Jacques Tixier’s experimental collection in the spotlight

The Musée d’Archéologie nationale has chosen, as its “object of the month” for May 2026, the experimental collection of Jacques Tixier, a leading figure in lithic technology and founder of the “Préhistoire et technologie” laboratory, at the origin of the present-day UMR TEMPS.

Composed of pieces produced through his experimental work, this collection constitutes a major reference framework for the analysis of chaînes opératoires and the study of knapping techniques, illustrating an approach based on the articulation between observation, experimentation, and the understanding of technical gestures. Transferred to the museum in 2025 in collaboration with the CNRS, it now benefits from renewed visibility.

This news resonates directly with research carried out within UMR TEMPS, particularly through the Jacques Tixier technothèque, which preserves and promotes experimental reference collections dedicated to the study of techniques. It also echoes recent projects led by members of the unit, such as CORE and CORE-Num, supported by the DIM PAMIR, which aim to structure, document, and disseminate these reference collections, particularly through the development of digital tools.

Through this initiative, an archaeology of techniques grounded in experimentation and the construction of reference frameworks is brought to the forefront.

Online resources:

The Jacques Tixier technothèque of UMR TEMPS

Pierre Allard. UMR_TEMPS. (2025, 1 juillet). Reproduction de la taille préhistorique , in Le GDR Silex. [Vidéo]. Canal-U. https://doi.org/10.60527/660x-jr27. (Consultée le 5 mai 2026)

The MOOC “Understanding Prehistoric Knapped Stone” (2021), by Jacques Pelegrin. Accessed May 5, 2026, at https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/pierre-taillee/fr