Abbevillian

The Abbevillian (deprecated also Chellean ) is the name given to the oldest so-called hand-ax industry in Europe. They dated between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago today, making it one in the Paleolithic, the Middle Pleistocene geological older. The oldest hand-ax finds are restricted to Africa and about 1.5 million years old. Where the term Abbevillian was not used.

The name goes back to the locality in a gravel pit near Abbeville in France. Here was found in the 19th century for the first time roughly worked bifaces. The term was introduced in 1932 by Abbevillian Henri Breuil.

It was assumed earlier that it is the oldest cultural level in Europe at Abbevillian. The hand-ax culture of the Acheulian with the beginning about 300,000 years ago was regarded as more sophisticated level. Recent finds of partly over 700,000 year old tee and rubble devices ( Clactonian ), however, show that even before the bifaces equipment was manufactured. Furthermore, in the reference Boxgrove (South England ) found in the 90s of the 20th century perfectly made ​​hand axes, dating to the late Cromer interglacial period and therefore must be at least 500,000 years old. This would have made ​​stylistically in the developed Acheulian without the established chronology. The findings of Boxgrove refute so that the evolutionist idea of ​​a Abbevilliens as a precursor of Acheuléens. Located in the valley of the Somme Abbeville reference also shows a series of terraces (2 upper, 1 medium and 2 lower ). In the second uppermost terrace, the assigning of the Elster glaciation and Mindel glaciation, a rich fauna (Elephas antiquus, Elephas meridionalis, Rhinoceros etruscus, Machairodus etc. ) was towards the end of the last century have been found. Hot Temporal species suggest a rearrangement of the Fund portfolio, thereby enhancing the reliability of dating is limited. A variety of relatively sophisticated tools has been associated with the animal bones found. The main unit is the hand ax (or coup -de- Poins ).