Get to know more about the mousterian industry

1. THE MOUSTERIAN
INDUSTRY

2. Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to
a style of predominantly flint tools associated
primarily with Neanderthals. Neanderthals
developed this industry in Europe and West Asia
between 300 000 and 30 000 years ago. They
date to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of
the European Old Stone Age. This industry was
named after a site in France called Le Mousteir,
a rock shelter in the Dordogne, France.

6. The evidence was uncovered in 1860. The tools
from this industry combined Acheulian industry
techniques with the Levalloisian technique,
which involved the use of a premade core tool
and the extraction of a flake tool that has
sharpened edges. This type of tools is very
efficient as all the sides of the flake tool are
sharpened and due to the reduction in size, more
handy.

10. Evidence of this industry dating back 100000
years was also found in Northern Africa and
West Asia, where modern human such as that of
Qafze migrated. Most archaeologists
hypothesize that this industry could be an
evidence of acculturation of modern humans
with their Neanderthal relatives.

12. By the end of the Palaeolithic period, early
humans have been engaged in proto-culture type
of industries wherein they did not just create
tools but also started creating art and other
symbolic materials.