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Prehistoric France is the period in the human occupation (including earlyhominins) of the geographical area covered by present-dayFrance which extended throughprehistory and ended in theIron Age with theRoman conquest, when the territory enters the domain of written history.

ThePleistocene is characterized by long glacial periods accompanied by marine regressions, interspersed at more or less regular intervals by milder but shorter interglacial stages. Human populations during this period consisted of nomadic hunter-gatherers. Several human species succeeded each other in the current territory of France until the arrival of modern humans in theUpper Palaeolithic .

The earliest known fossil man isTautavel Man, dating from 570,000 years ago.Neanderthal Man is attested in France from about 335,000 years before present.Homo sapiens, modern humans, are attested since around 54,000 years ago in theMandrin Cave.^[1][2]

In theNeolithic, which begins in the south of France in the middle of the 6th millennium BC, the first farmers appeared. The first megaliths were erected in the early 5th millennium BC.

TheLower Paleolithic period began with the first human occupation of the region. Stone tools discovered atLézignan-la-Cèbe indicate that early humans were present in France from least 1.2 million years ago.^[3]

5 prehistoric sites in France are dated from between 1 and 1.2 million years ago:^[4]

• the Bois-de-Riquet, in Lézignan-la-Cèbe, in the Hérault (1.2 Ma), discovered in 2008
• the Vallonnet cave, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in the Alpes-Maritimes (1.15 Ma), discovered in 1958
• Terre-des-Sablons, in Lunery-Rosières, in Cher (1.15 Ma),
• Pont-de-Lavaud, at Éguzon-Chantôme, in Indre (1.05 Ma),
• Pont-de-la-Hulauderie, in Saint-Hilaire-la-Gravelle, in Loir-et-Cher (1 My).

None of these sites have thus far revealed any evidence oflithic industry which prevents identification of the human species responsible for them.^[4]

France includesOlduwan (Abbevillian) andAcheulean sites from early or non-modern (transitional)Hominini species, most notablyHomo erectus andHomo heidelbergensis. ToothArago 149 - 560,000 years.Tautavel Man (Homo erectus tautavelensis), is a proposed subspecies of the hominidHomo erectus, the 450,000-year-old fossil remains of whom were discovered in theArago cave in Tautavel.

TheGrotte du Vallonnet nearMenton contained simple stone tools dating to 1 million to 1.05 million years BC.^[5] Cave sites were exploited for habitation, but thehunter-gatherers of thePalaeolithic era also possibly built shelters such as those identified in connection with Acheulean tools atGrotte du Lazaret andTerra Amata nearNice in France. Excavations at Terra Amata found traces of the earliest known domestication of fire inEurope, from 400,000 BC.^[5]

TheNeanderthals are thought to have arrived earlier than 300,000 BC,^[a] but seem to have died out by about by 30,000 BC, presumably unable to compete with modern humans during a period of cold weather. Numerous Neanderthal, or "Mousterian", artifacts (named after thetype site ofLe Moustier, a rock shelter in theDordogne region of France) have been found from this period, some using the "Levallois technique", a distinctive type offlint knapping developed by hominids during theLower Palaeolithic but most commonly associated with the Neanderthal industries of the Middle Palaeolithic. Importantly, recent findings suggest that Neanderthals and modern humans may have interbred.^[7]

Important Mousterian sites are found at:

• Fieux, inLot-et-Garonne (340 ka)^[8]
• Petit-Bost, in the Dordogne (325 ka)^[9]

The first identified Neanderthal burials were discovered at La Chapelle-aux-Saints in 1908 (dating from 70 ka) then at La Ferrassie in 1909.^[10] The identification of burial practices in Neanderthals at these sites led to new insights concerning the capacity of Neanderthals to develop spiritual or metaphysical beliefs,^[11] extending understanding of the human species beyond what had been hitherto assumed.^[12]

The earliest indication ofUpper Palaeolithicearly 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. The Neronian is one of the many industries associated with modern humans classed as transitional between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic.^[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 oldestworks of art in the world, such as thecave paintings atLascaux in southern France, are datable to shortly after this migration.^[14]

European Palaeolithic cultures are divided into several chronological subgroups (the names are all based on Frenchtype sites, principally in theDordogne region):^[15]

• Aurignacian (c. 38,000 - 23,000 BP) – responsible forVenus figurines, cave paintings at theChauvet Cave (continued during the Gravettian period).
• Périgordian (c. 35,000 - 20,000 BP) – use of this term is being debated (the term implies that the following subperiods represent a continuous tradition).
  • Châtelperronian (c. 39,000 - 29,000BP) – culture derived from the earlier, Neanderthal, Mousterian industry as it made use of Levallois cores and represents the period when Neanderthals and modern humans occupied Europe together.
  • Gravettian (c. 28,000 - 22,000 BP) – responsible forVenus figurines, cave paintings at theCosquer Cave.
• Solutrean (c. 22,000 - 17,000 BP)
• Magdalenian (c. 17,000 - 10,000 BP) – thought to be responsible for the cave paintings atPech Merle (in theLot inLanguedoc, dating back to 16,000 BC),Lascaux (located near the village ofMontignac, in theDordogne, dating back to somewhere between 13,000 and 15,000 BC, and perhaps as far back as 25,000 BC), theTrois-Frères cave and theRouffignac Cave also known as The Cave of the hundred mammoths. It possesses the most extensive cave system of thePérigord in France with more than 8 kilometers of underground passageways.

• 
  Chauvet cave painting,Aurignacian culture
• 
  Venus of Brassempouy,Gravettian culture
• 
  Inscribed bones, Gravettian culture
• 
  Lascaux cave painting,Magdalenian culture
• 
  Lascaux cave painting, Magdalenian culture
• 
  Stone engraving, Magdalenian culture
• 
  Bone sculpture, Magdalenian culture
• 
  Large biface,Solutrean culture
• 
  Magdalenian tent, 12,000 BP

From the Paleolithic to theMesolithic, the Magdalenian culture evolved. The Early Mesolithic, orAzilian, began about 14,000 years ago, in theFranco-Cantabrian region of northernSpain andSouthern France. This was ahead of other parts of Western Europe, where the Mesolithic began by 11,500 years ago at the beginning of theHolocene. It ended with theintroduction of farming.^[17]

The Azilian culture of theLate Glacial Maximum co-existed with similar early Mesolithic European cultures such as theTjongerian of North-Western Europe, theAhrensburgian of Northern Europe and theSwiderian of North-Eastern Europe, all succeeding theFedermesser complex. The Azilian culture was followed by theSauveterrian in Southern France and Switzerland, theTardenoisian in Northern France, theMaglemosian in Northern Europe.^[18]

Archeologists are unsure whether Western Europe saw a Mesolithic immigration. Populations speaking non-Indo-European languages are obvious candidates for Mesolithic remnants. TheVascons (Basques) of thePyrenees present the strongest case, since their language is related to none other in the world, and the Basque population has a distinct genetic profile.^[19] The disappearance ofDoggerland 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.^[20]

TheNeolithic period lasted in northern Europe for approximately 3,000 years (c. 5000 BC–2000 BC). It is characterised by the so-calledNeolithic Revolution, a transitional period that included the adoption ofagriculture, the development oftools andpottery (Cardium pottery,LBK), and the growth of larger, more complex settlements. There was an expansion of peoples from southwest Asia into Europe; this diffusion across Europe, from the Aegean to Britain, took about 2,500 years (6500 BC–4000 BC).^[21] According to the leadingKurgan hypothesis, Indo-European languages were introduced to Europe later, during the succeedingBronze Age, and Neolithic peoples in Europe are called "Pre-Indo-Europeans" or "Old Europe". Nevertheless, some archaeologists believe that the Neolithic expansion, and the eclipse of Mesolithic culture, coincided with the introduction ofIndo-European speakers.^[22] In what is known as theAnatolian hypothesis, it is postulated that Indo-European languages arrived in the early Neolithic.Old European hydronymy is taken byHans Krahe to be the oldest reflection of the early presence of Indo-European languages in Europe.

Many European Neolithic groups share basic characteristics, such as living in small-scale family-based communities, subsisting ondomestic plants and animals supplemented with the collection of wild plant foods and with hunting, and producing hand-made pottery (that is made without thepotter's wheel).^{[citation needed]} Archeological sites from the Neolithic in France include artifacts from theLinear Pottery culture (c. 5500 – c. 4500 BC), theRössen culture (c. 4500—4000 BC), and theChasséen culture (4,500 - 3,500 BC; named afterChassey-le-Camp inSaône-et-Loire), the name given to the late Neolithic pre-Beaker culture that spread throughout the plains and plateaux of France, including theSeine basin and the upperLoire valleys.^{[citation needed]}

The 'Armorican' (Castellic culture) and Northern French Neolithic (Cerny culture) is based on traditions of theLinear Pottery culture or "Limburg pottery" in association with theLa Hoguette/Cardial culture. The Armorican culture may also have origins in the Mesolithic tradition ofTéviec andHoedic in Brittany.^[23]

It is most likely from the Neolithic that date themegalithic (large stone) monuments, such as thedolmens,menhirs,stone circles andchamber tombs, found throughout France, the largest selection of which are in theBrittany andAuvergne regions. The most famous of these are theCarnac stones (c. 3300 BC, but may date to as old as 4500 BC) and the stones atSaint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens.^[24]

• 
  Le Menec alignments,Carnac, 4500–3300 BC
• 
  Cairn of Barnenez, Brittany,c. 4800 BC
• 
  Gavrinis passage grave, Brittany,c. 4200 BC.[25]
• 
  Turquoise necklace,Carnac, 4500 BC
• 
  Polished jade axes, Carnac,c. 4500 BC
• 
  Polished jade rings, Carnac,c. 4500 BC
• 
  Stele,Chasséen culture, 4th millennium BC.^[c]
• 
  Linear Pottery culture longhouse,c. 5000 BC
• 
  Neolithic lake settlement atClairvaux-les-Lacs,c. 4000 BC
• 
  Ceramics fromFontbouisse,c. 3000 BC
• 
  Gold diadem, jade axe and boar's tusk pectoral,Pauilhac,c. 3500 BC
• 
  Locmariaquer megaliths,c. 4500 BC
• 
  Champ Durand fortifications,c. 3400 BC
• 
  Tumulus of Bougon,c. 4700 BC
• 
  Table des Marchand,c. 4000 BC
• 
  Dolmen de Bagneux,c. 4000-3000 BC

During theChalcolithic or Copper Age, a transitional age from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, France shows evidence of the Seine-Oise-Marne culture and the Beaker culture.

TheSeine-Oise-Marne culture or "SOM culture" (c. 3100 to 2400 BC) is the name given by archaeologists to the final culture of theNeolithic in Northern France around theOise River andMarne River. It is most famous for itsgallery gravemegalithic tombs which incorporate aport-hole slab separating the entrance from the main burial chamber. In thechalk valley of theMarne River rock-cut tombs were dug to a similar design. In the Southeast, several groups whose culture had evolved fromChasséen culture also built megaliths.^[27]

Beginning about 2600 BC, theArtenacian culture, a part of the largerEuropean Megalithic Culture, developed in Dordogne, possibly as a reaction to the advance ofDanubian peoples (such as SOM) over Western France. Armed with typical arrows, they took over all Atlantic France and Belgium by 2400 BC, establishing a stable border with theIndo-Europeans (Corded Ware) near theRhine that would remain stable for more than a millennium.^{[citation needed]}

TheBell Beaker culture (c. 2800–1900 BC) was a widespread phenomenon that expanded over most of France, excluding theMassif Central, in the third and early second millennia BC.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  Remains of a large building at Challignac,Artenacian culture
• 
  Copper axe, Brittany, 3rd millennium BC^[28]
• 
  Bell Beaker,c. 2500 BC
• 
  Flint arrowheads, Bell Beaker culture
• 
  Copper daggers,Bell Beaker culture
• 
  Gold lunulas, Brittany, Bell Beaker culture, c. 2400-2000 BC
• 
  The Bell Beaker culture haddomesticated horses.^[29]
• 
  Burial mound,Brittany

In theKurgan Hypothesis, Indo-European languages spread to Europe in the Bronze Age. The culture of the Kurgans is also known asYamnaya Culture and recent results from acheaogenetics have linked this culture with genetic ancestry components of theWestern Steppe Herders, and it has been possible to reconstruct migrations of these people across Europe co-extensive with the arrival of the Yamnaya andCorded Ware cultures.^{[citation needed]}

In France, the first studies on the Bronze Age date from the 19th century. 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.^[30] In the 1950s, Jean-Jacques Hatt proposed a subdivision of the French Bronze Age, and in 1958 he published a tripartate division.^[31] This model divided the Bronze Age into three parts, Early Bronze, Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Age and serves as a reference for the majority of subsequent studies on the Bronze Age in France.^[32]

TheBronze Age archeological cultures in France include the transitionalBeaker culture (c. 2800–1900 BC), the Early Bronze AgeRhône culture (c. 2300-1600 BC) andArmorican Tumulus culture (c. 2200 – c. 1400 BC), the Middle Bronze AgeTumulus culture (c. 1600-1200 BC), and the Late Bronze AgeAtlantic Bronze Age (c. 1300 – c. 700 BC) andUrnfield culture (c. 1300-800 BC). Early Bronze Age sites in Brittany (Armorican Tumulus culture) are believed to have grown out of Beaker roots, with someWessex culture andUnetice culture influence. Some scholars think that the Urnfield culture represents an origin for the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European family (seeProto-Celtic). 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]}

Some archeologists date the arrival of several non-Indo-European peoples to this period, including theIberians in southern France andSpain, theLigures on theMediterranean coast, and theVascons (Basques) in southwest France and Spain.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  Bronze dagger,Rhône culture,c. 2000 BC
• 
  Bronze sword,Tumulus culture,c. 1550 BC.[d]
• 
  Tumulus culture ceramics
• 
  Gold vessels, Tumulus culture,c. 1400 BC
• 
  Bronze cuirasses,Urnfield culture, 900 BC
• 
  Bronze jewelry and vessels,Urnfield culture,c. 1000 BC.[34]
• 
  Bronze helmets,Urnfield culture, 1100-900 BC
• 
  Urnfield culture artefacts
• 
  Model of afortification wall, Urnfield culture
• 
  Fort Harrouard hillfort, Middle-Late Bronze Age
• 
  Model of aMiddle Bronze Age house
• 
  Bronze pins and ornaments, Urnfield culture, c. 1000 BC
• 
  Urnfield culture warrior, reconstruction
• 
  Atlantic Bronze Age, gold belt, 1300-1150 BC
• 
  Gold torc,Atlantic Bronze Age,c. 1200-1000 BC.[35]
• 
  Plougrescant sword, Atlantic Bronze Age, c. 1300 BC

The spread ofiron-working led to the development of theHallstatt culture (c. 700 to 500 BC) directly from the Urnfield.Proto-Celtic, the latest common ancestor of all known Celtic languages, is generally considered to have been spoken at the time of the late Urnfield or early Hallstatt cultures, in the early 1st millennium BC.^[36]

The Hallstatt culture was succeeded by theLa Tène culture, which developed out of the Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under the impetus of considerable Mediterranean influence fromGreek, and laterEtruscan civilizations. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC) in eastern France, Switzerland, Austria, southwest Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Farther to the north extended the contemporaryPre-Roman Iron Age culture of Northern Germany and Scandinavia.^[36][37]

In addition,Greeks andPhoenicians settled outposts likeMarseille in this period (c. 600 BC).[38]

By the 2nd century BC, Celtic France was calledGaul by the Romans, and its people were calledGauls. The people to the north (in what is present-day Belgium) were calledBelgae (scholars believe this may represent a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements) and the peoples of the south-west of France were called theAquitani by the Romans, and may have beenCeltiberians orVascons.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  Vix palace,Hallstatt culture, 500 BC
• 
  Vix grave, wagon burial reconstruction, Hallstatt culture, 500 BC
• 
  Goldtorc from theVix Grave, 500 BC
• 
  Cult wagon,Hallstatt culture, 750 BC
• 
  Swords,La Tène culture
• 
  Painted pottery,La Tène culture
• 
  Chariot mounts fromSomme-Bionne, La Tène culture
• 
  Basse Yutz flagons, La Tène culture, 450 BC
• 
  Chariot fitting, La Tène culture
• 
  Chariot burial, La Tène culture
• 
  Bibracte oppidum, outer walls, La Tène culture
• 
  Gallic farm atVerberie, La Tène culture
• 
  Murus Gallicus, c. 100 BC, La Tène culture
• 
  Corent oppidum, La Tène culture
• 
  Settlement atArles, c. 2nd century BC
• 
  Statue fromRoquepertuse, 3rd-2nd century BC

Prehistoric and Iron Age France -all dates are BC

• 1,800,000 (Date not considered secure) : Appearance of stone tools (possibly byHomo erectus) in France (Chilhac,Haute-Loire).^[39]
• 1,570,000: Stone tools atLézignan-la-Cèbe.^[3]
• 1,050,000 to 1,000,000: stone tools atGrotte du Vallonnet, nearMenton.^[5]
• 900,000: Beginning ofGünz glaciation.^[40]
• 700,000: Oldest shaped tools in Brittany.
• 600,000: Beginning ofGünz-Mindel interglacial.^[40] Appearance ofHomo heidelbergensis in Europe.
• 450,000: "Tautavel man" (possiblyHomo heidelbergensis).
• 410,000: Beginning ofMindel glaciation (Mindel I).^[40]Abbevillian culture, taming offire.
• 400,000: Mindel II. Shards of "proto-Levallois" tools.
• 400,000 to 380,000: Traces of first domestication of fire atTerra Amata (Nice).
• 300,000: Beginning ofMindel-Riss interglacial.^[40]
• 300,000: Appearance ofNeanderthals in Europe.^[6]
• 200,000: Beginning ofRiss glaciation.^[40]
• 130,000: Beginning ofRiss-Würm interglacial.^[40]
• 70,000: Beginning ofWürm glaciation.^[40]
• 62,000: Würm I/II interglacial.^[40]
• 57,000: Brorup interglacial.^[40]
• 55,000: Würm II.^[40]
• 40,000: Laufen interglacial.^[40] Arrival of first modern humans (Cro-Magnons) in Europe.
• 35,000: Würm IIIa.^[40]Châtelperronian culture.
• 33,000:Mask of la Roche-Cotard, a Mousterian artefact.
• 32,000:Aurignacian culture.^[15]
• 30,000: First statuettes and engravings in France. Disappearance ofNeanderthals.
• 28,000: Arcy interglacial.^{[citation needed]}
• 27,500: Würm IIIb.^[40]
• 25,000: Paudorf interglacial.
• 23,000: Würm IIIc.^[40]
• 18,000: End ofWürm glaciation.^[40]
• 18,692: Beginning ofSolutrean culture.
• 16,000: Cold spell (Oldest Dryas).
• 15,000:Magdalenian culture.^[18]
• 15,300:Lascaux.^[18]
• 14,500: Middle Magdalenian.Bølling Oscillation.^[18]
• 14,100: Cold spell (Older Dryas).
• 14,000:Allerød Oscillation.
• 13,500: Upper Magdalenian.^[18]
• 13,000:Hamburg culture^[18]
• 10,300: Cold spell (Younger Dryas).
• 9500: Beginning ofHolocene.
• 7000: Domestication of thesheep.
• 6900: Domestication of thedog.
• 5000: Appearance ofLinear Pottery culture in France.^{[citation needed]}
• 4650: Oldest neolithic village in France,Courthézon in theVaucluse.^{[citation needed]}
• 4000: NeolithicChasséen culture village ofBercy.^{[citation needed]}
• 3610: Appearance of firstmegaliths in France.^[24]
• 3430:Chasséen culture village ofSaint-Michel du Touch nearToulouse.^{[citation needed]}
• 3430: Appearance ofRössen culture atBaume de Gonvilla inHaute-Saône.^{[citation needed]}
• 3250: Expansion ofChasséen culture in the south of France, from the Lot to theVaucluse.^{[citation needed]}
• 3190:Chasséen culture inCalvados.^{[citation needed]}
• 2530:Chasséen culture inPas-de-Calais.^{[citation needed]}
• 2450: End ofChasséen culture inEure-et-Loir.^{[citation needed]}
• 2400: End ofChasséen culture inSaint-Mitre (inReillanne,Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).^{[citation needed]}
• 2300: Village atPonteau (inMartigues,Provence) of theBeaker culture.^{[citation needed]}
• 1800: Beginning of Bronze Age in France.^[30]
• 800: Appearance in France, via theRhine and theMoselle, and expanding intoChampagne andBourgogne of theUrnfield culture.^[36]
• 725: Beginning ofHallstatt culture.^[36]
• 680: Founding ofAntibes, the firstGreek colony in France.^[38]
• 600: Founding ofMassalia (futureMarseille) by theGreeks from theIonian city ofPhocaea.^[38]
• 450: TheCelts ofla Tène appear inChampagne. They expand to theGaronne, forming what will come to be called theGaul civilization.^[38]
• 390: TheCeltic chiefBrennus sacksRome.^[38]
• 121: Roman occupation ofGallia Narbonensis.^[38]
• 118: Founding of the Roman colonyNarbo Martius (futureNarbonne).^[38]
• 58-51: Conquest ofGaul byJulius Caesar.^[38]

• Timeline of glaciation
• Neolithic Europe
• Old European culture
• Proto-Indo-Europeans
• Proto-Celtic language
• Prehistory of Brittany
• Prehistoric Britain
• Prehistoric Iberia
• Prehistoric Romania
• Archaeological sites in France

• Brunel, Samantha; Bennett, E. Andrew; Cardin, Laurent; et al. (9 June 2020)."Ancient genomes from present-day France unveil 7,000 years of its demographic history".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.117 (23):12791–12798.Bibcode:2020PNAS..11712791B.doi:10.1073/pnas.1918034117.PMC 7293694.PMID 32457149.
• Forbes, Peter (29 March 2018)."Who We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich review – new findings from ancient DNA".the Guardian.
• Gaucher, Gilles (1 January 1993).L'Âge du bronze en France (in French). Presses universitaires de France (réédition numérique FeniXX).ISBN 978-2-13-066958-6.
• Giacobini, Giacomo (January 2006)."Les sépultures du Paléolithique supérieur: la documentation italienne".Comptes Rendus Palevol (in French).5 (1–2):169–176.Bibcode:2006CRPal...5..169G.doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2005.09.018. Retrieved3 September 2022.
• Gibbons, Ann (24 July 2015). "Revolution in human evolution".Science.349 (6246):362–366.doi:10.1126/science.349.6246.362.ISSN 1095-9203.PMID 26206910.
• Haak, Wolfgang; Lazaridis, Iosif; Patterson, Nick; et al. (11 June 2015)."Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe".Nature.522 (7555):207–211.arXiv:1502.02783.Bibcode:2015Natur.522..207H.doi:10.1038/nature14317.ISSN 1476-4687.PMC 5048219.PMID 25731166.
• Hallegouët, Bernard; Hinguant, Stéphan; Gebhardt, Anne; et al. (1992)."Le gisement Paléolithique inférieur de Ménez-Drégan 1 (Plouhinec, Finistère)".Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française (in French).89 (3):77–81.doi:10.3406/bspf.1992.9504.
• Hatt, Jean-Jacques (1954). "Pour une nouvelle chronologie de la Protohistoire française".Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France.51 (7):379–384.doi:10.3406/bspf.1954.3113.
• Olalde, Iñigo; Brace, Selina; Allentoft, Morten E.; et al. (March 2018)."The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe".Nature.555 (7695):190–196.Bibcode:2018Natur.555..190O.doi:10.1038/nature25738.ISSN 1476-4687.PMC 5973796.PMID 29466337.
• Rivollat, Maïté; Jeong, Choongwon; Schiffels, Stephan; et al. (29 May 2020)."Ancient genome-wide DNA from France highlights the complexity of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers".Science Advances.6 (22) eaaz5344.Bibcode:2020SciA....6.5344R.doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz5344.PMC 7259947.PMID 32523989.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPrehistoric France.

• French National Museum of Antiquities in the Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (in French)
• Lascaux Cave at theLibrary of Congress Web Archives (archived 2002-11-13) – official Lascaux Web site, from the French Ministry of Culture
• The Dawn of Rock Art – an article summarizing the earliest known rock art, with a focus on recently discovered painted caves in Europe,Grotto Cosquer andGrotto Chauvet
• La Tène site at theWayback Machine (archived 2009-02-07) – brief text, illustrations (in French)
• Late bronze age graves with weighing equipment from eastern France

• Prehistoric France
• Archaeology of France
• Prehistory by country

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