Marija Gimbutas’ pioneering scholarship on the earliest horticultural societies focuses on Old European cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean (6500-3500 BCE).
She founded the field of archaeomythology to investigate beliefs, rituals, symbols, and social structures of these early societies. Archaeomythology is inspiring a new generation of scholars to develop a deeper understanding of past and present earth-based societies.
Our ASWM symposium seeks to expand this understanding by highlighting the voices of First Nations and Indigenous scholars to discuss indigenous, Old European, and other Nature-based cultures.
We are seeking proposals in these topic areas:
Women at the Center: Matrifocal, Matristic, Matriarchal Societies
Voices from the Land
Sacred Human-Animal Relationships
We are also seeking artists’ entries for a juried art exhibit.
Our 2021 Symposium is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support.
ASWM’s 2021 Symposium, “Wisdom Across the Ages: Celebrating the Centennial of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas,” is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies.
Marija Gimbutas
Inspired by the work of visionary scholar Marija Gimbutas, who encouraged students and colleagues from a variety of fields to examine problems in European prehistory with an inclusive, interdisciplinary point of view.
ASWM’s 2021 Symposium, “Wisdom Across the Ages: Celebrating the Centennial of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas,” is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support.
Marija Gimbutas
Background
A visionary scholar, Marija Gimbutas actively encouraged students and colleagues from a variety of fields to examine problems in European prehistory with a more inclusive and interdisciplinary point of view. A major focus of her research centered on the Neolithic cultures of Old Europe and the Indo-European Bronze Age societies that replaced them. She stressed the importance of investigating the enormous changes in beliefs, rituals and social structure that took place as a result of the “collusion of cultures” that took place between c. 4500-2500 BC, during the Indo-Europeanization of Europe, in order to more fully understand subsequent European cultural development. In Gimbutas’s view, this was “one of the most complex and least understood [periods] in prehistory.”
Journal of Archaeomythology
The JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOMYTHOLOGY has been published on a semi-yearly basis since 2005. The Journal is available on an OPEN ACCESS basis. All issues of the Journal are freely available to members and non-members alike. To have full access to all Journal articles, please click here to register for a free account. IAM also publishes collected papers from international symposia and monographs on archaeomythological themes. Learn more at their website. IAM is a membership organization; learn more here.
Jane Goodall has pointed out that human global disregard for nature brought on the current pandemic, documenting that mistreatment/exploitation of sentient beings can result in an exponential crisis for the whole planet.
Our 2022 biennial Symposium focuses on meanings found in the relational reality among science, culture, and mythology in regards to animals, the green world, and ecosystems.
With our primary focus on interconnectedness, we feature academic and artistic work that addresses collaborations between humans and other sentient beings, foundational myths about earth’s response to misuse, and scientific solutions to transgressions against the balance of nature.
Read about Denise Kester and “The Caretaker of the Precious,” the featured artwork for this event.
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