With his original education the teacher Jan Knies (1860–1937) was one of the leading experts in the Palaeolithic settlement of Moravia. He spent his entire life tirelessly involved in the archaeological research conducted at the caves of Moravia, particularly around the Moravian Karst. Knies’s rich cave finds not only inspired a number of publications, but also led to the establishment of a private museum of the Moravian Karst.

Jan Knies was born on 26 November 1860 in Tasov and while still studying at the teaching institute in Brno he showed an abiding interest in archaeology, participating in the excavations carried out in the caves of the Moravian Karst at that time. Back then he also worked with his classmates at the famous cave find sites at Býčí skála (1877), Výpustek (1879) and in Pekárna cave (1880). His archaeological research continued in the Moravian Karst also while he was working as a teacher (e.g. in the caves Balcarka, Kůlna, Kolíbky and in the Sloupsko-šošůvské caves). His research gradually led to the formation of a collection of numerous valuable osteological and archaeological finds. Knies was also allegedly the first person to systematically sift cave sediments during his research at the Balcarka cave, enabling him to obtain thousands of small osteological, i.e. skeletal finds, amongst other discoveries. His renown led to his being asked to put together the first archaeological exhibits for the Ethnographic Exhibition in Prague in 1895. In later years Knies resolved to take an important step and founded a private archaeological-paleontological institution in Sloup in 1906, called the Knies Museum of the Moravian Karst, which continued to serve its scientific and popular purpose for the next 16 years. From 1922, when his collections became part of the Moravian Museum, then headed by Karel Absolon, Knies was not only involved in arranging them, but also participated in other archaeological excavations, such as those carried out in Dolní Věstonice. He was the author of some 200 professional publications (including the important synthesis Přehled moravského paleolitu (Overview of the Moravian Palaeolithic) from 1925), which showcased his ability to interpret his finds and his extensive experience in the field of geological and palaeontological research. Jan Knies died in Brno in 1937.

Keywords: geology; paleontology; archaeology; Palaeolithic; Moravian Karst; caves; palaeontology