Existing comment:
1915 Reconstructions of Ancient Humans:
Ten sculptured reconstructions of human evolution, as known in 1915, were displayed at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. They were modeled by the Belgian sculptor Louis Mascre, under the direction of Professor A. Rutot of the Natural History Museum of Brussels. The busts were sculpted in Belgium and then shipped to America during the opening days of World War I. This may be the only complete set in existence, as some of the original molds were destroyed during the war.
Perceptions of Early Hominids:
In 1915, the public perceived early humans as fantasy figures or "cave men" who walked with a stopped and shuffling fate. Only a few human fossils had been discovered, and Mascre's reconstruction of their heads and faces was based on fragmentary skeletons. For example, he worked from a skull cap to reconstruct Java Man, and Heidelberg Man was based on a lower jaw. The weapons, tools, and ornaments seen with the busts are reproductions of those found with the bones or are appropriate for the cultural period.
At the time, the customary view of human evolution was a linear one, where hominids were thought to have evolved in a single-line progression. Researchers believed that only one species of ancient humans lived at a time. Today, we recognize that human evolution was, and is, much more complex. Several species existed at the same time; some became extinct, and others flourishing for thousands of years. We now have nearly a century of scientific discoveries upon which to base our view of early humans. |