Les Eyzies-de-Tayac : A crossroads of 
prehistory.
An ideal starting point for your journey, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, on the Dordogne River, is at the heart of an incredible number of prehistoric sites. Within a few miles radius, you can visit places whose names make prehistory lovers dream of : Les Combarelles, Lascaux, Le Moustier, La Madeleine... A real mine ( in all meanings of the word ! ). You must allow more than two weeks to go round it, and this, mind you, if you're well organized !
And remember to book in advance to get your tickets for some sites. Access to Les Combarelles, for instance, is limited to fifty visitors or so a day.
Rock shelters.
Geological characteristics, the rock shelters have allowed the preservation of prehistorical remains up to the present day. They made it possible for the earliest men to take shelter, to make fires without beeing smoked out and to create real workshops to make tools... All thes remains have been covered up due to the successive collapses of the calcareous cliffs.
How rock shelters were formed.
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1 – The birth of a shelter.
The calcareous cliff is composed of several more or less soft strata... an overdeepening forms at the level of the soft stratum. |
2- Hollowing out.
Under the effects of frost and thaw, the rock breaks up and the shelter gets hollower and hollower... Then men can take advantage of this natural shelter and set up a camp. |
3 – The collapse.
The rock forming the roof of the shelter collapses under its own weight... thus the sedimentary deposits and traces of human presence are naturally protected |
A selection of rock shelters to visit :
The area around Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is rich in rock shelters. From an educational point of view, all the sites are not equally accessible.
For a family outing, Hominides.com recommends L'Abri Pataud, easily accessible, well-documented and explained, and with a small museum which brings out the various remains found on the site.
In the same category, but less « explicit », Laugerie Basse will, however, allow the younger to enter an « open-air » cave and take an interest in prehistory.
Reserved for informed prehistory lovers, the visit of Laugerie Haute with a lecturer is a fascinating experience which makes it possible to visualize the stratigraphy from -24,000 down to -16.000 years.
In the
Cap Blanc shelter, open again to the public, you will discover a sculpture, more than 30 ft long, composed of horses and bisons.
Decorated caves.
How the caves were formed.
Rich in limestone, the subsoil of Périgord has also permitted many caves to form.
Limestone, naturally fissured, is run through by streams that, flowing down, excavate the rock thus forming galleries. Water, streaming down, deposits calcite progressively down the walls of the cave ( sometimes forming stalactites and stalagmites).
« Holy » caves.
Contrary to popular belief, caves have never been used as dwellings by prehistoric men.
At best, they used the « porches » of the caves as sheltered camps.
For unknown reasons, the first men ventured to the farthest ends of the caves to decorate them with various representations.
A selection of decorated caves to visit.
Of course, Lascaux comes first ! Just think of it : to visit Périgord and not Lascaux ! And for a very simple reason : Lascaux is the cave showing the greatest number of explicit representations.
Even if what you visit is only a facsimile, you'll be deeply moved just as well !
In less known Font-de-Gaume you'll also see multicololoured representations, sometimes contoured with carved lines. Bisons, horses and mammoths are among the most frequently represented.
In a different style, the Combarelles cave presents an impressive set of carvings stretching for almost 1,000 ft. Thus, every time you'll visit it, you'll discover new hidden representations !
| Dossier Visite du Périgord |
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A voir |
Grottes |
Abris sous roche |
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Suggested reading.
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Vous souhaitez visiter le Périgord et ses trésors préhistoriques ?
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La France Préhistorique
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Chemin de la Préhistoire en Périgord |
 Vous trouverez sur le site de l'Office du tourisme de Sarlat une sélection de lieux d'hébergements et des idées de visites...
Préparez votre visite, en surfant sur le site " Sarlat et le Périgord noir " et réservez directement votre hébergement sur Sarlat .
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Lavishly illustrated, a real guide to prepare your visit to Périgord, but all over France as well. Recently reprinted, the guide supplies the reader with a survey of our knowledge of prehistory.
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Dealing with the prehistoric sites in Périgord, this book will bring you all the necessary information, site after site. Shelters, caves, museums, anything you want to visit is explained, and well-documented. |
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