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Lucy, Mother Ethiopia. Exposer La Paléontologie À Addis-Abeba Des Années 1960 À Nos Jours Thomas Guindeuil, Jean-Renaud Boisserie

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Lucy, Mother Ethiopia. Exposer La Paléontologie À Addis-Abeba Des Années 1960 À Nos Jours Thomas Guindeuil, Jean-Renaud Boisserie Lucy, Mother Ethiopia. Exposer la paléontologie à Addis-Abeba des années 1960 à nos jours Thomas Guindeuil, Jean-Renaud Boisserie To cite this version: Thomas Guindeuil, Jean-Renaud Boisserie. Lucy, Mother Ethiopia. Exposer la paléontologie à Addis- Abeba des années 1960 à nos jours. Cahiers d’histoire du Cnam, Cnam, 2016, Les musées scientifiques et techniques innovent : nouvelles expériences, nouvelles médiations, 5 (5), pp122-151. hal-03019274 HAL Id: hal-03019274 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03019274 Submitted on 23 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. 121 Lucy, Mother Ethiopia. Exposer la paléontologie à Addis-Abeba des années 1960 à nos jours Thomas Guindeuil CFEE, IFRE 23, USR 3137. Jean-Renaud Boisserie CFEE, IFRE 23, USR 3137, CNRS. Inaugurée en décembre 2014, la nouvelle En 2000, lors de l’inauguration de galerie de paléontologie et de préhistoire du la première galerie intégralement dédiée Musée national d’Éthiopie constitue le à la paléontologie au Musée national dernier épisode de l’histoire de la restitution d’Éthiopie, le squelette original de Lucy Résumé en Éthiopie des sciences de l’évolution. La est exposé. Il est ensuite ramené dans les paléontologie, et plus particulièrement la réserves sous escorte policière. Alors que paléoanthropologie, forment un secteur à la le fossile est déposé sur une table avant de fois très dynamique et fortement reprendre sa place dans le coffre-fort qui internationalisé de la recherche sur le lui est dédié, les policiers se prosternent territoire national éthiopien. À Addis-Abeba, devant lui en invoquant Mother Ethiopia, les expositions successives de paléontologie la « mère de l’Éthiopie ». Si cette anecdote reflètent l’intégration progressive des fossiles révèle bien le poids que revêt aujourd’hui au patrimoine culturel national. Mais elles Lucy dans l’imaginaire national, la place témoignent aussi d’autres enjeux, liés aux accordée à la paléontologie dans les expo- conditions matérielles et humaines du sitions d’Addis-Abeba révèle un rapport fonctionnement des musées éthiopiens, ainsi complexe des institutions patrimoniales qu’à l’effet de concurrence entre les projets éthiopiennes à une science dont les enjeux de recherche internationaux. dépassent ceux de la seule Éthiopie. Le Musée national d’Éthiopie (fig. 1) est la vitrine de l’Authority for Research and Conservation of the Cultural Heritage (ARCCH). Cette administration dépen- © Jean-Renaud Boisserie © Jean-Renaud Figure 1 : Le Musée national d’Éthiopie, décembre 2014 dante du Ministère de la Culture et du et en particulier sa section dédiée aux fos- Tourisme est l’héritière du Département siles humains. Cette partie du musée a fait des Antiquités du gouvernement impérial l’objet d’une rénovation récente (inaugu- éthiopien. Le Musée national d’Éthiopie ration en décembre 2014), soutenue par abrite aujourd’hui cinq expositions thé- la coopération française en Éthiopie, et à matiques permanentes : une galerie de laquelle les auteurs de cet article ont été paléontologie et de préhistoire, incluant impliqués à différents titres1. le fossile de Lucy, une exposition d’ar- chéologie antique, plusieurs vitrines ex- posant des vêtements et du mobilier de la 1 Jean-Renaud Boisserie est le conseiller scientifique cour impériale (histoire contemporaine), et principal concepteur de l’exposition permanente une exposition de beaux-arts et une ex- inaugurée en 2014, mais également de l’exposition de paléontologie inaugurée en 2000. En tant que secrétaire position ethnographique. S’il n’en a pas scientifique du Centre français des études éthiopiennes toujours été ainsi, la principale attraction depuis septembre 2014, Thomas Guindeuil a été à partir du musée est aujourd’hui sans conteste la de cette date le coordinateur du projet d’exposition inauguré en 2014, et dont il a mis en œuvre la réalisation galerie de paléontologie et de préhistoire, matérielle avec Jean-Renaud Boisserie. 122 123 Il n’existe pas, à la connaissance à travers les expositions de fossiles valo- des auteurs, de données sur la fréquen- risant les découvertes réalisées sur les ter- tation du musée et sur la structuration ritoires nationaux, s’est imposée dans la de ses publics. La direction du musée muséographie des musées d’histoire natu- insiste largement, dans son discours relle à la même période (Rieppel, 2012). institutionnel, sur l’importance du tou- En Éthiopie, la question de la valorisation risme international – une priorité affichée de ce passé lointain, antérieur à la nais- du gou ver nement éthiopien depuis les sance de l’État et donc au roman natio- années 1990. Mais si les groupes de tou- nal, ne s’est posée qu’à partir des années ristes sont effectivement nombreux tout 1960. Dans ce contexte particulier, les ex- au long de l’année, incluant notamment positions éthiopiennes de paléontologie un certain nombre d’individus issus de la portent la trace de l’internationalisation diaspora éthiopienne, le Musée national des projets de recherche internationaux, reste un musée populaire. Son principal qui associent scientifiques étrangers, public est scolaire (c’est l’un des princi- chercheurs et autres travailleurs locaux paux lieux de sortie de la capitale éthio- (dont les experts de l’ARCCH), sous la pienne pour les classes accompagnées de houlette d’institutions et de financements leurs enseignants) et, dans une moindre presque exclusivement non-éthiopiens. mesure, constitué de touristes nationaux Il est en cela particulièrement révélateur (c’est un lieu récréatif dans une ville qui que les expositions de paléontologie du en compte relativement peu). Avant la Musée national éthiopien aient toujours seconde moitié des années 2000 et l’ou- impliqué, dans la conception, le finan- verture progressive du pays au tourisme cement comme dans la réalisation tech- international, les publics éthiopiens ont, nique, des universitaires, des bailleurs de fait, été quasiment les seuls concernés et d’autres coopérants étrangers. Dans par les expositions. ce contexte, des chercheurs ont di rec- tement endossé la charge d’« experts » en L’Éthiopie est mondialement muséographie, constituant une catégorie connue pour sa contribution fondamen- particulière d’experts en patrimoine – un tale aux sciences de l’évolution, des ver- groupe par ailleurs très actif en Éthiopie tébrés (humains inclus) comme de leur et qui participe à la définition des poli- environnement, mais les conditions de tiques patrimoniales nationales (Blanc & la restitution locale de cette recherche Bridonneau, 2015). for tement internationalisée sont mal connues. En Europe, la préhistoire et son Les projets d’exposition successifs, exposition publique à travers les musées traduisant l’avancée de la recherche pa- « nationaux » et la valorisation des sites a léontologique, ont largement participé à participé, dès la fin du xixe siècle, aux pro- reconfigurer le musée depuis les années cessus de construction nationale (Hocha- 1960, en faisant de l’institution le lieu del, 2015). La paléontologie, notamment privilégié d’un exposé sur l’évolution, et en capitalisant sur la renommée inter- Les origines nationale du fossile de Lucy, devenue la internationalisées d’un « star » incontournable de toute visite à projet muséographique Addis-Abeba. Comment ce musée, vitrine national du patrimoine culturel national, fait-il dialoguer cette attraction avec ses propres L’histoire du Musée national logiques d’édification de la nation ? d’Éthiopie est longue et complexe, depuis Quelle est la relation entre le Musée le premier projet d’un musée archéolo- national d’Éthiopie et la paléontologie, gique éthiopien, initié avant l’occupation et notamment la paléontologie humaine, italienne de 1936-1941, jusqu’à l’instau- cette « science universelle » qui propose ration progressive dans la période d’après- à l’heure actuelle un récit des « origines » guerre de deux institutions, un Musée commun à toute l’humanité, et non à la national proprement dit (rassemblant en seule nation éthiopienne ? Quels liens se particulier des donations de la cour) et un tissent dans ce contexte entre recherche, Musée d’archéologie, fi na lement fusion- expertise internationale, institutions nés à la fin des années 1960. Le musée locales et fabrication des expositions ? prend alors ses quartiers dans un palais co- lonial italien, établi à proximité de l’église Cet article retrace l’histoire des Sainte-Marie, dans le quartier d’Amist expositions éthiopiennes de paléontolo- Kilo, au cœur des différentes implanta- gie de façon chronologique. Les projets tions du campus de l’Université Hailé successifs ont le plus souvent été liés à Sélassié Ier (devenue Université d’Addis- des découvertes et des avancées significa- Abeba après la Révolution de 1974 qui a tives de la recherche paléontologique, qui renversé la monarchie). Musée et lieux de sont restituées pour mieux contextualiser dépôt et d’étude des collections nationales chaque changement. À travers l’exposé (d’archéologie, de paléontologie, mais de chaque étape, l’article s’intéresse en
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