Madeleine Colani (August 13, 1866 – June 2, 1943) was a French

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

from the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient. Colani was "a pioneering fieldworker who combined the roles of geologist, paleobotanist, archeologist, and ethnographer." She is well known for discovering the

Hoabinhian The Hoabinhian is a lithic techno-complex of archaeological sites associated with assemblages in Southeast Asia from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, dated to –2000 BCE. It is attributed to hunter-gatherer societies of the region whose te ...

culture from approximately 16,000 BCE, and for her investigations on the

Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of ...

."The Stone Jars of Laos"
''ViewZone Magazine'' (last visited July 16, 2012).

Biography

In 1899, Colani arrived in Vietnam to teach, and in 1914, returned to France to earn her doctorate. From 1920 to 1927, she worked for the Indo-Chinese geology bureau. She contributed much to Vietnamese archaeology, especially relating to the

Sa Huỳnh Culture The Sa Huỳnh culture was a culture in what is now central and southern Vietnam that flourished between 1000 BC and 200 AD. Archaeological sites from the culture have been discovered from the Mekong Delta to Quảng Bình province in central ...

. She conducted archaeologic surveys in Nghệ An Province,

Quảng Bình Province Quảng Bình was formerly a southern coastal Provinces of Vietnam, province in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Việt Nam, Vietnam. It borders Hà Tĩnh province, Hà Tĩnh to the north, Quảng Trị province, ...

and Hạ Long Bay in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. She "documented some 20 other sites in the region". Her work found many skeletal remains and artifacts including human bones, stone and glass beads and iron implements. Additional work by other archaeologists has been hampered by

unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...

in the area from the Vietnam War. Colani is the source for today's understanding of the

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic stone jars on the

, investigating and arguing "convincingly" that they were urns, used in

funerary rites A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect t ...

.Elisabeth Eaves
"In Laos, the Lady and the Jars"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 15, 2012. Her 1930 work on the subject, '' The Megaliths of Upper Laos'', is Colani's "great contribution to archaeological literature". She died in 1943 in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Publications

* Colani M. (1927). ''L'âge de la pierre dans la province de Hoa Binh''. Mémoires du Service Géologique de l'Indochine 13 * Colani, Madeleine. (1930). '' The Megaliths of Upper Laos''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colani, Madeleine 1866 births 1943 deaths Archaeologists from Strasbourg French women archaeologists 20th-century French archaeologists 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French women writers Archaeologists of Southeast Asia