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5. The ancient image of man: information content and its application in physical anthropology L.Y. Shpak

The ancient image of man: information content and its application in physical anthropology L.Y. Shpak

Shpak L.Y.

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia

Shpak Larisa Y., Ph.D., ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6936-9426, e-mail: larusparus@mail.ru

Abstract

Origin of «human in art» theme goes deep into the Paleolithic era, but portrayal of the theme is geographically sporadic and not the same in terms of information content and realism of images. Individ-ual images show consistent stages in its development (small plastic, mask, sculptural portrait, painted por-trait) in the formation of the portrait image as a genre of art. The realism in depiction of person physical features is known from 4th millennium BC, but not in all regions of the ancient world there was a devel-opment of realistic portraits, that are most interesting for anthropology. Art of the Ancient World, includ-ing portrait image, is highly influenced by the canons of particular historical era, and this imposes signifi-cant restrictions on the use of ancient pictorial sources in anthropology. The ancient art of the Mediterra-nean region is full of realistic images of individual persons. The period of classical and late antiquity may be of greatest interest to anthropologists. However, analysis of the Mediterranean early- and middle- an-cient portraits suggests there might be a great potential use of even earlier pictorial sources (sculpture and painting of the ancient Greek classical and Hellenistic periods, Etruscan votive sculpture, and ancient Roman sculpture republican period). Study of these sources might supplement information about anthro-pology of the Mediterranean region peoples in the early and middle (classical) antiquity.

Keywords

anthropology, ethnic anthropology, ancient image of man, paleolithic art, the art of the ancient world, realistic images of man, art Mediterranean, antique portrait

Цит.: Shpak L.Y. The ancient image of man: information content and its application in physical anthropology L.Y. Shpak // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2015; 4/2015; с. 116-125