The Story of Tosny
PREHISTORY
The earliest evidence of human occupation in the territory of Tosny comes from the survey records of the Casier archéologique and from the Bulletin of the Norman Society for Prehistoric and Historical Studies. These documents report the research carried out by René Boinet, who noted the discovery of an exceptional Mousterian point made on a Levallois blade (1).
This artifact belongs to the Mousterian culture, a lithic industry characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic. In the context of Normandy, this period extends approximately from 350,000 to 35,000 years before present. As current knowledge stands, the discovery of this object constitutes the earliest confirmed evidence of human presence within the territory of the present-day new commune of Les Trois Lacs.
Technological analysis of the piece allows it to be attributed to the classic Mousterian, generally dated between about 200,000 and 40,000 years BCE. This technical tradition is notably characterized by the use of the Levallois flaking technique, which enabled the production of standardized flakes intended for the manufacture of retouched tools.
Comparison with archaeological research carried out in the neighboring territory of Venables, where eight prehistoric sites have been recorded, suggests that this point may indicate the passage of human groups during the Middle Paleolithic. These populations most likely belonged to the species Homo neanderthalensis, descended from the evolutionary lineage of Homo erectus.
Neanderthals were characterized by a robust, stocky morphology adapted to the cold climatic environments of the Pleistocene. Their skulls, elongated and relatively low in shape, differ clearly from those of Homo sapiens, which are more globular. Paleoanthropological studies also indicate that Neanderthals possessed an average brain volume slightly larger than that of modern humans, although their encephalization quotient was slightly lower.
It should nevertheless be noted that the geological configuration of the Tosny area, marked by the historical exploitation of sand and aggregate quarries, may have led to the destruction of archaeological layers. These extractive activities, carried out at a time when preventive archaeology procedures were not yet systematically implemented, likely resulted in the loss of potentially significant prehistoric remains.
From this perspective, a comprehensive geoarchaeological and archaeological study of the village’s soils would probably make it possible to better document the early phases of human occupation and to enhance our understanding of the local prehistory.