Cro Magnon Shelter discovered in 1868
The Cro Magnon shelter is located in the village of Les Eyzies de Tayac Sireuil, on the banks of the Vézère.
This enclave is part of the Périgord Noir, a region inhabited since the Palaeolithic era.
For millennia, ancient peoples found refuge in the natural shelters and galleries carved out by the river.
One of them, the Cro Magnon shelter was discovered in 1868 during the construction of the Périgueux-Agen railway line. The name Cro Magnon comes from the Occitan word Cros, meaning ditch, hole, cavity.
Cro Magnon men
It contained three remarkably well-preserved human skeletons and the partial remains of two other individuals.
However, the unique feature of these skeletons was that they shared the same modern anatomical characteristics as us! They did indeed possess a large cranial capacity, a high forehead and long, robust limbs, which gave them a perfectly upright posture.
Cro-Magnon men settled in Périgord around 27,500 years ago, during the Upper Palaeolithic period. They are therefore our first direct ancestors, Homo sapiens sapiens!
An interesting fact is that one of the skeletons discovered in the Cro-Magnon rock shelter shows signs of a rare bone degeneration, which led archaeologists to nickname him Le Vieil Homme – The Old Man.
Cro Magnon Shelter and on-site museum
Indeed, the various artefacts, flint tools, and carved bones discovered around the skeletons allow us to date them to approximately 27,500 BC.
The Cro Magnon rock shelter is undoubtedly one of the most important prehistoric discoveries in France!
However, although open to the public, it was left abandoned for a long time. Indeed, it was hidden behind some village houses and wedged between ruined sheds until the creation of an on-site museum.
The Cro-Magnon Museum opened to the public on April 26, 2014.
We are pleased to present below the presentation and photos, which the museum provided us:
“The Cro-Magnon site at Les Eyzies de Tayac is a major place in the history of humanity.
In 1868, a necropolis containing the remains of five individuals was discovered under the Cro-Magnon rock shelter.
The thickness of the sediment layer covering it and the nature of the objects unearthed left no doubt about the antiquity of this discovery. This discovery, thus, played a decisive role, at the time, in understanding the myths and misconceptions about Prehistoric Humans. This topic was still being debated less than ten years after Darwin’s theory of evolution in 1859.
The skeletons of Cro-Magnon demonstrated that human beings, anatomically similar to us, lived at the same time as extinct specie, such as the mammoth. This discovery also showed that they were advanced enough to practice funerary rites.
A few years later, the Cro-Magnon “race” was created based on this discovery, and the name Cro Magnon has become world-famous.
Until recently, this major site in the history of humanity was somewhat neglected. Today, it has been cleared and redeveloped, with the addition of a museum and a nature discovery trail.”
Interactive visit and nature walk
“A fun and interactive site museum has been created to allow a wide audience to easily understand the archaeological importance of the place, the memory of its illustrious name, the latest research advances, and to get an idea of the daily life of these famous ancestors.
A holographic film, touchscreen kiosks and immersive scenography offer an interactive experience. The nature walk begins after the visit to the Cro Magnon shelter, the site of the discovery.
It then leads you to the viewpoint overlooking the Vézère valley, at the top of the cliff, where you can admire the beauty of the Dordogne forests.
Sound effects of prehistoric animals and information panels have been added. This walk will help you imagine the natural environment of Cro-Magnon man. The tour is entirely available in English.”
Department of Dordogne – Musée Abri Cro-Magnon – Les Eyzies de Tayac Sireuil – 2 Chemin de Cro-Magnon
Coordinates: Lat 44.940488 – Long 1.009634
Credits: Cro Magnon Museum text and related pictures are courtesy of and ©abri-cromagnon(dot)com – Edited by and for TravelFranceOnline
