The Cairn of Barnenez – prehistoric mausoleum – is constructed in Brittany, France
The Cairn de Barnenez (known also as Barnenez Mound or Barnenez Tumulus) is one of the oldest structures in the world that is still standing.
France
Humans invent the musical bow, the world’s first stringed instrument, perhaps in modern-day France
Dating to around c. 13,000 B.C.E., a cave painting in the Trois Frères cave in France depicts what some believe is a musical bow, a hunting bow used as a single-stringed musical instrument.
Neanderthals create world’s first string
A fragment of string discovered at a Neanderthal rock shelter in southeastern France — dating between 41,000 and 52,000 years ago — is the oldest known direct evidence of fiber technology in human history. Its construction reveals that Neanderthals understood tree seasonality, planned across multiple steps, and grasped basic numerical concepts, upending long-held assumptions about their cognitive abilities.
Châtelperronian culture flourishes in France
The Châtelperronian is a claimed industry of the Upper Palaeolithic that produced denticulate stone tools and also a distinctive flint knife with a single cutting edge and a blunt, curved back.