Corneille Jest was born in Strasbourg, France, on February 12, 1930. After preliminary scientific studies, he decided to specialize in ethnology. He spent many years at the Musée de I' Homme in Paris. A disciple of André Leroi-Gourhan, he followed his method. Under his supervision, he studied at the Centre de la Formation a la Recherche Ethnologique (CFRE), where fieldwork, methodology, technology and material life were stressed. It should be noted that this training used to end with a week of fieldwork in France. Comeille Jest chose to work in the Aveyron on traditional handicraft techniques which were very alive at that time. This formed the subject of his these de troisième cycle "Le Haut Levezou. Techniques et économie d'une communauté rurale", 1960, Paris, La Sorbonne. He entered the CNRS in 1956 where he has spent all his career.