Abstract
Since the discovery of the first stone XIXth century, the discovery of the first stone tools and fossilized human remains, prehistory has established itself as both a scientific and emotional adventure. From the outset, it has aroused public interest, driven by enlightened amateurs, while artists and writers have seized upon this still little-known past. Their works reflect both the imaginations of their time and emerging knowledge. Scientists themselves have not escaped these projections. Despite advances in methods, prehistory remains steeped in representations and myths, as it touches on fundamental questions : man's place in nature, the origins of culture, language and society. It questions what we have been, but also what we think we are - to the extent that each era tends, in part, to invent its own prehistory. Influenced by intellectual and political contexts, these questions explain the enduring strength of this discipline, which remains a mirror of our own questioning of the human condition.
