Karel Absolon (16 June 1877 – 6 October 1960) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

, and speleologist. He was born in Boskovice. Absolon was the grandchild of paleontologist Jindřich Wankel. During his studies at

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

he started with speleological research in the

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s of Moravský kras (''Moravian Karst'') in the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

of what is now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. In 1907 he became the custodian of the Moravian museum in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

and a professor of

paleoanthropology Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinsh ...

at the

in 1926. His most known works are the paleoanthropologic discoveries at Dolní Věstonice which include a Venus figurine. He worked on the systemic mapping of the Moravský kras, including the '' Macocha Abyss'' and the ''Pekárna'', ''Punkevní'' and ''Kateřinská'' caves. He also explored karstic caves in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Absolon was very skilled in promoting himself and in popularizing his discoveries as a way to lure sponsors. Absolon died on 6 October 1960 in

. In 1961 a cave on the foot of Mt. Maggiore in the Italian Apuan Alps was discovered and named after Absolon.1241

References

External links

Absolon biography (in Czech)

Půtová, B.: Natural history objects, casts and reconstructions and their role in scientific work in the 19th and 20th century: Karel Absolon's collecting activity. Anthropologie: International Journal of Human Diversity and Evolution 59(2), 2021, s. 113−132.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Absolon, Karel Czech paleontologists Czech archaeologists Speleologists People from Boskovice 1877 births 1960 deaths Burials at Brno Central Cemetery Charles University alumni

See also

References

External links