Event description
"In this exhibition, seven of the most amazing Stone Age finds tell unexpected stories and reveal how prehistoric man once felt about the world thousands of years ago. Many years later, these artefacts are being opened up for the first time to the full experience of the museum visitor - a 21st century person is invited into a close conversation with a Stone Age man, seemingly so distant, yet at the same time strikingly similar," says archaeologist Gabrielė Gudaitienė, presenting the National Museum of Lithuania's newest exhibition, "Can You Talk to Me with Them?"
. is dedicated to the Stone Age period and is divided into two parts: one presents the life and work of Rimutė Rimantienė, known as the mother of Lithuanian archaeologists, and the other presents her amazing finds. According to the curator of the exhibition, without these finds, we would have been forced to reconstruct the worldview of prehistoric man based on finds from neighbouring countries, and now we can be happy to have such reference exhibits.
"These finds discovered by the archaeologist R. Rimantienė give us a unique opportunity to understand what was the worldview of the man who lived on the territory of Lithuania during prehistoric times. Imagine what kind of Stone Age man we would draw if we did not show next to him the ceremonial sticks with the head of a moose, all three of which were found by R. Rimantienė? These artefacts testify to the belief of man in the Lord of the Beasts at that time. A Stone Age painting would not be complete without the pots depicting human figures, which are today considered to be the first examples of scene art in Lithuania. A carved slate tablet from Eiguliai, which is unparalleled in the Baltic region and which was used by a man to break flint, tells us about the skill of Stone Age man and gives us a glimpse of the most important set of tools he had. A sculpture carved out of wood with the face of a god-man testifies to the ancestral cult that probably prevailed in the communities of the time, while a small lute, possibly used for collecting aquatic resources, still raises more questions than it answers for archaeologists today," says the curator of the exhibition G. Gudaitienė.
In the words of the curator, R. Rimantiene's discoveries, the Stone Age picture she has analysed and painted in detail, are the archaeology of the Lithuanian Stone Age.
The exhibition is also a celebration of her 100th birthday
The exhibition "Can I talk to them?" is dedicated to the centenary of the birth of archaeologist R. Rimantienė. It is a symbol of the archaeologist's long and meticulous work. No contemporary Lithuanian archaeological theory of the Stone Age can do without an analysis of the work of habil. dr. R. Rimantiene, and the number of her works is truly solid: several monographs and hundreds of articles.According to Rūta Kačkutė, Director of the Lithuanian National Museum, this exhibition continues the main goal of archaeologist R. Rimantiene - to present the Stone Age in an interesting way for everyone from academics to schoolchildren.
"In this exhibition, we invite all the visitors on a journey of experiences. At the same time, this is the first step of the museum to make the exhibition accessible to people with visual impairments. The challenge is great. We are also going down the path of experience ourselves, because until now all the Stone Age finds have been exhibited behind glass, but after the Museum's restorers have created reconstructions, they will now be adapted for a tactile experience," says Museum Director R. Kačkutė.
Visitors who come to the exhibition will be able to take a tour of the recreated room of the archaeologist R. Rimantiene, in which she spent a great deal of time. According to the authors of the exhibition idea, all her abilities are reflected in this environment: the ability to draw, analyse, and meticulously handle archaeological material... Constant correspondence with scientists living abroad has led to Lithuanian archaeology during the Soviet years being known in other countries. The room displays her rough drafts and typescripts, and presents the variety of books published by R. Rimantiene. This space will allow the visitor to experience what the work of an archaeologist was like back then and what character qualities - patience, diligence, attentiveness, imagination - were needed to become a professional archaeologist.
