(1843-1921). Eminent French prehistorian of the 19th century. Although he made many contributions to French archaeology, he is best remembered today for his long refusal to accept the authenticity of cave art. When he was finally convinced, after a visit to the Spanish site of Altamira, he wrote an article for the journal L’Anthropologie in 1902, subtitled ‘Mea culpa d’un sceptique’, which helped to convince many scholars of the day that these and other cave paintings were indeed genuine and the earliest manifestations of art in the world.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied