Editing Alps (section)

=== Prehistory ===
[[File:Scena di duello R6 - Foppe - Nadro (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg|thumb|[[Petroglyphs]], [[Rock Drawings in Valcamonica]], Italy, which was recognized by [[UNESCO]] in 1979 and was Italy's first recognized [[World Heritage Site]]]]
[[File:Otzi-Quinson.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of [[Ötzi]] mummy as shown in [[Alpes-de-Haute-Provence]], France. The original mummy and his remains and personal belongings are on exhibit at the [[South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology]] in [[Bolzano]], [[South Tyrol]], Italy.]]

When the ice melted after the [[Würm glaciation]], [[Paleolithic]] settlements were established along the lake shores and in cave systems. Evidence of human habitation has been found in caves near the [[Vercors Cave System]], close to Grenoble and Echirolles. In [[Austria]], the [[Mondsee (lake)|Mondsee lake]] shows evidence of houses built on piles. Standing stones have been found in the Alpine areas of [[France]] and [[Italy]]. About 200,000 drawings and etchings have been documented, and are known as the [[Rock Drawings in Valcamonica]].<ref name="Beattie25ff">Beattie, (2006), 25</ref>

A mummy of a [[Neolithic]] human, known as [[Ötzi]], was discovered on the [[Similaun]]. His clothing lets modern people assume that he was an alpine farmer, while the location and manner of his death suggests that Ötzi was traveling.<ref name="Beattie21ff">Beattie, (2006), 21</ref> Analysis of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of Ötzi, has shown that he belongs to the K1 [[subclade]].<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2808%2901254-2 |title=Luca Ermini et al., "Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of the Tyrolean Iceman," Current Biology, vol. 18, no. 21 (30 October 2008), pp. 1687–1693 |journal=Current Biology |date=November 2008 |volume=18 |issue=21 |pages=1687–1693 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.09.028 |access-date=August 6, 2012 |archive-date=June 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612013201/http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(08)01254-2 |url-status=live |last1=Ermini |first1=Luca |last2=Olivieri |first2=Cristina |last3=Rizzi |first3=Ermanno |last4=Corti |first4=Giorgio |last5=Bonnal |first5=Raoul |last6=Soares |first6=Pedro |last7=Luciani |first7=Stefania |last8=Marota |first8=Isolina |last9=De Bellis |first9=Gianluca |last10=Richards |first10=Martin B. |last11=Rollo |first11=Franco }}</ref> His remains and personal belongings are on exhibit at the [[South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology]] in [[Bolzano]], [[South Tyrol]], Italy.

From the 13th to the 6th century BC much of the Alps was settled by the [[Germanic peoples]], [[Lombards]], [[Alemanni]], [[Bavarii]], and [[Franks]].<ref>Beattie, (2006), 31, 34</ref> [[Celt]] tribes settled in modern-day [[Switzerland]] between 1500 and 1000 BC. The [[Raeti]] lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the [[Helvetii]] and the [[Allobroges]] settled in the Rhône valley and in [[Savoy]]. The [[Ligures]] and [[Adriatic Veneti]] lived in [[Northwest Italy]] and [[Triveneto]] respectively. The Celts mined [[salt]] in areas such as [[Salzburg]], where evidence was found of the [[Hallstatt culture]].<ref name="Beattie25ff" /> By the 6th century BC the [[La Tène culture]] was well established in the region,<ref>Fleming (2000), 2</ref> and became known for high quality [[Celtic art]].<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 131</ref>

Between 430 and 400 BC prolonged warfare in the Alps resulted in the devastation of agricultural land and human settlements, ultimately triggering the [[enslavement]] of men, women, and children, goods had to be imported as a result. The [[Etruscan civilization]] responded to raids by the [[Massalia]] and acquired absolute control over the Alpine trade routes. Aggressors in modern-day Italy were dealt with and an alliance was formed with the Celts. The grip of the Etruscan settlements broke down, as the Roman political system expanded, so as to take control over Alpine trade routes that connected human settlements in the Alps with settlements in the [[Mediterranean]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Iron Age Slaving and Enslavement in Northwest Europe |author1=Karim Mata |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Limited |year=2019 |isbn=9781789694192 |page=18}}</ref>

During the [[Second Punic War]] in 218 BC, the [[Carthage]] general [[Hannibal]] initiated one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare, recorded as [[Hannibal crossing the Alps]].<ref name="Lancel">Lancel, Serge, (1999), 71</ref> The [[Roman people]] built roads along the Alpine mountain passes, which continued to be used through the medieval period. Roman road markers can still be found on the Alpine mountain passes.<ref>Prevas (2001), 68–69</ref>

During the [[Gallic Wars]] in 58 BC [[Julius Caesar]] defeated the [[Helvetii]]. The [[Rhaetian people|Rhaetian]] continued to resist but their territory was eventually conquered when the Romans crossed the [[Danube]] valley and defeated the [[Brigantes]].<ref name="Beattie27ff">Beattie, (2006), 27</ref> The Romans built settlements in the Alps. In towns such as [[Aosta]], [[Martigny]], [[Lausanne]], and [[Partenkirchen]] remains of villas, arenas, and temples have been discovered.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 28–31</ref>