Tautavel, the Arago Cave

In the village of Tautavel, in the South of France, one of the most ancient humans presently known in Europe was found: the Tautavel Man. Tautavel is situated in the Catalan Corbières, located between the sea and the mountains, at the bottom of the foothills of the Pyrénées, and 30 km from Perpignan. Prehistoric humans chose this territory, now covered with vineyards, as their hunting ground.
They found refuge in the Arago Cave, where in 1971 the famous, 450,000 year-old Tautavel Man was discovered.
In order to benefit fully from the archeological material of this exceptional Prehistoric site, the Laboratory for Prehistory at the University of Perpignan resorted to the most advanced techniques for the study, treatment, and development of data gained here.
A permanent team of about fifty specialists and students research and work on the environment of the Tautavel Man. Each year, the site attracts around a hundred excavators and many visitors from miscellaneous countries, and has given a definite boost to this wine-producing village of 800 inhabitants ... LINK