Lietuvos archeologija

The article focuses on the analysis of the wooden buckets used in human burials of the Ostriv cemetery studied in 2017–2020. The discovery of dominant culture-defining artefacts, such as penannular and ring brooches, zoomorphic bracelets, and spiral neck-rings, suggest that this ancient population may be originated from the coastal part of the East Baltic region, including Sambian Peninsula, historical Curonia and Semigallia and the results of anthropological and paleogenetic studies reinforce this theory. One of the characteristic features of the burial rite of the Ostriv cemetery was the presence of sacrificial food stored in vessels (buckets). Remnants of buckets – in the form of bandings hoops, handle mounts, and forged handles – were found placed at the feet of the deceased. Taking into account the fact that buckets were not generally incorporated into the burial practices of the Baltic tribes of that time, the authors of the article suggest that this rite infiltrated into their society after migration to the Porossya region of Ukraine and was associated with the complex processes of the Christianization of the Baltic settlers.

The aim of this article is to assess the value of Marija Alseikaitė-Gimbutienė’s (Gimbutas) 1946 dissertation published in Tübingen (Germany). It is also important to follow how much of an impact this work had on Lithuanian archaeology and what inspiration it may provide for scholars today. This paper concentrates on the parts of the book which deal with burial customs during the Roman Iron Age. Relevant problems of cultural divisions based on burial site types as per Gimbutienė are examined to see how much this classification may be accepted today. The second part of Gimbutienė’s dissertation, which focused on the meaning of burial customs, provides insights that are still important for scholarship today, and reveals the young scholar’s ability to reconstruct an old belief system and to discern the prospects for the further investigation of burial site material.

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.