As far as archeology is concerned, it was to be expected that Gimbutas’s discoveries would encounter opposition and criticism, since they challenged many deeply rooted beliefs and theories which were based on them, according to which patriarchy emerged together with civilization and “war is as old as mankind.” The idea that there could have been a peaceful, egalitarian civilization, in which women had a high social and spiritual rank disrupted the generally accepted paradigm. It came as no surprise, since it usually happens when new, revolutionary scientific discoveries come to light. However, the ruthless attack on the scientist which ensued went well beyond any limits of norm or even common decency. The leader of the opposition became Colin Renfrew, one of recognized authorities in archeology as well as champion of the Anatolian hypothesis, which was suddenly threatened. Now, a material discussion would have most probably been valuable for both sides of the conflict as well as the whole environment. However, Renfrew chose the path of belittling, discrediting and ridicule, labelling Gimbutas’s work as pseudoscientific, and consequently totally unreliable, presenting it as some kind of feminist, romantic fantasy, not worth any serious attention of a real scientist. 

Heide Göttner-Abendroth, a German scientist, founder of the International Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality, who is well-versed on the subject, writes:  “Renfrew’s campaign was successful, especially in Britain, North America and Germany. It is still the reason why many young archeologists, regardless of their sex, know only the disrespectful, distorted view of Gimbutas’s work. It is a common belief that ridiculing her proves that you are modern and up to date.”

However, time does not stand still and history goes in circles, so, when genetic studies developed to a level which allows examining the DNA of skeletons even many thousands years old, it appeared that the results confirm the Kurgan hypothesis formulated by Marija Gimbutas! It happened in 2015, and was revealed two years later by professor Colin Renfrew with commendable courage in a lecture Marija Rediviva DNA and Indo-European origins. 

It turns out that including the study of DNA in archeology confirms the existence of Neolithic, egalitarian civilization, suddenly and brutally destroyed by the Indo-European warrior people, whose traces are being discovered in yet another part of Europe. Repeatedly, we come across more such revelations, as for instance the following information from south-east Spain: „The archaeology reveals  a hierarchical society that broke with the old egalitarianism of the early Neolithic period”

https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/10/03/inenglish/1538568010_930565.html

The interpretation of the social structure of Old Europe was fully confirmed in independent, long term research carried out by the above mentioned anthropologist Heide Göttner-Abendroth, which was published in 2012 under the title Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Across the Globe. The study was published by a respected academic publisher Peter Lang with a following recommendation: “This book is the result of Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s pioneering research in the field of modern matriarchal studies, based on a new definition of «matriarchy» as true gender-egalitarian societies. Accordingly, matriarchal societies should not be regarded as mirror images of patriarchal ones, as they have never needed patriarchy’s hierarchical structures of domination. On the contrary, matriarchal patterns are socially egalitarian, economically balanced, and politically based on consensus decisions. They have been created by women and are founded on maternal values. This new perspective on matriarchal societies is developed step by step by the analysis of extant indigenous cultures in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.”