Ancestral Images : The Iconography of Human Origins / Stephanie Moser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moser, Stephanie, author.

Contributor:

Gamble, Clive.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human evolution--Pictorial works--History.

Human evolution.

Prehistoric peoples--Pictorial works--History.

Prehistoric peoples.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 200 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Pictorial reconstructions of ancient human ancestors have twin purposes: to make sense of shared ancestry and to bring prehistory to life. Stephanie Moser analyzes the close relationship between representations of the past and theories about human evolution, showing how this relationship existed even before a scientific understanding of human origins developed. How did mythological, religious, and historically inspired visions of the past, in existence for centuries, shape this understanding? Moser treats images as primary documents, and her book is lavishly illustrated with engravings, paintings, photographs, and reconstructions.In surveying the iconography of prehistory, Moser explores visions of human creation from their origins in classical, early Christian, and medieval periods through traditions of representation initiated in the Renaissance. She looks closely at the first scientific reconstructions of the nineteenth century, which dramatized and made comprehensible the Darwinian theory of human descent from apes. She considers, as well, the impact of reconstructions on popular literature in Europe and North America, showing that early visualizations of prehistory retained a firm hold on the imagination-a hold that archaeologists and anthropologists have found difficult to shake.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Foreword / Gamble, Clive

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Artist's Eye and the Mind of Science

Chapter 2: Mythological Visions of Human Creation

Chapter 3: Religious and Secular Visions of Human Creation

Chapter 4: Historical Visions of National Origins

Chapter 5: The Scientific Vision of Prehistory

Chapter 6: Popular Presentations

Conclusion

Notes

Picture Credits

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-197) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 16. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

1-5017-2901-2

OCLC:

1132222860