Définir la Préhistoire exotique par ses objets muséaux: Le cas du Musée D’Ethnographie du Trocadéro au début des années 1930

Abstract

Defining Exotic Prehistory through Its Collections: The Case of the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro in the Early 1930’s In November 1933 the room of Exotic Prehistory at the Musée d’ethnographie du Trocadéro (MET) was first opened. Initially focusing on Africa, the project evolved when Paul Rivet incorporated Asian territories into it. The organizing of the room was partly the result of the institutionalization and professionalization of the French Science of Man during the interwar period, which was common to both ethnographic and ¨ anthropological collections. However, the acquisition and management of prehistoric collections, particularly those from Indochina, had their own specificities. The aim of this article is to examine, from a museum perspective, the concept of exotic prehistory, the types of objects that are promoted through it and the ways in which it was created and used at the MET.