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Celtic societies functioned as groups of autonomous units, each under a paramount chief. The people were organised into clans, which were subdivided into lineages (fine), stressing the paternal side of kinship reckoning. They were divided into three social classes: the royal clans, the warrior aristocracy, and the common people. Slaves comprised a small portion of the population. Persistent themes in Celtic culture included rural settlement, hospitality feasting, and fellowship drinking. Pork was a common item of diet, and plaid designs in clothing were favoured. The weapon of choice was the sword. Archaeological finds corroborate classical authors who described the Celts as using chain-mail armour and a machine for reaping grain. Most tribes had one or two palisaded settlements, usually designated by the Latin term oppida (towns).

The Druids

The druids underwent a training period lasting 20 years. They had priestly duties, but they also bore weapons and had specialities, such as religion, law, astronomy and calendrics, poetry, and music. Writing was known as early as the 3d century BC but was little used except for coinage and commemorative inscriptions. Calendrics exemplifies the learning of the Celts, who had inherited extensive knowledge about solar and lunar movements from their Neolithic predecessors in Atlantic Europe.