Les Combarelles

Les Combarelles is a cave in Les Eyzies de Tayac, Dordogne, France, which was inhabited by Cro-Magnon people between approximately 13,000 to 11,000 years ago [1]. Holding more than 600 prehistoric engravings of animals and symbols, the two galleries in the cave were crucial in the re-evaluation of the mental and technical capabilities of these prehistoric humans around the turn of the 20th century [1]. In 1979 the cave was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley [1]. Formed by an underground river, the cave is approximately 300 m long with an average width of 1 m [1]. Long used as a stable by local peasants who regularly found Magdalenian artifacts in the cave, the cave and its content remained unstudied by scientists for a long period [1]. It was officially discovered in September 1901 by pre-historians Denis Peyrony, Abbé Breuil, and Louis Capitan [1]. Radiocarbon dating of bones found in the cave indicate the cave was inhabited by Cro-Magnon people 13,680–11,380 years ago [1].