The National Museum of Prehistory (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: Musée national de Préhistoire) is a French institution founded in 1918 by Denis Peyrony in the commune of

Les Eyzies-de-Tayac Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (; ) is a former commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It was created in 1973 by the merger of two former communes: Les Eyzies-de-Tayac and Sireuil. On 1 January 2019, it wa ...

(now the commune of

Les Eyzies Les Eyzies (; ) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and terri ...

), in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

. Officially inaugurated on September 30, 1923, it is housed in what was formerly the Château de Tayac, purchased for this purpose by the State in 1913. In 2004, a new museum, designed by Jean-Pierre Buffi, was inaugurated on the emblematic cliff face of Les Eyzies.

Presentation

The National Museum of Prehistory presents an exceptionally rich prehistoric past ''

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

'', and conserves some 6 million objects. A site museum

avant la lettre Many words in the English vocabulary are of French language, French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman ...

, at the heart of the Vézère Valley "museum site", which declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 for the importance of the Paleolithic remains, and a reflection of rapidly expanding archaeological research, it now houses one of France's most important

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

collections: lithic and bone industry, art furniture,

burials Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and the world's first collection of

Paleolithic art The art of the Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in Europe and Southeast Asia, beginning around 50,000 years ago. Non-figurative cave paintings, consisting of hand stencils and simple geom ...

on engraved or sculpted blocks. The museum reveals the ancient traces left by man in France. In countless display cases, stone tools, bone and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

artefacts, life-size reconstructions of prehistoric man and extinct animals, and an understanding of human evolution over the last 400,000 years, are all showcased in a contemporary architectural setting.

Extension

The new extension, completed in 2004, occupies new buildings designed by architect Jean-Pierre Buffi, with over 3,600 m2 of new floor space, including 700 m2 of exhibition galleries.

Management

In December 2020, Nathalie Fourment, a doctorate in prehistory and specialist in the

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

, became director of the museum, succeeding

Jean-Jacques Cleyet Merle Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

, director for 32 years.

Gallery

File:Musée national de Préhistoire 130727-12.JPG, Set of bone carved harpoons and harpoons from La Madeleine, Les Marseilles and Fourneau-du-Diable File:Prehistoric Tools - Les Combarelles - Les Eyzies de Tayac - MNP.jpg, Set of Magdalenian lithic tools from Les Combarelles File:Musée national de Préhistoire 130727-14.JPG, Magdalenian propellant carved in bone found at La Madeleine File:Aurochs - Fourneau du Diable - Bourdeilles - MNP.jpg, Bloque esculpido de Fourneau du Diable File:Eyzies-musée-falaise.jpg, View of the exterior of the shelter and the National Museum of Prehistory.

References

Bibliography

* Blanc, Claude (1992)
"Séverin BLANC, préhistorien (1893-1970)"
''Paléo, Revue d'Archéologie Préhistorique''. 4 (1): 5–8. doi: 10.3406/pal.1992.1186.{{Archive url, url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.culture.gouv.fr%2Fdocumentation%2Fjoconde%2Ffr%2Fpartenaires%2FAIDEMUSEES%2Fjournee_RDterr_2014%2Fstat-nat.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url, date=2021-11-16 * Maurice Bourgon, « Le paléolithique ancien des plateaux au sud des Eyzies », dans ''Bulletin de la

Société historique et archéologique du Périgord Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

'', 1939, t. 66
p. 550-569
1940, t. 6

* Maurice Bourgon, « Étude sur le Quaternaire aux environs des Eyzies (essai de chronologie) », dans ''Congrès préhistorique de France. Compte-rendu de la 11^e session. Périgueux. 1934'' , p. 312-317 (
lire en ligne
')

External links

Official site

L'Agence Photo RMN Grand Palais
* Resource for organizations
SIRET
* Tourism resource
Museofile

Presentation of the Musée national de préhistoire
National museums of France Museums established in 1918 1918 establishments in France