The Communist Way: a Look upon Soviet Archaeology in Occupied Latvia Cover Image

The Communist Way: a Look upon Soviet Archaeology in Occupied Latvia
The Communist Way: a Look upon Soviet Archaeology in Occupied Latvia

Author(s): Zenta Broka-Lāce
Subject(s): Recent History (1900 till today), History of Education, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Communism; Marxism; history of archaeology; archaeological thought; Latvia; Soviet Union

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the history of archaeology in Latvia during the Soviet occupation (1940–1941; 1944–1991), trying to understand the consequences brought in the field of archaeology by the single-party led experiment of communism. The research is based on archival studies and uses the historical method, source criticism and historiography. Author explains the nature of the prescribed theoretical and methodological guidelines as well as actual implications of the ‘communist way’ in archaeology. The article challenges the common belief that archaeology and prehistory were ideologically freer than other branches of history during the Soviet era.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 21
  • Page Range: 317-356
  • Page Count: 40
  • Language: English