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| Société Préhistorique Française | |
|---|---|
| Name | Société Préhistorique Française |
| Native name | Société Préhistorique Française |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Founder | Édouard Piette |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| Type | Learned society |
| Purpose | Study of prehistory |
Société Préhistorique Française is a French learned society devoted to the study of prehistoric archaeology, Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures, and human prehistory. Founded in the early 20th century, it connects researchers, curators, and institutions engaged in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and heritage management across France and beyond. The society organizes congresses, issues periodicals, and awards prizes to promote research on lithic industries, osteology, and rock art.
The society was established in 1904 by a group of archaeologists and collectors including Édouard Piette, who had links to excavations at Altamira-era sites and contacts with scholars from Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and Collège de France. Early membership included figures associated with the excavations at La Madeleine and the research traditions of Marcellin Boule and Gabriel de Mortillet. During the interwar period the society intersected with institutions such as École française d'Athènes and Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, while post‑World War II developments connected it to projects at Lascaux and collaborations with curators from Musée de l'Homme and directors at CNRS. Influences from international meetings like the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences shaped its agenda alongside exchanges with scholars from British Museum, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, and Smithsonian Institution.
Governance follows a council model informed by elected officers including a president, secretary, and treasurer, reflecting practices found in societies such as Royal Anthropological Institute and Société d'Anthropologie de Paris. Membership comprises professional archaeologists, academic researchers from universities like Université de Paris and Université de Bordeaux, museum curators from Musée du Quai Branly, doctoral candidates associated with programs at Université Toulouse‑Jean Jaurès, and avocational members connected to regional groups in Normandy, Aquitaine, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Committees liaise with national agencies such as Ministère de la Culture and research bodies including CNRS and INRAP, coordinating ethics policies and excavation permits in line with precedents set by UNESCO conventions.
The society publishes a bulletin and proceedings comparable to journals like Journal of Field Archaeology and Antiquity, offering articles on typology, radiocarbon calibration, and stratigraphy. Annual bulletins and monographs have featured work on sites such as Grotte Chauvet, Tautavel, and Dolni Vestonice with contributions from specialists linked to Université de Strasbourg and University College London. Regular national congresses rotate among regional centres including Lyon, Bordeaux, and Nantes, while thematic conferences mirror symposia organized by European Association of Archaeologists and joint meetings with École normale supérieure. Proceedings are cited alongside volumes from Cambridge University Press and reports deposited in archives at Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Project portfolios include lithic analysis, zooarchaeology, palaeogenetics, and geoarchaeology, engaging laboratories at Institut de Paléontologie Humaine and facilities akin to Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Collaborations have supported excavations at Mesolithic and Neolithic sites comparable to Brittany megaliths, Chalcolithic settlements studied like Çatalhöyük, and Pleistocene assemblages similar to Boxgrove. Technical activities incorporate methods established by teams at University of Oxford and CNRS Laboratoire ArScAn, including radiocarbon dating protocols from Beta Analytic-style facilities, DNA sequencing approaches from groups such as European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and isotopic analyses paralleling work at University of Groningen. Field training programs emulate practices from Institute of Archaeology and coordinate heritage monitoring with regional archaeological services.
The society bestows prizes recognizing excellence in prehistoric research, mirroring awards given by British Academy and Académie des Inscriptions et Belles‑Lettres. Recipients have included authors of monographs on Paleolithic art, typological studies of Upper Paleolithic industries, and synthesis volumes on Neolithic transitions; many laureates hold positions at Collège de France, Université de Bordeaux Montaigne, and international institutions such as Harvard University and University of Cambridge. Honorary memberships have been conferred on curators from Natural History Museum, London and scholars associated with Smithsonian Institution for contributions to field methodology and public outreach.
The society maintains formal and informal links with museums including Musée des Antiquités Nationales, academic bodies like Sorbonne Université, and research councils such as CNRS and INRAP. International partnerships have included joint programs with Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, exchange agreements with Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and participation in multinational projects coordinated through European Research Council grants. It also engages with heritage frameworks from Council of Europe and supports training exchanges with centers such as Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and field schools modelled on those at University of Leiden.
Category:Archaeological organizations Category:Prehistoric research institutions