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Human species, full body: Scenes Remade

A ten‑minute visual tour of how the human form has been recorded, idealised and mythologised from the earliest fossils to classical art and architecture.

Chapters

0:07 Origins of the Human Body
1:34 Body in Art and Symbol
3:01 Cultural Embodiment in Monumental Architecture
4:28 Perceptions and Myths of the Body

On-screen text

0:07 Origins of the Human Body
0:14 Origins of the Human Body
0:31 Java Man (Homo erectus) discovered 1891 Historical record · Dubois 1891, Trinil, Java
0:49 Jebel Irhoud early Homo sapiens, 300 kyr Historical record · Rasse et al. 2017, Jebel Irhoud, Morocco
1:07 Cro‑Magnon skeleton, first modern human Historical record · Lartet & Christy 1868, Cro‑Magnon, France
1:25 Neanderthal reconstruction, 1908 Historical record · Boule 1908, La Chapelle‑aux‑Saints, France
1:34 Body in Art and Symbol
1:41 Body in Art and Symbol
1:58 Venus of Willendorf, 28 kyr Historical record · Austrian Museum of Natural History, Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000 BP
2:16 Altamira bison paintings, 1902 Historical record · Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola 1902, Altamira Cave, Spain
2:34 Lascaux cave paintings, 17 kyr Historical record · Lascaux Cave, France, discovered 1940
2:52 Kostenki ivory figurine, 30 kyr Historical record · Kostenki 14, Mammoth ivory carving, 30,000 BP, Russian State Museum
3:01 Cultural Embodiment in Monumental Architecture
3:08 Cultural Embodiment in Monumental Architecture
3:25 Newgrange passage‑tomb, 3200 BC Historical record · National Monuments Service, Newgrange, Ireland, c. 3200 BC
3:43 Egyptian royal mummies, 1500 BC Historical record · British Museum, Theban Necropolis, 18th Dynasty, c. 1500 BC
4:01 Augustus marble bust, 1st century CE Historical record · Louvre Museum, Augustus marble bust, 1st century CE
4:19 Strabo on Cretan physique The Institute's interpretation · Strabo, Geography, Book VII, 1st century BC
4:28 Perceptions and Myths of the Body
4:43 Herodotus: Ethiopians tall, well‑built The Institute's interpretation · Herodotus, Histories, Book II, 5th century BC
5:05 Pliny records giants in Atlas Tradition / scripture · Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXXIV, 77 AD
6:11 How did peoples imagine the body?

Sources

Historical record: Dubois 1891, Trinil, Java · Rasse et al. 2017, Jebel Irhoud, Morocco · Lartet & Christy 1868, Cro‑Magnon, France · Boule 1908, La Chapelle‑aux‑Saints, France · Austrian Museum of Natural History, Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000 BP · Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola 1902, Altamira Cave, Spain · Lascaux Cave, France, discovered 1940 · Kostenki 14, Mammoth ivory carving, 30,000 BP, Russian State Museum · National Monuments Service, Newgrange, Ireland, c. 3200 BC · British Museum, Theban Necropolis, 18th Dynasty, c. 1500 BC · Louvre Museum, Augustus marble bust, 1st century CE

Tradition / scripture: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXXIV, 77 AD

The Institute's interpretation: Strabo, Geography, Book VII, 1st century BC · Herodotus, Histories, Book II, 5th century BC

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 92 s of CPU.