THE ARTIST OF AVEYRON ABSTRACT The Artist of Aveyron is a story of time and place. It is a tale of how one small piece of our human geography can reveal unimagined insights into our past-who we are, and how we got here. It begins when Marie and her American husband and daughter must return to the small village in France where Marie's grandmother has left her the family farm, along with an unusual legacy in the form of an old trunk, which belonged to a distant relative. The legacy contained in the trunk begins the story, which covers thousands of years and countless little connections that will tie Marie's family to the land and its history in ways few could imagine. Beginning with the Ice Age hunter and cave painter, to the Gallo-Roman potter, then to the medieval wood carver, and on to the turn of the twentieth century dancer/artist and confidante of a famous Parisian painter, this story will reveal through the eyes and times of the four artists the myriad ways seemingly random lives played out in one tiny location can affect greater events of much wider significance. Why do we choose to remain attached to a particular piece of land? Why do some decide to accept a new belief system when it comes? Why do others later rebel against that system, knowing full well it might cost them everything? Why do some choose to go against age-old traditions their gender roles have forced upon them in order to pursue a life they know runs counter to what others demand of them? These are but a few of the larger questions we often ask without having any expectation that the answers might be lying right beneath our feet-wherever that tiny piece of ground might be.
About the Author: AUTHOR BIO Thomas Kuhn is a retired anthropologist, archaeologist, and former teacher. In addition to teaching college level anthropology and geography, he also taught high school English for several years. Additionally, he worked for seventeen years as an award-winning craft artist and operator of Rattler Crafts, an international business specializing in prehistoric Native American Reproductions. Publishing as T. C. Kuhn, he is the author of the six part People of the Stone series of novels detailing the origins and spread of Native American culture from the end of the Ice Age to the coming of the Spanish. His more recent books include The Kimono Song, a novel of WWII and Place of the Misty Sky, the first of a projected three part series on the rise, development, and decline of Classic Maya civilization. His current novel, The Artist of Aveyron is a look at a small area of southern France and how major historical events over long periods can often be reflected in the most unique and interesting ways. He is also the author of the People of the Stone blog (www.peopleofthestone.com), which continues to address controversial and related topics in Native American and general anthropology and archaeology. He presently resides in West Columbia, SC.