Lietuvos archeologija

During the Soviet period, Lithuanian archaeologists developed a highly descriptive tradition in Lithuanian archaeology. In post-Soviet Lithuania, archaeologists continue to practice the descriptive tradition and rarely engage in theoretical debates. In order to understand the evolution of the descriptive tradition in Lithuanian archaeology, we provide an evolutionary analysis of current trends in Lithuanian archaeology. The overall goal of the article is to generate discussion between archaeologists about Lithuanian archaeology’s past, present and future.

The article is devoted to the person of Petras Tarasenka (1892–1962) and the history of his most important archaeological work Lietuvos Archeologijos Medžiaga (Lithuanian Archaeological Material) (published in Kaunas, 1928). It presents information about this digest and map of Lithuanian archaeological sites, the course and results of the work’s preparation for publication, and the public’s reaction after its release. It draws the conclusion that Lietuvos Archeologijos Medþiaga is the result of P. Tarasenka’s greatest personal efforts, that his objective was to contribute to the nurturing of the national culture, and that the archaeological map of East Prussia with commentary (published in Berlin, 1908) that was prepared by Emil Hollack (1860–1924) should be considered the work’s prototype.

The theory of Indo-Europeanization of the continent can be seen as a focal point in all Marija Gimbutas’s work and in her role in the history of archaeology. This theory has combined various directions of her interests and revealed the theoretical and methodological foundations of her research. This paper recalls the theory itself and its development, as well as its importance for European archaeology. The vicissitudes of this theory, which can be metaphorically described as the triad: reception – rejection – revitalization, illustrate the transformations of archaeology in the second half of the 20th century and in the first decades of the 21st century.

The Indian subcontinent has been one of the regions of the world where the worship of goddesses has been amongst the most longstanding. The seminal work of Marija Gimbutas on the Neolithic and Copper Age settlements of southeastern Europe and particularly her explorations into the feminine forms of the period as possible expressions of Goddess worship have implications for the material culture of the Indian subcontinent in ways that have perhaps not been adequately addressed. Equally, insights into some of the surviving trajectories of rituals and iconographies of goddess worship might serve to throw more light on enigmatic aspects of archaeological finds including from the Neolithic, not just in the context of the subcontinent but elsewhere in antiquity. The paper also sets out to explore the place of the dancing form in ritual particularly with respect to goddess worship, which emerged as a more distinctive feature of Indian antiquity than in many other parts of the world.

Gimbutas’ topicalisation of gynocentrism was of great significance in stimulating the study of figurines, influencing the humanities beyond archaeology, as well as a variety of international socio-political movements. The creations have a long tradition of being linked to fertility and suffer a predominantly onesided treatment in research. In this context, the intellectual history of the interpretation of prehistoric social living conditions is analysed, critically questioned and the extent to which historically evolved role models are present in past and recent research is examined. On the basis of selected examples, the methods of ethnological analogy and stylistic analysis are used to contribute to the interpretation of the decorations of the SE European Neolithic material. Additionally, an application-related interpretation is proposed for the Cucuteni-Tripolye figurines of the Poduri set. The second part addresses the impact history of Gimbutas’ opus. Regardless of the justified methodological criticism, its various imprints on e. g. ethnography, feminist studies, as well as outside academia will be acknowledged. The contributions profoundly inspired a variety of societal currents in the USA, Germany and post-socialist Lithuania.