The earliest known forms of written communication have now been traced to eastern Europe, from a long-standing agricultural society that predates the Greeks and Egyptians.

Joan Marler is Executive Director of the Institute of Archeomythology, an emerging field that integrates a broad array of academic disciplines.

The multi-disciplinary field was established byMarler's mentor, Marija Gumbutas (seen here in a 1987 photograph). Marler will talk more about archeomythology at the Science Buzz Café tonight at the youth annex of the Sebastopol Community Center at 7 pm.

The surviving artifacts from this ancient civilization, such as the vase below, suggest it was deeply ritualistic, and Marler believes those rites were enmeshed in their culture of sustainability.