Louis Capitan

Louis Capitan (1854–1929)

A student of Claude Bernard, Louis Capitan defended his doctoral thesis in 1883. At the same time as training as a doctor, he became interested in prehistory, taking Gabriel de Mortillet's courses, which he continued to teach after the latter's death.

Alongside young prehistorians such as Father Henri Breuil and Denis Peyrony, he took part in most of the debates that reshaped our knowledge of prehistory in the early 20^th century. He defended the authenticity of Palaeolithic cave art with his discoveries at Combarelles and Font-de-Gaume in 1901, took a stand in favour of the Aurignacien in 1904 and helped demonstrate the existence of Mousterian burials with his excavations at La Ferrassie from 1909 onwards. Louis Capitan devoted a great deal of his work to the prehistory and ethnography of America. From 1908, he held the Americanism chair at the Collège de France.

Alongside his research, Louis Capitan worked hard to protect, classify and acquire the main deposits in the Vézère valley. Together with Denis Peyrony, he also played a major role in the creation of the Musée des Eyzies and its establishment in premises acquired by the State.