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In the early years of the 20th century, geomorphologists used what they called “palimpsest theory”ssss1 to describe natural cirques which bear the imprint of successive phases of glacier coverage, even after the glaciers in question have retreated (Jorré 1933, p. 365). In 1934, describing the wind direction recorded in the morphology of sand dunes in the Sahara, the geographer Léon Aufrère spoke of “deciphering the writing on this sandy palimpsestssss1“ (Aufrère 1934, p. 130). Jean Demangeot used the palimpsest metaphor in a similar way in relation to the direction of geological folds and the hydrographic network:

That these ancient, favored lines have survived beyond orogeny, like the hidden letters of a palimpsest, is clear; this is the key fact retained by morphologists, notably in terms of the tyrannical action of these lines on present features. (Demangeot 1943, p. 571)ssss1

The use of the word “tyrannical” implies a negative judgment on the part of the geographer; this critical regard with respect to persistence was a salient feature of discussion in the decades following the Second World War (see ssss1). During the first half of the 20th century, however, the palimpsest concept was essentially used to understand observations: the past survives in the present, in the ground footprint of certain forms, orientations, directions, etc., even in cases where the initial reasons for this footprint (populations, land administration systems, winds glaciers, etc.) are long departed.