Association française pour l'étude du Quaternaire

Association française pour l'étude du Quaternaire
Name	Association française pour l'étude du Quaternaire
Native name	Association française pour l'étude du Quaternaire
Abbreviation	AFQ
Formation	1920s
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Paris
Region served	France
Language	French

Association française pour l'étude du Quaternaire is a French learned society devoted to the study of the Quaternary period, uniting researchers, curators and practitioners across France and francophone regions. It functions as a national forum connecting researchers working on stratigraphy, palaeontology, palaeoclimatology, geoarchaeology and related fields, and it maintains links with international bodies and regional institutions.

History

The association traces its origins to interwar and immediate postwar networks of paleontologists and geologists such as Léon Pervinquière, Marcellin Boule, Louis Lartet and institutions like the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and the Comité national français des sciences; it formalized as a society during the mid-20th century alongside organizations such as the International Union for Quaternary Research and the European Union of Geosciences. During the Cold War era its membership and activities intersected with research centres including the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and university departments at Sorbonne University and University of Lyon, while major field programmes aligned with projects like the Vallonnet excavations and regional surveys in the Massif Central. In subsequent decades AFQ evolved in parallel with palaeoclimatic milestones such as the development of oxygen isotope stratigraphy by workers affiliated with University of Cambridge and the expansion of dating techniques originating in laboratories like Radiocarbon Laboratory, Oxford and facilities connected to the Institut de physique du globe de Paris.

Objectives and Activities

The association promotes research, dissemination and training in Quaternary sciences, coordinating activities across institutions such as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, École normale supérieure, Université Grenoble Alpes and regional museums like the Musée de l'Homme. It organizes thematic working groups on stratigraphy, mollusc palaeontology, vertebrate palaeontology and geoarcheology that publish proceedings and coordinate field campaigns with partners including the Institut national de recherche agronomique and the Service régional de l'archéologie. AFQ supports methodological advances stemming from collaborations with laboratories such as the Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche.

Organizational Structure

The association is governed by an elected bureau and scientific council that draw members from faculties and research centres at institutions like Université Toulouse III, Aix-Marseille University, University of Strasbourg, University of Bordeaux and Université de Caen Normandy. Advisory roles frequently include curators from the Palais de la Découverte and technicians from national facilities such as the Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement. Annual general meetings convene in rotation at host universities, and committees liaise with funding agencies like the Agence nationale de la recherche and European programmes including Horizon Europe.

Membership and Regional Groups

Membership includes academics, museum professionals and consultancy specialists affiliated with centres such as the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, the Institut national de la recherche agronomique and regional universities including Université de Lille and Université de Montpellier. The association maintains regional sections in areas with active Quaternary sequences such as Brittany, Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Normandy and collaborates with regional museums like the Musée d'Aquitaine and the Musée de Préhistoire d'Ile-de-France.

Conferences, Publications and Awards

AFQ hosts biennial conferences and thematic symposia that have taken place at venues including Sorbonne University, Université de Strasbourg and Université de Bordeaux, and it issues proceedings and newsletters circulated among libraries such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Publications and special volumes frequently arise through partnerships with journals and publishers connected to Elsevier, Cambridge University Press and national presses linked to the Éditions du CNRS. The association awards prizes and travel grants that recognize early-career work in Quaternary research, often coordinated with prizes from entities like the Académie des sciences.

Collaborations and Partnerships

AFQ maintains formal and informal ties with international organisations such as the International Union for Quaternary Research, the European Geosciences Union and the PAGES (Past Global Changes) project, and it collaborates with national agencies including the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and regional heritage services. Joint projects have involved cross-border initiatives with teams at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Copenhagen and field networks in the Iberian Peninsula and Alps.

Impact and Contributions to Quaternary Science

The association has played a central role in coordinating stratigraphic frameworks, faunal syntheses and palaeoclimatic reconstructions for the French record, contributing to chronologies and datasets cited alongside work from laboratories such as the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon and the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine. Its member-led excavations and syntheses have informed debates with researchers from institutions like the Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History on topics ranging from glacial cycles and sea-level change to hominin dispersals. Through training, publications and network-building AFQ continues to shape Quaternary research agendas across French and international contexts.

Category:Scientific societies based in France Category:Quaternary sciences