Europe. This is where the culture of the Bretons live. Seabed sediments and soft Brioverian rocks shape much of the Bretons landscape. But with time the landscape began to erode, leaving Brittany as it is today a land of rolling hills.
The Middle Paleolithic age is noted for changes in human morphology, Homo erectus developed into Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, Or in simple terms Neanderthal Man. This period was very cold; the peninsula of Brittany became a frozen tundra. Animals such as rhinoceros, mammoths, and reindeer roamed the land. With a vast source of food small groups of hunters migrated all over the peninsula. These groups grew in size dispite the hostile environment. With the land changing drastically, the Breton people began to change with the times. This brought about the Neolithic farmers (5000-2000 BC) Farming the land brought about new innovations that soon would spread down the coast. This period would also Brought the domestication of animals such as sheep, goats, pigs and cattle which created a constant food source, and therefore allowed the culture to grow in size and complexity.
The Bronze Age would help the Bretons improve relations with other cultures. The Bretons came into contact with some metal-using communities, which by then occupied most of Europe. But the Bretons relations with other cultures were still largely unexplained. It is undetermined if the Bretons belonged to an intrusive group or were drifting from group to group. Breton bronze-producing communities were meshed into the trade network as time went on. An intense demand for tools and weapons in the late Bronze Age helped the Atlantic communities in the trade market. This also helped pass technological expertise among the Atlantic communities. After the end of the Middle Ages the Breton population began to expand.
45,015 feux probably represents a total population around 1430 of some 150,000 families, or 750,000- 800,000 Bretons (The Bretons). The population soon declined due to the plague. In some streets as many as two thirds of the houses were empty. Many peasant families had as many as twelve children, none of which reached adulthood. The population soon bounced back. In 1492 6.6% of households contained more than ten members. Large families contained six or more sons with three to four daughters also in the household.
The Bretons today are still under the ruling of the French, but are able to govern themselves. Major industries are fishing and tourism; fishing can produce as much as 14,800 metric tons. With 58% of there exports going to the U.S. The population has declined to 6,914 with a population growth of 76% (www.bondtalk.com/factbook/country/sb.htm.) The size is about 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC. With 120km of coastline, Dangers of the area include persistent fog and windy springs and autumns.
The Bretons have used a number of ways to keep their culture moving forward. In the early stages massive hunting groups would bring food back to the others in their living area. With trade becoming essential the Bretons focused on trade by creating goods and trading for essential items. Meanwhile the vast coastline allowed the Bretons to use fishing to their advantage, using fish as food and concentrating on creating products to trade for other goods. The Bretons have a well-made system in place. They can keep their economy rolling while they continue to improve their way of life
Work Cited
Galliou, Patrick, and Michael Jones. The Bretons. Massachusetts: Campbell
World Factbook http://www.bondtalk.com/factbook/country/sb.htm
Written by, Jason Jensen