Eyzies-de-Tayac, Les
[key], or Les Eyzies, village, Dordogne dept., SW France, on
the Vézère River. Situated some 15 mi (24 km) SW of the
Lascaux caves (see Paleolithic art),
the village is in an area rich in prehistoric remains. The more than 100
archaeological sites nearby include the Cro-Magnon cave, which gave its name
to the human skulls dating from the Paleolithic period's Aurignacian
culture that were found (1868) there; the Combarelles, Grand Roc, and
Font-de-Gaum caverns, where Paleolithic paintings and carvings were
discovered (1901); Le Moustier cave, which yielded a human skeleton and
chipped flints and gave its name to the Mousterian culture associated with
Neanderthal man;
and La Madeleine rock shelter, whose tools and carvings defined the
characteristics of the Magdalenian culture. Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is home to
the National Museum of Prehistory,
which contains one of world's the finest collection of early European
artifacts.
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