Lietuvos istorijos institutas

Sadly, a great and famous Lithuanian archaeologist, Dr. Rimutė-Jablonskytė Rimantienė, passed away on July 4, 2023, aged 102. Her legacy is defined by an endless love of archaeology and a philosophical attitude, which encourages us to rethink the meaning of archaeology in these troubled times. Rimantienė underwent good and bad phases during her long life.

Marija Gimbutas (Gimbutienė) is a renowned archaeologist who specialised in European prehistory. This paper explores her life and work, including her personal biography, showing how her upbringing in Lithuania shaped her academic interests and orientations. This paper also reviews her professional achievements and contributions via the lenses of seven aspects of her academic life, namely her time in higher education, her work on Lithuanian folklore and symbolism, her explorations of Old Europe during the Neolithic, her Kurgan Hypothesis and engagement with Baltic studies, her excavations in southeast Europe, her work on the Goddess, and her symbolism work. It also examines academic and popular reactions to her writing and her influence on scholars and public discourse.