At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, French prehistory underwent a conceptual and methodological overhaul in line with the movement affecting the human sciences at the time. This change was brought about by a new generation of prehistorians, but some of the earliest, including Émile Cartailhac, were also at the forefront of the movement. The Toulouse prehistorian was not a systemic thinker, but conducted research into, and dissemination and promotion of prehistory at both the national and international level. He played an active role in the main debates renovating prehistory and proposed a series of compromises that reconfigured prehistoric practice by the renovation of methods and the opening up of new areas of investigation.
