Prehistoric France (Independent Republic)

Prehistoric France was the period of French history which began 1.57 million years ago with the arrival of early humans and ended in 51 BC with the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar which brought written language to France.

Lower Paleolithic
Stone tools discovered in the commune of Lézignan-la-Cèbe in 2009 led many paleontologists to conclude that humans were present in France at least 1.57 million years ago. It is speculated that both the Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis humans arrived 560,000 years ago. Near the French town of Menton, stone tools dating back to 1 million - 1.05 million years BC were found.

Middle Paleolithic
The Neanderthal humans arrived in France at around 320,000 BC but fully died out by 30,000 BC.The Neanderthals left behind many artifacts such as a rock shelter found from the "Mousterian Neanderthal" period. There has also been significant evidence of cannibalism among the neanderthal humans.

Upper Paleolithic
The earliest of the modern humans, Cro-Magnons, were present in France and large portions of Europe by 43,000 BC due to an inter-glacial period which allowed for mild climates within France. When the Cro-Magnons arrived in Europe, they brought paintings, sculptures, and music with them. Some of the oldest art works in the world were created by the Cro-Magnons in France such as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France. European Paleolithic groups were divided into many chronological subgroups which were mostly named after the French sites where they were discovered. These cultural groups include: Aurignacian, Périgordian, Châtelperronian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian.

The Mesolithic
From the Paleolithic to Mesolithic era, the Magdalenian culture evolved in the southwest of France. It was also around the Mesolithic period in which many of the Mesolithic cultures peacefully coexisted. This coexistence is seen between the Azilian culture of the Late Glacial Maximum with the Tjongerian of North-Western France, the Ahrensburgian of Northern France, and the Swiderian of North-Eastern France which all existed together and merged into the Federmesser complex.