Lembit Jaanits

Lembit Jaanits (22 January 1925 – 5 July 2015) was an Estonian archaeologist who specialised in the Stone Age of Estonia, especially the Neolithic. He was among the central figures in post-war Estonian prehistoric archaeology, and his excavations, typologies and syntheses became important reference points for the study of the eastern Baltic Stone Age.

Early life and education Jaanits was born in Tartu. In 1943 he took part in excavations at the Tamula Neolithic settlement site and began working at the university's Archaeological Museum, where he assisted with archival copying and with the packing and evacuation of collections during the war.

Career and research Jaanits spent most of his professional career at the Institute of History of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He worked there as a researcher from the late 1940s onward, became head of the archaeology sector in 1968, and later served as a leading researcher until 1993. In later recollections, he described his main scholarly aim as placing the material of the Estonian Stone Age, especially the Neolithic, into a reliable chronological sequence. He regarded the settlements at the mouth of the Emajõgi, particularly Akali, as fundamental to that effort because their stratigraphy helped establish the early Neolithic date of material later grouped under the name Narva culture.

Honours In 2001 Jaanits was awarded the Order of the White Star, III Class.

Selected works Poseleniia epokhi neolita i rannego metalla v priust'e reki Emaiygi (Estonskaia SSR) (1959). Eesti esiajalugu (with Silvia Laul, Vello Lõugas and Evald Tõnisson, 1982).