André Vayson de Pradenne is a Préhistorien French born the October 16th 1888 and dead the December 17th 1939 with Paris.

In love with the objects and their function, it forms since its young age a collection of ethnographic and prehistoric instruments. He visits the sites of the valley of the Somme where he meets Victor Commont. With died of this one, in 1918, it acquires the rich person collections of them. Civil engineer of the mines in 1911, he becomes professor at the School of Anthropology in 1932 then is in charge of the exotic course of Prehistory at the Institute of Ethnology in 1936 and is named director of the Laboratory of Prehistoric anthropology at the School of the High Studies. He is president of the French prehistoric Société in 1930.

Its many studies of lithic industries of the Paléolithique are precise and innovative. It introduces in particular the term “Biface” which will replace the obsolete and unsuited expression of “ blow-of-fist ”. Technologist before the hour, it has a presentiment of the possibility of traceologic studies . At the time of its death, it prepared a work on the traces of wear and the haftings of the prehistoric tools while being based on ethnographic examples.

It is known also for its firm standpoint against the authenticity of the vestiges put at the day with Glozel. This business will lead it to write one of its major works, entitled the Fraude S in prehistoric archeology in which he does not speak paradoxically about Glozel, of fear to undoubtedly be continued for slandering.

It settles in the Vaucluse and is implied in the local life while becoming city council man then mayor of Murs during four mandates and General adviser of the Canton of Gordes of 1919 to its death. It also makes restore with its expenses the feudal castle of the Barroux, in Vaucluse.

André Vayson de Pradenne is deceased at 51 years of an intoxication to the Carbon monoxide which also carried his wife and her daughter. He was also Chevalier of the Légion of honor and decorated with the Military Cross.

Publications of Andre Vayson de Pradenne

• (1920) “the oldest industry of Saint-Acheul”, Anthropology , T. XXX, pp. 441-496.

• (1922) “the study of the stone tools”, Anthropology , XXXII, pp. 1-32.
• (1932) “the question of the freedom of the archaeological excavations”, Bulletin of the French Prehistoric Company , T. XXIX, n° 2, pp. 86-88.
• (1934) “the industry of the workshops with mallets of Walls”, Extracts from the Report from Xe Session of the Prehistoric Congress of France, 1931 , pp. 146-179, 18 boards except text, photographs Nb. Monnoyer, 1934, Mans.
• (1937) “denominations of the tools of the Paleolithic inferior”, Anthropological Review, T. LX, pp. 91-112.
• (1938) Prehistory , Armand Colin, 224 p.
• (1993) frauds in prehistoric archeology , J. Million, (the Man of the Origins), (1e ED. 1932), 512 p.

Sources

• Obituary - (1939), Bulletin of the French prehistoric Company , T. XXXVI, n° 12, pp. 478-479.

• R. Vaufrey - (1941) “A. Vayson de Pradenne (obituary)”, Anthropology , T. 49 (1939-40), n° 6, pp. 771-772.
• S. Renault - (2004) “Andre Vayson de Pradenne (1888 - 1939)”, prehistoric Vaucluse , Ministry for the Culture and the Communication, pp. 33-34.