Ami Stone Tool Collections

Title: Ami Stone Tool Collections
Date Created: 1930s
Creator: Henry-Marc Ami (and the Canada National Museum)
Identifier: N/A
Original Location: Mostly France, Dordogne
Current Location: Library, University of King's College
Description: Henri-Marc Ami made his career at the Canada geological survey, where he became convinced that all humans descended from Neanderthals. In the 1930s he created the Canadian School of Prehistoric Archeology in France and started collecting literally tons of prehistoric stone tools, notably at Combe-Capelle, at a time where no law limited the exportation of prehistoric artifacts. Ami's goal was to create collections for most Canadian university to train future archeologists. The collection speaks to the ethical issues that follow the belief in a shared human history when it comes to the collection and circulation of artifacts, notably with respect to the role it gives to Indigenous populations in human evolution and the role museums play today in the preservation of these collections that were acquired “far away from home”.
Some of the tools are marked with labels indicating where they were collected. They are stored in a box along with a letter that indicates how the collection arrived at King’s College from the National Museum, after Ami's death.
Credit: Courtesy of Megan Krempa.
Contributor: Dr. Mélanie Frappier, Associate Professor of Humanities, University of King’s College.