Mésolithique, un monde en mutation

The last hunter-gatherers of prehistory

They are known as the Mesolithic people. When did they live? What climate shaped their way of life? In what environment did they live? What animals did they hunt? What weapons did they use?

The Archaeological Museum is exhibiting its own collections from the Mesolithic period in the Haute-Meuse and the Province of Namur.

A journey that takes you back to this fascinating period of transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic!

Around 12,000 years ago, following the last ice age of the Palaeolithic, the global warming of the Holocene (our current climate) gradually transformed the landscape.

A pioneer forest of pines and birches took root, followed later by vast thickets of hazel, and finally a mixed oak forest comprising our main modern tree species shaped the Mesolithic primary forest, which has since been transformed. The new vegetation, consisting of trees and forests, provided shelter for the new fauna arriving from southern Europe, which replaced the herds of large mammals from the steppe regions of the Upper Palaeolithic, where the climate was bitterly cold.

These new landscapes, along with the animals that inhabit them (roe deer, red deer, wild boar… as well as several species of waterfowl), led to a change in hunting techniques: the bow became the weapon of choice for hunting this Holocene game.

Tuesday to Friday and Sunday: 1.30 pm – 5.00 pm 

Tuesday and Wednesday: 10.30 am – 12.30 pm