Antropologická imaginace - Cesty za pravěkým uměním – Soukup Václav (2025)

The central theme of Václav Soukup's book is the description, analysis, and interpretation of the emergence and developmental changes of prehistoric art. The author pays special attention to the birth of human artistic creativity and artistic imagination in the context of human prehistory. The aim of the book is to capture the meaning, function, and significance of prehistoric artistic artifacts as unique visual semiotic systems that manifest in the form of paintings, engravings, and sculptures. The book was created based on the author's anthropological research on prehistoric art and his travels to significant prehistoric sites.

Through a nearly travelogue-style narrative, the reader becomes part of anthropological expeditions to the most important European prehistoric sites where prehistoric paintings, engravings, and sculptures have been preserved.

The book's impact is enhanced by the application of the anthropological 'principle of reflexivity,' through which the author becomes part of the literary text and his effort to enrich the presented empirical data with stories of prehistoric artifacts. This approach, still unique in our academic literature, allows readers to reflect more deeply on the message of prehistoric art. From this perspective, the book represents a creative and original...