Ярослав Пастернак

Description

This monograph, published with the support of the Peter Jacyk Program for the Study of Modern Ukrainian History and Society at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, is dedicated to the life and work of a prominent Ukrainian archeologist Iaroslav Pasternak. Educated in Lviv and Prague, Pasternak took part in over 60 archeological expeditions in western Ukraine and Czechoslovakia. The most important of these expeditions was his excavation of princely Halych in 1939–41. Pasternak published numerous studies about the prehistory of western Ukraine as well as archeology of Ukraine.

Pasternak’s biography reflects the fate of many Ukrainian intellectuals during the turbulent 20th century. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; he obtained his highest scholarly degree in Czechoslovakia; he worked professionally primarily in the Second Polish Republic; he was forced to emigrate during World war II; and he spent his later years in Toronto, Canada. This monograph analyses both Pasternak’s biography and his contribution to archeological research and scholarship.