Speleology meteorology and cartography to develop portraits of caves as complex, evolving systems. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the scientific value of caves was considered only in its contribution to other branches of science, and cave studies were considered part of the larger disciplines of geography, geology or archaeology. Very little cave-specific study was undertaken prior to the work of Édouard-Alfred Martel (1859–1938), the 'father of modern speleology', who through his extensive and well-publicised cave explorations introduced in France the concept of speleology as a distinct area of study. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted
French Federation of Speleology was particularly active, and saw the first Bulletin of the CNS take the name of "Spelunca" (4th series), under the double patronage CNS-SSF. After their respective general assemblies on 25 and 26 November 1961, the (CNS) and the (SSF), decided to create a joint commission covering all of caving and speleology. After a consultation of cavers on 1 June 1963, at the national convention of Millau, the CNS and SSF assembled to form the French Federation of Speleology (FFS). On 3 June 1963, the new board elected the first office of the federation, which was composed of: The FFS then