The Abbé Breuil (1877-1961). A brief biography

The Abbé Breuil (1877-1961). A brief biography
He was born on February 28, 1877 Mortain (Manche). Most of his childhood was spent in Clermont Oise, where his father, a judge, was appointed procurator of the Republic. After primary school enters the Marist Senlis, where he remained until high school student obtained a dull sun, closed in itself, their teachers compared to a little old man and his colleagues stonebriar mall call "the Bear. " Frail Henri Breuil disclaims scientific studies and decides to become a priest. At the beginning of the school year 1895 was admitted to the seminary of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It will be organized stonebriar mall on 9 June 1900 in Saint Sulpice, but never exercised the priesthood and not be linked to a parish.
The seminar made two important stonebriar mall findings: Jean Bouyssonie (his classmate, who shared his growing interest will become prehistory), and especially the abbot Guibert (one of his teachers who, under the His science course, not afraid to approach evolutionary stonebriar mall ideas and emerging evolutionary history of primitive man; he was the original author of the relations of science and religion). Makes his first excavations at Saint Acheul company Ault du Mesnil. In Périgord stonebriar mall is Dr. Captain Louis, who began the study of stone tools and Edouard Piette stonebriar mall quickly detects its qualities as a draftsman.
In 1905 he was appointed professor at the University of Freiburg. In 1910 he was responsible for the education of prehistoric ethnology at the Institute of Human Paleontology in Paris. 1929 was created the first chair of Prehistory for him at the Collège de France. In his work we can distinguish two directions: stone tools and prehistoric art. Systematic review of bones and stone tools in the stratigraphy drove in 1905 to engage in the "Battle of the Aurignacian." According to this key period Breuil inserted between stonebriar mall MOST and Solutrean, while several of his rivals put this period after the Solutrean. In 1912 the scientific community gives reason. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, exiled stonebriar mall in China 1930, participated stonebriar mall in the research of Sinanthropus.
The prehistoric art had an increasingly prominent place in his life. At a time when photography still stammered, provided the reading and study of the main French and Spanish caves decorated and painted shelters in Levante (Spain) and Africa. Captain Louis Denis and Peyrony, participated in the discovery of two caves Dordogne and the Combarelles Font-de-Gaume. In 1902, Emile Cartailhac invited him to study the paintings of Altamira and Marsoulas. Since then, participated in the study of numerous caves in France stonebriar mall (Tuc-d'Audoubert, the Trois-Frères Rouffignac) and Spain (Castle) stonebriar mall and South Africa. It will be the first visit and pre-historian described the Lascaux cave. Its main work: Four hundred centuries of cave art [1], published in 1952, builds first an overview of Paleolithic cave art and gives a world authority. It focuses primarily identify, describe in detail the works Paleolithic and specify the timing. Regarding his performance, accepts the hypothesis proposed by magic in hunting friend Count Henri Bégouën. In his descriptions stonebriar mall introduced a wide religious vocabulary: cathedral sanctuary, chapel, Sistine Chapel stonebriar mall (Lascaux) ... which, unfortunately, is still used.
His many trips to Africa to enable it to Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, the world leader stonebriar mall in the industry of gold and diamonds. She could examine many collections and make the first publications dealt synthetic Prehistoric Africa. In South Africa, stonebriar mall it takes an important part in the development of academic discipline and was elected president of the South African Archeological Society. Friend became Marshal Jan Smuts, thanks to which obtains financial and logistical his expeditions. Later, he befriended the South African anthropologist Philip Tobias.
In 1918, the German Reinhard stonebriar mall Maack surveyor and prospector discovered a rock wall, a major fresh rock at Brandberg Mountains (2573 m), the highest mountain in Namibia. In 1947, Henri Breuil visited this discovery the main character of which he calls the "white stonebriar mall lady" chasing since he learned of his existence was eighteen.
His pioneering stonebriar mall work is immense although many of their theories and their interpretations stonebriar mall have been invalidated by subsequent studies or analysis. It is also poss