Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tautavel Museum - European Centre for Prehistory was founded in 1978 after the discovery, in 1971, of a skull of Homo heidelbergensis (called "Man of Tautavel") 450,000 years old in the cave of the Caune of the Arago. This major archaeological site, searched since 1964, revealed tools of the lower Paleolithic and fossils of contemporary animals (bears, lions, rhinoceros, etc.). The museum, initially modest, was enlarged in 1992 to reach 1,500 m2 of exhibition and 2,000 m2 of space dedicated to research and conservation.

The museum offers an immersive journey with casts of human remains, reconstructions of the Arago Caune, and dioramas depicting wildlife and prehistoric lifestyles. It builds on the work of the European Centre for Prehistoric Research (CERP), a scientific centre associated with the CNRS, the National Museum of Natural History and the University of Perpignan. The CEPR welcomes researchers in archaeology, paleoanthropology and related disciplines, working mainly on excavations of the Arago Caune.

In addition to its scientific role, the museum develops an educational and social mission. Temporary exhibitions, workshops on prehistoric techniques (during school holidays), and cultural activities are organized. The Association Insertion Patrimoine (AIP) also carries out insertion projects, notably in the moulding workshop whose productions are sold in the museum shop. A modernisation of the exhibition is planned for the coming years, in order to renew an aging journey.

The museum is labeled Musée de France and is part of Tautavel's Public Institution for Cultural Cooperation (EPCC). His official address is Léon-Jean Grégory Avenue, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, in the Occitanie region. Attendance is based on its status as European reference in prehistory, attracting both researchers and the general public.

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