Louis Lartet
Encyclopedia
Louis Lartet was a French
geologist
and paleontologist. He discovered the original Cro-Magnon skeleton
s.
Louis Lartet was born in Castelnau-Magnoac, in Seissan
in the département of Gers
. His father, Édouard Lartet
was a prominent geologist and prehistorian who played a key role in the 1860s and 1870s in finding evidence that humans had lived during the Quaternary
period and Louis continued his father's researches into human prehistory. He became a member of the Société géologique de France
(Geological Society of France) in 1863 and joined the expedition organized by the Duke of Luynes to explore Palestine. This resulted in his publication of Exploration géologique de la mer Morte (1876-7), which formed his doctoral thesis. In 1868, Lartet was asked to conduct excavations in a rock shelter near the French village of Les Eyzies after workmen stumbled upon extinct animal bones, flint tools, and human skulls. Lartet discovered the partial skeletons of four prehistoric adults and one infant along with perforated shells used as ornaments, an object made from ivory, and worked reindeer antler. These Cro-magnon humans were soon identified as a new prehistoric human race distinct from the Neanderthal
man fossils discovered in Germany in 1856.
Lartet began teaching geology at the University of Toulouse in 1873 and in 1879 he became a tenured professor of geology at the university. He became a member of the Société archéologique du midi de la France in 1879, the Société d'agriculture in 1880; the Académie des sciences in 1882 and the Société d'histoire naturelle in 1882.
“Une sépulture des troglodytes du Périgord,” Bulletins de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 3 (1868): 335-349.
with Chaplain Duparc, “Sur une sépulture des anciens Troglodytes des Pyrénées superposée à un foyer contenant des débris humains associés à des dents sculptées de Lion et d'Ours.” Matériaux pour l’histoire primitive et naturelle de l’homme 2 ser., 9 (1874): 101-67.
Paléontologie. Paris: Masson, 1873.
Sur la dentition des proboscidiens fossiles (Dinotherium, Mastodontes et Éléphants) et sur la distribution géographique et stratigraphique de leurs débris en Europe. Paris : Martinet, 1859.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and paleontologist. He discovered the original Cro-Magnon skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
s.
Louis Lartet was born in Castelnau-Magnoac, in Seissan
Seissan
Seissan is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
in the département of Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
. His father, Édouard Lartet
Édouard Lartet
Édouard Lartet was a French paleontologist.-Biography:Lartet was born near Castelnau-Barbarens, of Gers, France, where his family had lived for more than five hundred years. He was educated for the law at Auch and Toulouse, but having private means elected to devote himself to science...
was a prominent geologist and prehistorian who played a key role in the 1860s and 1870s in finding evidence that humans had lived during the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period and Louis continued his father's researches into human prehistory. He became a member of the Société géologique de France
Société géologique de France
The Société géologique de France is a French learned society founded on 17 March 1830. As of 2006, it counts 1,200 members....
(Geological Society of France) in 1863 and joined the expedition organized by the Duke of Luynes to explore Palestine. This resulted in his publication of Exploration géologique de la mer Morte (1876-7), which formed his doctoral thesis. In 1868, Lartet was asked to conduct excavations in a rock shelter near the French village of Les Eyzies after workmen stumbled upon extinct animal bones, flint tools, and human skulls. Lartet discovered the partial skeletons of four prehistoric adults and one infant along with perforated shells used as ornaments, an object made from ivory, and worked reindeer antler. These Cro-magnon humans were soon identified as a new prehistoric human race distinct from the Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
man fossils discovered in Germany in 1856.
Lartet began teaching geology at the University of Toulouse in 1873 and in 1879 he became a tenured professor of geology at the university. He became a member of the Société archéologique du midi de la France in 1879, the Société d'agriculture in 1880; the Académie des sciences in 1882 and the Société d'histoire naturelle in 1882.
Works
“Mémoire sur une sepulture des anciens troglodytes du Périgord.” Annales des sciences naturelles: Zoologie et paléontologie ser 5, 10 (1868): 133-45.“Une sépulture des troglodytes du Périgord,” Bulletins de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 3 (1868): 335-349.
with Chaplain Duparc, “Sur une sépulture des anciens Troglodytes des Pyrénées superposée à un foyer contenant des débris humains associés à des dents sculptées de Lion et d'Ours.” Matériaux pour l’histoire primitive et naturelle de l’homme 2 ser., 9 (1874): 101-67.
Paléontologie. Paris: Masson, 1873.
Sur la dentition des proboscidiens fossiles (Dinotherium, Mastodontes et Éléphants) et sur la distribution géographique et stratigraphique de leurs débris en Europe. Paris : Martinet, 1859.
See also
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- List of hominina (hominid) fossils (with images)