Acta Biologica Tomus XLII. Fasciculi 1-4. [antikvár]

FOREWORD The international colloquium on the "Anthropology of Past and Present Populations" that was held in Szeged on 21-22 March 1997 tmder the auspices of the European Anthropological Association was an important event allowing an overview of anthropological research in its most current aspects. It was an event that honoured the output (both in quantity and in quality) of research from Hungarian anthropology, and from the head of the Department of Anthropology at .Tózsef Attila University in Szeged, Professor L. Gyula Farkas. This colloquium was primarily organized through the efforts of his colleagues in Szeged, among them Antónia Marcsik, György Pálfi, Zsuzsanna .Tust and Erika Molnár, but also of Olivier Dutour and Charles Susanne on behalf of the European Anthropological Association, in honour of Professor Gyula Farkas 65 years of age on 11 April 1997. Professor Gyula Farkas merits all our gratitude for his contributions to anthropological sciences, especially as concerns European anthropology, and in paiti-cular for the way in which he has built up the reputation of his department in Szeged. Born in Szabadszállás in 1932, he studied biology at .Tózsef Attila University in Szeged, where he was awarded his diploma as a biology and cheinistiy teacher in 1954. His career in fact staited with teaching in a graminar school, in Kecskemét, but from 1955, he joined .Tózsef Attila University in Szeged, first as an assistant, from 1961 as an assistant professor, from 1977 as associate professor, and from 1988 as full professor. Since 1980, he has been head of the Department of Anthropology at .Tózsef Attila University in Szeged. On the way to his becoming professor, following his graduation he was awarded three different degrees: - in 1960: a university doctorate with a thesis on "New data on the physical developiTient of 3999 pupils between 6 and 18 years of age"; - in 1976: a candidate's degree with a thesis on "The paleoanthropology and prehistoiy of South Hungary"; - in 1987: an academic doctorate with a thesis on "The physical developinent of children between 10 and 18 years of age and the age at menarche in South Hungaty". Professor Gyula Farkas is well known for his research activities, for his role as head of the Department of Anthropology of .Tózsef Attila University in Szeged, and also for his activities on behalf of Hungarian anthropology. From 1970 to 1980 he was secretaiy, and froin 1980 to 1985 president of the Anthropological Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Since 1985, Professor Gyula Farkas has also been - a member ofthe Anthropological Committee of the Hungarian Academ.y of Sciences; - a member of the National Postgraduate Degree Granting Board in Biology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; - editor of Acta Biologica Szegediensis;