Na poti do sem sem razmišljal, kako začeti to srečanje – in bolj sem razmišljal, bolj se mi je zdelo absurdno, da bi uvodoma predstavljal nekoga, ki ga vsi poznate. Pač pa lahko povem anekdoto, za ...katero mogoče ne veste vsi. V Društvu za antične in humanistične študije smo predlani prišli na idejo, da bi profesorja Gantarja predlagali za neko drugo nagrado, ki je imela med obrazci tudi obrazec za soglasje predlaganega. Naredil sem osnovnošolsko napako ter pisal profesorju, če ga lahko izpolni in podpiše. On pa mi je odpisal, da je nagrad v življenju dobil preveč in da prosi, naj ga ne predlagamo. Eksplicitno izraženi zahtevi se je težko upreti. Smo pa v društvu tudi poznavalci Otona Župančiča, ki je, kot veste, napisal, da gre osel enkrat na led, »baš to je oslovstvo«, in da modrec ve, kako je »danes pal«, jutri bo pa plesal po njem. Ko smo tako profesorja predlagali naslednjič, tokrat za Prešernovo nagrado, ga nismo nič spraševali. Na tem mestu bi se zato rad zahvalil Miljani Cunta s Slovenske matice, ki je vse to koordinirala, in SAZU, ki je predlog takoj podprla; resnično sem vesel, da ob tej priložnosti lahko sediva tukaj.
The second edition of the book by archaeologist Ivan Šprajc, a considerably enlarged version of the first edition published in 2009, is a first-person narrative of his explorations in the Maya area. ...Written by a distinguished expert and published in German in 2015, with an English translation currently in press in the USA, it is an adventurous story presenting in a reader-friendly way the incidents, difficulties, dangers, and triumphs experienced by an archaeologist in the tropical forest of southeastern Mexico. The thematically rounded episodes following the chronological order of Sprajc's expeditions include interesting information about the life of the ancient Maya, about their settlements, economy, social order, religious life, politics, and the emergence, development, and collapse of their civilization, as well as about the lives of their modern descendants, the technological advances of archaeology, and Mexico's concern for cultural heritage. The book is equipped with an overview map and a wealth of photographic material.Publication of this book was made possible by generous gifts from Slovenian supporters of Šprajc’s expeditions: Abanka, Ars longa, Adria kombi, and National Geographic Slovenia (Rokus Klett Publishing House).
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