Prehistory of France

The Pleistocene is characterized by long glacial periods accompanied by marine regressions, interspersed at more or less regular intervals by milder but shorter interglacial stages.

Stone tools discovered at Lézignan-la-Cèbe indicate that early humans were present in France from least 1.57 million years ago.

[5] Cave sites were exploited for habitation, but the hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic era also possibly built shelters such as those identified in connection with Acheulean tools at Grotte du Lazaret and Terra Amata near Nice in France.

Numerous Neanderthal, or "Mousterian", artifacts (named after the type site of Le Moustier, a rock shelter in the Dordogne region of France) have been found from this period, some using the "Levallois technique", a distinctive type of flint knapping developed by hominids during the Lower Palaeolithic but most commonly associated with the Neanderthal industries of the Middle Palaeolithic.

[12] The earliest indication of Upper Palaeolithic early modern human (formerly referred to as Cro-Magnon) migration into France, and indeed in the whole of Europe, is a series of modern human teeth with Neronian industry stone tools found at Grotte Mandrin Cave, Malataverne in France, dated in 2022 to between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago.

[13] When they arrived in Europe, they brought with them sculpture, engraving, painting, body ornamentation, music and the painstaking decoration of utilitarian objects.

Some of the oldest works of art in the world, such as the cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France, are datable to shortly after this migration.

The Early Mesolithic, or Azilian, began about 14,000 years ago, in the Franco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain and Southern France.

[19] The disappearance of Doggerland affected the surrounding territories and the hunter gatherers living there are believed to have migrated to northern France and as far as eastern Ireland to escape from the floods.

Old European hydronymy is taken by Hans Krahe to be the oldest reflection of the early presence of Indo-European languages in Europe.

It is most famous for its gallery grave megalithic tombs which incorporate a port-hole slab separating the entrance from the main burial chamber.

The "Manuel d'archéologie préhistorique, celtique et gallo-romaine," (Manual of Prehistoric, Celtic and Gallo-Roman Archaeology), by Joseph Déchelette, published in 1910, was for a long time the reference for the study of this period.

This culture was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age; the Urnfield period saw a dramatic increase in population in the region, probably due to innovations in technology and agricultural practices.

[citation needed] The spread of iron-working led to the development of the Hallstatt culture (c. 700 to 500 BC) directly from the Urnfield.

Farther to the north extended the contemporary Pre-Roman Iron Age culture of Northern Germany and Scandinavia.

Venus of Laussel , Gravettian culture, c. 23,000 BC
Thaïs bone, Azilian culture, c. 10,000 BC. [ b ]
Painted pebbles, Azilian culture
The Broken Menhir of Er Grah , 4500 BC. Originally 20.6m in height
Gold lunula , Brittany, Bell Beaker culture
Avanton gold hat , Tumulus culture , 1400 BC
Agris Helmet , La Tène culture, 350 BC
Europe in c. 5500 -4500 BC
Europe in c. 4500 -3500 BC
Extent of the Beaker culture ( c. 2800 –1900 BC)
Europe in the Middle Bronze Age
Europe c. 1200 BC, showing the central Urnfield culture (red), the northern Urnfield culture (orange), the Lusatian culture (purple), the Danubian culture (brown), the Terramare culture (blue), the Atlantic Bronze Age (green) and the Nordic Bronze Age (yellow).
The green area suggests a possible extent of (proto-)Celtic influence around 1000 BC. The orange area shows the region of birth of the La Tène style . The red area indicates an idea of the possible region of Celtic influence around 400 BC.