Prehistory
Palaeolithic inferior - Middle
Palaeolithic
- Palaeolithic superior - Mesolithic age
- Neolithic age
Middle Palaeolithic
Mousterian, of the site of Moustier in Dordogne characterizes the whole
of the culture of the middle-Palaeolithic It is very widespread in
Europe, in the Close and Middle-East, as far as the Central Asia and
until to the North-East of Africa. This culture results directly from
the Acheulean one.
The tools on glare are abundant, but the laminar tools are not rare.
One allots this period to the man of Neanderthal (of the cave of
Neanderthal close of Düsseldorf in Germany where were found, in
1856, the fragments of skeleton).
The Mousterian is well represented in Brittany. In “Finistere” (End-Earth), the layer of
Tréissény (Kerlouan) ranges between -130 000 and -79 000
years. It provided many bifacials tools out of flint.
In the “Côtes d’Armor”, the layers of Bois-du Rocher (La
Vicomté-sur-Rance) and the one of Clos-Rouge
(Saint-Hélen) distant of one kilometer one from the other, have
a very important proportion of bifacials tools, nearly 50%.
The site of Kervouster (commune of Guengat) covers 4 hectares. The
rock, of the glossed sandstone or quartzite is abundant; it was used as
raw material. The campaigns are covered with glares and waste of
cutting. The tools were so abundant that one still finds today, some
denticulate, double-side or even some mousterians points. The
excavations organized between 1974 and 1977 established that the
occupation of Kervouster was ranged between 79 000 and 40 000 before
our age. It should be noted that some tools, typically acheuleans were
also discovered on the spot, so it could bring in back the date of the
first occupation.
