National Museum of Prehistory (France)

The National Museum of Prehistory (French: Musée national de Préhistoire) is a French institution founded in 1918 by Denis Peyrony in the commune of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (now the commune of Les Eyzies), in the Dordogne. 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, and conserves some 6 million objects. A site museum avant la lettre, 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 collections: lithic and bone industry, art furniture, burials, fauna and the world's first collection of Paleolithic art 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 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, became director of the museum, succeeding Jean-Jacques Cleyet Merle, director for 32 years.