a French Roman Catholic missionary of the Order of the Jesuits, born at Bordeaux in 1670, labored for many years among the Iroquois tribe of American Indians. He died in 1740. Lafitau is especially noted for his archaeological researches, among which is Masters des sauvages Americans compar ees aux mroeurs des premiers temps (Paris, 1723, 2 vols. 4to). He wrote also Histoire des decouvertes et des conqutes des Portugais dans le nouveau neolde.