Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Handbook of Paleoanthropology pp 1007–1034Cite as

Images in Paleoanthropology: Facing Our Ancestors

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:

Abstract

Images in paleoanthropology are of persuasive power, since they try to illuminate ancient life which is not otherwise visually documented. The scientific community, as well as public media and museums, aim to establish a window into the past in part through visualization of scenarios from prehistoric life and environments. The role of human ancestors in these settings is captured by body and especially facial reconstructions, which comparatively easily attract attention among nonscientific audiences and therefore raise public understanding of a complex field of research, allowing it to compete successfully with other, at times more tangible scientific subjects. Within the scientific community itself, reconstructions of early hominids play only a limited role, merely supplementing a whole range of field and laboratory research, evolutionary hypotheses, and the analysis of empirical data. Paleoanthropologists and paleontologists are aware of the interpretative character of facial reconstructions that go beyond the limited set of primary facts documented in the fossils themselves.

The visual approach to paleoanthropology has changed strongly over time, varies with the media used, and depends on how we imagine our ancestors in coeval context. On the one hand, evolutionary theories and contemporary social ideas are influencing and shaping how we view and depict our ancestors. On the other hand, hominid reconstructions themselves, in turn, can influence our view and the underlying ideas.

This chapter reflects on the development of facial reconstructions over time, along with influences such as the development of methods and techniques – from drawings to manual modeling to virtual 3D reconstructions. For exemplification, special emphasis will be put on Neanderthal reconstructions, as these are linked both to early attempts at facial reconstruction and to the subsequent methodological development of reconstruction techniques during the twentieth century. Starting with the first hominid fossils found, we trace the “evolution” of facial reconstructions of Neanderthals, in order to highlight contemporary perceptions and limiting factors in the visualization of our ancestors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   949.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   1,099.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Auffermann B, Orschiedt J (2006) Die Neandertaler: auf dem Weg zum modernen Menschen. Theiss, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Auffermann B, Weniger G-C (2006) Neandertaler – Kulturträger oder Wilder Mann? Ein kurzer Rückblick auf 150 Jahre Rezeptionsgeschichte. In: Uelsberg G (ed) Roots – Wurzeln der Menschheit. Zabern, Darmstadt

    Google Scholar 

  • Berge C, Daynes E (2001) Modeling three-dimensional sculptures of australopithecines (Australopithecus afarensis) for the Museum of Natural History of Vienna (Austria): the post-cranial hypothesis. Comp Biochem Physiol 131(1):145–157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bookstein FL (2013) Allometry for the twenty-first century. Biol Theory 7(1):10–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boule PM (1911) L’homme fossile de la Chapelle-aux-Saints. Ann Paléontol 6:111–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Boule PM (1912) L’homme fossile de la Chapelle-aux-Saints. Ann Paléontol 7(21–56):85–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Boule PM (1913) L’homme fossile de la Chapelle-aux-Saints. Ann Paléontol 8:1–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Claes P (2007) A robust statistical surface registration framework using implicit function representations. Application in craniofacial reconstruction. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculteit Ingenieurswetenschappen, Departement Elektrotechniek (ESAT)

    Google Scholar 

  • Claes P, Vandermeulen D, De Greef S, Willems G, Suetens P (2006a) Craniofacial reconstruction using a combined statistical model of face shape and soft tissue depths: methodology and validation. Forensic Sci Int 159:147–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claes P, Vandermeulen D, De Greef S, Willems G, Suetens P (2006b) Statistically deformable face models for cranio-facial reconstruction. J Comput Inf Technol CIT 14:21–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Claes P, Vandermeulen D, Greef SD, Willems G, Clement JG, Suetens P (2010) Computerized craniofacial reconstruction: conceptual framework and review. Forensic Sci Int 201:138–145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coon CS (1939) The races of Europe. Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • De Greef S, Claes P, Vandermeulen D et al (2006) Large-scale in-vivo Caucasian facial soft tissue thickness database for craniofacial reconstruction. Forensic Sci Int 159S:127–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Drell JRR (2000) Neanderthals: a history of interpretation. Oxf J Archaeol 19:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eibl-Eibesfeldt I (2007) Human ethology. Aldine, Hawthorne/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Eibl-Eibesfeldt I, Sütterlin C (2008) Weltsprache Kunst. Zur Natur- und Kunstgeschichte bildlicher Kommunikation. Brandstätter, Wien

    Google Scholar 

  • Evenhouse R, Rasmussen M, Sadler L (1992) Computer-aided forensic facial reconstruction. J Biocommun 19:22–28

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington OC, Field H (1929) Neanderthal (Mousterian) man. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gerasimov M (1949) Principles of reconstruction of the face on the skull [in Russian language]. Moscow

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerasimov M (1968) Ich suchte Gesichter. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld

    Google Scholar 

  • Grammer K, Oberzaucher E (2006) The reconstruction of facial expressions in embodied systems: new approaches to an old problem. ZIF Mitteilungen 2/2006:14–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Green RE, Krause J, Briggs AW et al (2010) A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome. Science 328:710–722

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gurche J (2013) Shaping humanity. Yale University Press, New Haven (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton A (2011) Popular depictions of Neanderthals. Totem: The University of Western Ontario. J Anthropol 13:12

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammond M (1982) The expulsion of the Neanderthals from human ancestry: Marcellin Boule and the social context of scientific research. Soc Stud Sci 12:1–036

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helmer R (1998) Identifizierung unbekannter, unkenntlicher Leichen mittels bildtechnischer oder rekonstruktiver Verfahren. In: Leopold D (ed) Identifikation unbekannter Toter. Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck

    Google Scholar 

  • Henke W (2006) Gorjanović-Kramberger’s research on Krapina – its impact on paleoanthropology in Germany. Period Biol 108:239–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Henke W (2010) Zur narrativen Komponente einer theoriegeleiteten Paläoanthropologie. In: Engler B (ed) Erzählen in den Wissenschaften. Proceedings des 26. Forschungskolloquiums der Schweizerischen Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften in Einsiedeln (Schweiz), vom 31 Aug–02 Sept 2009

    Google Scholar 

  • Henke W, Kieser N, Schnaubelt W (1996) Die Neandertalerin: Botschafterin der Vorzeit. Edition Archaea, Gelsenkirchen/Schwelm

    Google Scholar 

  • His W (1895) Anatomische Forschungen über Johann Sebastian Bach’s Gebeine und Antlitz nebst Bemerkungen über dessen Bilder. Abh Saechs Ges Wiss Leipz 22:379–420

    Google Scholar 

  • Hublin J-J (2007) Prospects and pitfalls. In: Henke W, Tattersall I (eds) Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer Reference, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, pp 815–829

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jablonski NG (2004) The evolution of human skin and skin colour. Ann Rev Anthropol 33:585–623. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jablonski NG, Chaplin G (2000) The evolution of human skin coloration. J Hum Evol 39(1):57–106. doi:10.1006/jhev.2000.0403. PMID 10896812

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones M (2001) Facial reconstruction using volumetric data. Proceedings of the 6th international vision modeling and visualisation conference in Stuttgart (Germany), pp 21–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith A (1911) The man of half a million years ago not in the ‘Gorilla’ stage. A belief disproved, Illustrated London News May, pp 778–779

    Google Scholar 

  • Koepfer DL, Gurche J (2003) Representation and aesthetics in paleo-art: an interview with John Gurche. Am Anthropol 105:146–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landau T (1989) About faces. Anchor, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsen CS (2011) Our origins. Discovering physical anthropology, 2nd edn. W.W. Norton, New York/London

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson B, Brauer F, Pult R (eds) (2009) The art of evolution: Darwin, Darwinisms and visual culture. The University Press of New England, Hanover/London

    Google Scholar 

  • McEvoy B, Belez S, Shriver MD (2006) The genetic architecture of normal variation in human pigmentation: an evolutionary perspective and model. Hum Mol Genet 15(2):176–181. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddl217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meissner CA, Brigham JC (2001) Thirty years of investigating the own-race bias in memory for faces: a metaanalytic review. Psychol Public Policy Law 7:3–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser S (1992) The visual language of archaeology: a case study of the Neanderthals. Antiquity 66:831–844

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Higgins PO, Milne N (2013) Applying geometric morphometrics to compare changes in size and shape arising from finite elements analyses. Hystrix 24(1) (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Higgins P, Cobb SN, Fitton LC, Gröning F, Phillips R, Liu J, Fagan MJ (2011) Combining geometric morphometrics and functional simulation: an emerging toolkit for virtual functional analyses. J Anat 218:3–15

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paysan P, Lüthi M, Albrecht T, Lerch A, Amberg B, Santini F, Vetter T (2009) Face reconstruction from skull shapes and physical attributes, ch. 24. In: Denzler J, Notni G, Süße H (eds) Pattern of Recognition. LNCS, vol. 5748, pp 232–241. Springer, Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Pei Y, Zha H, Yuan Z (2008) The craniofacial reconstruction from the local structural diversity of skulls. Pac Graph 27:1711–1718

    Google Scholar 

  • Prag J, Neave R (1997) Making faces: using forensic and archaeological evidence. British Museum Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Prodger P (2009) Darwin’s camera: art and photography in the theory of evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Quatrehomme G, Cotin S, Subsol G et al (1997) A fully three-dimensional method for facial reconstruction based on deformable models. J Forensic Sci 42:649–652

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reichart L (1909) The most important anthropological discovery for fifty years. Illustrated London News, Feb: 300–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Richmond BG, Daniel WTJ, Callum FR (2005) Finite element analysis in functional morphology. Anat Rec 283A:283–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers AR, Iltis D, Wooding S (2004) Genetic variation at the MC1R locus and the time since loss of human body hair. Curr Anthropol 45:105–108. doi:10.1086/381006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarasin P, Sommer M (eds) (2010) Evolution. Ein interdisziplinäres Handbuch. JB Metzler, Stuttgart/Weimar

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlager S, Pieper P, Wittwer-Backofen U (2011) Execution and determent – giving a face to the Langenfeld skull. Bulletin der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Anthropologie 16:63–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmölders C (1995) Das Vorurteil im Leibe. Eine Einführung in die Physiognomik. Akademie, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Schrenk F, Müller S (2005) Die Neandertaler. CH Beck, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott M (2010) The pleasures and pitfalls of teaching human evolution in the museum. Evol Educ Outreach 3:403–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solecki RS (1971) Shanidar: the first flower people. Knopf, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Solecki RS (1975) Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal flower burial in northern Iraq. Science 190:880–881

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer JD (1999) The Shanidar IV ‘flower burial’: a re-evaluation of Neanderthal burial ritual. Camb Archaeol J 9:127–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer M (2006) Mirror, mirror on the wall. Neanderthal as image and distortion in early 20th-century French science and press. Soc Stud Sci 36:207–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sporer SL (2001) Recognizing faces of other ethnic groups: an integration of theories. Psychol Public Policy Law 7:36–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starbuck JM, Ward RE (2007) The affect of tissue depth variation on craniofacial reconstructions. Forensic Sci Int 3:130–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephan CN (2009) The accuracy of facial “reconstruction”: a review of the published data and their interpretive value. Minerva Medicoleg 129(1):47–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephan CN, Murphy SJ (2008) Mouth width prediction in craniofacial identification: cadaver tests of four recent methods, including two techniques for edentulous skulls. J Forensic Odontostomatol 27(1):2–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoczkowski W (2002) Explaining human origins: myth, imagination and conjecture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Strait DS, Wang Q, Dechow PC, Ross CF, Richmond BG, Spencer MA, Patel BA (2005) Modeling elastic properties in finite-element analysis: how much precision is needed to produce an accurate model? Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol 283A:275–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strait DS, Richmond BG, Spencer MA et al (2007) Masticatory biomechanics and its relevance to early hominid phylogeny: an examination of palatal thickness using finite-element analysis. J Hum Evol 52:585–599

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strait DS, Weber GW, Neubauer S, Chalk J, Richmond BG, Lucas PW, Spencer MA, Schrein C, Dechow PC, Ross CF et al (2009) The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Australopithecus africanus. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:2124–2129

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strait DS, Grosse IR, Dechow PC, Smith AL, Wang Q, Weber GW, Neubauer S, Slice DE, Chalk J, Richmond BG (2010) The structural rigidity of the cranium of Australopithecus africanus: implications for diet, dietary adaptations, and the allometry of feeding biomechanics. Anat Rec 293:583–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strait DS, Weber GW, Constantino P, Lucas PW, Richmond BG, Spencer MA, Dechow PC, Ross CF, Grosse IR, Wright BW (2012) Microwear, mechanics and the feeding adaptations of Australopithecus africanus. J Hum Evol 62:165–168

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Subsol G (2002) A scheme for automatically building 3D morphometric anatomical atlases based on feature lines: a list of references. DIKU international summer school’98—shape variation. University of Copenhagen, Denmark

    Google Scholar 

  • Subsol G, Quatrehomme G (2005) Automatic 3D facial reconstruction by feature-based registration of a reference head. In: Clement JG, Marks MK (eds) Computergraphic facial reconstruction. Elsevier Academic, Amsterdam, pp 79–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Sütterlin C (2013) Early face representation as proto- or archetype of a generalized human face perception. In: Sachs-Hombach K, Schirra J (eds) Origins of pictures. Von Halem, Chemnitz

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor K (2001) Forensic art and illustration. CRC Press, Boca Raton/London/New York/Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello M, Hare B, Lehmann H, Call J (2007) Reliance on head versus eyes in the gaze following of great apes and human infants: the cooperative eye hypothesis. J Hum Evol 52:314–320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trinkaus E, Shipman P (1993a) Neandertals: images of ourselves. Evol Anthropol 1:194–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trinkaus E, Shipman P (1993b) Die Neandertaler – Spiegel der Menschheit. C. Bertelsmann, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner W, Brown R, Kelliher T, Tu P, Taister M, Miller K (2005) A novel method of automated skull registration for forensic facial approximation. Forensic Sci Int 154:149–158

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turner W, Tu P, Kelliher T, Brown R (2006) Studies in health technology and informatics. In: al JDW e (ed) Medicine meets virtual reality 14: Accelerating change in healthcare: Next medical toolkit. Ios Press, Amsterdam/Berlin/Oxford/Tokyo/Washington, DC, 119(2005):550–555

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhlhaas L (2007) Computer-based reconstruction: technical aspects and applications. In: Henke W, Tattersall I (eds) Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, pp 787–814

    Google Scholar 

  • Ullrich H, Stephan CN (2011) On Gerasimov’s plastic facial reconstruction technique: new insights to facilitate repeatability. J Forensic Sci. doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01672.x

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vandermeulen D, Claes P, Suetens R, De Greef S, Willems G (2005) Volumetric deformable face models for cranio-facial reconstruction. In: Proceedings of the 4th international symposium on image and signal processing and analysis, 2005, Zagreb, Croatia, pp 353–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandermeulen D, Claes P, Loeckx D, De Greef S, Willems G, Suetens P (2006) Computerized craniofacial reconstruction using CT-derived implicit surface representations. Forensic Sci Int 159S:164–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanezis P, Trujillo O (1996) Evaluation of hypostasis using a colorimeter measuring system and its application to assessment of the post-mortem interal (time of death). Forensic Sci Int 78:19–28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanezis M, Vanezis P (2000) Cranio-facial reconstruction in forensic identification – historical development and a review of current practice. Med Sci Law 40:197–205

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanezis P, Blowes RW, Linney AD, Tan AC, Richards R, Neave R (1989) Application of 3-D computer graphics for facial reconstruction and comparison with sculpting techniques. Forensic Sci Int 42:69–84

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vignal JN, Schuliar Y 2002. Computer-assisted facial reconstruction – three years’ results and new perspectives. The 10th meeting of the International Association for Craniofacial Identification, Bari, Lecture B19, 11–14 Sept 2002

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Eickstedt E (1925) Eine Ergänzung der Weichteile auf Schädel- und Oberkörperskelett eines Neanderthalers. Z Anat Entwicklungsgesch 77:363–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voss J (2007) Darwins Bilder. Ansichten der Evolutionstheorie 1837–1874. S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M

    Google Scholar 

  • Voss J (2009) Monkeys, apes and evolutionary theory: from human descent to King Kong. In: Donald D, Munro J (eds) Endless forms. Charles Darwin, natural science and the visual arts. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp 215–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Welcker H (1883) Schiller’s Schädel und Todtenmaske, nebst Mittheilungen über Schädel und Todtenmaske Kant’s. Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, Braunschweig

    Google Scholar 

  • Weltersbach K (2007) Homo neanderthalensis und Urmensch: Rekonstruktionen und Lebensbilder. Verhandlungen zu Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie 13:55–69

    Google Scholar 

  • White TD, Toth N, Chase PG, Clark GA, Conrad NJ, Cook J, d’Errico F, Donahue RE, Gargett RH, Giacobini G, Pike-Tay A, Turner A (1991) The question of ritual cannibalism at Grotta Guattari [and comments and replies]. Curr Anthropol 32:118–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson C (2005) Computerized forensic facial reconstruction. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 1:173–177

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson C (2010) Facial reconstruction – anatomical art or artistic anatomy? J Anat 216:235–250

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wittwer-Backofen U (2012) Facial reconstructions by a combined 2D/3D method – different techniques meet requirements in the identification process. Bull Schweiz Ges f Anthrop 17:77–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittwer-Backofen U, Prieels F, Hering P (2007) Improvements in soft tissue data for facial reconstructions. In: Buzug TM, Sigl K-M, Bongartz J et al (eds) Facial reconstruction. Forensic, medical and archeological methods of the reconstruction of soft facial parts. Luchterhand, Bundeskriminalamt/München, pp 146–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Witzel U, Preuschoft H (2006) Function-dependent shape characteristics of the human skull. Anthropol Anz 60(2):113–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood RE, Barroso-Ruíz C, Caparrós M, Jordá Pardo JF, Galván Santos B, Higham TFG (2013) Radiocarbon dating casts doubt on the late chronology of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in southern Iberia. Proc Natl Acad Sci 110:2781–2786

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wroe S, Ferrara TL, McHenry CR, Curnoe D, Chamoli U (2010) The craniomandibular mechanics of being human. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 277:3579–3586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zollikofer CP, Ponce de Léon M (2005) Virtual reconstruction, a primer in computer-assisted paleontology and biomedicine. Wiley VCH, Weinheim/Berlin

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg University Medical Center, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Hebelstr. 29, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Stefan Schlager & Ursula Wittwer-Backofen

Authors
  1. Stefan Schlager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ursula Wittwer-Backofen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Schlager .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Anthropologie, Johannes-Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany

    Winfried Henke

  2. Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA

    Ian Tattersall

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Schlager, S., Wittwer-Backofen, U. (2015). Images in Paleoanthropology: Facing Our Ancestors. In: Henke, W., Tattersall, I. (eds) Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_70

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation