—Claire Gallou
Soon after that visit, Blustain retired from the Peabody, but Gallou doggedly pursued the idea that eventually became the Piette Program. “Initially the thought was that we would bring PA students to visit the MAN,” explains Gallou, “but then we started adding other elements to the trip—history, art, and French culture—to make it more of an interdisciplinary experience.” It was during her exploration of possible activities for the students that she became acquainted with Lacombe. He and his wife, Dr. Kathleen Sterling, and renowned archaeologist Margaret Conkey were working the Peyre Blanque openair excavation site, which already was proving to be rich with artifacts from the late Pleistocene Epoch— approximately 15,000 years ago. She accepted Lacombe’s invitation to visit the site and quickly realized
France
“Our goal was to make 30,000 years of human history tangible to the students. On that score, the trip exceeded all my expectations.”
that student participation in an active dig could be a cornerstone of the program. “Sébastien was very happy to accommodate us, so I was thrilled at the educational opportunity this presented,” said Gallou.
d’Orsay, and Giverny provided opportunities for students to study French art and culture. A swing through Normandy launched discussions about D-Day and World War II. In the Loire Valley, the group explored royal palaces of the After a couple more years spent Renaissance as well as the chateau refining plans and acquiring fundwhere Leonardo DaVinci spent the ing, Gallou, with assistance from last three years of his life. A four-day history instructor Dr. Nile Blunt stay in the preserved medieval town and new Peabody director Dr. Ryan of Sarlat, including a day trip to the Wheeler, put forth a trip itinerary castle of Commarque, offered the that centered on a theme of “going chance to study 10th- to 14th-cenback in time.” tury French and European history. The idea, she explains, was to peel The deep dive into prehistory constiback the layers of French history a tuted the final portion of the trip. little at a time by starting the trip in “Right from the start, we wanted modern-day Paris and ending it by this trip to be about more than just digging for Paleolithic artifacts with France,” said Gallou. “Exposing Lacombe and his team in Ariège at the students to French culture and the foot of the Pyrenees. French and European history was While in Paris, visits to places such important, but we also wanted as the Louvre, Versailles, Saintethe trip to be about the history of Chapelle, Notre Dame, the Musée humanity. Prehistory is the history Andover | Fall 2014
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