Niederle is considered to be the founder of modern archeology in the Czech lands.
He first studied classical archeology at the Charles University in Prague, before concentrating on anthropology and in particular on ethnology. After his graduation he pursued his studies in Munich and Paris. He was very interested in Slavic archeological discoveries and traveled a lot to see them (he studied the ethnogenesis of the Slavs).
In 1898 he was named professor at the Charles University
and became the representative of the theoretical “university school”, in opposition to the “museum school” led by professor Pic. Their polemic came to an end with Pic’s premature death. Niederle worked hard to make archeology popular and to embed it as a reputable university field. He founded the State Archeology Institute and became its first director. He wrote in numerous scientific magazines, and was a pioneer in the close collaboration of ethnology and archeology.
