Ancient Ukraine as the «Gate of Europe». Historical theory confirmed by archaeology

Review of methodological findings about the ancient Ukrainian lands, as about the “gate”, through the development of universal dialogue between civilizations in the context of archaeological research, which was still carried out by scientists Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The article analyzes the development of Ukrainian lands in the primordial and ancient era, in particular, the interaction of local peoples with the leading centers of civilizational development in Europe and Eurasia. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that for the first time an attempt was made to comprehensively consider the multifaceted intercivilizational dialogue that took place on Ukrainian lands in the primeval and ancient times, taking into account the results of archaeological research of different years. Study's conducted in different years by archeological scientists of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, including jointly with the Department of History and Archeology of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, make it possible to significantly supplement and expand the theoretical and methodological ideas about proto-Ukrainian lands as a "Gateway" between civilizations, to extend the chronological boundaries of the period when such a historical fate of our region was determined for the first time. As shows the analysis of the scientific explorations of various archaeologists, it can be stated that already in the period of the New Stone Age (VI-th millennium BC) the lands of modern Eastern Ukrainian regions carried out an active technological exchange with more advanced enclaves of pre-state life, geographically close to primary centers of the Neolithic revolution