Viola T. Dobosi: Paleolithic Man in the Által-ér Valley (Tata, 1999)

widely extended in time, space and topic. His primary field of interest was palaeontology. He used to deal with the Pleistocene fauna of several caves inhabited by prehistoric people. Together with István Gaál, Kormos belonged to a generation of research workers hallmarked by László Vértes as the heyday of Hungarian Palaeolithic research. This period lasted from the beginning of the planned excavations to the World War II. Kormos received his doctoral degree in I909 at the Budapest University. Between 1908-1919, he was working in the Royal Hungarian Geological Institute. His main field of research was palaeontology, in the beginning, mainly that of molluscs (malacology), later the study of fossil mammals. After the Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919) he lost his job and worked as private clerk for some years. From the 1930-ies he returned to geology and worked, first in coal mining, later in bauxite research till his death. His scientific interest was considerably broad. His first scientific publication, on birds, was published in the age of 22. Being a cave-explorer, he joined archaeological research fairly early. His first and, He performed the partial excavation of the Szelim-cave and obtained imperishable results in the cognisance of the region. even now, justly renown excavation was, however, performed on an open-air site. Simultaneously to the excavations started at the Szeleta-cave, he excavated a portion of the Middle Palaeolithic site Tata-Porhanyóbánya. His next major archaeological effort was devoted to the Pilisszántó rock-shelter, becoming another classical site of the Hungarian Palaeolithic. The excavations were only stopped for a while by the outbreak of World War I. His scientific activity was not restricted to the study of the end of the Pleistocene period only. In the Villány Mts., he excavated a range of basic Early Pleistocene faunal assemblages, setting a firm basis for the biostratigraphical division of the Pleistocene. His broad field of interest, excavations and complex methods of scientific elaboration yielded several results appreciated even today and attained general credit on behalf of both Hungarian and international research. Tivadar Kormos (Győr, 1881. -Budapest, 1946.) 61