SCIENCE WITHOUT “INTERMEDIARIES” (TO THE ANNIVERSARY OF RIMMA DMITRIEVNA GOLDINA)

The article was prepared for the anniversary of R. D. Goldina and touches upon the issues of the methodology of scientific search in archeology. The positive role of the researcher in the discussion about the chronology of early medieval antiquities, which was held in 1976 in Leningrad, is noted. Possible negative consequences of using alien sketches of archaeological material in scientific research are shown. Modern research (B. V. Rauschenbach) has shown that visual perception of space is a joint work of the eye + brain system, and not of the eye alone. When working with a certain kind of archaeological sources, the researcher's brain must be “trained” to recognize significant signs of this particular kind of sources. The stability of the chronological scheme of R. D. Goldina is predetermined by absolute knowledge of the material that was obtained as a result of her own author's excavations. Methodology for the analysis of archaeological material, developed by R. D. Goldina, is at the heart of many modern researches.