Ancestral Images Contributor(s): Moser, Stephanie (Author), Gamble, Clive (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 0801435498 ISBN-13: 9780801435492 Publisher: Cornell University Press OUR PRICE: $91.03 Product Type: Hardcover Published: May 1998 Annotation: 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 illustrated with more than eighty engravings, paintings, photographs, and reconstructions. In surveying the iconography of prehistory, Moser explores visions of human creation that were produced during 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. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Art | History - Ancient & Classical - Social Science | Archaeology - History | Ancient - General |
Dewey: 599.938 |
LCCN: 98-9890 |
Physical Information: 0.75" H x 7.03" W x 9.84" (1.60 lbs) 224 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - Prehistoric |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: 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. |
Contributor Bio(s): Gamble, Clive: - Stephanie Moser is Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. She has published many articles on the role of visual representation in archaeology.Moser, Stephanie: - Stephanie Moser is Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. She has published many articles on the role of visual representation in archaeology. |