Paul Rivet was born on May 7,
1876 in Wasigny, Ardennes in France. This was where he grew up and although he
traveled to do research for his many projects he spent most of the remainder of
his life in France or in the surrounding area.
After high school, Paul
attended the Military School of Medicine in Lyon where he graduated with his
Doctorate degree in 1897. His original
interest was to be a physician, but eventually he moved on to become a physical
anthropologist and even a politician. He
did become a military doctor in 1897 after he graduated, but then moved on to
his other interests. In 1925, he created
the Institut d’Enthnologie
of the University of Paris along with help from Marcel Mauss,
Emile Durkheim, and Lucien Levy-Brunl. This achievement brought together the three
major aspects of philosophy, anthropology, and sociology. By 1928, he was named professor and Dean of
the Department of Anthropology at the Musee d’Histoire Naturelle and Director
of the Musee d’Ethnographie
du Trocadero in 1929. In 1937, he also founded the Musee de l’Homme (the Museum of
Man) and in 1942, an ethnological institute and museum in Colombia was founded.
Paul Rivet was also very interested in politics and became very involved in them. During the war of 1914 - 1918 he fought diligently to defend France. He was a militant anti-racist and anti-fascist and in 1934, he, along with Alan and Paul Lagevin founded the Comite de Vigilance des Intellectuels Antifascistes. In 1935, he became the Conseiller Municipal of Paris and in 1940, became a member of the resistance network of the Musee de l’Homme. From 1944 – 1951, Paul was a socialist representative and in 1957 he was chosen as a delegate of France to the sessions of the United Nations in New York. Rivet also was Assistant Secretary General and later became Secretary General which he held till his death.
Paul Rivet was also an author with many published works including L’etude des Civilisations Materielles: Ethnographie, Archeologie, Prehistoire in 1929, Les Donnees de l’Anthropologie in 1930, and Nouveau Traite de Psychologie in 1930. His most famous piece of work is Les Origines de l’Homme American which was published in 1943 around the world in places such as Mexico, but not until 1957 in Paris.
Paul Rivet died on March 21,
1958 in Paris, France. He is remembered
most for the museums he founded and because he was primarily responsible for
the legitimatization of French ethnology between the two world wars. Paul Rivet is one of the best known French
anthropologists who devoted his life to improving the world around him.
References:
D’Harcourt, Raoul. “Paul Rivet.” American Anthropologist. Vol. 60 N. 4-6 Aug-Dec, 1958. Pg. 1180-1181.
Jamin, Jean. Ed. Winters, Christopher. International Dictionary of Anthropologists. New York: Garland Publishing, 1991.
“Paul Rivet.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. Pg. 95.
Written by Katie Nelson
Edited by Marcy L. Voelker, 2007