The Grotte du Renne, Leroi-Gourhan and Flaubert's La Légende de Saint Julien l'Hospitalier (1877): The Question of ‘Préhistoire(s)’ to Delimit the Human

This article reconsiders the important work of Leroi-Gourhan through lens Christopher Johnson's ‘Leroi-Gourhan and Limits Human’ (2011) by returning to context French prehistory 1860s that lies behind Leroi-Gourhan's discoveries interpretations hominid remains artefacts in Grotte du Renne. The Exposition universelle 1867 publications period capture importance ‘préhistoire’ for Second Empire France materialized Napoleon III's establishment at Saint-Germain-en-Laye first national Musée des Antiquités Nationales dedicated their collections. archaeological discoveries, debates they inspired, did not escape encyclopaedic bricolage designs Flaubert. With delicious clins d'oeil question ‘l'homme fossile’ futur’ he had already debated with Louis Bouilhet, this uncovers how Flaubert's Légende de Saint Julien details ‘limits human’ reading Leroi-Gourhan. By ‘real’ counterparts legendary Stag tale, its contextual, allegedly fantastical, ‘préhistoires’ can better be excavated. To find non-legendary, extreme contemporary, sources disturbing text crucially informs a critique dehistoricization seeing post-war cultural studies sciences human.