Hallam L. Movius
Encyclopedia
Hallam Leonard Movius was an American archaeologist most famous for his work on the palaeolithic period.
He was born in Newton, Massachusetts
and became a professor of archaeology at Harvard University
in 1930. Later he was also a curator at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
.
In 1948 he proposed the existence of a Movius Line
dividing the Acheulean
tool users of Europe, Africa and western Asia from the chopping tool
industries of East Asia.
He also studied the Perigordian
and Aurignacian
cultures of Palaeolithic France
, excavating at the rock shelter of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne
from 1958 to 1973.
He was born in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
and became a professor of archaeology at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1930. Later he was also a curator at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World ethnography and...
.
In 1948 he proposed the existence of a Movius Line
Movius Line
The Movius Line is a theoretical line drawn across northern India first proposed by the American archaeologist Hallam L. Movius in 1948 to demonstrate a technological difference between the early prehistoric tool technologies of the east and west of the Old World.Movius had noticed that assemblages...
dividing the Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
tool users of Europe, Africa and western Asia from the chopping tool
Chopping tool
In archaeology, a chopping tool is a form of prehistoric stone tool, considered to be a refinement of the earlier chopper.Unlike the crude chopper, the chopping tool is created by removing flakes from two sides of a lithic core...
industries of East Asia.
He also studied the Perigordian
Périgordian
Périgordian is a term for several distinct but related Upper Upper Palaeolithic cultures which are thought by some archaeologists to represent a contiguous tradition. It existed between c.35,000 BP and c.20,000 BP....
and Aurignacian
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted broadly within the period from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in terms of conventional radiocarbon dating, or between ca. 47,000 and 41,000 years ago in terms of the most...
cultures of Palaeolithic France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, excavating at the rock shelter of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
from 1958 to 1973.