Anthropologische Funde aus der Býčí Skála-Höhle - Stloukal - 1981

Anthropological Finds from the Býčí skála Cave. The entire anthropological material found by J. Wankel in the Býčí skála Cave in the Moravian Karst in the year 1872 was transported at the end of the ]9th century to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, together with other archaeological finds. The finds have not been scientifically studied and in the literature we can find only some information on the most outstanding pieces, and of course Wankel's conclusions. Wankel believed that he had discovered the burial of an Iron Age magnate, surrounded by a number of of¬ferings. In the recent years a joint study of Austrian and Czechoslovak archaeologists has been realized into the Býčí skála finds and the results of the study will be published in a special book. As far as anthropology is concerned it appears that many of Wankel's conclusions were ill-founded. His approach and his interpre¬tation of certain characteristic objects were greatly influenced by the then prevailing romantic trends. In some cases already the 1888 record in the catalogues of the Vienna Museum indicated that some of the finds of the collection are spurious. We must dismiss J. Wankel's idea that the finds formed part of a burial of a magnate with human sacrifices. However, it is rather difficult to find a plausible explanation of these findings, as we lack basic data on the find-circumstances.

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