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Ancestral Images : The Iconography of Human Origins /

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 eve...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Clasificación:Libro Electrónico
Autor principal: Moser, Stephanie (Autor)
Otros Autores: Gamble, Clive (Contribuidor)
Formato: Electrónico eBook
Idioma:Inglés
Publicado: Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]
Temas:
Acceso en línea:Texto completo
Texto completo
Descripción
Sumario: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.
Descripción Física:1 online resource (224 p.) : 70 halftones, 15 color illustrations in an 8-page insert
ISBN:9781501729010
9783110536171
Acceso:restricted access