Édouard Lartet
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Édouard Lartet (15 April 180128 January 1871) was a French geologist and
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
, and a pioneer of
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
archaeology. He is also known for coining the prehistoric taxon '' Amphicyon'', making it one of the earliest-described fossil carnivorans in the palaeontological record.


Biography

Lartet was born near Castelnau-Barbarens, ' of
Gers Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...
, France, where his family had lived for more than five hundred years. He was educated for the law at
Auch Auch (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in southwestern France. Located in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers Departments of France, department. Geography Localiza ...
and
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, but having private means elected to devote himself to science. The then recent work of
Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...
on
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
Mammalia A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle ear bon ...
encouraged Lartet in excavations which led in 1834 to his first discovery of fossil remains in the neighborhood of Auch.G. Bibby, ''The Testimony of the Spade'' (Fontana 1962) p. 47 Additionally, he described a fossil carnivoran that had some anatomical relations to
caniforms Caniformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "dog-like" carnivorans. They include dogs (wolves, foxes, etc.), bears, raccoons, and mustelids. The Pinnipedia ( seals, walruses and sea lions) are also assigned to this gr ...
such as canids, provisionally naming the fossil taxon '' Amphicyon'' in 1836, although the name would be adopted as a permanent genus name in later studies by other palaeontologists. For the next decade and a half, he continued to explore the geography and palaeontology of the Pyrenees, uncovering ancestral apes close to the hominid line at Sansan. In 1860, hearing of the discovery of human bones at a cave at Aurignac, and inspired by the work of William Pengelly, he turned his attention most fruitfully to the cave systems of the Dordogne.W. Bray ed., ''The Penguin Dictionary of Archeology'' (Penguin 1972) p. 129 His first publication on the subject, ''The Antiquity of Man in Western Europe'' (1860), was followed in 1861 by ''New Researches on the Coexistence of Man and of the Great Fossil Mammifers characteristic of the Last Geological Period''. Here he revealed the results of his discoveries in the Aurignac cave, demonstrating the contemporaneous existence of man and extinct mammals. While these first results were met with some incredulity, a fellow geologist helpfully pointed Lartet towards the Vézère valley in the
Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...
district, where in 1863 he began to dig backed by the financial and personal help of Henry Christy.The Swimming Reindeer
British Museum Objects in Focus, accessed 3 August 2010,
Their conjoint work was immediately to open new horizons, and served to establish a basic stratified typology of Paleolithic man which still holds good today. The important discoveries in the Abri de la Madeleine and
Le Moustier Le Moustier is an archeological site consisting of two rock shelters in Peyzac-le-Moustier, a village in the Dordogne, France. It is known for a complete skeleton of the species ''Homo neanderthalensis'' that was discovered in 1908. The Mouster ...
provided type-sites for archaic stone-age cultures, which (from the associated fauna) Lartet linked to an early 'mammoth' phase and a late 'reindeer' phase. Lartet and Christy were also able to establish and document the presence of mobiliary art in early stratified layers, further transforming the common and professional perception of early man. Such 'home' art, involving bone patternings and carvings, were associated with both the
Aurignacian The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Cro-Magnon, Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the L ...
and the Magdalenean cultures. The account of their joint researches appeared in a paper descriptive of the
Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
caves and contents published in ''Revue archéologique'' (1864); and would eventually be published by Lartet and Christy under the title ''Reliquiae Aquitanicae'', the first part appearing in 1865. Christy unfortunately died before the completion of the work, but Lartet continued it until the breakdown of his health in 1870. Many artefacts from their excavations are now kept in the local museum in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, as well as the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London. His son Louis Lartet followed in his father's footsteps. The most modest and one of the most illustrious of the founders of modern
palaeontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geo ...
, Lartet's work was publicly recognized by his nomination as an officer of the
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
; and in 1848 he had had the offer of a political post. In 1857 he had been elected a foreign member of the
Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...
, and a few weeks before his death he had been made professor of palaeontology at the museum of the
Jardin des Plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...
. He died at Séissan. He was elected as a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1869.


See also


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lartet, Edouard 1801 births 1871 deaths French paleontologists Members of the Société Ramond International members of the American Philosophical Society