GIMBUTAS, MARIJA (1921–1994) was an archaeologist, prehistorian, and influential interpreter of Stone Age religion. Born January 23, 1921, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Gimbutas grew up in a progressive and well-educated family. Her parents were both physicians who founded the first hospital in Lithuania. The family belonged to a circle of the best-known intellectuals and artists of their time in Eastern Europe. Even as a young girl, Marija developed a wide range of interests and talents; among other interests, she proved to be a highly gifted musician. In 1937–1938 she participated in an ethnographic expedition to southeastern Lithuania. This trip was the beginning of her lifelong attraction to folklore, an interest that had a prominent influence on her work in archaeology and her studies of prehistoric civilizations and cultures. In 1938 Gimbutas began to study linguistics at the University of Kaunas. The next year, after Vilnius had been freed from...