Ancient History Lesson by Slidesgo

Victor of Aveyron was a French feral boy who was reportedly raised by wolves in the late 18th century. When he was around 12 years old, he was found living in the woods and unable to speak. Researchers attempted to teach him language and social skills to prove that these abilities depend on one's environment and upbringing rather than inherent nature. Though he made some progress under the care of Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, Victor never fully adapted to social conventions and remained more comfortable in the wild. His case contributed to debates around the Enlightenment idea that culture and learning separate humans from animals.

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Ancient History Lesson by Slidesgo

Uploaded by

Aldwin Owen Anuran

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Victor of

Aveyron
Here is where your
presentation begins
In the case of Victor of Aveyron, a
French feral boy who lived in the
woods of the Aveyron region in the
late 1790s and was allegedly raised
by wolves. Victor had reportedly
been sighted by local villagers as
early as 1794, and in 1797, he was
caught by local hunters and brought
to a town. A young widow cared for
him there for several months, but he
managed to escape and return to the
woods. He voluntarily emerged from
the woods in 1800.
The boy was then around 12 years
old and couldn’t speak any language.
The physicians who first examined
him thought that he might have been
deaf and mute. After he was
examined at the National Institute of
the Deaf in Paris, it was determined
that he was completely healthy but
had never come into contact with any
language. He was comfortable being
naked and had no problem with
roaming around in cold weather,
which led the researchers of the time
to conclude that he was well
accustomed to the harsh conditions
of the wilderness.
When Victor of Aveyron was found,
the Enlightenment movement was
in full swing; many prominent
scientists of the time believed that
the ability to learn and abide by
conventions is the only feature
which differentiates humans from
animals. Several researchers,
including a famous instructor of the
deaf named Roch-Ambroise
Cucurron Sicard, attempted to
teach Victor French and the basics
of communication to prove that the
development of one’s language and
social abilities depends on one’s
surroundings.
Although Victor showed some signs
of progress, he was aggressive,
hyperactive, and uninterested in
learning. This eventually led
researchers to the conclusion that he
would never be able to adapt to any
social convention, so they mostly
gave up on his future. He was left to
roam the corridors of the National
Institute of the Deaf and become a
kind of local attraction.
Fortunately, he was adopted by a medical
student named Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, who
arranged for him to move into his own home.
Itard was the one who gave him the name
“Victor”; up to that point, he was known only as
the “Wolf Child.” Under Itard’s close
supervision, Victor managed to learn several
phrases and accept some social conventions,
but never became a fully functional member of
society. Still, he received proper care and led a
peaceful life until 1828, when he died of
pneumonia at an estimated age of 40.
The End