S. Paliienko, PhD, Doctoral Student

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2020.147.9


SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL PROBLEMATIQUE IN THE SOVIET ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE 1940’s – 1960’s: FROM THE MAIN GOALS TO PRACTICAL REALIZATION


The article is dedicated to the main aim of the Soviet archaeology, which was also its feature – to study social development of ancient societies basing on archaeological sources. It was stated at the beginning of 1930s and after the WW2 a list of actual tasks was specified. In the late 1940’s – the early 1970’s they included studying of regularities and features of ancient (from primitive to feudal) societies development, reconstruction of concrete history of folks from the USSR territory, which had no written language, researches on handicrafts, swap and trade, studies of the mediaeval village history, examination of primitive society ideology, improvement of the typological method and archaeological theory, preparation of fundamental publications.

All these tasks were practically realized in work of archaeological research institutions during above mentioned period, in particular, research fellows of central and republican archaeological research establishments worked on topics related to study of social and historical problems of ancient societies basing on archaeological data. As well these problems were discussed at methodological workshops of the Institute of archaeology AS USSR and its Leningrad branch, at All-Union meetings and conferences. Soviet archaeologists completed resumptive archaeological publications with historical conclusions and chapters or even separate volumes of fundamental books dedicated to history of particular folks, regions or periods in the 1950’s – the early 1970’s.

This work on social and historical problematique determined Soviet archaeologists’ requirement for methodology development which was a cause of appearance of a new subdiscipline. The Soviet theoretical archaeology institutionalized in the early 1970s.

Keywords: history of archaeology, Soviet archaeology, archaeology after WW2, main aim, social and historical problematique.

Received by the editorial board: 21.10.20

Download Full Text

References:

  1. Scientific Archive of the Institute of Archaeology NAS of Ukraine, unsorted record keeping archive, (Development and organization of archaeology in the Ukrainian SSR comparing to other countries), 20 sheets.

  2. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 446 (Report on scientific and research work of the Leningrad branch of IHMC in 1959), 79 sheets.

  3. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 510 (Report on scientific and research work of LBIA in 1963), 67 sheets.

  4. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 532 (Report on scientific and research work of LBIA in 1964), 73 sheets.

  5. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 560 (Report on scientific and research work of LBIA in 1965), 61 sheets.

  6. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 588 (Report on scientific and research work of LBIA in 1966), 57 sheets.

  7. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 615 (Report on scientific and research work of t LBIA in 1967), 64 sheets.

  8. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 643 (Report on scientific and research work of t LBIA in 1968), 61 sheets.

  9. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 669 (Report on scientific and research work of t LBIA in 1969), 60 sheets.

  10. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 707 (Report on scientific and research work of t LBIA in 1970), 75 sheets.

  11. Scientific Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, fund 312, list 1, file 729 (Report on scientific and research work of t LBIA in 1971), 85 sheets.

  12. Abashyna, N.S., Kolesnikova, V.A. (2015). Outlines of the History of the Institute of Archaeology. In P.P. Tolochko (ed.) The Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Kyiv: PH “ADEF-Ukraina”. Pp. 11–98. [In Ukrainian].

  13. Academic Archaeology on the Banks of the Neva (from RAHMC to IHMC RAS, 1919–2014). (2013) St. Petersburg: "Dmitry Bulanin" [In Russian].

  14. Alekshin, V.A. (1980). Scientific Meetings, Sessions, Symposiums, Conferences and Plenums of SAHMC – IHMC – Institute of Archaeology AS USSR. Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology, 163, 45–51 [In Russian].

  15. Apakidze, A.M (1967). The Development of Archaeological Science in Soviet Georgia. Soviet Archaeology, 4, 5–25 [In Russian].

  16. Atagarryev, Ye., Berdyev O. (1967). The Archaeological Study of Turkmenistan during the Years of Soviet Power. Archaeology, 3, 124–141 [In Russian].

  17. Volkayte-Kulikauskene, R. (1967). Achievements of Archaeological Science in the Lithuanian SSR. Soviet Archaeology, 3, 91–105 [In Russian].

  18. Volkov, V.V. (1980). The Institute of Archaeology AS USSR in the 50s-70s Years. Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology, 163, 11–18 [In Russian].

  19. Grishin, Yu.S., Maslennikov, A.A. (1978). The Methodological Workshop of the Institute of Archaeology AS USSR in 1957–1978. Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology, 152, 92–99 [In Russian].

  20. The XXII Congress of the C.P.S.U. and Aims of Soviet archaeology (1961). Soviet Archaeology, 4, 3–8 [In Russian].

  21. The XXIV Congress of the C.P.S.U. and Aims of Soviet archaeology (1961). Soviet Archaeology, 4, 3–8 [In Russian]

  22. Tasks of Soviet Archaeologists in the Light of J.V. Stalin’s Works. (1953). Soviet Archaeology, XVІІ, 9–22 [In Russian].

  23. The Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. (2015.) Kyiv: PH “ADEF-Ukraina” [In Ukrainian].

  24. The Institute of Archaeology of RAS: 100 years of history. (2019). Moscow: IA RAS. [In Russian].

  25. Klejn, L.S. (1993). Historicism in Archaeology. Archaeological news, 2, 135–144 [In Russian].

  26. Klejn, L.S. (1993). The Phenomenon of Soviet Archaeology. St.-Petersburg: "Farn", [In Russian].

  27. Litvinskiy, B.A. (1967). The Archaeology of Tajikistan in the Years of Soviet power. Soviet Archaeology, 3, 106–123 [In Russian].

  28. Moora, Kh.A. 1967. The Main Results of Archaeological Studies in Soviet Estonia. Soviet Archaeology, №3, 82–90 [In Russian].

  29. Our Tasks in the field of Archaeological Researches in Connection with the Resolution of the C.C. C.P.S.U.(B.) and the Council of Ministers of USSR on history textbooks (1937). Soviet Archaeology, II, 1–15 [In Russian].

  30. Paliienko, S.V. (2015). Methodological Workshops in Scientific Establishments of the AS USSR and the AS UkSSR as an Instrument of the Soviet Theoretical Archaeology Development. Materials and studies on archaeology of Sub-Carpathian and Volhynian area, 19, 392–397 [In Ukrainian].

  31. The Fifty Years of Soviet Archaeology. (1967). Soviet Archaeology, 3, 5–8 [In Russian].

  32. Sveshnikova, O.S. (2009). Soviet Archaeologists in Search of the Primitive History. The Historical Interpretation of Archaeological Sources in Soviet Archaeology in the 1930s-1950s. Omsk: "Publishing House "Nauka"" [In Russian].

  33. The Modern Aims of Soviet Archaeology. (1947). Soviet Archaeology, IX, 5–10 [In Russian].

  34. The General Aim and New Tasks of SAHMC (the Leading Article) (1931). Communications of the State Academy for the History of Material Culture, 2, 1–4 [In Russian].

  35. Chernetsov, A.V (1972). About a Work of the Group on Studies of the History of Farming. Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology, 129, 115–116 [In Russian].

  36. Shnirelman, V.A. (1993). A Poor Fate of the Discipline: Ethnogenetic Studies and Stalin's Ethnic Policy. Ethnographic Review, 3, 52–68. [In Russian].

  37. Bulkin, V.A., Klejn, L.S. Lebedev, G.S. (1982). Attainment and Problems of Soviet Archaeology. World Archaeology, 13, 272–295.

  38. Klejn, L.S. (2012). Soviet Archaeology: Schools, Trends, and History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.