Three Stages of the Research Career

We can distinguish three stages in the research career of Marija Gimbutas. 

The first stage (1942–1956) was dedicated to the prehistory of Lithuania and the Balts with a focus on territories populated by the Balts in the Iron Age, to the prehistoric culture of Eastern Prussia and Western Lithuania, as well as to the symbolism of Lithuanian folk art.

The second stage (1956–1973) encompassed the issues related to the origin of the Indo-Europeans including the Balts, and the transformation of European cultures following the invasion of the Indo-Europeans.

The third stage (1973–1994) dealt with the archaeology and mythology of the cultures of Old Europe and the analysis of ancient signals and signs. 

This gradation shows what scholarly interests prevailed in some or other period of Gimbutas’ career, while demonstrating that she was always profoundly interested in the prehistory of the Balts. In line with the topic of her main research, she would reveal yet more new aspects of the Baltic archaeology.

Adomas Butrimas
(After: Butrimas, Adomas. Marija Alseikaitė-Gimbutienė – baltų archeologijos tyrėja (Marija Alseikaitė-Gimbutas, a Researcher in Baltic Archaeology). Lituanistica, 2012, t. 58, nr. 1 (87), p. 3)