Marija Gimbutas, the 21st Century and the Media: Creating Hope for a Peaceful Future through the Discovery of Prehistoric Civilization

By transcending the boundaries of the science of archaeology, uncovering new conceptions of the world, providing answers to complex prehistoric questions, expanding our understanding of civilizations, and grasping the language of symbols, Marija Gimbutas opened the gates of eternity for the cultures of the Neolithic Bronze Age as a distinct whole of a world and its visions. By identifying “Old Europe” as an ideal era, Gimbutas introduced this cultural reality and thus shed light on an extraordinary period in prehistoric Europe. The time of 6500 BC - the start of the feminine era - remains for the present day an inspiration for change and a foundation for value priorities, as a form of peaceful, tranquil, egalitarian, and nature-honoring coexistence. Marija Gimbutas’ ideas swept the world and became the basis for ever new ideas, insights, and creative projects. Her pertinent and meaningful insights, scientific hypotheses, and discoveries of symbols have ensured her relevance today. Digital and traditional media in the 21st century - the Internet, virtual space and social media, television and film, press and publishing, and the visual arts - continue to develop the Lithuanian-American archaeologist’s ideas, continuing the interactive power of wisdom and impact, meaning and discovery, that is inherent in the thoughts, ideas, and work of Marija Gimbutas.