Mousterian

Characteristics

The European Mousterian is the product of Neanderthals. It existed roughly from 160,000 to 40,000 BP. Some assemblages, namely those from Pech de l'Aze, include exceptionally small points prepared using the Levallois technique among other prepared core types, causing some researchers to suggest that these flakes take advantage of greater grip strength possessed by Neanderthals.

In North Africa and the Near East, Mousterian tools were produced by anatomically modern humans. In the Eastern Mediterranean, for example, assemblages produced by Neanderthals are indistinguishable from those made by Qafzeh type modern humans. The Mousterian industry in North Africa is estimated to be 315,000 years old.

Possible variants are Denticulate, Charentian (Ferrassie & Quina) named after the Charente region, Typical, and the Mousterian Traditional Acheulian (MTA) Type-A and Type-B. The industry continued alongside the new Châtelperronian industry during the 45,000–40,000 BP period.

Locations

Sites with significant Neanderthal and Mousterian finds in northwestern Croatia are Krapina, Vindija, Velika pećina and Veternica. Mousterian industry sites on Istrian peninsula are Romualdova pećina and an open-air site at Campanož. Sites on the Adriatic coast and its hinterland are Mujina pećina, with a Mousterian stratigraphic sequence, and Velika pećina in Kličevica with finds approximately 40,000 years old that are late Mousterian. An underwater Mousterian excavation site at Kaštel Štafilić - Resnik recovered about 100 artefacts of which half are tools, Mousterian centripetal cores and side scrapers, several pseudotools, numerous pieces of chert and Levallois method artifacts. Other underwater Paleolithic finds are a single Mousterian tool offshore of Povljana on the island of Pag and stone tools of possible Mousterian type at a depth of 3 m at Stipanac in Lake Prokljan. North of the town of Zadar an extensive series of sites exist where usually small Micro-mousterian industry tools, denticulates and notched pieces are found.

• Haua Fteah in Cyrenaica and other sites in northwest Africa
• Within a cave in the Syria region, along with a Neanderthaloid skeleton
• Haibak valley of Afghanistan
• Zagros and Central Iran
• Atapuerca, Spain
• Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar
• Teshik-Tash site, Uzbekistan
• Turkmenistan
• Denisova Cave, Siberia
• Israel, along with remains of both Neandertals and Homo sapiens sapiens
• Lynford Quarry, Norfolk, England
• Azykh Cave, Azerbaijan
• Montgaudier Cave, France