Mous·te·ri·an (m -stîr  - n)adj. Designating or belonging to a Middle Paleolithic culture following the Acheulian, associated with Neanderthals and characterized by the use of flake tools. [French moustérien, after Le Moustier, a cave in southwest France.] |
Mousterian [muːˈstɪərɪən]
n
(Social Science / Archaeology) a culture characterized by flint flake tools and associated with Neanderthal man, found throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, dating from before 70 000-32 000 bc
adj
(Social Science / Archaeology) of or relating to this culture
[from French Moustérien from archaeological finds of the same period in the cave of Le Moustier, Dordogne, France]
| Mousterian (m-stîr-n) Relating to a Middle Paleolithic tool culture that succeeded the Acheulian, ending around 35,000 years ago and traditionally associated with Neanderthals. While Mousterian tools show improvements in stone-flaking techniques over Acheulian tools, they remain largely unchanged over long periods of time and show little of the rapid innovation and specialization that characterize tool cultures of the Upper Paleolithic associated with modern humans. |
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