The early Upper Palaeolithic human fossils from the Mladec ? (Lautsch) cave (German Fürst Johann's Höhle) are among the most valuable inventories of the Vienna's Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). They are closely associated with the early history of the - seum, the Anthropological Department in particular, and remain at the centre of scientific disc- sion on the biological and cultural evolution of early modern humans. The history of the retrieval and preservation of these finds is marked by circumstances and events that are both fortunate and tragical. Geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter and his assistant Josef Szombathy played a key role in the discovery. Very successful in a variety of positions, and acting for a number of institutions, Hochstetter also played a specific role in establishing the "science of man" in Vienna. President of the Geological Society and First Director of the newly created imperial-royal Court Museum, he founded the Anthropological-Ethnographical Depa- ment and became its Director. The fact that he was also a Real Member of the Academy of Sci- ces and chairman of the Prehistorical Commission of the imperial Academy of Sciences, founded in 1878, was also of particular importance in the context of early speleological research. This Commission was entrusted the task of initiating and promoting speleological investigations and "palaeo-ethnographical" studies and excavations on Austrian territory and of preventing the "- scientific exploitation of major sites for private purposes".

Contenu
Szombathy's Excavations in the Mlade? Cave and the First Presentations of the Results.- In Search of Prototypes Historical Soft-tissue Reconstructions of Mlade? 1.- The Structure of the Cave, Stratigraphy, and Depositional Context.- The Upper Paleolithic Finds from the Mlade? Cave.- Taphonomic Aspects of the Human Remains from the Mlade? Cave.- Large Mammal Remains from the Mlade? Caves and their Contribution to Site Formation Processes.- 14C Dating of Early Upper Palaeolithic Human and Faunal Remains from Mlade?.- Inventory and Photo-documentation of the Mlade? Hominid Remains.- Aurignacian Male Crania, Jaws and Teeth from the Mlade? Caves, Moravia, Czech Republic.- Aurignacian Female Crania and Teeth from the Mlade? Caves, Moravia, Czech Republic.- Electronic Segmentation Methods Reveal the Preservation Status and Otherwise Unobservable Features of the Mlade? 1 Cranium.- The Mlade? 3 Infant.- The Human Postcranial Remains from Mlade?.- Lost, Destroyed or Misidentified Postcranial Specimens from Mlade?.- External Geometry of Mlade? Neurocrania Compared with Anatomically Modern Humans and Neandertals.- Pathological Alterations and Traumas in the Human Skeletal Remains from Mlade?.- No Evidence of Neandertal mtDNA Contribution to Early Modern Humans.- Non-destructive Determination of 87Sr/86Sr Isotope Ratios in Early Upper Paleolithic Human Teeth from the Mlade? Caves Preliminary Results.