The science of prehistory was founded in 1837 by a Frenchman, Jacques Boucher of Crevecoeur de Perthes. The first major prehistoric excavations took place in Périgord in 1863 after some local contractors unearthed human remains at Les Eyzies during the course of their work. Remnants of Neandertal man (80.000 years old) and Cro-magnon man (35.000 years old) were gradually uncovered at different depths in the caves overhanging the Vézère river. These discoveries and those that followed in Périgord alone enable us to gain a complete picture of the different stages of prehistoric civilization.
The science of prehistory was founded in 1837 by a Frenchman, Jacques Boucher of Crevecoeur de Perthes. The first major prehistoric excavations took place in Périgord in 1863 after some local contractors unearthed human remains at Les Eyzies during the course of their work. Remnants of Neandertal man (80.000 years old) and Cro-magnon man (35.000 years old) were gradually uncovered at different depths in the caves overhanging the Vézère river. These discoveries and those that followed in Périgord alone enable us to gain a complete picture of the different stages of prehistoric civilization.
