Karel Absolon

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Karel Absolon (June 16, 1877 - October 6, 1960) was Czech archaeologist, geographer, paleontologist, and speleologist. He was born in Boskovice.

Absolon was grandchild of paleontologist Jindřich Wankel. During studies at university in Prague he started with speleological research in caves of Moravský kras (Moravian Karst) in the South Moravian Region. In 1907 he become custodian of Moravian museum in Brno. Since 1926 he was professor of paleoanthropology at the Charles University in Prague.

His most known work are paleoanthropologic discoveries at Dolní Věstonice which include a Venus figure. He worked on systemic mapping of Moravský kras, including the abyss Macocha and caves Pekárna, Punkevní and Kateřinská. He also explored karstic caves in the Balkans, France, and England.

Absolon died on October 6, 1960, in Brno.

[edit] Curiosities

Absolon was very skilled in promoting himself and in popularizing his discoveries as way to lure sponsors [1].
In 1961 a cave on the foot of Mt. Maggiore in the Italian Apuan Alps was discovered and named after Absolon [2].