Abri d'Aurignac, berceau de l'Aurignacien

Aurignac

In a wooded valley near Aurignac, a small rock shelter changed the history of prehistory. In 1852 Jean-Baptiste Bonnemaison discovered its entrance; the accounts differ: a quarry worker working on a road according to Hominidés.com, a farm worker digging a rabbit burrow according to Hérodote. He found a collective burial and bones of vanished animals. In 1860 the palaeontologist Édouard Lartet excavated the site and collected there flint tools, weapons of reindeer antler, a hearth, and bones of mammoth, cave bear and woolly rhinoceros. He thereby showed that man had lived at the same time as these beasts, long before the date given by the Bible. He presented his find at the Exposition universelle of Paris in 1867. But Gabriel de Mortillet set it aside from his chronology; it was not until 1913 that the Aurignacian, culture of modern man, was recognised and took the name of the village. Further excavations, in 1938–1939 then in 1961, confirmed two occupations, Aurignacian and Neolithic. The shelter has been listed as a historic monument since 1921. The pages differ on the date of birth of the name (1906 or 1913): 1913 is retained here because two sources give it.

Getting there: Wooded interpretation trail of about 1.5 km with information stops (Département de la Haute-Garonne). Musée de l'Aurignacien, avenue de Benabarre: open Wednesday to Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm (extended hours during zone C school holidays), closed in January; prices and hours to be rechecked on 05 61 90 90 72. Coordinates: Wikipédia FR (grotte d'Aurignac), cross-checked with the geolocation of a Commons photo to within about 20 m.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound