The art of reconstructing prehistory: Beginnings of the visualisation of our ancestors' appearance and their way of life
Abstract
Paper deals with artistic reconstruction of human evolution and explains its objectives and mission. The study describes the nascence of two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstruction of anthropogenesis.
She claims that the main motif, besides the growing amount of hominine fossil findings and discovery of parietal and portable prehistoric art, is the theory of biological evolution published by the British natural scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Darwinism later penetrated other European countries where it influenced art and enhanced collaboration between artists and researchers.
The study monitors the gradual development and basic milestones of artistic reconstruction of prehistory and human evolution in Europe and in the U.S. from the 1850s to the Second World War.