Changes

Until relatively recently, the Ancient Age was widely considered to have begun in the Orient with the advent of writing, roughly 5,000 years ago. Today, other factors are also taken into account when situating this period in the timeline of history, such as the way societies were organised, diversification with respect to production and consumption, transport systems, and lastly, the appearance of more advanced civilisations that have gone down in history or, in other words, have persisted in our collective memory.

From this new perspective, the Ancient Age on the Iberian Peninsula is thought to have begun during the Iron Age II, although the last two millennia BC appear to be more typical of the Neolithic period, which was characterised by the use of metallurgy, and therefore cannot be dated to Prehistory with total certainty. Nevertheless, it is much more complicated to define the ending of the Ancient Age. According to some scholars, it concluded with the rise of the Visigoths in the 6^th century, while others contend that it was the Moorish invasion (in the Battle of Guadalete) in the year 711 (three centuries later) that marked its ending. Additionally, these theories raise the question of whether the reign of the Visogoths can be referred to as the first Spanish nation-state. If so concluded, the Middles Ages would only have been a period of re-conquest (''la Reconquista''). Or perhaps, this three-century-long period was merely a continuation of Roman rule (Antiquity). There is a longstanding historiographical debate about whether the origin and essence of Spain begin with ''Hispania'', or if Spain is something much more recent, as far as the 19^th century. In any case, as previously mentioned, belief in one historical theory does not preclude consideration of other differing theories.