Mousterian

The Mousterian (or Mode III) refers to a special group of stone tools made a very long time ago. These tools are mostly linked to the Neanderthals who lived in Europe, and also to the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and West Asia. The Mousterian tools are a big part of what we call the Middle Paleolithic, which is the middle part of the old Stone Age in West Eurasia.

These tools were used from about 160,000 to 40,000 years ago. If we include the tools from before that time, called Levallois or Levallois–Mousterian, the time goes back even further, to around 300,000 to 200,000 years ago. After the Mousterian time, people started using a new kind of tool called the Aurignacian, which was used by Homo sapiens from about 43,000 to 28,000 years ago.

Naming

The culture was named after the type site of Le Moustier, three rock shelters in the Dordogne region of France. Similar flintwork has been found all over unglaciated Europe, as well as in the Near East and North Africa. This culture includes tools like handaxes, racloirs, and points, and sometimes used a Levallois technique or another prepared-core technique to make the flint flakes.

Characteristics

The Mousterian is a type of stone tool used a long time ago. It was made mainly by Neanderthals in Europe and also by early humans in North Africa and West Asia. These tools were used between about 160,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Production of points & spearheads from a flint stone core, Levallois technique, Mousterian culture, Tabun Cave, Israel, 250,000–50,000 BP. Israel Museum

Some special tools found in places like Pech de l'Aze were very small and made with a special method called the Levallois technique. In North Africa, similar tools were made by early humans, and in some areas, tools made by Neanderthals and early humans look the same. There are a few different kinds of Mousterian tools, such as Denticulate and Charentian types.

Locations

Mousterian tools and items have been found in many places around the world. Some important locations include Haua Fteah in Africa, a cave in Syria, the Haibak valley in Afghanistan, and sites in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Other key spots are the archaeological site of Atapuerca in Spain, Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar, and Lynford Quarry in England. In Croatia, places like Krapina and Vindija have many Mousterian items. There are also underwater finds near Kaštel Štafilić - Resnik and off the coast of Povljana on the island of Pag.