Christine Niederberger Betton, born in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
and died in 2001 in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, was a French
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. She is mainly noted for her contributions to the field of
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
American archaeology
The archaeology of the Americas is the study of the archaeology of the Western Hemisphere, including North America (Mesoamerica), Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This includes the study of pre-historic/Pre-Columbian and histor ...
, in particular for her work on
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n cultures in central Mexico.
Early life
Christine Niederberger was born in Bordeaux, France, the daughter of Roger Betton and Linka Lowczynski. She began her higher education at the
l'École supérieures nationales des langues orientales. From 1965 to 1968, she continued a training in archaeology at the National School of History and Anthropology (ENAH) in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Its beginnings works of archaeologists will take place with
Tlapacoya, precisely on the site of
Zohapilco
Zohapilco is in the Central Highlands of Mexico at Tlapacoya Hill, on the edge of Lake Chalco from 5500 – 2200BC.Evans, Susan Toby. Ancient Mexico & Central America: Archaeology and Culture History. College ed. 2008. 91-93. Print The similar sit ...
. The results of this excavation lead it to present her thesis in 1974 entitled: ''Zohapilco. Cinco milenios of ocupación humana en un sitio lacustre de la Cuenca de México''. A few years later, in 1981, Christine Niederberger obtains a doctorate of State at the
School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. The subject of her doctorate, under the direction of Jean Guilaine, is entitled ''Paléopaysages and pre-urban archaeology of the basin of Mexico''. This thesis became a reference and will be published by the Center of Mexican Studies and Centraméricaines (CEMCA) in 1987.
She was married to Jean-Marie Niederberger.
Archaeology
Its search and its excavations, as archaeologist, were particularly innovative and founder of a new school of thought. On the one hand, she called into question a chronology proposed for the site of Zohapilco, on the level of the occupations in connection with
Olmec style. In addition, she strongly contributed to change the generally accepted ideas, about olmec culture which is not limited to the Zona Metropolitana Olmeca (ZMO), in English, refer to as the Olmec heartland. At the contrary the Olmec culture was a multi-ethnic unit and pluri-linguistic culture covering a vast part of the Mesoamerica, in the period from 1200 BC to about 500 BC. The model of Christine Niederberger thus shows the unit of Middle America from 1200 BC through the olmec style identified by a particular appearance: pan-Mesoamerica.
She was a great professionalist and an extremely meticulous person on the excavations. Christine Niederberger has always chose with many precautions the places to excavate. Of a great patience, she analyzed, gathered and recorded all the evidence. But the results of these studies which force admiration as well on the form as on the bottom. Its archaeological analyses were always supported by the results of various specialists, thus supporting her reputation of intellectual honesty.
Published works
She was the author of many articles and several works in particular "Zohapilco. Cinco milenios de ocupación humana en un sitio lacustre de la Cuenca de México" (1976) and "Paléo-paysages et archéologie pré-urbaine du Bassin de Mexico" (1987). She wrote an important
article in
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
: ''Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico City'' (1979) like several standard commodities in the French Encyclopædia Universalis like ''La civilisation olmèque ou la naissance de la Mésoamérique'' (1985).
;contributed chapters and conference papers—
*
See also
*
Olmec
*
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
*
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian, prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BC ...
*
Olmec figurine
*
Cascajal block
References
* ''Zohapilco. Cinco milenios de ocupación humana en un sitio lacustre de la Cuenca de México'', Christine Niederberger, INAH, Colección « CientÃfica », 1976, México.
* ''Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico'', Christine Niederberger,
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, pp. 132–142, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1979, Washington, D.C.
* ''Paléo-paysages et archéologie pré-urbaine du Bassin de Mexico'', Christine Niederberger, Centre d’études mexicaines et centraméricaines (CEMCA), coll. ''Études Mésoaméricaines'', 2 vols, 1987, México.
External links
Resume in English ''Paléopaysages et archéologie pré-urbaine du bassin de México''*
Resume in Spanish ''Paléopaysages et archéologie pré-urbaine du bassin de México''Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexicoin ''Science'', Vol 203, Jan. 12, 1979, pp 131–142
*
*
ttp://jsa.revues.org/document2219.html Homage to Christine Niederberger Betton by Rosa MarÃa Reyna RoblesA Conference in Pre-Columbian Iconography*
Instituto Nacional de AntropologÃa e Historia (INAH)*
*
CEMCA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niederberger Betton, Christine
Year of birth missing
2001 deaths
French Mesoamericanists
Women Mesoamericanists
Olmec scholars
French archaeologists
French women archaeologists
20th-century Mesoamericanists
20th-century French women