Eyzies-de-Tayac, Les

Eyzies-de-Tayac, Les (lā zāzē`-də-tīäk`), or Les Eyzies, village (1993 est. pop. 856), Dordogne dept., SW France, on the Vézère River. Situated some 15 mi (24 km) SW of the Lascaux caves (see Paleolithic art), the village is in an area rich in prehistoric remains. The more than 100 archaeological sites nearby include the Cro-Magnon cave, which gave its name to the human skulls dating from the Paleolithic period's Aurignacian culture that were found (1868) there; the Combarelles, Grand Roc, and Font-de-Gaum caverns, where Paleolithic paintings and carvings were discovered (1901); Le Moustier cave, which yielded a human skeleton and chipped flints and gave its name to the Mousterian culture associated with Neanderthal man; and La Madeleine rock shelter, whose tools and carvings defined the characteristics of the Magdalenian culture. Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is home to the National Museum of Prehistory, which contains one of world's the finest collection of early European artifacts.