Lot of 3 vintage French postcards relating to prehistoric man and early human reconstruction, associated with Les Eyzies and the Dordogne region of France, an important center of prehistoric archaeology.

Included are:

L’Homme du Moustier – Musée des Eyzies (Dordogne) — photographic postcard showing an early museum reconstruction of the Le Moustier Neanderthal.

Époque Tertiaire — period reconstruction depicting what the card describes as a prehistoric precursor of man. The reverse credits the reconstruction to Dr. Maurice Faure of Nice.

A third prehistoric scene/reconstruction card published by L. Mercier, Les Eyzies, with ARGA Toulouse marking on the reverse.

All three are unused postcards. They show age-related toning, discoloration, spotting, edge/corner wear and general storage wear. Please examine the photographs carefully for the exact condition and printed captions.

An unusual group combining early archaeology, museum interpretation, anthropology and vintage French postcard collecting.

History:

Les Eyzies, in France’s Vézère Valley, became one of the most important centers for the study of European prehistory during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Numerous Paleolithic sites lie in the surrounding Dordogne region, and the town developed both a major prehistoric museum and a substantial tourist trade centered on archaeology.

The Le Moustier rock shelter is particularly important. Édouard Lartet and Henry Christy excavated the upper shelter in 1863, and the stone-tool assemblages found there later gave their name to the Mousterian archaeological culture, closely associated with Neanderthals. Excavations at the lower shelter in the early twentieth century produced two significant Neanderthal burials, including the adolescent commonly known as Le Moustier 1.

The reconstruction pictured on the “L’Homme du Moustier” card belongs to an earlier era of museum interpretation, when prehistoric people were frequently represented through sculpted busts, tableaux and dramatic reconstructions based on the archaeological knowledge available at the time. Modern reconstructions of Neanderthals are generally quite different, making cards such as these interesting documents not only of prehistory, but of the history of archaeology itself.

The postcard describing an “Époque Tertiaire” precursor of man should be understood in that same historical context. Its terminology and reconstruction reflect older ideas about human evolution and should not be taken as modern scientific classification.

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📜 Condition

Photos are part of the description. Please review them closely for condition, wear, and included pieces. Items are stored in a climate-controlled space and processed in a smoke-free, pet-free home.

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