8 DECEMBER 2017 DRAUGASNEWS Professor Marija Gimbutas and Those Indo-Europeans The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago – a leading center for the study of Part of the collection of the Oriental Institute. ancient Near Eastern civilizations • Lectureship at the Oriental Insitute • Genetic studies confirm her theory • Faced and overcame discrimination derwrite. The talk presented her scientific contri- advocated by Lord Colin Renfrew, maintained that bution in establishing the origins of the Indo-Eu- Indo-Europeans originated from what is now central ropeans. The presenter was Lord Colin Renfrew, Sen- Turkey and that they slowly, and gradually spread ior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeo- through Europe. logical Research, Formerly Disney Professor of Ar- The question which of these two theories is cor- chaeology and Director of the McDonald Institute, rect has intrigued me for some time. University of Cambridge. He flew in from England In studying the literature about Indo-European for the sole purpose of giving this lecture. origins, a year and a half ago, I ran across a DVD fea- turing an interview with Marija Gimbutas, entitled Oriental Institute “Signs Out of Time.” The conversation covered her entire life, from her early education in Lithuania to The Oriental Institute is an internationally her professorship at UCLA. This DVD was produced recognized center for the study of archeology of the in 2003 by Belili Productions and Canadian Donna ancient world. In addition to undertaking and Read and was narrated by Olympia Dukakis. (You can sponsoring a large number of archeological exca- view the interview on YouTube at vations and publishing its findings, the Institute, as www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjE2-H1R9Zs.) part of the University of Chicago, has an active un- What I heard, stunned me. After surviving the dergraduate and postgraduate education program. ravages of World War II, and ultimately arriving to The Institute also maintains a museum that has an the safety of the US, she nevertheless suffered impressive array of unique artifacts from the an- unimaginable indignities in pursuing her profes- cient Near East. sional goals. She asserted that the discrimination The Oriental Institute is presently involved in which she faced at Harvard was inherently misogy- a multi-year project, The Hittite Dictionary, where nistic. That is probably true. But, I also believe, giv- extant linguistic material regarding the Hittite en the severity of what she had to endure, that there language is being collected. It is the oldest known was an additional catalyst for discrimination—the Indo-European language. The Hittite empire flour- fact that she was an immigrant from Eastern Europe. ished in central Turkey from 1,600 to 1,200 BC. Thus, Given her archeological accomplishments, and Indo-European origins are of considerable interest now knowing the discrimination she had to confront, Prof. Marija Gimbutas to the Institute. I felt an obligation to bring her saga to the highest lev- As part of the Institute’s educational program, els of academia. I jumped to the task. A year and a a monthly public lecture is presented on a current AUDRIUS V. PLIOPLYS half later, the Marija Gimbutas Memorial Lecture archeological topic. This is the first time that the In- took place. Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994) was an accomplished, stitute sponsored a lecture to honor a specific per- son, namely, Marija Gimbutas. world-renowned scholar, known for her studies on ancient European civilizations. She created a new field Origins of scientific investigation— archaeomythology by combining archeology, linguistics, ethnology, and re- The question of origins has ligion into a single discipline. Her approach signifi- always been a matter of great im- cantly impacted today’s understanding of prehistoric portance to me. What are the ori- Europe. gins of the universe? How did life appear on earth? From where did uring World War II, faced with the Soviet oc- our Indo-European culture and cupation, she fled Lithuania with her husband language arise? It is this last ques- and two young daughters. She completed her tion that brought me to Marija archeological studies in Germany and then moved Gimbutas’s research. Dto the United States. She worked at Harvard Uni- In general terms, Marija versity and later at UCLA. In 1993 she received an Gimbutas presents a hypothesis honorary doctorate from Vytautas Magnus Univer- that ancient Europe was settled by sity in Kaunas, Lithuania. Marija Gimbutas was also a peaceful, matrifocal society. From an active member of the Santara-Šviesa organiza- the steppes of the Caucasus, the tion. She helped Vytautas Kavolis edit the Met- Indo-Europeans came in like an in- menys journal in which she published her own sci- vading force—on horses, mili- entific articles in Lithuanian. taristic, and patrilineal. Our own Lithuanian ancestors descended On November 8, 2017, at the Oriental Institute, Archeologists and colleagues (from l. to r.) Ernestine Elster, Colin Renfrew, from these invading forces. She University of Chicago, Marija Gimbutas was the sub- and Marija Gimbutas in 1986 at the publication celebration for their edited ject of a lecture which I helped organize and un- called this the Kurgan hypothesis. work reporting on the Sitagroi excavations – a middle neolithic to early An alternative hypothesis, bronze age site in northeast Greece. DRAUGASNEWS DECEMBER 2017 9 that she needed to use barred women ceived significant attention. Four rep- from entering. This made obtaining resentatives from the UCLA archeolo- needed reference material difficult. gy program flew in from Los Angeles As a fellow, she was not allowed to to Chicago to hear it. The lecture was join the University’s Faculty Club. videotaped, and it will soon be posted She could only enter the club if a on the Oriental Institute’s website. male member invited her and physi- Anyone, anywhere in the world, will be cally escorted her in. able to view it. This will be a fitting me- Marija was fluent in several Eu- morial to a woman who overcame dis- ropean languages. Male Harvard fac- crimination and accomplished so ulty members repeatedly requested much. her to translate material for them. Vytautas Kavolis, a renowned cul- She did this, receiving no payment tural historian and Gimbutas’s col- and no acknowledgment. Misogyny league wrote, “She was the only sci- was thriving. I do not know whether a entist in the 20th century who suc- similar attitude was prevalent at oth- ceeded in finding and researching a er US universities at that time. I am civilization that was not yet known. confident, however, that no male, not She summarized the abundant exca- even an Eastern European immigrant, vations in the Balkans in her sub- would have been treated in the fashion stantial works on the civilization of an- which Gimbutas was. cient Europe, gave it a name, and was able to decipher its language. Thanks Named lectureship to her extraordinary erudition, Mari- ja Gimbutas was able to discover traces The Marija Gimbutas Memorial of a lost world and the fact that in the Lecture is the first named lectureship Neolithic, women played a much more Map of Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BC according to Marija in the history of the Oriental Institute important role than they were attrib- Gimbutas’ developed Kurgan model. since it was founded in 1931. It re- uted to in history.” Professor Marija Gimbutas cent genetic studies concerning Indo- and Lord Colin Renfrew European origins. These results strong- ly support Marija’s Kurgan hypothesis. Amber Health Center As the director of the McDonald In- The title of his lecture was “Marija Re- Dr. Vilija R. Kerelis stitute for Archeological Research at diviva: DNA and Indo-European Ori- 6420 West 127th st. suite 106 gins.” The word “rediviva” means to be Cambridge University in England, Palos heights, iL. 60463 Lord Renfrew is considered by many to rediscovered, or reborn. (708) 567-6718 [email protected] be one of the most accomplished living archeologists in the world. In 1967 Discrimination: a woman Functional Medicine Lord Renfrew was invited to be a vis- and an immigrant unLiKe ConVentionaL medicine, functional medicine treats the underlying causes of iting professor at UCLA, where he met disease, not the symptoms of disease or disease itself. Marija Gimbutas. In 1968 he initiated I have had the honor of hearing a three-year archeological dig in Sita- Gimbutas speak in Chicago on two n drugs, other medical procedures can only treat or “cover up” the symptoms of the groi, Greece, while Marija Gimbutas occasions. The last time was but a few disease. was conducting excavations in Obre, months before her death. The difficul- nFunctional medicine doctors spend time with their patients, listening to their histories Bosnia. The distance between these two ties that she faced in her professional and looking at their genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors which may have locations was some 250 miles. They vis- career were not evident in her pre- influenced their health. ited each other’s archeological sites sentations and publications. Only in Conditions that I have helped with: and collaborated in presenting their re- the DVD interview does she recall any thyroid • autoimmune • fibromyalgia • migraines • autism • add/ adhd • bedwetting • search results. They became close discriminatory events. Thus, the fol- urinary tract infections • obesity • vertigo • Crohn’s • irritable bowel syndrome (iBs) • friends and participated in archeolog- lowing information was gleaned from celiac disease • depression and anxiety • neuropathy ( diabetic and other) • multiple ical explorations together. However, the filmed account. The observations allergies/ sensitivities • more ... they parted ways over the issue of the were confirmed in conversations with geographic origins of the Indo-Euro- Dr. Ernestine Elster, an archeology peans. Lord Renfrew became a vocal op- researcher at UCLA, and one of ponent of Marija’s theory.