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In 1956 Marija Gimbutas introduced her Kurgan hypothesis, which combined archaeological study of the distinctive Kurgan burial mounds with linguistics to unravel some problems in the study of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) speaking peoples, whom she dubbed the "Kurgans"; namely, to account for their origin and to trace their migrations into Europe. This hypothesis, and her method of bridging the disciplines, has had a significant impact on Indo-European studies. 

Also, her discoveries took on great symbolic importance for feminists across varied disciplines who found, in her vision of a peaceful, egalitarian, nature-revering society, a sense of hope for the future based on this foundation in the distant past. Unintended to her, Marija Gimbutas’ impact was so great that it reached beyond the scholarly community and helped fuel the women’s movement in society at large. Though scholars on methodological and ideological grounds have challenged her work, this very work fuelled the initial tangible, scientific, and material support for the hypotheses that cultures existed wherein patriarchy did not rule, war and violence was not assumed as a cultural norm, and that there were, in fact, egalitarian social structures. In honour of her contribution to the mutual enrichment of cultures for universal understanding and peace, UNESCO designated Gimbutas among its milestone anniversary commemorations for 2021 in observance of her centenary year. 

 

Other important women intellectuals of the Lithuanian exile were Birutė Ciplijauskaitė and Birutė Galdikas.

 

The oldest layer of Baltic mythology reaches prehistory of Pre-Indo-Europeans and reflects matricentric and matrilinear culture. Such goddesses as Laima, Ragana, Žemyna and other related mythological divinities are inherited from local inhabitants, which lived earlier than 3,000 - 2,500 years B.C. 

Ancient European goddesses were not wives, mistresses or daughters as in Indo European pantheon of patriarchal culture, but mothers, queens, “ladies”, providing life, welfare, happiness and disaster, health and illness, aware of life duration and moment of death. <...> Masculine gods exist in Pre Indo-european pantheon but only as secondary, they are not involved in reigning, creation and control. <...> 

Goddesses of Ancient European origin may be subdivided into two groups according to their character features, functions and spheres of manifestation. The first (A) group is comprised of goddesses, who know everything, give birth, multiply and also mortify, destroy and deprives. This sphere of Laima and Laumė-Ragana, including a big amount of secondary divinities. <...> These goddesses take vital energy from water and dampness – seas, wells, rivers, swamps, rain, wet womb cages and stones. It is lunar sphere; they act following moon phases. Usually appears in threes (three Laimas, three white cherries or like young goddess nymph or crone). The second group (B) is comprised of chthonic divinities (soil, flora), breathing like rhythm of the Earth, regarding seasonal time. The main goddess of this group is Žemyna, goddess of productivity of the Earth, the Earth-Mother.

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It belongs to the works of history and in the new discipline called archaeomatology

Didactic approach: This work can be used in subjects like 

• Lithuania literature
• World literature 
• Scientific publications

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