Prehistory path: Paleolithic · Neolithic · Megaliths · Bronze Age · Cave art · Caves · Celts →
Prehistory covers the long period before writing. In France it stretches from the earliest stone tools to the metal ages, through the Paleolithic, Neolithic and the rise of megalithic monuments.
Paleolithic
Hunter-gatherers, lithic industries, Neanderthals and modern humans, cave art at Chauvet and Lascaux. See Paleolithic sites and lithic tools.
Neolithic and megaliths
Farming, polished stone, villages, then menhirs and dolmens—especially in Brittany (Carnac). See menhirs.
Toward metals
The Chalcolithic and Bronze Age open the way to the societies of Antiquity.