The Spanish are a mixture of indigenous peoples whom at one time or another conquered and occupied what is present-day Spain and Portugal, formerly the Iberian Peninsula. These indigenous peoples include the Iberians, Phoenicians, Celts, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Suevi, Alani, Visigoths, Teutanic and Semitic.
An ancient legend says that the first settlers in Spain were Tubal and Taris, nephews of Noah.
More that 100,000 years ago, people lived in what is now Spain. Archaeologists have found some stone tools and a number of small buildings, probably used as tombs, made of slab of rocks in the Altamira Cave. The Altamira Cave is deep inside a hill in northern Spain. Sketches of a number of animals were also found on the white limestone ceiling and walls of the cave. The sketched animals included bulls, deer, bear and wild boars.
Spain's name in Spanish is Espa~na, which comes from the Latin word "Hispania." The Roman Armies and settlers in ancient Spain spoke Vulgate Latin, which found the basis for the many Spanish dialects that developed in the various regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Ancient Romans thought that the shape of the peninsula was similar to that of a cattle skin stretched out to dry. The Latin word for this "skin," Hispania became the name of the province.
