Madeleine Cavalier

She was born on June 27, 1928, in Vacquières, Hérault.{{Cite web |title=Luigi Bernabò Brea - Madeleine Cavalier |url=http://www.luigibernabobrea.it/cavalier.html |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=www.luigibernabobrea.it |archive-date=2023-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030101302/http://www.luigibernabobrea.it/cavalier.html |url-status=live }} Despite not obtaining her baccalauréat, it didn't prevent her from pursuing studies at the University of Montpellier without obtaining a degree.{{Cite journal |last=Vidal-Naquet |first=Pierre |date=2003 |title=Pourquoi et comment je suis devenu historien |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24248861 |journal=Esprit (1940-) |issue=297 (8/9) |pages=56–75 |jstor=24248861 |issn=0014-0759}} She later directed the excavations of Milazzo in 1951–1952. In the same year, she became the secretary-general of the French section of the International Institute of Ligurian Studies.{{Cite journal |date=1951 |title=Séance du 25 octobre 1951 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1951_num_48_9_2917 |journal=Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française |volume=48 |issue=9 |pages=385–417 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2024-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302115649/https://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1951_num_48_9_2917 |url-status=live }}

Subsequently, she was hired as a research associate at CNRS and, with the assistance of the French School of Athens and the French Institute of Lebanon, undertook a series of excavations in Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, and Turkey. She conducted excavations in Lemnos, among other places.{{Cite journal |last=Daux |first=Georges |date=1961 |title=Lemnos |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1961_num_85_1_20371 |journal=Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=834–835 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2024-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226154821/https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1961_num_85_1_20371 |url-status=live }}

The fruit of her research during this period in Greece focused on the relationships between prehistoric cultures in Greece and the Aeolian Islands.{{Cite web |title=Médaille d'argent du CNRS à Madeleine Cavalier - Centre Jean Bérard |url=https://centrejeanberard.cnrs.fr/spip.php?breve79 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=centrejeanberard.cnrs.fr |archive-date=2024-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302113724/https://centrejeanberard.cnrs.fr/spip.php?breve79 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2003-07-23 |title=4 - Les secrets d'Eole |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/4-les-secrets-d-eole_495712.html |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=L'Express |language=fr |archive-date=2024-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302140520/https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/4-les-secrets-d-eole_495712.html |url-status=live }} This work is detailed in an article dating back to 1960.{{Cite journal |last=Cavalier |first=Madeleine |date=1960 |title=Les cultures préhistoriques des îles éoliennes et leur rapport avec le monde égéen |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1960_num_84_1_1562 |journal=Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=319–346 |doi=10.3406/bch.1960.1562 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2020-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211174232/https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1960_num_84_1_1562 |url-status=live }} The Aeolian Islands were actually the preferred subject of Madeleine Cavalier's study, and she devoted a significant part of her scientific output to them. Through the analysis of excavated amphorae and workshops, she discovered, for example, that the island of Lipari derived its economic prosperity from the production of alum, which was then stored in amphorae for sale and transportation.{{Cite book |last1=Boisseuil |first1=Didier |url=http://books.openedition.org/efr/7802 |title=Le marché des matières premières dans l'Antiquité et au Moyen Âge |last2=Rico |first2=Christian |last3=Gelichi |first3=Sauro |date=2021 |publisher=Publications de l’École française de Rome |isbn=978-2-7283-1406-5 |language=fr |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2024-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229032428/https://books.openedition.org/efr/7802 |url-status=live }} It was one of the few non-food products transported in amphorae at the time. Her work was also crucial for understanding the unique linguistic aspects of the Aeolian Islands, both in relation to Greek and Latin.{{Cite journal |last=Dubois |first=Laurent |date=2005 |title=Alphabet, Onomastique Et Dialecte Des Îles Lipari |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44260693 |journal=Revue des Études Grecques |volume=118 |issue=1 |pages=214–228 |doi=10.3406/reg.2005.4612 |jstor=44260693 |issn=0035-2039|url-access=subscription }}

She married her colleague Luigi Bernabò Brea for a season, but the marriage did not last.{{Cite journal |last1=Malone |first1=Caroline |last2=Stoddart |first2=Simon |date=2000 |title=Luigi Bernabò Brea (1910-1999) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/506795 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=104 |issue=1 |pages=123–124 |doi=10.1086/AJS506795 |jstor=506795 |s2cid=193833021 |issn=0002-9114 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2016-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811082625/http://www.jstor.org/stable/506795 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |date=2002-06-17 |title=Il lungo viaggio di Madeleine/Ritratto di un'archeologa francese innamorata delle Isole Eolie – fuoricronaca |url=https://fuoricronaca.altervista.org/blog/il-lungo-viaggio-di-madeleine/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |language=it-IT |archive-date=2024-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302134646/https://fuoricronaca.altervista.org/blog/il-lungo-viaggio-di-madeleine/ |url-status=live }} Nevertheless, the two continued to be close professional collaborators until Luigi Bernabo Brea's death.

The opening of CNRS after the political changes following May 68 allowed her to join the institution even without a diploma or the baccalauréat, and she gradually climbed the ranks of the institution. In 1980–1981, she conducted excavations in San Vincenzo on the island of Stromboli.{{Cite journal |last1=Yoon |first1=David |last2=Levi |first2=Sara T. |last3=Ollà |first3=Annunziata |last4=Tigano |first4=Gabriella |date=2018 |title=Medieval Coins from the Site of San Vincenzo on the Island of Stromboli, Italy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26932662 |journal=American Journal of Numismatics (1989-) |volume=30 |pages=227–244 |jstor=26932662 |issn=1053-8356 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2024-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303115337/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26932662 |url-status=live }}

In Italy, she earned the nickname "signorina francese" among the Italian population, meaning the 'French damsel', during her field research. However, her research was not limited to Italy. For example, in 2009, she published "Les petites mains", a work dedicated to her ancestors in the town of Vacquières.« [Madeleine Cavalier est née à Vacquières...] », Midi Libre,‎ 11 janvier 2022

In 1985, she was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal for her research and academic work.{{Cite journal |last=Burgos |first=Valérie |date=2023-01-31 |title=Médailles d'argent du CNRS 1960-2010 |url=https://comihistocnrs.hypotheses.org/2706 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Comité pour l'histoire du CNRS |doi=10.58079/n1ag |language=fr-FR |archive-date=2024-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229235227/https://comihistocnrs.hypotheses.org/2706 |url-status=live }} She became a commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 12 April 1999{{Cite web |title=Gazzetta Ufficiale |url=https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2000-08-14&atto.codiceRedazionale=000A9079 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=www.gazzettaufficiale.it |language=it |archive-date=2024-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303115515/https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2000-08-14&atto.codiceRedazionale=000A9079 |url-status=live }} and was honored with the Order of Arts and Letters in 2007.{{Cite web |title=Nomination ou promotion dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres janvier 2007 |url=https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Nous-connaitre/Organisation-du-ministere/Conseil-de-l-Ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-ou-promotion-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2007 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=www.culture.gouv.fr |date=12 April 2010 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=2023-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321204412/https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Nous-connaitre/Organisation-du-ministere/Conseil-de-l-Ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-ou-promotion-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2007 |url-status=live }}

She also co-founded the Aeolian Archaeological Museum of Lipari with Luigi Bernabò Brea.{{Cite web |last=Pracanica |first=Alessio |date=2020-06-22 |title=Il museo Bernabò Brea di Lipari, uno dei più ricchi e meno conosciuti musei del Mediterraneo. Foto |url=https://dazebaonews.it/primo-piano/editoriali/50677-il-museo-bernabo-brea-di-lipari-uno-dei-piu-ricchi-e-meno-conosciuti-musei-del-mediterraneo-foto.html |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Dazebaonews |language=it-IT |archive-date=2023-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001160637/https://dazebaonews.it/primo-piano/editoriali/50677-il-museo-bernabo-brea-di-lipari-uno-dei-piu-ricchi-e-meno-conosciuti-musei-del-mediterraneo-foto.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Martinelli |first1=Maria Clara |last2=Spigo |first2=Umberto |date=2014 |title=Le isole Eolie dalla fondazione del Museo Archeologico Luigi Bernabò Brea alla istituzione del Parco Archeologico delle Isole Eolie: problemi di tutela e valorizzazione |url=https://www.torrossa.com/it/resources/an/3116822 |journal=150 anni di preistoria e protostoria in Italia. - ( Studi di preistoria e protostoria; 1) |language=it |pages=561–565 |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2023-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509135853/https://www.torrossa.com/it/resources/an/3116822 |url-status=live }}

En 2003, Pierre Vidal-Naquet revisited her figure, crediting her as having been an "extraordinary woman" and connecting her to his own vocation as a historian. In 2018, a book in her honor was published, featuring contributions from numerous researchers, including Maria Bernabò Brea and Massimo Cultraro.{{cite book |date=2018 |isbn=978-2-918887-82-9 |publisher=Centre Jean Bérard |series=Collection du Centre Jean Bérard |title=À Madeleine Cavalier}}

• 50px Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
• 50px CNRS Silver Medal (France)
• 50px Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)

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Category:1928 births

Category:Living people

Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Category:21st-century French women scientists

Category:20th-century French women scientists

Category:French National Centre for Scientific Research awards

Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Category:20th-century French archaeologists

Category:French women archaeologists

Category:French women historians

Category:Sicily

Category:Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research