Rhine

At 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein) is one of the longest rivers in Europe. The name of the Rhine in all these languages comes from Celtic Renos, literally "that which flows", from the Proto-Indo-European root *rei- ("to flow, run"), which also gave the word "to run" in English.

Prehistory

The Palaeolithic

Lower Palaeolithic

Middle Palaeolithic

During the Middle Palaeolithic, ca 100,000-30,000 BP (the dates vary a geat deal) western Europe, including the Rhine and Danube Valleys, was occupied by Neanderthal Man, to which belonged the Mousterian culture of stone tools. Mousterian sites are not considered intrusive. It is believed that the Neanderthals may have evolved from the preceding Homo erectus in the vicinity of the glaciers, but the question has by no means been settled definitively.

Related Topics:
Middle Palaeolithic - Neanderthal Man - Mousterian - Homo erectus

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Neanderthal sites are denser to the south, where open forest prevailed and the limestone terrain offered more caves as dwelling. The Rhine ran through an open tundra, where Neanderthals hunted big game, such as the woolly rhinoceros and the mammoth. Accordingly, open air Mousterian sites have been discovered in and around the Rhine valley.

Related Topics:
Woolly rhinoceros - Mammoth

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Upper Palaeolithic

The Mesolithic

Prior to about 5600 BC, the Rhine Valley, along with most of Europe, was occupied by Cro-magnon man in the Mesolithic stage of cultural development; that is, they hunted and gathered, but owned a larger and more specialized tool kit than the Palaeolithic people, knew more about the plants and animals, and even may have kept a few animals.

Related Topics:
Cro-magnon - Mesolithic - Palaeolithic

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The Neolithic

Linear Pottery culture

Michelsberg Culture

Globular Amphora Culture

Chalcolithic

Corded Culture

The Bronze Age

The Iron Age

During the early Iron Age, both banks of the Rhine were inhabited by Celtic tribes. However, in the beginning of the Pre-Roman Iron Age, ca 600 BC, the Proto-Germanic tribes crossed the Weser River and the Aller River, and expanded the whole distance to the banks of the Rhine. This expansion is shown archaeologically in the form of the Jastorf culture. From ca 500 BC and onwards, the lower Rhine and not the Weser and the Aller would increasingly mark the border between the Celtic tribes and the Germanic tribes.

Related Topics:
Iron Age - Celtic tribes - Pre-Roman Iron Age - 600 BC - Proto-Germanic - Weser River - Aller River - Jastorf culture - 500 BC - Germanic tribes

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