Dr. Andrzej Tadeusz Antczak (1956-2024). “El Polaco” de Los Roques: A great Venezuelan archaeologist and thinker

I write this note with sadness and nostalgia. Andrzej left for his last expedition into the unknown on 28 February 2024, in Leiden, The Netherlands, at the age of 67, after an almost four years-long valiant battle against bladder cancer. Andrzej was an exceptional human being, loving husband, devoted father, and doted grandfather, friend, colleague and companion who, with his humility, gentleness, kindness, and great sense of humor, won the hearts of many. But Andrzej was also a strong and persevering man, always ready to fight for his ideals with patience and determination. He was an acute thinker, with outstanding academic achievements; a pioneer of archaeological research in the Venezuelan Caribbean. One of Andrzej’s salient qualities was his ability to gather around him people who had the expertise and moral commitment to turn dreams into reality. Andrzej Antczak’s great legacy grows with every student who reads him, with every researcher who quotes him, and with every tourist who visits the Paradero Arqueológico (Archaeological Stop-In) on Dos Mosquises island. He was an unparalleled expert on the history and archaeology of the Venezuelan Caribbean, first glimpsing the remote past of this region and capturing his vision in a multitude of texts, documentaries, and lectures. Andrzej has published (in English, and Spanish) numerous monographs and dozens of articles in books and academic journals, as well as in the popular press. Among others, he is co-author of the outstanding publication Los Ídolos de las Islas Prometidas: Arqueología Prehispánica del Archipiélago de Los Roques (Antczak and Antczak 2006), winner of several awards (IV Premio Nacional del Libro 2006 al Mejor Libro Académico, Premio Andrés Bello 2007 a la Mejor Investigación en Ciencias Sociales and ASOVAC 2009). He recently co-edited the books World Archeoprimatologies: Interconnections of Humans and Nonhuman Primates in Prehistory (Urbani, Youlatos, and Antczak 2022), and Early Settlers of the Insular Caribbean: Dearchaizing the Archaic (Hofman and Antczak 2019). He also published several scientific articles and book chapters with our sons, who have continued working with the Venezuelan Caribbean past in their own academic careers.