Paleoartist Brings Human Evolution to Life

Smithsonian Magazine ^ | 5-7-2014 | Helen Thompson

[Renfield]

A smiling 3.2-million-year-old face greets visitors to the anthropology hall of the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City. This reconstruction of the famous Australopithecus afarensis specimen dubbed “Lucy” stands a mere 4 feet tall, is covered in dark hair, and displays a pleasant gaze.

She’s no ordinary mannequin: Her skin looks like it could get goose bumps, and her frozen pose and expression make you wonder if she’ll start walking and talking at any moment.

This hyper-realistic depiction of Lucy comes from the Atelier Daynès studio in Paris, home of French sculptor and painter Elisabeth Daynès. Her 20-year career is a study in human evolution—in addition to Lucy, she’s recreated Sahelanthropus tchadensis, as well as Paranthropus boisei, Homo erectus, and Homo floresiensis, just to name a few. Her works appear in museums across the globe, and in 2010, Daynès won the prestigious J. Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize for her reconstructions....

[eartrumpet]

Maybe she is guilty, but she looks like more fun to be around than that old Mrs. Ples in the first post.

[Bigg Red]

Agreed. Waste of money, IMO.

[Bigg Red]

PS to what I said: This woman is one heck of an artist, though.

[BroJoeK]

ifinnegan: "...such things as science are like Just So stories."

Bigg Red: "Agreed. Waste of money, IMO."

The science here is only "like" Just So stories in the same sense that ancient two wheel carts are "like" today's 18-wheeler big rigs.
Both moved cargo from point A to point B, but the differences in disciplined scientific engineering is considerable, as are the results in capacity & speed.

Over many years now efforts have been made to draw pictures of creatures found in ancient fossils.
Virtually everyone appreciates those efforts, and these results are among the best yet seen.

[ifinnegan]

You ignore the appreciation stated for the artist.

It’s still speculation and no one should take it at face value.