French archaeologists were not in the field in the Americas. French research was limited to a short-lived grant allowance that enabled young students in anthropology to spend some time in the field (such as Soustelle Ricard, Gessain, Stresser-Péan), and to the field intervention of a few trained investigators such as d’Harcourt, Beuchat, and Rivet. Their most important achievement lay in the creation of the Musée de l’Homme, in Paris, the third stronghold of French American studies.

The public perception of American Indian art, at the same time, went through a significant change under the influence of both artists (e.g., the surrealists) and antiquarians. Along with African and Far Eastern civilizations, the peoples of Mesoamerica and the Andes were at last recognized as art producers. Several exhibitions and numerous articles and catalogs were devoted to the popularization of native art from the Americas, which had finally found a place in French art history.

World War II suppressed this renewed interest. The turmoil of war and political instability caused many European anthropologists, among them Armillas Palerm and Wittfogel, to emigrate to the American continent. But only Rivet in colombia contributed to the establishment of scientific research. French-trained archaeologist Reichel-Dolmatoff migrated as well, and his synthesis of Colombian archaeology stands out among the few general publications of the 1950s. In chile Emperaire conducted field research on the Alakaluf, a neglected area, and some other archaeologists kept working, including Flornoy in Peru and Lehmann in guatemala. But ethnology and general anthropology were the dominant interests, and the French contribution to the archaeology of the Americas remained small. One must nonetheless mention Soustelle’s books on the Aztecs, which, though closer to ethnohistory, showed that French American studies were not to be underestimated.

By the end of the 1950s the economic situation in France had improved, and French research, which was supported by the firmly established structures of the Société des Américanistes, the Musée de l’Homme, and the International Congresses, could begin again.

Institutional Research: The Flowering of French Activity

French Americanists sought official backing from the French government’s secretary for foreign affairs, who was called on to create the equivalent of the Athens or Rome schools of archaeology in the Americas. This caused the birth of the Institut Français d’Etudes Andines (IFEA) in Lima and the Mission Archéologique et Ethnologique Française (MAEFM, now known as CEMCA) in Mexico, both of which were devoted to anthropological investigation in the Andes and Mesoamerica. The MAEFM was established in 1961, and the IFEA in Peru was part of a general cooperational governmental agreement in 1970 between Mexico and France, on a permanent basis. There is some justification for the existence of such centers, despite their being characteristic of a French state-oriented mentality. They provide stability and financial or technical help to French investigators, and they encourage an interdisciplinary approach that suits the present needs of scientific research.

It is too early to judge recent research in the Americas, but this history of French Americanist archaeology would be incomplete if it did not include the results of the IFEA and MAEFM. French archaeology in the Americas has grown steadily. In 1971 these institutions directed three archaeological projects; by 1990 fifteen projects were under way in nine different countries.

Thanks to the help and efficiency of P. Guillemin, director of the department who manages IFEA and MAEFM at the secretary for foreign affairs,the IFEA and the MAEFM consolidated their local position, and simultaneously in France, specialized sections at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and at various universities were organized. Archaeological research also started up in French territories—that is, in Guyana and some islands in the West Indies, an area that had previously been neglected.

These institutional and governmental structures were also strengthened by French investigators living in the Americas, and French-trained archaeologists and French Canadians began to get involved: Paul Tolstoy and Louise Paradis in Canada, A. Nelken Terner, C. Niedergerger, and P. Gendrop in Mexico, and A. Ruz Lhuillier, who helped create a teaching department for archaeology in Paris, are only a few examples. Meanwhile, the European Community has generated cooperative archaeological projects in Spain, Germany, England, belgium, and Holland (with whom France shares some interest in the West Indies) and in northwestern Mexico (research by Hers and Daneels, for instance).