Kasinėjimai be teorijos? Kritiškas optimisto žvilgsnis į Lietuvos archeologiją

ENBroad-based high level theory, useful in promoting discussion and interpretation of vital issues in culturechange, has been largely neglected in modern Lithuanian archaeology. From the 1930s, without social theory to guide their research, archaeologists in Lithuania have been forced to accept research objectives with relatively low theoretical and strategic value: the simple description of artifacts and chronologies, and the (re-)construc- tion of Baltic „tribal homelands". A prevailing philosophy of artifact particuliarism encouraged widespread excavation of Iron Age cemeteries, in order to maximize retrieval of potential „ethnic markers" such as ornamental brooches and other jewelry, at the great expense of settlement archaeology. As a result, our knowledge of Baltic prehistory is now skewed. We know much about the funerary customs of Iron Age Baltic peoples, but very little about the patterns of everyday life and the basic demographic-economic infrastructure. Towards solution of this problem, I offer practical suggestions on how archaeological theory can be developed and integrated with field research.