Duo Will Lead Expedition on French River

Man's first efforts to correlate relics along France's Ain River with a specific period in world history will take place this summer when Kirke M. Bryan '28, professor of Physiography, and Hallam L. Movius '02, curator of Archaeology, lead an expedition to place these Stone Age people by "glacial chronology."

By this method, especially suitable for the Ain locality, debris and deposits left in the wake of receding ice sheets will be used as rough indeces to periods of time. Glacial deposits in the area and previously found traces of early man indicate that the spot was a choice gathering-place for prehistoric tribes.

By combining their talents, the University pair hopes to determine when these settlers actually flourished, and to deduce when important migrations from Europe took place.

Unique Expedition

Although French archaeologists have recently dug up considerable quantities of stone tools and weapons, the Bryan-Movius expedition will mark the first time that a geologist and an archaeologist have teamed up in this region in an effort to relate prehistoric remains of a western European race to a definite period in the history of the world.

The team will be augmented by S. Sheldon Judson, teaching fellow in Geography, Louis P. Du Pree '50, and Carleton L. Pierpont '51. Bryan brings to the expedition an intimate knowledge of ice packs, while Movius is familiar with the relics left by past civilizations.

Giant Glaciers

Also aiding the search will be two great ice sheets known to have covered the area approximately 100,000 years ago and 25,000 years ago. Some time in between, this site--La Colombiere--was the home of an unidentified people. However, the scientists claim to be not so concerned with what these people looked like as when they lived.

The University's only other similar expedition is being conducted on Yap Island in the Pacific to aid the Navy in ruling the natives.