Annette Laming-Emperaire
Encyclopedia
Annette Laming-Emperaire (1917 – 1977) was a French archeologist.
Born in Petrograd
, Annette Laming studied philosophy in Paris
until World War II
began. She then turned to teaching while participating in the French Resistance
. After the war, she studied archeology and specialized in cave art; her doctoral thesis, done under the supervision of André Leroi-Gourhan
, La Signification de l’art rupestre paléolithique (published in 1962),
She married a fellow archeologist, Joseph Emperaire, a student of Paul Rivet
, who believed humans had come to South America from South Asia before reaching North America
, and they began digging, looking for signs of early human occupation, in Brazil
, Argentina
, and Chile
, where Joseph died when the wall of an excavation fell in on him. In the early 1970s she returned to Brazil and selected six sites in the Lagoa Santa
area, where the Danish paleontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund
had dug a century earlier. She found a rock shelter at site IV where in 1974-1975 she discovered most of the bones of what was named Lapa Vermelha IV hominid 1, the oldest human fossil in Brazil, around 11 thousand years old. The skull was given the nickname Luzia
. "Shortly after that, Annette Laming-Emperaire too died tragically. She went on a vacation in 1976 to the Brazilian state of Parana
, and was asphyxia
ted in her shower by a defective gas heating element." After her death, work at the site ceased until her assistant Andre Prous returned to Lapa Vermelha IV in 1979 to take over the project.
A memorial by a colleague called her "un des esprits les plus riches et les plus féconds de la recherche préhistorique française" ['one of the richest and most fertile spirits of French prehistoric research'].
Born in Petrograd
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Annette Laming studied philosophy in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began. She then turned to teaching while participating in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. After the war, she studied archeology and specialized in cave art; her doctoral thesis, done under the supervision of André Leroi-Gourhan
André Leroi-Gourhan
André Leroi-Gourhan was a French archaeologist, paleontologist, paleoanthropologist, and anthropologist with an interest in technology and aesthetics and a penchant for philosophical reflection.- Biography :...
, La Signification de l’art rupestre paléolithique (published in 1962),
dismissed the various, too creative theories of its predecessors, and, with them, any residual nineteenth-century prejudice or romance about the "primitive" mind. Laming-Emperaire's structuralist methodology is still in use, much facilitated by computer science. It involves compiling minutely detailed inventories and diagrams of the way that species are grouped on the cave walls; of their gender, frequency, and position; and of their relation to the signs and handprints that often appear close to them.
She married a fellow archeologist, Joseph Emperaire, a student of Paul Rivet
Paul Rivet
Paul Rivet was a French ethnologist, who founded the Musée de l'Homme in 1937. He was also one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an antifascist organization created in the wake of the February 6, 1934 far right riots.Rivet proposed a theory according to...
, who believed humans had come to South America from South Asia before reaching North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and they began digging, looking for signs of early human occupation, in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, where Joseph died when the wall of an excavation fell in on him. In the early 1970s she returned to Brazil and selected six sites in the Lagoa Santa
Lagoa Santa
For Lagoa Santa, a municipality in Goiás see Lagoa Santa, GoiásLagoa Santa is a municipality and region in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil...
area, where the Danish paleontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund
Peter Wilhelm Lund
Peter Wilhelm Lund was a Danish paleontologist, zoologist, archeologist and who spent most of his life working and living in Brazil...
had dug a century earlier. She found a rock shelter at site IV where in 1974-1975 she discovered most of the bones of what was named Lapa Vermelha IV hominid 1, the oldest human fossil in Brazil, around 11 thousand years old. The skull was given the nickname Luzia
Luzia Woman
right|thumb|250px|Reconstruction of her faceLuzia Woman is the name for the skeleton of a woman found in a cave in Brazil, South America. Some archaeologists believe the young woman may have been part of the first wave of immigrants to South America...
. "Shortly after that, Annette Laming-Emperaire too died tragically. She went on a vacation in 1976 to the Brazilian state of Parana
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, and was asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
ted in her shower by a defective gas heating element." After her death, work at the site ceased until her assistant Andre Prous returned to Lapa Vermelha IV in 1979 to take over the project.
A memorial by a colleague called her "un des esprits les plus riches et les plus féconds de la recherche préhistorique française" ['one of the richest and most fertile spirits of French prehistoric research'].