Moustier

Moustier is a prehistoric site which is on the commune of Peyzac-le-Moustier, in the Dordogne (France). It comprises two principal layers, the higher shelter, site éponyme of the Moustérien, and the lower shelter, opening about fifteen lower meters in same cliff, at the current level of the valley of the Vézère.

Higher shelter or traditional shelter of Moustier

The first research in this shelter is undertaken by E. Lartet and H. Christy in 1860. They discover a lithic Industrie there named soon Moustiérien then Moustérien by G. of Mortillet. Excavations are also undertaken there by Mr. Bourlon, O. To raise and D. Peyrony.

The work of this last, published in 1930, is most precise. The shelter is completely emptied today but its sequence included/understood of typical Moustérien, Moustérien de Tradition Acheuléenne and the Aurignacien.

Lower shelter of Moustier

The first work concerning the lower shelter is those of O. To raise in 1907. They allow the setting the day of a skeleton of Néandertalien under deplorable conditions: the human remainders are several times exhumed then buried in front of various scientists believing each time to be the first witnesses of the discovery. The skeleton is then sold with the Museum of Berlin. Only the cranium still exists, the remainder of the skeleton having been destroyed at the end of the Second world war.

D. Peyrony also undertakes work as from 1910 there. It discovers there the skeleton of an young child néandertalien, stored with the Museum of Eyzies and forgotten until its redécouverte and its study by B. Maureille in 2002.

The sequence of the lower shelter comprises of typical Moustérien, of Moustérien de Tradition Acheuléenne, Moustérien with dentils, the Châtelperronien and the Aurignacien. Industries moustériennes of this layer were used by F. Border and Mr. Bourgon to test their typological method.

In 1969, at the time of the congress of the INQUA, H. Laville and J. - pH. Stone proceeds to a cooling of the stratigraphic witness (of which a moulding is still visible on the spot) and specify the stratigraphic observations of Peyrony.

Many radiometric dates were carried out on this sequence, by Thermoluminescence and ESR. They lie approximately between 56 and 40.000 years before the present.

Classification with the World heritage of UNESCO

The layer was acquired by the State in 1910, on the initiative of D. Peyrony. Since 1979, the two shelters of Moustier are registered with the World heritage UNESCO, in partnership with other sites and caves decorated with the area under the name of “Grottes decorated with the valley with Vézère”.

Sources

Farizy, C. and Vandermeersch, B., “Moustier” in Dictionary of Prehistory , under Dir. of A. Leroi-Gourhan, university Presses of France, Paris, 1988.
Maureille, B. “has lost Neanderthal neonate found”, Nature , vol. 419, pp. 33-34, 2002.
Valladas, H., Geneste, J. - Mr., Joron, J. - L. and Chadelle, J. - P., “Thermoluminescence dating off Moustier (the Dordogne, France)”, Nature , vol. 322, n° 6078, pp. 452-454, 1986.

Bonds

Moustier, history of research and outline of the site

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