It might sound like an exaggeration to say that all ancient rock structures originated from these rock formations in Brittany but studies suggest that the megalith building culture first started with this group of people in northwestern France. The Carnac structures are estimated to date back around 3300 BCE and as early as 4500 BCE.
The origins of the megalith builders have haunted Bettina Schulz Paulsson since she excavated her first megalithic monument in Portugal nearly 20 years ago. Early on, most anthropologists thought megaliths originated in the Near East or the Mediterranean, whereas many modern thinkers back the idea they were invented independently in five or six different regions around Europe. The major hurdle, she says, has been sorting through the mountains of archaeological data to find reliable dates for the 35,000 sites, including carved standing stones, tombs, and temples.
But what everyone said was impossible, Schulz Paulsson did. Sifting through mountains of data, she was able to pinpoint the earliest megaliths in Europe, the Carnac stones.
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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