Arlette Leroi-Gourhan (; born Arlette Royer, 9 January 1913, Paris – 25 April 2005,

Vermenton Vermenton () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Sacy was merged into Vermenton.palynology Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and '' -logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposit ...

as part of archaeological studies. She also contributed to

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s. She was President of Société Préhistorique Française, following her work at the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science Basic research, also called pure research o ...

. Her two most famous works are the discovery of the "flower burial" in Shanidar 4 tomb, and the analysis of

Ramses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as t ...

's mummy.

Early life and education

Leroi-Gourhan was born Arlette Royer on 9 January 1913 in Paris, to a family of wealthy manufacturers. As a child she partook in sports and arts, as well as travelling throughout Europe and Northern Africa. She studied at

École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...

, and later

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

(EHESS). At EHESS, she met

André Leroi-Gourhan André Leroi-Gourhan (; ; 25 August 1911 – 19 February 1986) was a French archaeology, archaeologist, paleontology, paleontologist, paleoanthropology, paleoanthropologist, and anthropology, anthropologist with an interest in technology and a ...

. Royer and Leroi-Gourhan married in 1936, and travelled to Japan the following year when André took up a two-year position funded by the Government of Japan.

Career

Leroi-Gourhan focused her research on

paleobotany Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

, a non-existent field of study at the time. She wrote some 180 papers on the subject and associated topics between 1956 and 2002, some 35 of which were co-written with her husband or/and other scientists. She started a laboratory at

Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme ( French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne' ...

, which focused on the analysis of pollen. André Leroi-Gourhan lead the prehistory department at the

(CNRS), so he encouraged Arlette not to seek a position at the centre in order to avoid the appearance of

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

. Subsequently, she served as a "director without position" for CNRS. In 1971 Leroi-Gourhan served as President of the Société Préhistorique Française (Prehistorical Society of France). During their marriage, Arlette and André Leroi-Gourhan only published one paper together, however Arlette published a paper based on her husband's earlier research in Japan following his death in 1986..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leroi-Gourhan, Arlette 1913 births 2005 deaths French archaeologists French women archaeologists École du Louvre alumni School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century French women