Overview
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.
Full Product Details
Author: Stephanie Moser ,
Clive Gamble
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 17.10cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 24.80cm
Weight: 0.907kg
ISBN: 9780801435492
ISBN 10: 0801435498
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 21 May 1998
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
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Reviews
Moser introduces a new element: the impact of visual imagery in the domain of science. Moser argues, quite correctly, that visual images play a far more influential role in shaping thought than written texts. . . . Scientists as well as humanists and social scientists should all read this book. Joan M. Vastokas, Trent Univeristy. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 36.4, 1999.
Moser introduces a new element: the impact of visual imagery in the domain of science. Moser argues, quite correctly, that visual images play a far more influential role in shaping thought than written texts. . . . Scientists as well as humanists and social scientists should all read this book. -Joan M. Vastokas, Trent Univeristy. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 36.4, 1999.
Author Information
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.
