"The nature of peoples is first crude, then severe,
then benign, then delicate, finally dissolute."
- Giambattista Vico
The Illyrians were not a uniform body of people but a cluster of independent tribes connected racially and linguistically. More plainly, they did not have a "national identity" as Appian notes that the Illyrians lacked central authority. Their cultures also differed in the north vis-a-vis the south (see Religion).
Herodian described the Illyrians as tall, strong and ready for fight. Head and tombstones depict the Illyrians wearing tunics (long shirts). The women of Illyria also wore tunics accompanied with a cloak or head scarf.
As a primary source of income, the Illyrians raised livestock such as pigs, sheep and goats and in some rare instances, cattle and horses as well. The Illyrians also hunted for fur with the bow and arrow as their weapon of choice (see Stipcevic, Illyrians). Farming was a luxury to those on rich fertile plains, e.g. the Pannonian region, as wheat and millet were the basic crops.
The Illyrians also mined for metals and were skilled in tool making often trading with each other and neighboring peoples. However, some Illyrians found "pillage and plunder" an easier practice for economic stimulation and wealth (see Tribes and Organization).
