The paleolithic caves of Combarelles, Font-de-Gaume, Bernifal, and Rouffignac are situated in the Vézère valley, within a ten kilometre radius of Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac (24, France). Their early discovery, between 1901 and 1956, has led to numerous focussed studies bringing to light some specificities and similitudes but without proposing a more global picture of these major Western European art sites. This PhD attempts to do just this and will be concentrating on the two folloowing complementary aspects. 1°- Litlle is known of the art's age and its chronological context wich is why it has become necessary to review the archeological data found in the caves. This will allow for a better understanding of the animal and human frequentation of the sites since the Pleistocene. The results differ from one site to another : At both Rouffignac and Bernifal, Upper Palaeolithic material is rare, whereas it is more abundant in Combarelles although difficult to corelate with the parietal art. At Font-de-Gaume, the disparity of the finds complicate eventual interpretations. The discovery in this cave of bear remains (Ursus spaeleus) exploited by man is an notable result of our research. 2°- The art of these caves share thematic and stylistic similarities (especially concerning the mammoth figures and tectiform signs) which justify comparative study. The coherence of certain panels (the scale, theme, technic, orchestration of the figures) suggest that they are the work of the same artist and serves as the basis of archeological references. Certain morphological variations of both mammoth and bison figures appear to be more apt than others to bring to light the relationship between the panels. An analysis of the animal themes and a statistical study of the figures' morphological characteritics come to complete the argumentation.
