INTERPRETATION CENTRE OF PREHISTORY IN LES-EYZIES-DE-TAYAC-SIREUIL

The PIP is located in the Vézère Valley, a tributary of the Dordogne. The Vallée de La Vézère was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the significant concentration of caves and shelters with Palaeolithic sites and rock art that it possesses.

The main objective of this ensemble is to present the history of cave art and also the living animals at the time of the creation of these drawings. In the part of the museum, the visitor can discover different life-size facsimiles representing the works visible at Lascaux and not at Lascaux II. The museum allows visitors to discover a reconstruction of the daily life of the hunters of the Paleolithic period, showing the gestures of prehistoric artists, but also a comfortable space for the projection of previously unseen films. Over several hectares, tourists can observe the animals “descendants” of wild species. The latter lived in the Périgord during the Paleolithic period, since images of these animals can be found painted or engraved on the walls of caves such as in Lascaux. We can find different species such as the “aurochs”, which disappeared in 1627 and were recreated from domestic breeds. Other species such as the European bison, Przewalski’s horses, tarpan horses, ibexes, and deer are very present in Lascaux.