Laugerie-Haute, Prehistoric rock shelter in Les Eyzies, France

Laugerie-Haute is a limestone rock shelter with a long history of human occupation in the Vezere Valley. Excavations have revealed multiple layers of ancient settlement that show how people used this location over many thousands of years.

The shelter was occupied during multiple phases of the Upper Paleolithic period over thousands of years. Scientific excavations in the 20th century uncovered the deep layers that documented this long span of human use.

The rock shelter displays engravings and carved reliefs that show how Upper Paleolithic people represented their world. These artworks on bone and stone offer glimpses into what mattered to them and how they saw their surroundings.

The site is open to the public, and guided lecture-visits are organised by the Centre des monuments nationaux. The shelter lies on the right bank of the Vezere, about two kilometres upstream from Les Eyzies; the D 47 runs between the cliff and the river, but the site cannot be seen from the road.

The collapsed rockfall that buried part of the site around 14,000 BCE now lets archaeologists distinguish two areas, Laugerie-Haute Est and Ouest. The boundary between them is marked by a 17th-century house, the "Château" Chapoulie, built against the cliff face.