Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994)

This is a reference-style book which proposes many cultural interpretations of the decorative aspects in pottery. The referenced pottery and archaeological digs were from various sites in Europe, the Near East and The British Isles.

I enjoyed the matriarchal myths the author reported and attributes to neo-pagan practices but in all honesty, there were next to no supporting documents or citations to validate her remarks. Such speculative ideas seem out of place here, when there are no data to justify the assertions. The over-arching hypothesis of a culture of The Goddess is unsubstantiated, perhaps more a case of 'away with the fairies' in support of the author's favoured notion. Gimbutas' earlier anthropological work was apparently very sound, so this departure was a surprise, even to her colleagues in archaeology (consult the Wikipedia entry for more perspectives).

Despite these drawbacks, I learned more about the symbolism on the inscribed pottery shards. These were validated with the cultural practices of those times. The data help understand hand-embroidery in textiles that appeared in more recent centuries which alludes to these ancient origins.… (más)

I bought this book last year, after winning Harald Haarmann's Roots of Ancient Greek Civilization as an Early Reviewer. Haarmann, based on linguistic studies, argues that "Old Europe" – the peoples of Europe prior to the arrival of Indo-Europeans – significantly influenced the language and culture of the Indo-European arrivistes. Haarmann's study of paleo-Greek linguistics was superb, and Haarmann expressed his own admiration for the archeomythological work of Marija Gimbutas.

I gave Haarmann's Roots of Ancient Greek Civilization 5***** but I'm giving Gimbutas's Language of the Goddess 3½***. I have some skepticism of Haarmann's view of "Old Europe" as an Edenic paradise, but that's a relatively minor flaw that isn't overemphasized by Haarmann. In contrast, Gimbutas too often reads like "New Age" speculation.

Additionally, Haarmann's study is based on very specific linguistic analysis while Gimbutas goes "all over the place" with interpretations of pottery and statuary designs that tend, in my view, to be far too speculative given our limited knowledge of "Old Europe" and its cult of the Goddess. In fact, I wonder if there even was a single Goddess cult as opposed to a multiplicity of cultic practices.

This particular book is lavish in its design and very generously illustrated. Some might even complain that it approaches the "coffee table" level, but I found Gimbutas's illustrations and photographs very appropriate and demonstrate her vast command of the factual evidence (as opposed, however, to the conclusions which she draws, which tend toward the speculative).

Caution: Despite its highly pictorial nature, this book is not a quick read and you should expect to read just a couple or three short chapters at a time if you don't want to be overwhelmed in details.… (más)