Mousterian 659026 215983120 2008-05-30T15:29:39Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Stone Age}} '''Mousterian''' is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly [[flint tools]] (or [[archaeological industry|industry]]) associated primarily with ''[[Neanderthal|Homo neanderthalensis]]'' and dating to the [[Middle Paleolithic]], the middle part of the Old [[Stone Age]]. It was named after the [[type site]] of [[Le Moustier]], a rock shelter in the [[Dordogne]] region of [[France]].{{Fact|date=May 2008}} Similar flintwork has been found all over unglaciated [[Europe]] and also the [[Near East]] and [[North Africa]]. Handaxes, [[racloir]]s and [[Projectile point|points]] constitute the industry; sometimes a [[Levallois technique]] or another [[prepared-core technique]] was employed in making the flint flakes. Mousterian tools that have been found in Europe were made by Neanderthals and date from between 300,000 BP and 30,000 [[Before Present|BP]]. In Northern Africa and the [[Near East]] they were also produced by anatomically modern humans. In the [[Levant]] for example, assemblages produced by Neanderthals are indistinguishable from those produced by modern humans.<ref>Shea, J. J., 2003: Neandertals [sic], competition and the origin of modern human behaviour in the Levant, ''Evolutionary Anthropology'', 12:173-187.</ref> Mousterian technology is [[evolution]]arily significant because it partially replaced the function of the [[incisor]] teeth, leading to a reduction of robustness of some of the facial features.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Several Mousterian variants are known: * [[Denticulate Mousterian]] * [[Ferrassie Mousterian]] * [[Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA)]] * [[Quina Mousterian]] * [[Typical Mousterian]] ==See also== *[[Cro-Magnon interaction with Neanderthals]] *[[Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://worldmuseumofman.org/mousterianeuropeanartifacts1.htm Mousterian Neanderthal Stone Tools] * [http://www.geocities.com/veldwezelt_2002/index.html geocities.com] — The Neanderthal Sites at [[Veldwezelt-Hezerwater]], [[Belgium]] * [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/science/14neanderthal.html?ex=1315800000&en=ca90a9bfe57071f2&ei=5089 Neanderthals’ Last Stand Is Traced] — [[New York Times]] article (Published: September 13, 2006) [[Category:Archaeological cultures]] [[Category:European archaeology]] [[Category:Paleolithic]] [[Category:Lithics]] [[ca:Mosterià]] [[cs:Moustérien]] [[de:Moustérien]] [[es:Musteriense]] [[eo:Musterio]] [[fr:Moustérien]] [[gl:Musteriense]] [[it:Musteriano]] [[he:התרבות המוסטרית]] [[nl:Moustérien]] [[oc:Mosterian]] [[pl:Kultura mustierska]] [[pt:Musteriense]] [[sv:Moustérienkulturen]] [[uk:Мустьєрська культура]]