Abstract: In the research field of late Antiquity and early Middle Ages since the late 20th century, late Antiquity has become a dominate concept and model, and some traditional assumptions and interpretations on the history of early Middle Ages have been questioned. It is particularly noteworthy that a series of new arguments derived from the study of late Antiquity and early Middle Ages also reveal the reorientation of values, from the classical cultural norms to multiculturalism, from institutional history to religious culture history, from nationalism to Europeanism, which reflect the new value orientation of most historians in this field. New arguments, such as the concept of Late Antiquity, the transformation of the Roman world and the theory of Continuity, are undoubtedly of contemporary value and present care. The reorientation of values demonstrates a close and complex link between the history research and ideology in Europe and America since the late twentieth century, and the interaction between historiography and the times.

Key words: late Antiquity, early Middle Ages, value orientation of history