“Plus belle la mort : enquête sur les rites funéraires à la Préhistoire” exposition à découvrir sur le Grand Site de France de l’Aven d’Orgnac

Exhibition “Belles bêtes” – information
How did prehistoric humans say goodbye to their loved ones? What gestures, rituals, and symbols did they invent for this purpose? The exhibition offers a journey into the heart of their funeral rites by displaying previously unseen collections.

La Cité de la Préhistoire – Grand Site de France de Aven d’Orgnac presents the exhibition “Plus belle la mort”, exploring prehistoric funerary practices. Awarded the “Exhibition of National Interest” label by the French Ministry of Culture, it invites visitors to investigate how prehistoric communities in south-eastern France treated their dead.

Drawing on major archaeological discoveries — some of them never before shown to the public — the exhibition highlights the diversity of prehistoric mortuary practices: individual burials, collective megalithic tombs, funeral pyres, evidence of cannibalism, and post-mortem manipulations. These practices reveal complex relationships between the living and the dead, most likely embedded in collective ritual traditions.

Combining archaeology with social and cultural anthropology, the exhibition also explores universal themes such as beliefs about the afterlife, the role of funerary rites and offerings, and the ways societies express emotions in the face of death.

Designed for a wide audience, the exhibition features an interactive visitor experience with hands-on activities: handling object replicas, building a miniature dolmen, composing a funerary urn, and exploring the investigative methods used by archaeologists. Guided tours, workshops, and talks further enrich the programme.

The exhibition will also be accessible to international visitors thanks to an English audioguide available through a mobile phone application.

From 01/05/2026 to 15/11/2028 daily.
except on January 1st and December 25th.

Inclus dans le billet d’entrée Pass’Grand site et entrée “Cité de la Préhistoire”.