The Vézère valley is where the cradle of "modern" humans stood. In 1868, at about 1 km from our hotel, archaeologists found a grave with remains of five humans.
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| Reconstruction of the discovered skeletons but at the original grave site. |
The bones and skulls showed the humans to be just like us even though they were about 30,000 years old. In the local Occitan dialect a 'cave' was called 'cro' and the cave land was owned by a man whose name was Magnon. Et viola – the Cro-Magnon humans were born.
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| Interpretation – based on the finds – of how the five Cro-Magnons looked. |
The visit at the Cro-Magnon cave included a self-guided tour in the forest clinging to the very steep rock face above the cave. Absolutely beautiful, and the weather was at its best!
Near the Cro-Magnon site, Eva spotted this little fellow at work:
A Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum). This is a rather poor-quality snapshot that doesn't do justice to the fast and silent moth with a looong snout.
Nearby but in the other direction from our Hôtel de France lies the Pôle International de la Préhistoire, also worth a visit.
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| Neanderthal man |
Focus of this museum is on the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons of the Vézère valley.
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| Cro-Magnon man |
Interpretation and presentation is to a large extent done by means of digital methods.
Tonight we will be dining at Le Vieux Moulin (the old watermill), followed by preparing for tomorrow's stage to Vitrac. – Stay tuned!
