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Périgord

BRIGITTE AND GILLES DELLUC TOURISTIC GUIDE ALAIN ROUSSOT JULIA ROUSSOT-LARROQUE DISCOVERING Périgord Prehistory Brigitte and gilles delluc alain roussot Julia roussot-larroque

translated by angela caldwell and stanley l. olivier Dates GeoloGiCal types preHistoriCal pHases (BC) eras

– 0 metals

of

Ge a eolitHiC oloCene n – 5 000 H Temperate climate Temperate esolitHiC m – 10 000 (modern Man) Exploring Prehistory in Périgord

– 15 000 Wherever have lived, they have left , and weapons made of stone, ani- mal or metal, a few grams of , small pebbles and virtually invisible grains of plant pollen. However, these odds and ends would be of little importance if we could not sapiens

– 20 000 aleolitHiC breathe life back into them. p pper

u this is the work of the prehistorian (or protohistorian for periods closer to recorded ). To understand , you have to be able to distinguish between Christopher – 25 000 Columbus and Karl Marx, between Gutenberg and Napoleon Bonaparte. To understand prehistory and , you have to show a great deal of patience, advancing one step at a time along the paths of knowledge. Otherwise, it would be too easy to get lost.

– 30 000 leistoCene p It is, then, a succession of periods in prehistory that we invite you to explore with us,

– 40 000 pper u without travelling too far from Périgord since, with the exception of our oldest ancestors, – 50 000 people from every period of prehistory have lived here in turn. – 60 000 Riss-Würm glaciation and Würm glaciation Würm Riss-Würm glaciation and

– 70 000 Chatelperronian aleolitHiC p – 80 000 iDDle m

– 90 000 Homo neandertalensis

– 100 000

– 200 000

Mousterian

– 300 000 aleolitHiC p leistoCene p

– 400 000 ower l ower l Mindel-Riss and Riss

– 500 000 The dawn of time its name from a major site in which extensive reas dates within the protohistoric period tend traces of the period have been found. the site to follow the calendar i.e. B.P. or B.c. dates a few dizzying facts and figures: is then described as “eponymous” - aurignac obtained using the carbon 14 dating method • the earth was formed 4 billion ago. and the aurignacian Period, la gravette and are slightly more recent than the ones obtai- • life (in the form of small blue algae) the gravettian Period, and the ned using other methods and may sometimes appeared 2 billion years ago. Period etc. be subject to correction. • dinosaurs walked the earth 200 million years ago. Setting the date! • the first man appeared 2.5 million years ago chronology is calculated using a range of in . physical and chemical methods such as car- The famous “” in la Mouthe (les Eyzies) • Humans have only been living in Périgord bon 14 dating for items no more than 40,000 This painted and engraved outline, whose meaning is still unknown for 450,000 years. years old. the dates are indicated either as B.P. despite its name, is among the in La mouthe. when it was • the most distant ancestors of modern man, (before present), fixed by convention as 1950 discovered in 1895, the entrance to the decorated gallery was completely blocked by archaeological deposits left by several Homo sapiens, appeared 200,000 years ago a.d., or B.c. (before christ). For the Palaeoli- encampments during the early Palaeolithic era. This means that the in africa. thic era, dates are generally given as B.P. whe- drawings are older than the upper layers of deposits • Homo sapiens arrived in only 35,000 years ago. this was cro-Magnon man, res- ponsible for the cave paintings in

17,000 to 18,000 years ago. quite recently, Homo erectus in fact. Arrival in Europe (Dmanissi) The rst known man in France: Dividing up prehistoric periods geological periods are divided into eras – pri- mary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. one of the main features of the end of the tertiary era and the entire quaternary era is the pre- June sence of Man. three major periods succeeded May Tautavel in Africa April July each other during the quaternary era – the August (– 450 000) Palaeolithic (lower, Middle and upper) or March September carved , the neolithic or Polished October Febuary stone age and the ages of metals. each of November and HSA December these major periods is divided into a number January HSS of ages, usually reflecting the appearance of (– 50 000) the implements made by Man. each age took Cro-Magnon (– 25 000) Dessin Adrien Bonnamy

The calendars of the Palaeolithic Era 2.5 million years of compared to a reference father was photographed by his assistant, father andré Glory, in Laussel circa 1954. Let’s start on 1st January. The reference year begins with the firstfi rst , Homo habilis, who remained in aafricafrica until the end of June. Homo erectus was born in he was at the pinnacle of his career, a member of the institute and referred to as the “Pope of the middle of aapril,pril, also in aafrica.frica. These men reached the gateways to eeuropeurope and aasiasia early in mmay.ay. oonene of them, the pre-pre-neanderthalneanderthal Homo erectus from Prehistory”. he is thought to have made his first visit to Laussel on 15th april 1908, as part of the Tautavel in the Pyrénées-orientalesPyrénées-orientales who is the fifirst rst known man in ffrance,rance, livedlived atat thethe endend ofof ooctober.ctober. TheThe firstfi rst inhabitantsinhabitants inin PérigordPérigord werewere Homo erectus. These committee that came to decide whether or not the Solutrean was more recent than the people are known to have lived at this period although no traces of their skeletons have been found. allall that has been uncovered are traces of their encampments aurignacian. The committee carried out the same task, on the same day, in Le Ruth. father Breuil is and tools. inin mid-december,mid-december, Homo erectus dies out, replaced by neanderthalneanderthal manman and the oldest Homo sapiens. The fifirst rst examples of modern man, our direct also famous for having defined the six subdivisions of the magdalenian era ancestors, do not reach francefrance until Christmas day.day. They are Homo sapiens sapiens, or Cro-magnonCro-magnon manman as they are usually called. Périgord has a large number of traces of neanderthalneanderthal and Cro-magnonCro-magnon manman – skeletons, encampments, tools and works of art. Using our scale, history,history, which came into being with the invention of writing, began on newnew Year’s eve,eve, 31st december,december, in the late morning 4 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY The dawn of TTimeime 5 Successive prototypes same primitive characteristics but his brain was Homo sapiens larger (1,000 to 1,200 cubic centimetres, two- the last and most recent in this lineage was Men and apes have a common ancestor. Man developed from a thirds the size of ours). endocasts taken of the Homo sapiens, also known as cro-Magnon slow evolutionary process which became individualised some 7 to 8 inside of skulls show that these humans had an Man, who appeared here some 30,000 to million years ago. This was when some distant ancestors appeared, articulate . the oldest skeleton found 35,000 years ago. cro-Magnons were every in Africa. in France was a Homo erectus who lived in the bit as human as we are, no more attractive or in tautavel at the eastern end of the intelligent than we are today. of course, they the Hominids of the tertiary era were small Pyrenees. these humans discovered the use of were hunter-gatherers and they did not have with poorly developed brains but the ability fire some 400,000 years ago.t hey lived in our cultural knowledge but they were able to to walk upright. they were followed by aus- made of branches, as they did in terra amata, produce a range of tools using blades fashio- tralopithecus from south and . one near the port of nice. apart from flints, their ned from large pieces of fl int, make objects of them, who is 3.5 million years old, has be- tools consisted of little more than a single out of bone or antlers, and create wea- come quite a celebrity. Her name is and but it is very ingenious. it is a biface, or hand pons for . they learned to sew. they she was named after one of the Beatles’ songs. ax, a more or less flat, oval or almond-shaped made and bric-a-brac. they inven- piece of flint.i t was used for hitting, cutting and ted drawing, engraving and painting on rocks Homo habilis spiking. in fact, it was an all-purpose tool. like and on cave walls. they sculpted and model- Man the first human was Homo habilis, or “skilful Habilis before him, Erectus was also a hunter. led small statuettes. theirs was the upper Pa- This is not the skull of one of our direct ancestors; it is the skull of a neanderthal man. he lived in the Les eyzies area some 40,000 years ago. The skull was discovered in La ferrassie, with a dozen man”. He produced stone tools and lived by over this long period, the climate consisted of laeolithic era. others of adults and children. The are descendents of the Homo erectus who came hunting small easily captured (lizards, alternating cycles of cold and hot weather. the from africa some one million years ago. approximately 30,000 years ago, they coexisted with Homo small birds) and gathering berries etc. He made last examples of Homo erectus lived in la Mi- sapiens – 1% to 4% of the genetic makeup of european and asian Homo sapiens comes from a few stone tools that were used to cut, scrape, coque at les eyzies. they were the first people neanderthal man hammer and dig. this “skilful man” was small to live in Périgord, almost half-a-million years in stature (under 1.50 metres) with a fairly ago, but no skeletons have yet been uncovered. small brain (650 cubic centimetres, only half they lived here in the lower Palaeolithic era. as large as ours) but his morphology proves that he walked upright and his teeth resemble Neanderthal Man (Homo neanderthalensis) ours more than they do those of apes. He had the descendents of Erectus were somewhat no forehead but possessed a heavy brow ridge rustic but very strong individuals. at 1.60 and his jaw was strong. He had no chin. Homo metres, they were slightly taller with a very habilis’ language is believed to have been very large brain (1,500 and even 1,600 cubic cen- basic and his skin colour is, of course, un- timetres instead of 1,000), a -developed known. this group of hominids appeared in occiput, a sloping forehead, prominent brows Cro-Magnon Man eastern and southern africa 2.5 million years but no chin. these were the neanderthals who This skull belongs to the most famous of our direct ancestors and it ago and they are known to have stayed there for lived in Périgord between 100,000 years and is approximately 27,000 years old. This Homo sapiens is one of the some one million years. 30,000 years B.P. they were by no means fi ve people discovered in 1868 in the small Cro-magnon rock brutes. in fact, they perfected their stone tools, in Les eyzies. Called “the old man”, he was probably no more than 50 years old but that was a good age in those days. This type of Homo erectus showed a liking for colour and collections, human, who resembles us, did not appear fi rst in the Les eyzies these hominids succeeded Habilis almost 2 mil- and buried their dead in rock shelters like the region. he is known to have had ancestors in the near east 100,000 lion years ago in africa and spread into europe one in la Ferrassie or in like the one at years ago and even in 200,000 years ago and asia. Homo erectus was slightly taller than la chapelle-aux-saints in corrèze. they lived his ancestors. His skull retained more or less the in the Middle Palaeolithic era.

6 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY SSUCCeSSiveUCCeSSive PRPRoToTYPeSoToTYPeS 7 migrations on average), reminiscent of present-day scan- Some 20,000 to 25,000 Prehistoric Man’s dinavia with typical periglacial flora and fauna years ago, Les eyzies in tundra dotted with more or less dense tree underwent a period of environment growth. during these cold spells, however, the intense cold, the last ice age. Reindeer were well Over these hundreds of thousands of years, the climate varied. climate varied depending on altitude and lati- adapted to the cold and There were at least four long periods of extreme cold known as ice tude, proximity to the sea or mountains and also they would migrate over ages, separated by periods of warming, the periods. the years and centuries. a small rise in tempera- huge distances depending on the season. These were ture produced a marshland forest of alders, birch the days of , and pines, a taiga. a few more degrees and the woolly and musk Hot and cold climate resembled our own, not unlike the in- oxen. They were actively the last two ice ages are named after the riss terstadial of lascaux, 17,000 to 18,000 years hunted because reindeer filled the larders, toolboxes (300,000 to 125,000 B.P.) and Würm (115,000 ago. the flora and fauna changed accordingly. and jewellery boxes of to 10,000 B.P), two tributaries of the danube neanderthals and cro-Magnons lived Cro-magnons (drawing by in which the glaciers of the river basin were through the Würm glaciation but it would be eric Guerrier, Le Pataud museum). man, studied. a mistake to imagine them living on pack ice though, did not feed solely during the last of the ice ages, the climate among polar bears, suffering through blizzards on reindeer. humans were was much colder than it is today (5 °c cooler, and long polar nights. they were not inuits. omnivorous

it is the study of bones (large herbi- were places of worship, underground sanctua- vores, small and birds), plant pol- ries. some of the caves, like the one in saint- lens, wood and mineral sediment that allows cirq, are fairly close to the surface but most us to reconstruct the climate. of them are deep underground and sometimes difficult to access e.g. Font-de-gaume, las- opposite page Countless caves caux, , Bernifal, Bara-Bahau Cold and heat there are numerous caves in the and Villars in ; Pech-Merle and cou- The ice of a very cold winter turns the natural areas of Périgord. the rock contains natural fis- gnac in lot; chauvet in ardèche; niaux in environment white at the sures in the form of diaclases (vertical cracks) ariège and altamira in . foot of a cliff in Les eyzies or stratification joints (horizontal cracks) that a few of them are vast, running over a dis- while, in the foreground, have been widened by underground streams tance of several miles. one such is the cave the heat of the sun reveals recent work in the field. The which gouge out galleries, some wide, some in rouffignac which visitors tour on board a same image, in fact, narrow. these passages were later partially small electric train. reflects the chill filled in with clay soil and concretions temperatures of the Reindeer age and the (, , flows etc.). for prehistoric hunter-gatherers transition into the milder Man used cave mouths as homes, or as the Very early in human development, Man built temperate days of the last resting-place of the deceased. cro-Ma- – huts with frames made from branches farming age. during the gnons, especially from the lascaux period (or even from the tusks of mammoths in the great würm glaciation, the mean temperature was 5°C lower onwards (17,000 or 18,000 years ago), pus- plains of ) covered with hides and carpe- than it is today. The climate hed deep into the galleries and passageways ted with furs. these homes were either erected was harsh but not polar where, by the flickering light of tallow lamps, in the open, or beneath the overhang of a cliff they painted the walls. these decorated caves forming a rock-shelter, or at the mouth of a cave.

8 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY PRehiehiSTSToRiC man’an’S enviRonmenonmenT 9 A wiDE RANgE of ANiMAlS „„ Like plants, wildlife also varies with the climate. during very cold periods, musk oxen, mammoths and , reindeer, wolves and certain small animals (such as lemmings, hares and polar foxes, ptarmigan and snowy owls) all thrive in a landscape filled with typical flora. forests, especially deciduous woodland, recede, leaving only mosses and lichens during the very coldest periods, with a few copses of willows and dwarf birch. „„ when the climate warms slightly, elk, , reindeer, mammoths and woolly rhinoceros graze beneath the trees while huge herds of reindeer, horses and aurochs roam the wide open spaces during massive, regular periods of migration. ibexes and leap from rock to boulder, having not yet sought refuge in the high mountain ranges. felines hunt mainly at night and bears retire to caves to hibernate, drop their cubs or die. during the mousterian era, there were cave bears; in the days of Cro-magnon man, there were brown bears. „„ what happened when the climate heated up a little more? Temperate forest appeared, with oaks, hazels, pines, juniper and sometimes even walnut trees. Between the woodland were meadows full of hares, aurochs, stags and hinds, roe deer, wild boar and the of small animals (birds and small mammals) that we still see around us today.

a degree of envy, they made weapons to de- opposite fend themsevles against other men, and built Chamber of Paintings the first fortifications. By convention, Julius dordogne has thousands of caesar’s conquest of gaul in 52 B.c. marks caves and several dozen of the end of the prehistoric period and the be- them were decorated ginning of the great history of France and its during the Palaeolithic era. Sometimes, they are people. difficult to access. Lascaux is superb, with its walls coated in an immaculate veil of calcite, and it was undoubtedly selected as the site of an exceptional sanctuary. Palaeolithic cro-Magnon Man sometimes had huts in fisherman, living off the land without farming The first farmers man, though, did not live in dark, humid caves that the open with paved flooring, as was the case or breeding livestock. People led a semi-no- their successors some 12,000 years B.c. lived would quickly fill with in the lower Valley. contrary to legend, madic life, settling briefly in one area then in a milder climate and huge herds of reindeer smoke these people never actually lived in dark, moving on in search of game, following the headed northwards again. during the neo- damp caves which would quickly fill with migration of reindeer and the course of sal- lithic and metal ages, Man liked to settle in smoke. they did, however, venture inside, so- mon swimming up rivers. rock shelters, at cave mouths or in the open metimes over a considerable distance, to paint For 100,000 years, they buried some of their air. they buried their dead beneath and engrave pictures on the cave walls. dead, sometimes in rock shelters near their then in burial caves. since crop and animal at that time, Man was a hunter-gatherer and homes. farming, metalworking and ceramics aroused

10 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY PRehiehiSTSToRiC man’an’S enviRonmenonmenT 11 Two great names 1874. Founding of the Société historique et Teacher denis Peyrony Dates and people (centre) and father henri archéologique du Périgord (Périgord historical Breuil (right) were the two Prehistory proceeded by trial and error for nearly two centuries be- and archaeological society). it has published great names in Prehistory fore becoming recognized as a true science. Today, it is taught in countless works on the region’s prehistory in the vézère area in the our universities. Several dates will illustrate the principal steps along right up to the present day. early 20th century. They it was who undertook the path to progress from the early 19th century, a time when the 1888. Maurice Féaux and Michel Hardy dug meticulous studies of large very of humankind had not yet been recognized. up a Magdalenian skeleton just outside the sites and the great small cave near . nu- decorated caves. here, on 15th april 1908, they can A fossilised floor. hardened by infiltrations of water with a high lime merous mobile works of art were also disco- A historic excursion be seen in Le Ruth near Le content, the archaeological layer in the Richard Cave could be cut into when edouard Lartet and The precursors vered there. moustier in the company of blocks and slabs. Lartet and Christy sent samples to several museums. henry Christy arrived in e. Cartailhac (left). They 1810-1816. a professor and occasional let- This “breach” in the Richard Cave contained flints worked by humans, the days of Peyrony and Breuil Les eyzies in august 1863, have just checked that the ter-press printer, François Jouannet, explored pebbles, the bones of animals that the inhabitants had hunted and during the second half of the 19th century, they headed straight for aurignacian era preceded eaten (mainly reindeer) and, sometimes, by chance, small stone or this small opening known Écornebœuf, which overlooks the town of several archaeologists excavated known sites the Solutrean, a fact that bone artefacts decorated with engravings (Périgueux museum) as the Richard Cave. it was Périgueux and the ancient “city” of Vésone. and discovered still others. gradually, a more had previously been there that a fragment of an there he found flint , and flaked exact chronology of prehistoric periods was contested by Gabriel de archaeological layer had polished which were attributed to the 1847-1860. the publication of Les Antiquités developed (by e. lartet, gabriel de Mortillet, mortillet, author of the first been found. its inclusion chronology of prehistoric in an exhibition in Paris in ancient gauls at that time. He then explored celtiques et antédiluviennes, (“celtic and an- and edouard Piette). However, the research times. This marked a victory 1862 had encouraged them the Pech de l’aze cave near sarlat and combe tediluvian antiquites”) by Jacques Boucher de was often too hasty and poorly-organised; in the “Battle of the to make the trip. Located aurignacian” in the cliff overlooking the grenal cave near domme, finding large quan- Perthes marked the official coming-of-age of many sites were damaged for ever. it was not tites of worked flints and animal bones. Prehistory thanks to the geological, palaeon- until the 20th century that digs were properly Beune valley, this small cave A few years before the in Les eyzies was lived in for 1834. discussing the Badegoule cave near le tological and archaeological discoveries made conducted, notably by denis Peyrony. it was great war a short period during the lardin, Jouannet suggested the existence of a in the abbeville region in somme. also at this time that Palaeolithic cave art be- in 1908, a learned doctor Solutrean but was a more Worked stone age that predated the Polished 1863-1864. Édouard lartet, a magistrate in came known and acknowledged, thanks to the from Bordeaux named G. important settlement in the Lalanne had his workmen Upper magdalenian stone and Bronze ages. south-Western France, and english industria- work and writings of Father Henri Breuil. conduct a huge dig under list Henry christy, lartet’s friend and patron, 1895. engravings and paintings were discove- the Laussel rock shelter 6 arrived in les eyzies in august 1863. For seve- red in la Mouthe cave in les eyzies. it was the kilometres from Les eyzies, ral months, they walked along the banks of the first decorated cave discovered in the Périgord, in the Beune valley. This view of the archaeological Vézère and explored some of the most pres- and the third in europe as a whole, after alta- dig, taken circa 1911-1912, tigious sites: the richard cave in les eyzies, mira in spain and the chabot cave in gard. speaks volumes. however, gorge d’enfer (one of its rock shelters now 1901. on 8th september, louis capitan, Hen- other archaeologists, notably d. Peyrony, bears lartet’s name), laugerie-Basse, lauge- ri Breuil and denis Peyrony were exploring conducted more scrupulous rie-Haute, la Madeleine, le Moustier etc. this the cave at les combarelles when they found 1908. a swiss archaeologist, otto Hauser, and more meticulous digs period saw the beginning of intensive digs in some engravings on the walls. Four days later, who was making money from the sites in Péri- at that time the region. d. Peyrony found paintings and engravings in gord, uncovered a neanderthal skeleton in le 1868. several human skeletons were found Font-de-gaume. Following on from the disco- Moustier and immediately sold it to the during roadworks, with a number of auri- veries made at la Mouthe, these two signifi- Museum. gnacian flints, at a small cro-Magnon rock cant finds contributed to the official recogni- 1909. d. Peyrony, who had been exploring la shelter in les eyzies, near the railway station. tion of the age of cave art which, until then, Ferrassie since 1902, found the first of many in 1874, armand de quatrefages and ernest- had been contested by certain archaeologists. Mousterian human burials. significant deposits théodore Hamy used these skeletons to define in the following year, d. Peyrony discovered dating from the upper Palaeolithic era would a new race – cro-Magnon man. the Bernifal cave and its engravings. continue to be uncovered there until 1921.

12 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY daTeS and PeoeoPLPLe 13 Modern times digs became more precise and the increased popularity of led to the discovery of some superb decorated caves. 1940. discovery of the lascaux cave by Mar- cel ravidat and his three friends. the cave was immediately authenticated by Father Breuil. extensive work on the interior allowed the cave to be opened to the public in 1948. 1941. 27th september. a law was passed to regulate archaeological digs, during the time of the Vichy government. it was not validated until 1945. after that, digs required authorisa- Speleologists. at the end of the Second world war, potholing became Modern digs in the Pataud cave. from 1953 to 1964, an american team under tion from the state. increasingly popular, leading to the discovery of numerous decorated caves. The hallam movius, Professor at the University of harvard, conducted some methodical Spéléo-Club de Périgueux notified the authorities of drawings in the cave in digs in one of the few intact sites in Les eyzies. from the explored section of this la Mouthe: the bison 1909. the excavation at the cap Blanc rock 1952-1963. Father andré glory traced the Rouffignac, in particular the Rhinoceros frieze which it photographed in 1948 major site, he dug up two million objects (human and animal bones, flint and bone This engraving of a bison shelter in Marquay revealed an animal frieze 1,500 engravings in lascaux and carried out when camping in the cave. The prehistorian responsible for the cave said the tools, knapping waste, objets d’art and jewellery etc.). Pollens and charcoal enabled was the first such carved on the walls. it was the first time car- digs in the Well in 1960-1961. paintings had been done by members of the french Resistance movement. They him to date some forty successive periods of occupation and specify the decoration noticed on 11th were not officially recognised as the work of prehistoric artists until 1956 corresponding climatic conditions april 1895 by G. vings had been found in a cave. 1952. Publication of Father Breuil’s Quatre Berthoumeyrou after the 1910-1913. d. Peyrony undertook a state-fun- cents siècles d’art pariétal (Four hundred cen- entrance to the gallery had ded dig in la Madeleine. turies of cave art). 1959. Henri delporte conducted a dig at the (by claude Barrière, Brigitte et gilles delluc, been cleared. it is located more than 100 metres from 1911-1912. Bas-reliefs of human beings were 1952. discovery of prehistoric engravings in Facteur rock shelter and uncovered a female alain roussot), and new digs or the relaunch the mouth on the wall of a discovered in the laussel rock shelter. a car- the cave in saint-cirq. statuette dating from the gravettian. of earlier digs such as the one at la Ferrassie small chamber, and is ving of a fish was observed on the roof of a 1953-1964. Hallam l. Movius explored a ma- 1963. lascaux cave was closed to the public by H. delporte (1968-1973), le Flageolet by surrounded by 9 other rock shelter at gorge d’enfer in les eyzies. jor aurignacian and gravettian site in Pataud after natural changes to the interior threatened J.-Ph. rigaud (1960-1984) and the castanet bison, 2 mountain goats and a stag, as well as 1913. 31st december. a law was passed to and it became the benchmark for this period. the existence of the paintings. rock shelter by randall White since 1994 etc. various other markings. The protect historic monuments, including all the dig was taken up again in 2005 by lau- 1965. Publication of Préhistoire de l’art occi- style of the figures dates present and future prehistoric sites. the same rent chiotti and roland nespoulet (from the dental (Prehistory of Western art) by andré le- them from the early magdalenian; they still year, at Peyrony’s suggestion, the government Muséum national d’histoire naturelle). roi-gourhan. A new decorated cave have some archaic features. bought the ruins of the château des eyzies for 1953-1965. François Bordes conducted a dig 1967. F. Bordes conducted a dig at le Pech in Upper Périgord The horns are shown use as a museum. the first exhibition opened at , a major acheulean and de l’aze (where he had first worked in 1948). having observed a column of steam rising from rock, almost from the front and it in 1918, and the museum was officially inau- Mousterian site. 1969-1981. Jean-Philippe rigaud conducted is clear that the horns of the members of the prehistoric bison were gurated in 1923. 1956. led by charles Plassard, louis-re- a dig at the Vaufrey cave near domme. Spéléo-Club de Périgueux much longer than those of 1921-1935. d. Peyrony conducted a dig at né nougier and romain robert, archaeolo- 1984. Publication of F. Bordes’ Leçons sur le uncovered the entrance to their modern counterparts. laugerie-Haute. this major site enabled the gists discovered prehistoric drawings in the Paléolithique (lessons on the Palaeolithic). the vast, superb villars Cave The cave contains countless in 1953. in 1958, they experts to establish an exact chronology for which had first been repor- 2000. the cussac cave was discovered by spe- other engravings discovered the drawings several phases in the upper Palaeolithic era. ted by 1948 by the spéléo-club de Périgueux leologist, Marc delluc. decorating the walls. The 1931 and 1933. twenty-seven bronze axes (pot-holing club). these are the main dates that have marked cave soon attracted the were discovered nearby. they were listed in 1958. Prehistoric paintings were found in the the history of research in Périgord. to them attention of prehistorians h. Breuil, a. Glory, f. Bordes 1943. Villars cave by the spéléo-club de Périgueux should be added many other discoveries of and (here) a. Leroi- and a. glory. cave art, methodic studies of decorated caves Gourhan

14 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY daTeS and PeoeoPLPLe 15 The Early Palaeolithic acheulean, clactonian (as defi ned in clac- ☛☛La☛Micoque ton-on-sea in england), which is equivalent this famous site, which opens in a south-wes- It is diffi cult to specify when the fi rst humans settled in Périgord. to the tayacian described by Peyrony at la terly direction, is located on the right bank The discovery of primitive-looking tools in very old alluvial deposits Micoque, Micoquian (which is an offshoot of of a stream called the Manaurie, 500 metres has occurred here and there by chance, especially in the Isle valley. Final acheulean also found at la Micoque), above its confl uence with the Vézère, just and others. upriver from laugerie-Haute. it is not a rock- the controlled use of fi re dates from the shelter, but rather an open-air site at the base it was not until the third period of glaciation – acheulean period. We know this because of of a small limestone cliff about fi fteen metres The all-purpose tool a biface is a block of fl int, called riss – that real settlement sites existed the many organised, structured fi re pits disco- above the present course of the stream and its or sometimes a pebble in this region, at Pech de l’aze, la Micoque, vered by F. Bordes at le Pech de l’aze. bank of river pebbles. or a large piece of stone, and at grotte Vaufrey where lower strata date in Périgord, no human remains have been discovered in 1895 by e. rivière, the site retouched on both sides. to 450,000 years ago. these layers contain in- recovered from this period. there were not yet was excavated indiscriminately by several its tip is more or less pointed and the opposite dustries characterized by bifaces – stone tools any organised grave sites. However, the tauta- archaeologists, then intensively by o. Hau- end, the heel, is more or worked on both faces – and tools made using vel cave in Pyrénées-orientales, has yielded ser between 1906 and 1914. He it was who less rounded. The earliest retouched fl akes such as points, scrapers, not- numerous human bones, including a large coined the name “Micoquian” in 1916 to des- A very old settlement in la Micoque bifaces were used in africa ched tools, backed , etc. these industries number of skulls mixed with worked tools and cribe an peculiar to this site. this term for more than 200,000 years, various acheulian groups lived on the banks of the manaurie in very ancient periods. in stream a short distance from the vézère, at the foot and in front of a small rocky escarpment. europe, they are typical bear the name acheulean (from saint-acheul animal bones. these were the bones of pre- was used again by H. Breuil, following digs by The archaeological layers are superimposed to a depth of almost 10 metres and the last one, of the early Palaeolithic on the outskirts of amiens in the somme valley neanderthal Homo erectus. d. Peyrony between 1929 and 1932, after the from the Late acheulian, contained elongated bifaces with fi nely-retouched tips and slightly and mousterian and their where they were fi rst defi ned in 1872). Man had already acquired a taste for the site had been purchased by the state. concave edges. They were referred to as “micoquian bifaces” shapes vary from one era to another. They also diff er several varieties of acheulean industries beautiful by the acheulean period. some of in 1956, Bordes conducted a test dig at la Mi- in size and may have been are defi ned on the basis of distinctive shapes the bifaces show high-quality craftsmanship coque. in 1969, H. laville and Jean-Philippe used to break bones, cut of bifaces, the presence or proportions of and regularity in form, suggesting that the rigaud completed a detailed stratigraphic ☛☛Le☛Pech☛de☛L’aZe branches or perhaps scrape certain tools, and the knapping technique craftsman went beyond the need to merely study, and in 1983 a multi-disciplinary team Between sarlat and carsac, a road and a dis- skins. They had no handles used. acheulean variants include southern create an effi cient tool. of researchers conducted an in-depth study of used railroad track follow the small Font de this period ended some 100,000 years ago. the site. Farge valley. there are four prehistoric sites the stratigraphic data from la Micoque is im- at the foot of a limestone outcrop that crowns portant, since the six successive acheulian Pech de l’aze hill (it means “donkey Hill” in occupations there correspond to the riss and the local vernacular). early Würm glaciations. Pech i and ii are located at the two extremi- the top layer of the site contains Micoquian ties of a 70-metre cave which passes through a industries (Final acheulean) characterized by limestone outcrop. the fi rst entrance is of his- elongated bifaces with wide bases, fi ne points, toric importance because it was probably the and slightly concave edges. recent digs have fi rst prehistoric site to be explored in Périgord not found any more Micoquian items. (by Jouannet in 1815). in the 1818 issue of the ˆ the exterior of the site is open to the public. Calendrier du département de La Dordogne, For a guided tour, book at the visitors centre he expressed his amazement at the bones that in Font-de-gaume: tel. +33 (0) 553 068 600; had accumulated in the cave together with email: [email protected] small fragments of black fl int. later, a number of archaeologists visited the cave including lartet and christy in 1863. More recent digs were undertaken by Peyro- (Contd. on p. 19)

16 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY The eaRLY PaLaeoLiThiC 17 The Middle Palaeolithic Bourgon. the Mousterian consists of a com- ny in 1908, by rené Vaufrey in 1929, and by plex industrial period with several distinct François Bordes and M. Bourgon in 1948 and At the end of the Riss glaciation, industries diversifi ed and pointed aspects distinguished by their and 1951. the latter two discovered the second en- the way to the Mousterian period. typology. Bordes defi ned fi ve major groups. trance to the cave or Pech ii. From then on, cordiform or triangular bifaces were still pre- Bordes dedicated several years to the dig in the Mousterian, the days of neanderthal Man, sent in some places (Mousterian of acheulean Pech de l’aze, exploring a small nearby cave developed during the riss-Würm intergla- tradition). a range of tools was made from (Pech iii), and discovering a vast collapsed Typical tools cial period and early Würm glaciation, some fl akes including more than sixty, well-defi ned, rock-shelter, Pech iV, 100 metres downstream Bifaces, points and scrapers 115,000 to 35,000 years ago. it was disco- more developed types. Points and above all (the dig has been directed by Harold dibble are the three “benchmark ” of the mousterian vered in 1863-64 by lartet and christy at le scrapers were the most characteristic. since 2000). but some sixty other types Moustier. in 1869, g. de Mortillet proposed to a means of knapping known as the levallois the entire complex made a major contribution of tools have been name comparable industries “Moustier types” technique was developed in the acheulean. to a deeper understanding of the lower and described. in addition to fl int, hyaline quartz (rock and in 1872 he called the corresponding pe- this procedure consisted of shaping a block Middle Palaeolithic in the region, from the crystal) was sometimes riod the “Mousterian”. of raw material (a core), such that a fl ake of acheulian of the Mindel-riss interglacial pe- worked, as it was here in the Moustier site was explored more tho- predetermined shape could be detached, then riod to the Mousterian at the beginning of the Laussel. at the bottom right roughly in the early 20th century by Peyrony, possibly altered to make a tool. Würm glaciation. over such a long timespan, is a Levallois core (aquitaine museum, and its industries were studied more closely neanderthal Man occupied much of Péri- the climate, fauna, and flora varied with the Bordeaux) around 1950 by François Bordes and Maurice gord at that time, often living outdoors on the climate, which fluctuated from warm periods to cold or extremely cold periods when there was a good supply of reindeer. Pech ii contained dug into the ground, some of them surrounded by fire-reddened stones, proving that Man knew how to make fire during thea cheulian period. several scraped chunks of iron oxide and magnesium oxide were recovered from Mous- A complex dig terian strata. some of them were even cut into Just 100 metres from the Pech i and Pech ii cave, Pech de l’aze iv is a major mousterian site in the form of a bank of earth up against a wall of rock. it was discovered and explored by f. Bordes a “pencil” shape. in one of the strata, Peyrony (centre of the photograph) who uncovered more than twenty archaeological layers, some of them and capitan also discovered a single, crushed subdivided into several levels. on a site like this one, it is difficult to dig in the same layer over the skull of a four-year-old child. entire area. Because of this, the dig is conducted one square metre at a time and the data carefully ˆ the sarlat-carsac cycle path 5 kilometres recorded so that they can then be collated on plans and elevations, layer by layer from sarlat on the sarlat-gourdon road passes both entrances to the cave. constant, a resident of the small hamlet of ré- gourdou, had been assisting Father a. glory for several years in his studies of lascaux. He had ☛☛Le☛RégouRdou even provided Father glory with board and the discovery of the site and of the Mousterian lodging for a while. r. constant was convinced grave in le régourdou was amusing, to say the that there was another entrance to the lascaux least. some five hundred metres froml ascaux, cave, in addition to the one already known on the edge of the plateau overlooking the Vé- about (which was indeed the prehistoric en- zère valley and the town of Montignac, roger trance). He began extensive excavations in (Contd. on p. 20)

18 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY The middLemiddLe PaLaeoLiThiCPaLaeoLiThiC 19 le Moustier front of his small farm. He did sharply criticised by a. leroi-gourhan. car- Le moustier lies at the not find the entrance to las- bon dating gave an age of some 45,000 years. confluence of thev imont valley and the vézère, on caux but he did find a Mouste- the right bank of the river. rian site and a human grave in The houses in the village september 1957. ☛☛Le☛MoustieR are built on rocky terraces the régourdou site (visible on the small village of le Moustier is flanked by in the limestone at the corner of the two valleys. the spot) is actually a vast rock the bayonette-shaped course of the river Vé- Two superimposed rock shelter whose roof collapsed zère as it flows past the superb cliff known as shelters have been explored onto the archaeological la roque-saint-christophe and through the here since 1863 and the contents. Following a chance Vimont Valley that runs down from Plazac industries have been recognised as typical of the discovery in 1957, the dig was further north. there is a limestone promontory mousterian entrusted to two prehistorians, here broken up by terraces and shelters set eugène Bonifay and Bernard one above the other, and topped by a shallow Stratigraphic sequence Vandermeersch, who worked cave called “le trou du Bréchou”. in le Moustier from 1961 to 1965. once the classic rock shelter halfway up the cliff Some of the filling from the the rubble from the overhang was explored in 1863-1864 by e. lartet and lower shelter has been A strong jawbone was cleared, they found several levels of oc- H. christy. it was this rock-shelter that later preserved and, today, a Several items were mould of the layers uncovered in the cupation containing quina-type Mousterian gave its name to the Mousterian period and in- displayed on the site shows neanderthal burial site in artefacts, mainly scrapers with flaked retouch dustry. ten metres lower, a second rock-shelter the superposition of several Le Régourdou, in particular that dated back to the beginning of the Würm was excavated in the early 20th century, first layers from the mousterian, topped by two layers from upper limbs, the spine and glaciation. by o. Hauser in 1907 then by d. Peyrony after the sternum, all of them the Upper Palaeolithic very well preserved. The the human burial was in a shallow pit, care- the French government purchased the site in M. Bourgon and d. Peyrony in 1905 followed ˆ the exterior of the site is open to the public. (aurignacian then skull and lower limbs have fully capped by a flagstone and surrounded 1910. by d. Peyrony in 1910. information was also For a guided tour, book at the visitors centre Châtelperronian). The site disappeared. however, the by a small wall of rubble. the body lay on unfortunately for French archaeology, it was provided by the study of industries undertaken in Font-de-gaume: tel. +33 (0) 553 068 600; was occupied between splendid jawbone is 50,000 and 70,000 and impressive for its its left side, the head facing north, with the Hauser who, in august 1908, discovered the by F. Bordes and the observations of layers of email: [email protected]. 32,000 years ago proportions and the quality knees bent under the chin and the hands rai- skeleton of a very young neanderthal lad rock and sediment made by H. laville and J.- approximately of the teeth (Périgueux sed towards the head. a fairly large limestone which he named Homo mousteriensis hauseri. Ph. rigaud in 1969. museum) flagstone covered the trunk, while stone blocks the remains were sold, at a high price, to the the Mousterian occupation occurred in the and sand covered the rest of the burial. all that Berlin Museum where the skull was put back first two stages of the Würm glaciation and now remains of the skeleton is a far from ne- together at least four times, never with any suc- was followed by brief occupations in the cha- gligible number of bones in good condition, cess. it was believed that the skull had been telperronian and aurignacian at a time when including the sternum. unfortunately the skull smashed by bombs during the second World the two rock-shelters were nearly completely has disappeared but the impressively strong War but it reappeared a few years later in a la- filled. at all these times, the accommodation jaw has survived, with all its teeth, intact and boratory in iena, in the former east . it extended well beyond the rocky overhang. scarcely worn down (Périgord Museum of art might well be studied in greater detail one day, d. Peyrony, and more especially F. Bordes, de- and archaeology, Périgueux). but no reliable information is available on the fined several types of industries inl e adjacent to this human burial, there were also burial site itself. Moustier characterized by tool types and their dry stone structures containing the skulls and However, we do know something about the proportions compared to the tools as a whole. bones of brown bears. a bear cult was sugges- human occupation of the upper shelter, and the different shapes do not seem to correspond ted at one time, based on earlier discoveries even more about the people who lived in the to different populations but rather to varying in swiss and italian caves, but the idea was lower shelter, thanks to the digs conducted by activities.

20 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY The middiddLe PaLaeoaeoLiThihiC 21 Cultural sites (other than caves and prehistoric rock shelters)

Beynac · Archaeological park the everyday life of farmers and metalworkers from the stone age The international to the days of the ancient gauls. tel. +33 (0) Prehistory Centre (“PiP”) in 553 29 50 40. Les eyzies, whose resolutely Bordeaux · Musée d’Aquitaine Bas-reliefs of hu- modern architecture forms man figures froml aussel. sculpted bison from a beautiful contrast to the cliff above it, is very cap Blanc. large series of collections from The Prehistoparc in Tursac: one of the scenes from prehistory. attractively laid out sites in Périgord. tel. 05 56 01 51 00. men hunting a trapped in a pit

Brantôme · Musée Fernand-Desmoulin Prehistoric collection of industries and art objects from . tel. +33 (0) 553 05 80 63. The national Prehistory Les Eyzies-de-Tayac · Musée national de Préhistoire museum in Les eyzies-de-Tayac the national museum of prehistory reflects contemporary archaeological research and is the in situ emanation of the exceptionally rich construction of the daily life of cave dwellers prehistoric past of the “open-air museum” that from prehistoric times to the present day. tel. is the Vézère Valley, with its plethora of prehis- +33 (0) 553 594 609. toric settlements and cave-sanctuaries, some London · christy collection, part of which have been placed on ’s World of the artefacts found by lartet and christy in Heritage list. its unique collections (6 million 1863-1864: tools and works of art from caves artefacts of which 18,000 are on ) make in les eyzies, gorge d’enfer, laugerie-Basse it a global benchmark for the last four hundred and la Madeleine. reverdit collection: deco- millenia. they fill 1,500 sq. metres of museum rated bone ring from la tuillière in saint-léon- in a brand new inaugurated in 2004. sur-Vézère. tel. +44 (0)20 7323 8299. items from the collections from the national Montignac · Lascaux II see boxed text, page 47. archaeology museum in saint-germain-en- tel. +33 (0) 553 056 565 (sémitour). laye near Paris were recently brought to the Périgueux · Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie du Péri- museum in les eyzies for display, in particu- gord Portable art (notably from raymonden), lar decorated tools from la Madeleine and a and aurignacian paintings and engravings on pink sandstone lamp from lascaux. Prehisto- stone blocks. Human skeletons from régour- Thonac · Le Thot see boxed text, page 47. tel. ric collections from Périgord can also be seen dou (Mousterian) and raymonden (Magdale- +33 (0) 553 056 565 (sémitour). in other French and foreign museums. tel. +33 nian). stone age and Bronzeage collections. Tursac · Préhistoparc life-sized tableaux showing (0) 553 064 545. tel. +33 (0) 553 064 070. the everyday life of neandertal and cro-Magnon Les Eyzies-de-Tayac · Pôle international de Préhis- Saint-Germain-en-Laye · Musée de l’Archéologie na- hunter-gatherers. tel. +33 (0) 553 507 319. toire Visitors centre. tel. +33 (0) 553 069 281. tionale items from the most significant sites in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac · Roc de Cazelle a life-sized re- Périgord. tel. +33 (0) 139 101 300.

116 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY CULTURULTURaL SiTeS(o(oTheheR Thanhan CaveaveS and PRPRehiehiSTSToRiC RoCKCK SheheLTLTeRSRS) 117 A few books Index

L’art des cavernes. Atlas des grottes ornées paléolithiques lorBlANchet (M.). Les grottes ornées de la préhistoire. Badegoule, 12, 44 Facteur (le), 14, 34 Mouthe (la), 5, 13, 14, 80 saint-Paul-lizonne, 102 françaises. Ministère de la culture, imprimerie nationale, Nouveaux regards. Éditions errance, Paris, 1995. Bara-Bahau, 75 Fontaine de la demoiselle (la), nojals-et-clottes, 98 saint-seurin-de-Prats, 99 Bernifal, 85 98, 99 oreille d’enfer, 38, 39 sireuil, 34 Paris, 1984 (collective work). lorBlANchet (M.). La naissance de l’art. Genèse de l’art Blanc (le), 97 Fontanguillère (la), 100, 105, 108 Partisans (les), 101 terme-Pialat, 35 AujoulAt (N.). Lascaux, le geste, l’espace et le temps, préhistorique. Éditions errance, Paris, 1999. Blanchard, 28 Font-de-Gaume, 77 Pataud (abri), 30 Teyjat, 91 seuil, Paris, 2004. plAssArd (M.-o. et J.). La grotte de Rouffignac. Éditions Bonarme, 96 Fourneau-du-diable, 41, 42 Pech de l’Aze (le), 17 Thot (le), 47 calévie (la), 102, 103 gabillou, 46, 58 Périgueux, voir le toulon thonac, 14, 47, 101, 106 lANchet l leyet erle B (j.-c .) and c -M (j.-j.). Les Eyzies-de- sud ouest, Bordeaux, 1989. campniac, 94, 95, 98 Gorge d’Enfer , 38 Peyzie (la), 66 toulon (le), 105 Tayac et la vallée de la Vézère. coll. “itinéraires”, Édi- plAssArd (J.). Le sanctuaire des mammouths. seuil, Paris, carves, 95 grèze (la), 41 Poisson (abri du), 38 tursac, 34, 92 tions du Patrimoine, 2007. 1999. Cap Blanc, 70 Jumilhac-le-grand, 109, 110 Pont d’ambon (le), 93 Vallon des Roches, 74 chancelade, 93 Ferrassie (la), 23 Port-sainte-Foy, 101, 104, 108 Vanxains, 101, 103 Bordes (F.). Leçons sur le Paléolithique. coll. “cnrs roussot (a.). Visiter le Cap Blanc. Éditions sud ouest, Combarelles (les), 80 labattut, 34 Raymonden, 67 Vaufrey, 15, 16, 103 Plus”, Presses du cnrs, 2 vols., Paris, 1992. Bordeaux, 1994. combe grenal, 12, 14 lanouaille, 110 Régourdou (le), 19 Vézère, 25, 104, 106 Breuil (H.). Quatre cents siècles d’art pariétal. centre roussot (a.). Visiter les abris de Laugerie-Basse. Éditions couze, 28, 34, 80, 92 Lascaux II 47 Reverdit (abri), 74 Villars, 45 d’études et de documentation préhistoriques, Monti- sud ouest, Bordeaux, 1996. coux-et-Bigaroque (le), 99, 101 Laugerie-Basse, 64 richard, 12, 111 Villepin, 62, 92 cro-Magnon, 12, 24 Laugerie-Haute, 43 roc du Barbeau (le), 95 gnac, 1952. roussot (a.). L’art préhistorique. Éditions sud ouest, Écornebœuf, 12, 94, 110 Laussel, 36 Rochereil, 68 chevillot (chr.). Sites et cultures de l’âge de bronze en Bordeaux, 1997 (new updated edition). eybral, 98, 99 Limeuil, 68 Roque Saint-Christophe (la), 106 Périgord. Éditions Vesunna, Périgueux, 1989. roussot (a.). Petit glossaire de l’art préhistorique au Pa- eyzies-de-tayac (les), 6, 12, 14, Madeleine (la), 60 Rouffignac (grotte de), 89 cleyet-Merle (J.-J.). La province préhistorique des Eyzies. léolithique. Éditions confluences, Bordeaux, 1998. 24, 29, 34, 70, 89, 98, 102, Micoque (la), 17 Saint-Cirq, 72 105, 108 Moustier (le), 20 saint-Pardoux-et-Vielvic, 96, 100 400 000 ans d’implantation humaine. cnrs Éditions, roussot (a.). La Vénus à la corne et Laussel. coll. ”les Paris, 2001. chefs-d’œuvre du musée d’aquitaine”, Éditions cleyet-Merle (J.-J.). Musée national de Préhistoire des sud ouest, Bordeaux, 2000. Eyzies, album. Meeting of national museums, 2007. viAlou (d.) (sous la dir. de). La Préhistoire. Histoire et delluc (B. et g.). Visiter l’. Éditions sud ouest, Dictionnaire. coll. ”Bouquins”, robert laffont, Paris, Bordeaux, 1998. 2004. delluc (B. et g.). Connaître Lascaux. Éditions sud ouest, White (r.). Préhistoire. Éditions sud ouest, Bordeaux, Iconography Bordeaux, 2006 (photographs by ray delvert). 1993. Drawings (middle and bottom right), 59, 6, 60-61, J. Plassard: p. 1 (middle), 86-87, 88, 94 delluc (B. et g.). L’art pariétal archaïque en Aquitaine. J. allain: p. 47 (bottom left). 62, 63, 65 (bottom), 68, 70 (top), 71 (left). e Éditions du cnrs, Paris, 1991 (XXViii supplément à a. Bonnamy: p. 5 (bottom). (bottom), 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 84, 85 a. roussot: p. 1 (right), 5 (top), 8, 16, 17, Gallia Préhistoire). B. and g. delluc: p. 45 (top). (bottom), 92 (left), 94 (right), 96-97, 99 18, 19, 20, 21 (bottom), 24, 27, 35, 36, delluc (B. et g.). Dictionnaire de Lascaux. Éditions M. Féaux (coll. sHaP): p. 26 (top). (middle), 103 (top), 111, 112-113 37, 38, 39 (bottom left), 42 (bottom), e. guerrier: p. 9. H. delporte (coll.): p. 34 (top). 43, 46 (middle and bottom), 58, 66, 67, sud ouest, Bordeaux, 2008. d. Peyrony: p. 22. r. delvert: p. 1 (left), 47 (top), 48, 49, 50- 69, 70 (bottom), 71 (top), 77, 80, 81, delporte (H.). L’image des animaux dans l’art préhisto- s. rossy-delluc: p. 34 (bottom). 51, 52-53, 54-55, 56-57. 90, 93 (top), 93, 95 (bottom), 97, 98, 99 rique. Picard, Paris, 1990. a. roussot: p. 90, 93 (top). g. de Fayolle: p. 13 (top). (bottom), 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, & 06, delporte (H.). L’image de la femme dans l’art préhisto- a. glory (coll. MnHn): p. 4, 46 (top), 107, 109. a. glory (coll. delluc): p. 45. J. roussot-larroque: p. 99 (top), 103 rique. Picard, Paris, 1993. Photo credits P. Bardou: p. 41 (top), 95 (top). g. lalanne (coll.): p. 9. (bottom). leroi-GourhAN (a.). Préhistoire de l’art occidental. ci- P. Bardou-a. roussot: p. 64. J. lagrange: p. 15 (bottom), 45 (bottom), d. Vialou: p. 78. tadelles et Mazenod, Paris, 1995 (new edition reviewed a. Bordes : p. 116 left, 117. a. leroi-gourhan (coll. delluc): p. 65 (top), J. Vertut: p. 85 top. and extended by B. and g. delluc). c. chevillot: p. 103 (middle). 82, 83, 91. B. and g. delluc: p. 7, 10-11, 12, 14, 21 H. Movius (coll.): p. 15 (top right). In front cover: photo r. delvert. (top), 23, 24-25, 27 (bottom), 28, 29, Musée des eyzies: p. 93 (bottom). In back cover: photos r. delvert, B. and 30, 31, 32-33, 34 (middle), 39 (top), B. Pierret: p. 15 (top, left). g. delluc, a. roussot, B. and g. delluc, 39 (bottom right), 40, 42 (top), 44, 47 J. Plassart, B. and g. delluc.

118 PÉRIGORD PREHISTORY 119 Table of contents

The dawn of time ...... 4 The days of lascaux ...... 44 Dividing up prehistoric periods ...... 4 The Early Magdalenian ...... 44 Setting the date! ...... 4 • Villars...... 45 lascaux ...... 46 Successive prototypes ...... 6 • Lascaux II and le Thot ...... 47 Homo habilis ...... 6 • The message from the caves: an ongoing riddle ...... 52 Homo erectus ...... 6 Art in lascaux ...... 56 Neanderthal Man (Homo neanderthalensis) ...... 6 • The work of the artists ...... 57 Homo sapiens ...... 7 The Upper and Middle Magdalenian ...... 58 Prehistoric Man’s environment ...... 8 The Middle Magdalenian...... 58 Hot and cold ...... 8 Upper Magdalenian ...... 59 Countless caves ...... 9 Magdalenian sites ...... 59 Homes for prehistoric hunter-gatherers ...... 9 • La Madeleine ...... 60 The first farmers ...... 11 • Laugerie-Basse ...... 64 • A wide range of animals ...... 11 • Raymonden ...... 67 Dates and people ...... 12 • Rochereil ...... 68 • Limeuil ...... 68 The precursors ...... 12 The decorated caves and shelters of the Magdalenian ...... 70 Modern times ...... 14 • Cap Blanc ...... 70 The Early Palaeolithic ...... 16 • Saint-Cirq Cave...... 72 • Reverdit shelter in the Roches Valley...... 74 • La Micoque ...... 17 • Bara-Bahau ...... 75 • Le Pech de l’Aze ...... 17 • font-de-Gaume ...... 77 The Middle Palaeolithic ...... 18 • Les Combarelles ...... 80 • Bernifal ...... 85 • Le Régourdou ...... 19 • Rouffignac ...... 89 • Le Moustier ...... 20 • La Mairie cave in Teyjat ...... 91 • neanderthal burials at La Ferrassie ...... 22 • La Ferrassie ...... 23 The slow settlement of the first peasant farmers ...... 92 The beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic ...... 24 Major climate change ...... 92 The Mesolithic forest hunters ...... 93 The Châtelperronians ...... 24 The first steps towards farming in the Early Stone Age ...... 94 The ...... 26 • Dolmens du Néolithique moyen ...... 97 • Art in its infancy in Périgord ...... 28 Settlement and collective cave burials in the later Neolithic ...... 98 • Abri Pataud ...... 30 • Imagining life in Pataud ...... 31 The first metal workers ...... 100 • Gravettian art work in Périgord ...... 34 Changes during the later Neolithic ...... 100 The ...... 34 Prosperity in the Middle bronze Age ...... 101 • Laussel ...... 36 • Dredging the Dordogne ...... 104 • Gorge d’Enfer The heyday of bronze in Périgord ...... 104 and abri du Poisson ...... 38 • La Roque Saint-Christophe ...... 106 The ...... 40 The end of the bronze Age in Périgord ...... 108 • A luxury residence ...... 42 New beginnings : the Early iron Age in Périgord ...... 108 • Laugerie-Haute ...... 43 The real face of Périgord ...... 110

© Éditions Sud ouest, 2011 iSBn : 978-2-81770-018-2 Ce livre a été imprimé par Pollina à Luçon (85) Éditeur : 29393.01.03.07.11 La photogravure est de Photogravure d’aquitaine et Labogravure À Bordeaux (33) n° d’impression : TOURISTIC GUIDE DISCOVERING Périgord Prehistory

Lascaux: the Bull Chamber The mountain goat in the Pataud rock-shelter Tools from the Gravettian period

The cli at La Madeleine (Vézère Valley) Rhinoceros in Rou gnac The Laussel Venus

This book describes the most significant and unusual aspects of prehistoric times in Périgord. Man has been living here for 500,000 years. Of course, the appearance of the earliest humans in Africa is five times older but it was in Périgord that Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man developed in the most spectacular way. It was also in Périgord that the first archaeological digs were carried out. For the past two centuries, the research has continued and there have been a number of exceptional discoveries, especially in the mys- terious caves. With hundreds of settlement sites, more than fifty decorated caves and rock-shelters and dozens of dolmens, the region is now internationally famous. In fact, Unesco has included the caves in the Vézère Valley in its World Heritage list.

BRIGITTE AND GILLES DELLUC ALAIN ROUSSOT, Honorary JULIA ROUSSOT-LARROQUE has are doctors in Prehistory and Head Curator of Heritage, has focussed her research on recent researchers with the Paris Museum written many works on prehistory, prehistory, from the Mesolithic of Natural History. They specialise particularly . to the Bronze Age. She has also particularly in Palaeolithic art and directed numerous digs in South- the life of Cro-Magnon man. Western France.

Front cover: one of the “Chinese horses” in Lascaux.

9,90 978-2-8177-0018-2 -:HSMILH=\UUV]W: www.editions-sudouest.com