Maria Butrymówna was born on February 26, 1875 in Jodkan. Her father was Nicodemus Butrym of the Topór family, and her mother Teresa de domo Wiszniewska of the Prussians from Żybortan. She was interested in ethnography: she wrote down Lithuanian songs and prose which she then published in ethnographic journals. However, her true passion was archaeology: discovering and exploring archaeological sites. As an amateur, however, she needed consultation and advice, especially concerning excavation methodology. At the end of the 19th century, E. Majewski was the authority in archeology and he became her adviser. M. Butrymówna and E. Majewski corresponded with each other (the correspondence kept in PMA covers the years 1899-1902), and they also knew each other personally. E. Majewski published M. Butrymówna’s ethnographic notes in the pages of „Wisła” and the results of her archaeological research in „Światowit”. Archaeological finds acquired by M. Butrymówna during the course of her own research or in the form of donations resulted in a collection. Part of the collection was handed over to the Erazm Majewski Museum and the rest to the Museum of the Society of Friends of the Sciences in Vilnius.