Mousterian

Or Mous·tie·ri·an

[moo-steer-ee-uhn]

adjective

Anthropology.

1. of or relating to a Middle Paleolithic culture of Neanderthal man dating to the early upper Pleistocene Epoch (c100,000–40,000 b.c.) and consisting of five or more stone-artifact traditions in Europe whose characteristic tools are side scrapers and points.

2. pertaining to Paleolithic human relics having the workmanship, finish, and character of the flint scrapers found in the sands of Moustier, France.

Mousterian

/ muːˈstɪərɪən /

noun

1. a culture characterized by flint flake tools and associated with Neanderthal man, found throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, dating from before 70 000–32 000 _bc

adjective

1. of or relating to this culture

Mousterian

1. Relating to a Middle Paleolithic tool culture that succeeded the Acheulian, ending around 35,000 years ago and traditionally associated with Neanderthals. While Mousterian tools show improvements in stone-flaking techniques over Acheulian tools, they remain largely unchanged over long periods of time and show little of the rapid innovation and specialization that characterize tool cultures of the Upper Paleolithic associated with modern humans.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mousterian¹

1885–90; < French moust ( i ) érien; -ian

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mousterian¹

C20: from French Moustérien from archaeological finds of the same period in the cave of Le Moustier, Dordogne, France

Example Sentences

Among the most significant finds include Levallois-style flake tools, sophisticated implements linked to the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian tradition -- these are often associated with Neanderthals and early Homosapiens.

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The stone tools from Le Moustier -- used by Neanderthals during the Middle Palaeolithic period of the Mousterian between 120,000 and 40,000 years ago -- are kept in the collection of Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History and had not previously been examined in detail.

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He also found scrapers and other retouched pieces known as Mousterian stone artifacts that suggested the cave had been used by Neanderthals.

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Additionally, they found that some of the stone tools in the cave were Mousterian, a Middle Paleolithic culture that is known for its skillfully crafted flake tools.

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Layer E’s stone tools back up the tooth’s identification, Slimak says: They are smaller, more precisely made, and more standardized than the tools from the layers bearing Neanderthal teeth, which resemble Neanderthals’ characteristic Mousterian tools.

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