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Henri BreuilFrench archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist
Date of Birth: 28.02.1877
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Henri Breuil
Early Life and EducationHenri Breuil was born in Mortain, near Donfront, in the Manche department of France on February 28, 1877. He received his education at the College of Saint-Vincent in Senlis, the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, and the Sorbonne. In 1897, he was ordained as a Catholic priest.
Professional Career
Breuil lectured on ethnography at the University of Freiburg from 1905 to 1910. In 1910, he became an honorary professor of prehistoric ethnography at the Institute of Human Paleontology, and in 1929, he was appointed as a professor of prehistoric history at the College de France.
Contributions to Archaeology
Breuil was a specialist in Paleolithic archaeology and the history of primitive art. He conducted extensive research on cave paintings in the valleys of the Somme and Dordogne, as well as on prehistoric sites in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Ethiopia, South Africa, British Somaliland, and China. He proved the existence of the Orinyak Upper Paleolithic period in Western Europe, as well as the ancient Paleolithic Clactonian complexes characterized by the absence of hand axes. Breuil made significant contributions to the study of Paleolithic cave art and primitive rock images in Africa, northern Spain, and southern France.
Notable Works
In 1952, Breuil published his renowned work "Quatre cents siècles d'art parietal" (Four Hundred Centuries of Cave Art). His writings covered a wide range of issues in Paleolithic and Neolithic archaeology, but he gained particular fame for his studies on cave art.
