Le Moustier

Le Moustier is a prehistoric finds place in the Vézère Valley in Peyzac -le- Moustier in the Dordogne département. The Mousterian, one of the periods of the Palaeolithic period from before 120,000 to 40,000 years ago, was named after this locality.

Geographical location

The two sites containing, stair-like structured rocky spur of limestone of the Lower Coniaciums Obereturons and is in close spatial proximity of Le Moustier, just 100 meters north of the church. In this rocky spur, the two main sites - one populated in the upper Mousterian Abri and 15 meters below, at the level of today's Vézère Valley ( about 70 meters above the sea), a lower Abri. The rocky outcrop between Vimont and Vézère, of which he was formed. It is crowned by a cave. The walls above the rock shelters are partly overlapping.

The site does not belong to the municipality of Peyzac -le- Moustier, but already within the Municipality of Saint -Léon- sur -Vézère.

On a right-hand cut bank of the Vézère approximately 500 meters southwest of Moustier and just below the confluence of Vimont was also eroded out from the bedrock below the hamlet sous le Ruth a rock wall in which there are two other prehistoric sites ( reference Le Ruth and Abri Cellier ).

Le Moustier is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Les Eyzies -de- Tayac- Sireuil.

History

The first excavations were undertaken by Édouard Armand Lartet and Henry Christy in 1860. They discovered crude stone tools (yet initially Moustiérien ) were included in the science as Mousterian. Later, Gabriel de Mortillet adopted this name for one of the periods of the Palaeolithic.

Among the researchers who conducted excavations beginning of the 20th century, belonged to Maurice Bourlon, Otto Hauser and Denis Peyrony. The Swiss prehistory researcher Otto Hauser from 1907 was the first who worked on the lower Abri. Here is the skeleton of a young Neanderthal was discovered in 1908 and raised in the same year by the anthropologist Hermann Klaatsch from Breslau. Another significant finding was a 1909 Hauser discovered Skeleton of the man of Combe Capelle. Both skeletons were sold by the researcher at the Royal Museum of Ethnology. The Berlin museum was destroyed in the second world war, and only some parts of the skull could be found again.

As a lucky find by Denis Peyrony and in 1910 in Le Moustier bones of a Neanderthal child in the story have been received. Shortly after the skeleton of the public had been introduced, but it disappeared inexplicably on the way to Paris to study, as was supposed. Only in 2002 was a French anthropologist to record the track of the baby skeleton again and finally found it in the National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies -de- Tayac- Sireuil, forgotten in a huge magazine.

Upper Abri

The upper 4 meters high Abri (also known as classic Cave) is located on the second terrace about 15 meters above river level. He has been extensively studied in 1930 by Denis Peyrony, who published a very accurate description. Its sedimentary sequence contained so-called MTA ( Mousterian tradition de acheuléenne ) at the base, followed by a typical Mousterian, as well as low and middle Aurignacian. The Abri was once completely filled by sediments. Today, the upper Abri is totally eliminated.

Lower Abri

(-; Newborn - Moustier 2 Moustier 1 adolescent Neanderthal ) From this about 7 meters high, ausgekolkten from the Vézère and also completely zusedimentierten Abri the Neanderthal finds from Hauser ( 1907) and of Peyrony (1910 ) submitted.

The sedimentary sequence is divided into 12 layers (A to L). The base panels A to C are sterile and are made of river sands, gravels and clays. The river sediments capable D contain unrolled Silexe. Mousterian in position G. occurs for the first time in position F, followed by MTA positions H and I are sandy and rerun unrolled Silexe. In Location J is found typical Mousterian, in her two Neanderthals were discovered. The newborn baby was buried and embedded in the layers H to J. Location K houses Mousterian and Châtelperronian. Location L finally shows remains from the Middle Aurignacian.

At this sequence then tested François Bordes and Maurice Bourgon their typological characterization scheme.

During a INQUA meeting in 1969 revised and specified by H. Laville and Jean Philippe Rigaud stratigraphic previously made by Peyrony information.

Numerous radiometric dating by thermoluminescence and ESR were made to the sequence of the lower Abri. The ages obtained are moving here 56000-40000 years BP. The lower Abri was consequently visited during the Würm glaciation of Neanderthals.

In contrast to the lower upper Abri Abri was not entirely removed, a portion of the sediment package was retained for subsequent studies. The type profile is still present, also an artificial replica is issued thereof.

UNESCO

In 1910, the reference to Le Moustier was acquired by the French State on the initiative Peyronys. Since 1979, the two shelters are registered together with other sites and caves of the Vézèretals as World Heritage by UNESCO.