Facing Our Ancestors

Abstract

Paleoartists reconstruct hominids for museums, popular science magazines and other media as three-dimensional sculptures or two-dimensional images. This paper describes the practices and the self-understanding of half a dozen paleoartists, in part based on interviews. It will ask the following questions: How does one become a paleoartist, what skills and what knowledge are required? How are reconstructions of Australopithecines and Neanderthals actually manufactured? How do paleoartists deal with the notorious gaps in the fossil record? The claim for scientific rigor, the artist’s quest for creativity and the market forces, demanding visually attractive representations of early humans, are in constant tension. The paper analyses how paleoartists, paleoanthropologists (advisors) and museum curators (sponsors) interact and negotiate contested issues. It will argue that these reconstructions of hominids shape not only the perception of our ancestors of the general public but also influence the knowledge production of the human origin researchers themselves.