When speaking of the peoples who inhabited the current Portuguese territory before the arrival of Rome, the Lusitanians tend to occupy almost the entire collective imagination. However, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, including areas of present-day Algarve and Alentejo, ancient sources refer to populations through names such as Kynetes, Kynesioi, Konioi, Kouneoi and Conii, generally associated with the Cynetes or Cinetes. A passage from Appian clearly distinguishes the Lusitanians from the Cunei, describing how a group of Lusitanians led by Caucenus invaded the territory of the Cunei and took their main city, Conistorgis. The location of this city remains unknown, with several proposals having been presented, including an identification with Medellín, in Spain, but none has gathered consensus.
In the Low Alentejo and Algarve regions, numerous stelae have emerged bearing inscriptions in the distinctive Southwestern script. The National Archaeology Museum recognizes this as the earliest clearly defined writing system in the Iberian Peninsula, ranking among Europe's most ancient writing traditions. Scholars have documented approximately a hundred Iron Age inscriptions, primarily linked to funerary monuments. Despite over two centuries of research since Frei Manuel do Cenáculo's initial investigations, the script remains partially undeciphered. While many symbols and some phonetic values are understood, significant disagreements persist about other characters, word separation, and the linguistic identity of the inscriptions.
The connection between Southwestern script and the Cynetes solidified during the 20th century, given the cultural proximity between this people, the Tartessian world, and Phoenician influences. However, a 2025 study in the scientific journal Palaeohispanica directly challenges this traditional association. Researcher Amílcar Guerra highlights material culture differences between regions where inscriptions appear and coastal zones typically linked to the Cynetes. Analyzing funerary contexts, settlements, material culture, and toponymy, Guerra proposes a more consistent connection between stelae territories and communities identified in sources as Celtic peoples.
Approximately 90% of stelae exemplars were discovered in Portugal, primarily concentrated in southern Alentejo and inland Algarve. One significant finding occurred near Cortelha in Loulé municipality, where a stone was identified as a Southwestern script stela fragment. Over 2,500 years later, the carved symbols continue to be studied. The history of the Cynetes remains shrouded in uncertainty, with questions about whether the stelae belonged specifically to Cynetes, Celtic peoples, or other southwestern communities persisting as an open question in Portuguese archaeology.
