Investigations of burial practices and the concept of the afterlife in the archaeology og Lithuania. Historiographical aspect

Investigations of burial practices in Lithuania started in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, concepts of burial, death and the afterlife were brought up in studies (popular and scientific articles, publications and monographs) of many antique lovers, self-educated relic collectors and researchers of prehistoric and historical burial practices. The first attempts to estimate and interpret burial practices originated from the fieldwork practice, although they lacked a broader theoretical base and preparation. A materialistic concept of the developing archaeology, concentration in collecting and filing of artefacts found at burial sites influenced a superficial and often poorly based interpretation of the past society. The only exception was a study by Jonas Basanavičius (1998, pp. 13–91) in the early 1900s. This was one of the first scientific works that examined the concept of the afterlife of ancient Lithuanians. In the study, however, folklore and mythological sources were weakly associated with the archaeological material. First thorough studies of burial practices, death and the afterlife were published in the 1940s by Marija Alseikaitė- Gimbutienė (1942; 1942 š; 1943 a; 1943 b; 1946 š), known as Marija Gimbutas in the West. A broad researcher’s approach of archaeology was formed, influenced by her professors, a linguist Antanas Salys and an archaeologist Jonas Puzinas, also, by works of J. Basanavičius (Fig. 1–2). For the first time, M. Alseikaitė-Gimbutienė investigated burial practices, the concept of the afterlife and the relationship between the living and the dead through the interdisciplinary context of history, folklore and ethnology. Archaeology was brought to light as a national science, part of a broader Lithuanian philology