© Antropark 2006, Author and Illustrations © Libor Balák

Updates Antropark 2012, Author and Illustrations © Libor Balák

Kontakt - Libor Balák:  antropark@seznam.cz

Translated and modified by Ladislav Nejman after discussions with the author.

This is the website of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology in Brno, The Center for Paleolithic and Paleoethnological Research.

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HOLOCENE  CULTURES  I.

This epoch subsumes the agricultural period as well as metal processing cultures (Holocene – geological period of the last 10 000 years)

Neolithic - New Stone Age, the period of the first agriculturalists

The professional image reconstruction - for the City of Prague Museum (tone painting was created in cooperation with archaeologist Martin Hložek and professional staff of the Museum of Prague)

In the Near East already in the 9th millennium B.C., in the Danube basin 7700 – 7500 years ago, then spreading into our territory. Agricultural life was centred around long post houses. A reconstructed image based on expert advice – for Prague Museum. The painting originated in consultation with archaeologist Martin Hložek and other experts from the Prague Museum.

Lengyel culture (culture with Moravian painted ceramics)

This Neolithic culture has left a distinctive archaeological signature centred in southern Moravia, but also included southwest Slovakia and adjacent parts of Austria and Hungary. Temporally belongs to late Neolithic – about 5000 B.C.

Colourfully decorated ceramics constituted a distinct element of this culture, which subsequently spread into northern Poland, Bohemia and central Germany. Apart from pots, ceramic spoons, ladles, cubic lamplets and models of various objects and structures are known from southern Moravia. This society also possessed advanced agriculture.

Model of a small dwelling is transformed into reality

Ceramic fragment labelled as a ship  is transformed into watercraft decoration – a monoxylon manufactured from a single piece of tree trunk

A Neolithic Venus fragment with preserved colour decoration

The figurine is wearing shorts

This statuette has a long composite neckcloth. It is a harmonic combination of a painting and a reconstructed transformation.

Neolithic Venus figurines are conceived within the abilities of the artisan. Everything is dependent on technology. There are few clues on the figurines which would provide information about the inspirational motives of the artisan. On the Venus is really too little informations about inspirational signs which goes out of actual visage of real people. The meaning of the nakedness of the figurines is also controversial; some of the figurines could have had clothes painted on them.

Venus figurines wearing skirts were also not naked

The painting displays the technological stages of Venus figurine manufacture. Material is added – plastic. Therefore an additive procedure is possible using individual components.