Acta Musei Moraviae

This year marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Anton Rzehak (1855–1923), the prominent Moravian natural scientist – palaeontologist, archaeologist, geologist, and mineralogist. As a scientist, educator, and museum professional in Brno, he was a leading personality in science in Moravia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was notable for his wide-ranging expertise, which encompassed chemistry, geology, mineralogy, palaeontology and archaeology. Owing to his numerous fossil discoveries, he is regarded as both a palaeontologist and a micropalaeontologist. His extensive work on the Western Carpathians in Moravia earned him a reputation as a Tertiary geologist. In addition the term Měnín culture, along with his description of Borotice-type bracelets, earned him recognition as an archaeologist. Although Anton Rzehak laid the foundations for geological, palaeontological and archaeological research in Moravia through his many discoveries, much of his work remains largely overlooked. The aim of this article is, for the first time, to present a comprehensive account of the diverse discoveries of this important Moravian polymath.