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SUMMARY:Henri Breuil and the Imagination of Prehistory in Southern Africa 
  - Saul Dubow (Faculty of History)
DTSTART:20171106T170000Z
DTEND:20171106T180000Z
UID:TALK93676@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Victoria Jones
DESCRIPTION:The Abbé Henri Breuil\, French prehistorian and international
 ly renowned expert on rock art\, made several extended visits to South Afr
 ica between 1929 and 1951. He was a foundational figure in the study of So
 uth African prehistory. This paper argues\, firstly\, that Breuil’s  kno
 wledge of European rock art accorded him unrivalled authority in South Afr
 ica and helped to promote the country’s significance as a rich repositor
 y of rock art. Secondly\, it argues that Breuil’s stress on the romance 
 and mysteries of the deep past offered plenty of scope for speculative rac
 e-based theories concerning civilisational origins. Thirdly\, it suggests 
 that Breuil’s complex patronage networks and status as a leading Europea
 n professor allowed him to bridge divides between government and academics
  as well as professional and amateur archaeologists. Breuil had a keen und
 erstanding of how to deliver a message that was congenial to his white Ang
 lophone South African hosts\, while not offending Afrikaner nationalists. 
 His view that human evolution was compatible with religious faith allowed 
 him to propose a deep past in South Africa that did not collide with funda
 mentalist Christian-nationalism and which served to flatter white sensibil
 ities about their continuing place in Africa.
LOCATION:Seminar Room S1 Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge
  CB3 9DT
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