Le Moustier Upper Rock Shelter, or Abri Superieur de Moustier, looking north west at the full width of the overhang.
Le Moustier Upper Rock Shelter, or Abri Superieur de Moustier, looking north west along the face of the limestone cliff at the full width of the overhang. Excavated by Lartet and Christy from 1863 - 1864. Its name was given to the Mousterian period because of the rich assemblage of Paleolithic stone tools excavated, and also known as Abri Superieur de Moustier (as opposed to the Abri Inferior lower down in the village itself. In 1982, Geneste and Chadelle made a new study of the burned flints using the thermoluminescence method. This made it possible to date the upper part of archaeological deposits over a period of between -50,000 BP and -42,000 years BP, all in a thickness of 2 meters. 14m lower, behind houses in the village, is the ‘classic’ rock shelter or 'Abri Inferior' Peyzac-le-Moustier, where Neanderthal burials were discoverd by the infamous Otto Hauser, and later by the reputable Peyrony. The two rockshelters are situated on a limestone cliff promontory rising above the village of Peyzac-le-Moustier, at the junction of the Vimont & Vézère valleys. Higher up the hill is the cave called Le Trou du Bréchou which is apparently sterile of early human occupation. I
Size: 4961px × 3725px
Location: Peyzac-le-Moustier, Tursac, Dordogne, Nouvelle Aquitaine, France
Photo credit: © Jean Williamson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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