Famous Archaeologist Research Articles

Kazimierz Żurowski (1909–1987): life and work in Lviv till 1945

The Lviv stage of life and scientific activity of the famous Polish archaeologist Kazimierz Żurowski is covered in this article. Based on documents preserved in the Lviv region State Archive and private archival collections, his studies at the Department of Prehistory of the Jan Kazimierz University of Lviv, the first archaeological research, site protection documentation, and conservator’s reports on the work done are examined. Special attention is paid to the topic of scientific research conducted in his Lviv period and the influence of Lviv on the further scientific life of the archaeologist. Studies and cooperation with such famous archaeologists as Leon Kozłowski, Tadeusz Sulimirski, and Markiyan Smishko, who played an important role in the development of K. Żurowski as an archaeologist, seem to be important. A particular place in the article is given to photos from excavations conducted by K. Żurowski and his scientific travels, which are introduced into the scientific literature for the firsttime.

An Analysis of Xia Nai's Museum Education Thought — A Study Centered on Xia Nai's Diary

Based on a systematic study of "Xia Nai's Diary", it was found that the famous archaeologist Xia Nai developed a systematic museum education philosophy based on his rich museum practice and mentor guidance. He believes that museums have important educational functions, serving as centers for professional knowledge learning, academic research materials, and patriotic sentiments. They should be fully utilized through the comparison of physical objects and literature. Based on this, he deeply realized the close relationship between museums and archaeology, providing valuable experience for guiding museum construction and archaeological development after returning to China.

Недетская наука: о некоторых фактах участия детей в раскопках Херсонеса Таврического

The sociological, psychological, ethnographical, demographical, sexological and other research of childhood is focused on the systematic study of various phenomena in the child population. The archaeological methodology is based mostly on natural science types of knowledge, therefore it has become possible to make some observations in the field of archaeological childhood in the meaning of “children in archaeology”. The fund of photographic documents from the scientific archive collection of the State Museum-Reserve “Tauric Chersonesos” includes documents on which children are present — these are family members of famous archaeologists, as well as unknown persons, who, however, were not accidental participants in the excavation process. The work carried out made it possible to date the images and, in certain cases, to identify some persons, including children. Not only the photo archive, but also other documents (mainly correspondence of archaeologists) has been studied, which contain other examples of the involvement of children in the study of Chersonesos.

ВКЛАД А. П. УМАНСКОГО В ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ПАМЯТНИКОВ АРХЕОЛОГИИ КАМЕНСКОГО РАЙОНА И ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ КОЛЛЕКЦИИ КАМЕНСКОГО РАЙОННОГО КРАЕВЕДЧЕСКОГО МУЗЕЯ

The article analyzes the contribution of the famous archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Alexey Pavlovich Umansky to the study of the ancient world of the Kamensky district, to the formation of the stock collection “Archeology” and the design of the exposition “The History of the city of Kamen-na-Ob from ancient times to 1917” of the Kamensky District Museum of Local Lore. Thanks to numerous archaeological expeditions under the leadership of A. P. Umansky, signifcant material was collected on the history and culture of the peoples who lived in ancient times on the territory of the Kamensky district. The legacy of A. P. Umansky, who transferred to the museum authentic objects of museum signifcance with historical, scientifc and artistic value, currently makes up a signifcant part of the museum items of the fund collection “Archeology” of the Kamensky District Museum of Local Lore, information about which is partially included in the unifed FGIS “State Catalog of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation”.

UDMURT CORRESPONDENTS OF ARCHAEOLOGIST O.N. BADER

The article is devoted to a little-studied period in the history of archaeological research on the territory of Udmurtia in the post-war years, as reflected in letters addressed to the famous archaeologist Otto Nikolayevich Bader. O. N. Bader worked at the Perm (Molotov) University from the second half of the 1940s until 1954, he formed a scientific archaeological school. Together with his students, he engaged in the archaeological study of the vast Ural-Volga region, including the territory of Udmurtia. O. N. Bader maintained contacts with many scientific, educational and museum organizations. The article publishes letters addressed to the scientist from the director of the Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature under the Government of the Udmurt ASSR (UdNII) I.F. Kutyavin, the director of the Republican Museum of Local Lore M.N. Sutyagin and researcher of the UdNII A.F. Trefilov. They allow us to see the direction and content of archaeological research, participation of the UdNII and the Republican Museum of Local Lore in them. The letters reflect the formation process of archaeological personnel for Udmurtia, in particular, the beginning of the scientific biography of the famous Soviet archaeologist V.F. Gening. The letters reflect the process of work on the two-volume edition "Essays on the history of the Udmurt ASSR" in terms of writing sections on ancient and medieval history. They reveal the daily life of the researchers in the post-war years. The letters are part of a significant epistolary heritage - letters addressed to O.N. Bader in Perm in the 1940s-1950s. They are kept in the Museum of History of the Perm State Research University and are given to the author for study.

Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age

Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age

Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age

Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age

Giovanni Battista de Rossi, archaeologiae christianae fundator, nel bicentenario della nascita

Since the end of the 16th century, when the perfectly preserved remains of an ancient early Christian underground cemetery were discovered accidentally along the Via Salaria in Rome, Christian antiquities were studied mainly for apologetic propaganda purposes, i.e. to defend the primacy of the Church of Rome, which was faltering under the blows of the Protestant reformers. Everything changed, however, around the middle of the 19th century, thanks to Giovanni Battista de Rossi, a famous archaeologist whose 200th birthday falls this year. This essay sets in the context of his biography the main coordinates of his training, his numerous and fundamental discoveries and his main publications, which brought him recognition in international cultural circles of the time as the “founder of Christian archaeology”, a science that was finally recognised as such, and no longer seen as just a learned pastime for amateur antiquarians.

Личный архив археолога В. И. Сарианиди: изучение, сохранение и перспективы использования

The article presents the main aspects of the study of materials from the personal archive of the world famous archaeologist Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi. For a long time, the scientist’s personal fund was in a state of archival placers, which did not allow using it fully. To organize the entire array of documents, their analysis, description and systematization were carried out. Several key thematic sections have been formed, including materials related to the period 1960–2013. These are manuscripts and copies of scientific papers, field materials from excavations of archaeological sites, photographs, documents on the organizational activities of V.I. Sarianidi, his correspondence, and documents of other persons deposited in the archives of the researcher. For a number of documents of the fund (field diaries, photographs and films), work was carried out on electronic digital copying. Working with the archive made it possible to systematize the entire available array of materials, contributed to a more detailed study of all sources, as well as the introduction of previously unknown information into scientific circulation.

The History of Excavations in the Crimea in 1920-1930's in the Letters to Mykola Ernst

The Scientific Archive of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (NA NMIU) contains three letters dated by 07/15/1930, 09/15/1930 and 11/30/1935, addressed to the famous archaelogist of the Crimea Nikolai Ernst (1889—1956), the authors of which are famous archaeologists Boris Zhukov, Lavrenty Moiseev and Petr Efimenko. These letters contain information about excavations, which in 1920’s — 1930’s were carried out in different regions of the Crimean peninsula and are important sources for studying the history of the Crimean archaeological study. Today N. Ernst’s documents, stored in the archives of Simferopol, Kyiv, St. Petersburg and Moscow, are used by researchers who study the archaeological heritage and life of N. Ernst. However, three letters from the NA NMIU have not become the subject of a separate study yet and have not been introduced into scientific circulation. The addressee of these letters, N. Ernst, in 1920’s, worked in the Crimean department for museums and protection of monuments of art and antiquity, was the secretary of the Taurida Society of History, Archaeology and Ethnography, and in April 1930 he headed this Society. These letters contain information about archaeological research in the Crimea, which is not mentioned in the published article by N. Ernst ‘Chronicle of archaeological excavations and exploration in the Crimea for 10 years (1921—1930)’. The letters of B. Zhukov (1930) and L. Moiseev (1930) are probably the answers to the request of N. Ernst, as the head of the Taurida Society of History, Archaeology and Ethnography, send information about the work of local archaeological expeditions for the preparation of a general report. These letters contain information about excavations of archaeological monuments from different historical eras, which are located in different regions of the Crimea and are an important source on the history of the Crimean archaeology of 1920’s — 1930’s. In the third letter, the author of which is P. Efimenko (1935), talks about the participation of N. Ernst in the meeting of the Commission for the Study of Fossil Man, which took place in Leningrad on 20—25th December 1935. The purpose of this meeting was to prepare the Soviet section of INQUA to participate in September 1936 in the III International Conference of the Association for the Study of the Quaternary. Efimenko recommended N. Ernst to prepare a report on the results of the exploration of the Chokurcha Cave.

Who Burned Trypillian Settlements — Herdsmen of the Steppe or Farmers of the Forest-Steppe?

In 2023, Ukraine will celebrate the 130th anniversary of Trypillian culture discovery by Vikentii Khvoika. What has changed in the understanding of the heritage left by such a mysterious and unique Ukrainian archaeological cultures as Trypillia? One of the problems stating that the “sites” in terrestrial housings were not cult burial structures but the remnants of residential buildings was solved. However, in the 1970s, Soviet archaeologists had a bizarre fantasy offered by K. Zinkovskyi that Trypillian settlements had been burned not by conquerors – steppe herders – but by Trypillians themselves. This fantasy was confidently denied by such authoritative archaeologists as V. Petrov, V. Zbenovych, I. Sveshnikov, H. Todorova, M. Gimbutas, V. Dergachev. At the beginning of the 21st century, due to the creation of the state reserve “Trypillian Culture” in Cherkasy region, holding of more than ten “Trypillian Circle” festivals in Kyiv region, and introduction of a tourist route from Kyiv to Lviv, the Ukrainian interest in Trypillian culture as an Eneolithic civilization of farmers grew significantly. During this period, some archaeologists (N. Burdo, M. Videiko, V. Kruts, O. Korvin-Piotrovskyi) extracted from the archives the forgotten imagination of K. Zinkovskyi, gradually and methodically began to prove to their colleagues-archaeologists and Ukrainians that Trypillia farmers ritually burned their settlements. Archaeological sites, unfortunately, keep silent about rituals, but they can testify about those who conquered Trypillia and burned their settlements. In addition, M. Videiko believes that the melee weapons of the people of Trypillia are better than the bows and arrows of the steppe horsemen, while Trypillians also fought among themselves. D. Telegin and V. Dergachev refuted such versions in their research of Middle Stog herdsmen. But on the other hand, the situation is confused by Yu.Rassamakin, who unjustifiably replaces the well-known Middle Stog people with Skelians, Kvitiants, and Derevites, who did not seem to be at war, but traded with European farmers.Thus, in the Eneolithic history of independent Ukraine, artificial problems arose. The author, systematizing the interpretations of famous archaeologists and the experience of the post-Eneolithic epochs, tried to solve them in his article.

Indiana jones and ganser syndrome

IntroductionGanser syndrome is a rare medical disorder situated between hysterical etiopathogenesis and psychosis, factitious disorders and organic lesions which results in a difficult diagnosis. It is listed in DSM VI as a dissociative disorder whose main symptom is approximate answers, other accompanying symptoms appearing in Ganser: clouding of consciousness, somatic conversion symptoms and hallucinations. Psychopathologically explains a mental state of escape from a situation difficult to being tolerated. Organically appears in pathologies involving the frontal lobesObjectivesWe present a case of a XX year old man who suddenly develops a depressive disorder with no apparent cause. Initially he was a professionally developed man. Famous archaeologist. University professor. Guitarist in a musical group. He deteriorated through the years, appearing dementia data with auditive hallucinations and resistant headache. He begins to have difficulty speaking correctly, with paraphasias and short answers, continually repeating “I don´t know”, Short-term amnesia and bed-chair lifeMethodsIt was impossible to perform both the Mini-Mental State Examination test and the fototest because the patient refused claiming to be very nervous. The CT and MRI showed a slight temporary atrophy and vascular age changes. Subsequently, PET was performed without notable findings. Antidepressant and anxiolytic treatment was introduced without success as well as treatment for dementia and antipsychotic treatment.ResultsThe headache was improved. The rest of the symptoms did not disappearConclusionsGanser syndrome is a psychiatric condition that is difficult to diagnose and treat.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Poslednyaya kniga uchenogo

The article reviews the book of the famous archaeologist Lev Klein “Dialogues. Theoretical archeology and not only, “summed up the results of the author’s multifaceted activities in science.

Letters of the Archaeologist V. Ye. Kozlovska to the Regional Researcher S. L. Drozdov (According to the Archive of the National Museum of History of Ukraine)

In the archives of The National Museum of History of Ukraine in the fund No. 4 (K. V. Bolsunovskyi) there are personal documents of the famous local historian and museum figure Stepan Leontiiovych Drozdov, among them — five letters of the famous archaeologist Valeria Yevhenivna Kozlovska. This correspondence is a fragment of V. Ye. Kozlovska’s archive, part of which is now outside Ukraine, or is scattered across the personal archives of Ukrainian scientists who were a part of V. Ye. Kozlovska’s circle of contacts and have not yet been introduced into scientific circulation. Therefore, each new revealed letter of V. Ye. Kozlovska has a significant scientific value as a source for the biography of this outstanding personality and scientist. The earliest of V. Ye. Kozlovska’s letters to S. L. Drozdov is dated by June 14, 1916; there was mentioned the evacuation of the Kyiv Art, Industrial and Scientific Museum collections during the First World War. The next four letters concerned the activities of the expedition of the All-Ukrainian Archaeological Committee in 1929 in Bilotserkivshchyna. In addition to V. Ye. Kozlovska — the head of the expedition, it included F. M. Ivanov and J. F. Maslun — employees of the Bilotserkivskyi District Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, V. A. Mazur — an employee of the T. Shevchenko All-Ukrainian Historical Museum, a draftsman (whose surname is not mentioned in the letters) and a certain Mykola Mykhailovych was also mentioned in the letters — obviously M. M. Tkachenko — an employee of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and the husband of V. Ye. Kozlovska. In a letter dated by May 14, 1929, V. Ye. Kozlovska appealed to S. L. Drozdov with a proposal to conduct joint excavations of the All-Ukrainian Archaeological Committee and the Bila Tserkva Museum. In a letter dated by September 22, 1929, V. Ye. Kozlovska informed S. L. Drozdov that she would be able to arrive to Didivshchyna village not earlier than in September 28. The place of writing the letter dated by October 3, 1929 is the corner of Zalissia in Didivshchyna village. The letter mentions the arrival of S. L. Drozdov for excavations, finds of an iron knife and two male burials, packing archaeological finds in boxes. V. Ye. Kozlovska also asked S. L. Drozdov to find in Bila Tserkva a technique for drawing excavation plans. In the letter dated by October 18, 1929 there was informed about the packing of a cut-out of the hearth of the stove from the investigated dwelling and about V. Ye. Kozlovska’s intention to come to Bila Tserkva in November 1 for ready-made drawings of the excavations.

THE BARROW 524 NEAR VILLAGE ZHABOTIN (New Research of the «Basic» Site of the Scythian Archaic Period in the Ukrainian Right-Bank Forest-Steppe)

The first excavations on this barrow were carried out in 1913 by the famous archaeologist Alexei Bobrinskoy. The central part of the mound was excavated by the pit.
 The base of rather large ground wooden tomb buried in antiquity has been discovered there. The surviving items (weapons, horse equipment, pottery, small gold jewelry) later made it possible to date this mound to the end of the 7th century BC or ca. 7th—6th centuries BC.
 Since the late 1980s, there has been a tendency — and, in our opinion, incorrect — of rather sharp aging of the Central tomb, and, accordingly, of whole barrow 524 near the village Zhabotin. It began to date ca. 8th—7th centuries BC, 750—700 BC, not later than the end of the 8th century BC, and finally, ca. mid- 8th century BC.
 The Zhabotin 524 barrow began to be interpreted as the basic funeral monument of the Scythian archaic period in the Dnieper Right-Bank Forest-Steppe.
 In 2019, the complete study of the barrow was made. By the time of the excavation it had a height of 3.0 m with a diameter of 55 Ч 50 m.
 During the study, 12 profiles of the mound were obtained. They provided complete picture of its construction. The mound was constructed from humus in 2 stages. The first mound was directly made over the Central tomb. Its diameter is 24 m, the reconstructed height is up to 4.0 m. The mound was lined with radially wooden blocks. The second mound with a diameter of up to 50 m was fixed below by clay crepe. Reconstructed height up to 7.0 m.
 Information on the Central Tomb, according to the number of signs, and first of all — to the sizes, differ from the information published by A. Bobrinskoy.
 The actual dimensions of the tomb are not 35 m2, but 22 m2. From the southeast and northwest to the Central Tomb two ritual wooden platforms adjoined, one of which was badly burned. Next to them is open burial 2, covered by a tree. The male skeleton (14—18 years old) lay in the contracted position, without any goods. In our opinion, this burial should be considered as the sacrifice to the main noble deceased — a heavily armed Scythian equestrian warrior buried in the Central Tomb.
 A few items from the Central Tomb were also found — bronze scales of the armour, the fragment of iron sword, but most important is the bronze plate in the form of a bull’s head and the amphora handle. Judging by the composition of clay, it belongs to the vessels of Eastern Greek production. These findings are of fundamental importance: they cannot be dated by the time earlier than the late of the 7th century BC.
 This situation made us once again turn to the most significant products, the so-called chronological indicators, discovered in 1913, on the basis of which the number of researchers were dated the Zhabotin 524 mound until the mid- 8th century BC.
 These are arrow-heads, horse trappings, appliquйs decorated in animal style. Their analysis shows that these artifacts are not convincing arguments for such an early date for the barrow.

Інвентаризація археологічних колекцій у Центральному історичному музеї ім. Т. Г. Шевченка (1937–1941 рр.)

The inventory of archaeological collections, that later became the part of the National Museum of Ukrainian History, began in 1897. Keeping this inventory had been prolonged with breaks until 1938. The first museum catalogue was filled by famous archaeologists V. Chvoika and V. Kozlovska. This catalogue is a valuable resource that researchers still use to find out the provenance of valuable archaeological finds. The inventory books and cards of the Shevchenko Central Historical Museum still remain less famous. In 1937 in the Central Historical Museum, a new inventory of museum objects, including archaeological collections started. Inventory cards were compiled for museum items, information from which was recorded in inventory books. New inventory numbers were applied to items. Some famous archaeologists and museum workers joined this process: V. Hrinchenko, I. Fabricius, I. Bondar, N. Linka-Geppener, S. Korshenko. So, after the records in inventory books and cards stayed living people (from well-known scientists to simple lab technicians) with their own complex destinies. Some documentation now is lost, making it difficult to investigate. In order to restore the whole picture of the inventory process, the considerable work was done to identify, consolidate and compare the remains of the fund's documentation of the Central Historical Museum, which required the involvement of specialists from different areas of archaeological funds work. The study of this documentation allows recovering the history of the origin of valuable archaeological exhibits that lost their registration information. Key words: the All-Ukrainian Historical Museum, the National Museum of Ukrainian History, the Central Historical Museum, archaeological collections, inventory.

Дослідження городища Ведмежого на Роменщині: розкопки Миколи Макаренка

The article is devoted to the study of the little-known biography pages of the famous archaeologist, art critic, organizer of the museum activity M. Makarenko (1877–1938). Shot as a public enemy for his steady position on the protection of historical and cultural monuments, the scientist had left a number of publications covering various areas of his activity, as well as dedicated to specific architectural and archaeological sites. However, not all the ideas of the scientist have been implemented. Archival documents kept at central and regional institutions, museum funds include materials that reveal plans to continue exploring particular archaeological sites and writing certain publications. For several decades, M. Makarenko studied archaeological sites in Romny region (territory of modern Sumy region), which gave grounds to speak about opening of a new archaeological culture, now known as Romny culture. Four settlements were the most interesting from a scientific point of view: Monastyrysche, Vedmezhy, on the khutirs of Vashkevych and Hlynske. Fundamental work of the scientist, devoted to Romny archaeological culture, is “Monastyrysche” settlement. However, according to the documents, the scientist also planned a separate publication of the materials from the excavations of the site Vedmezhe. The plans were not implemented. Drafts were also not found. In the article on the basis of archival documents, M. Makarenko’s publications and drawings, the attempt to reproduce the chronology of the study of Vedmezhe settlement from 1906 to the end of the 1920s is made; the main results of the excavations are highlighted. The main factors that influenced the effectiveness of scientific research in the 1920s are shown. During excavations of Vedmezhe settlement, M. Makarenko for the first time applied a new technique – burial scraper, which the scientist later used when studying archaeological sites near Sumy and Mariupol. Key words: research, archaeological site, settlement, excavations, plan, drawing, pottery.

AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN THE ALENTEJO: EDITH GUEST AND THE STUDY OF MEGALITHISM IN PORTUGAL IN THE 1930s

In 1934 English archaeologist Edith Guest (1873–1942) visited the Alentejo region in south-central Portugal. Though not of the first rank of famous archaeologists, Guest made a contribution to archaeology in the first half of the twentieth century, assisting such luminaries as Margaret Murray (1863–1963) and Gertrude Caton-Thompson (1888–1985) in their excavations in the Mediterranean. But why did Guest visit the megaliths in the Alentejo region of Portugal in 1934? Based on unpublished contemporary sources, such as diaries, letters and photographs, this paper suggests that Guest’s presence on the Iberian Peninsula was linked to the ambitions of Manuel Heleno (1894–1970), the second director of the National Archaeological Museum in Lisbon. Studies on megalithic Alentejo were at this time still in their infancy, and Heleno hoped to raise the profile of such studies and the museum with an enterprising schedule of excavations that would attract notable archaeologists and the ensuing publicity. Heleno’s aspirations were successful: archaeologists such as Hugo Obermaier, Vera and Georg Leisner and, of course, Edith Guest took an interest in the fieldwork, helping to bring it to wider attention in Portugal and elsewhere.

Central Chernozemie in the biography and researches of M.E. Foss

The following paper deals with the research activity of Maria Evgenyevna Foss in Central Chernozemie. Considering the fact that Voronezh played a decisive role in the fate of M.E. Foss (she studied here, formed as a person, acquired the first experience of archaeological research, museum work, collected an extensive data bank on collections from the regional sites, to which subsequently repeatedly referred to herself and such famous archaeologists as T.B. Popova, O.A. Krivtsov-Grakov, V.P. Levenok, N.N. Gurina, A.D. Pryakhin, A.T. Sinyuk and others), special attention is paid to biographical information reflecting the connection of the Foss family with Voronezh. Its the first time when the results of the analysis of documents from the SAVO funds with the additions of Margarita Foss - Maria Evgenyevnas niece - are published. Without challenging the opinion that has been established in modern Neolithic studies that M.E. Foss prioritized sites and cultures of the forest zone, it is proved that her contribution to the study of the antiquities of the forest-steppe is much greater than it seems to the modern archaeological community. It was based on archival sources (from the funds of IA RAS, SA IHMC RAS, DFR SHM, Michurinsk Museum (Tambov Region)) and special literature. The results of her research of Shelaevo dunes (modern Belgorod Region), on settlements of different times in Voronezh (burial ground Chastye kurgany, the site of Otrozhka, the site of Kostenki IV (Aleksandrovka)) and Tambov (sites of Podzorovo and Glinishche) regions have not lost their significance up to the present time.

Ранньосередньовічна історія Східної Європи у рецепції Віктора Петрова (В. Домонтовича)

The purpose of the study is to find out point of the view of the famous archaeologist, historian, scientist V. Petrov on to the socio-economic, political, ethnic development of early medieval Eastern Europe. The methodology of the study is a comparative-historical method (comparison of historical concepts of V. Petrov and other historians), a method of historiographical analysis (specific content of published and unpublished scientific works of V. Petrov and other historians on the subject) and historiographic synthesis (formation of the general image of the Eastern Europe on the verge of decomposing primitiveness and the beginnings of statehood in the scientific and literary heritage of V. Petrov-V. Domontovich).The scientific novelty of the article is that it first reconstructed V. Petrov’s conceptual vision of the patterns of development of Eastern Europe in comparison with Western Europe in different methodological paradigms. In the 1930s, in the ideological and organizational development of the Soviet model of historical science, V. Petrov creatively used the potential of Marxism in studies of socio-economic history and proposed his scheme of decomposition and formation of feudalism — linking archaic forms of agrotechnics and family forms. In the middle — second half of the 1940s, at the emigration of V. Petrov, in the context of his cyclical “theory of the epochs”, considered the transition of Europe (including the Ukrainian territories) from antiquity to the Middle Ages as an inter-epoch break. In the 1960’s, upon returning to the USSR, the scientist continued his theoretical and practical research in the field of archeology, history, linguistics, ethnography, which allowed him to detail some aspects of early medieval history of the Middle Dnieper region including his latest scientific discoveries. At the same time, V. Petrov introduced the methodological foundations of his concept in a veiled form, adapting it to the realities of Soviet science.