Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The National Museum of Prehistory was founded in 1918 by Denis Peyrony on the town of Eyzies-de-Tayac (Dordogne), in the ruins of the castle of Tayac, bought by the state in 1913. Officially inaugurated on September 30, 1923, it is designed as a conservatory of archaeological discoveries of the Vézère Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage area for its exceptional prehistoric sites. Today, the museum gathers one of France's richest paleolithic collections, including lithic tools, furniture art, burials and the first worldwide set of parietal art on engraved or carved blocks.

In 2004, a modern extension designed by architect Jean-Pierre Buffi was inaugurated, integrating the museum with the Eyzies cliff and adding 3,600 m2 of surfaces, including 700 m2 of exhibition space. This project allows to showcase more than 18,000 pieces over 1,500 m2, tracing 400,000 years of human evolution. The museum, located in the heart of a European "Human Valley", illustrates both the first neandertalian funeral gestures (-80,000 years) and the emergence of monumental art by Homo sapiens (-35,000 years).

The castle of Tayac, built in the 16th century by Jean-Guy de Beynac, initially served as a fortified house before being partially destroyed after the Revolution. Its ruins, acquired in 1913 by Denis Peyrony, became the base of the museum. In December 2020, Nathalie Fourment, a senior Paleolithic specialist, succeeded Jean-Jacques Cleyet Merle (director for 32 years) as head of the institution. In 2022, the museum attracted 70,000 visitors, confirming its status as a scientific and tourist reference.

The Vézère Valley, classified by UNESCO, offers a unique geological framework that has preserved major paleolithic remains. The museum, backed by a cliff, overlooks this iconic landscape and offers life-size reconstructions of prehistoric men and missing animals. Its collections come from the reference deposits of the region, such as the caves of Font-de-Gaume or the Combarelles, witnesses of the continuing human occupation during the glaciations of the Quaternary.

Collection

Il présente in situ un passé historique et préhistorique exceptionnellement riche au coeur du « site musée » que constitue la vallée de la Vézère et il rassemble aujourd'hui l'une des plus importantes collections paléolithiques de France : industrie lithique et osseuse, art mobilier, sépulture, faune et le premier ensemble mondial d'art paléolithique sur bloc gravé ou sculpté.

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