ABSTRACT

The French colonial research institute Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO) had organised the first conference for prehistoric archaeology of the Far East in Hanoi in 1932. Delegates of international renown had gathered for the event from all over the world. Madeleine Colani's passion for prehistory had been influential when EFEO's director Louis Finot decided to incorporate prehistoric research into the institute's program in 1929. Madeleine Colani has more recently been given the credit for coining the concept of the 'Hoabinhian' classification at this conference in Hanoi. The Hoabinhian is still used today, along with the related concept 'Bacsonian', another product of Colani's work, an important classifier in the stone artefact typology of mainland Southeast Asia. Mae Bouahom did not meet Madeleine Colani; she was born 20 years after Madeleine and Eleonore left Hintang, and only knows her from the stories of 'Mae Madame' in her village.