Skip to main content
Mousterian

Mousterian

1 9.9
Relating to a Middle Paleolithic stone tool culture made by Neanderthals in Europe and western Asia
  • adjective
  • /ˌmuːstəriən/
  • Specialized
: musteriense
  • The Mousterian culture is known for its unique stone tool technology that was used by early humans during the Middle Paleolithic period.
  • Mousterian bowl

Examples

  • Researchers studied Mousterian artifacts to better understand the daily lives and hunting practices of Neanderthals.

  • A Mousterian bowl from the Mousterian era.

  • A Mousterian bowl from the Mousterian era.

  • It's a Mousterian bowl.

  • What's a Mousterian bowl?

  • The biggest stumbling block to getting me to think like a Neandertal is the sheer stability of their culture, as evidenced by their Mousterian technology, lasting roughly 250,000 to 275,000 years without much change.

    Blog text (11)
  • Archaeologists discovered a variety of Mousterian tools at the excavation site, which date back to the time of Neanderthals.

Surface Forms

Mousterian positive

Etymology

Mousterian gets its name from a French cave called Le Moustier, where archaeologists first found many of these old stone tools, and that place-name comes from a Latin word meaning 'monastery'. So, when something is called Mousterian, it means it belongs to that Middle Stone Age tool culture.