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JaremaDrozdowicz
word.nAnthropos”asageneralcategorywasboundedbythecontextitwassur-
rounded.mischangedwiththeriseofEnlightenmentand19thcenturysocialand
philosophicalparadigm.meimageryofthistimeperioddirectedthestudyofman
intothefieldofuniversalculturalcharacteristicssharebyallmankind,notjust
particularcultures.memythofannoblesavage”didspreadacrossWesternhemi-
sphereandearlyresearcherscontributedtoitsideologicalfoundationsthrough
basicethnographicstudyoftheworld’sculturaldiversitybyassemblingwhatwas
regardedasvisuallyinteresting.mesetofcarefullyselectedculturalitems,like
materialtoolsornprimitive”art,didquicklyfilltheshelvesinEuropeanmuseums
withvariousexoticartifacts.meirestheticvaluehadbeenestimatedthroughtheir
similaritywithWesterncounterparts.19thcenturyethnographyfocusedclearly
oncollectingevidenceoftheprimaryroleofwhiteman’scultureamongexisting
andpastcivilizations.meimageoftheOtherwaspushedintothefieldofdis-
tanthistoricaleventsthathadshapedthecontemporaryimageofthehumankind,
i.e.Westerncivilization.nOurlivingancestors”werepicturedasquasiNeolithic
communities,insomesortsimilartotheEuropeans,butalsofullofsavageryand
violence.Victorianimaginariumofanthropologywasrichinsuchvaguecom-
parisons.Earlytechniquesofcapturingtheimagethroughdaguerreotypesorpho-
tographycouldhardlyreflecttheculturalrealityonthebasisoftheimagealone.
Visualanthropologywasstillinthemakinginthattime.mereforethequestionwe
havetoraiseinthiscontextisnotjustwhenanthropologybecamevisual,butalso
whodidcontributedtothatphenomena,howculturehadbeenpicturedthrough
theyears,and(lastbutnotleast)whyvisualizationbecameasignificantissuenot
justinanthropologyitself,butalsootheracademicdomains.
meverymomentanthropologyopeneditseyesasanindependentdiscipline
withinhumanitieswasalsothemomenttheWesternworldhadstartedtolookat
otherculturesfromthepositionofcolonialdominance,powerandusuallyalsoby
applicationofdirectorindirectviolence.However,beforeVictoriananthropology
andcolonialismhadbeguntostarttheirownethnographicenterprisesinAfrica
orIndia,thestudyofcultureusedspecificvisualmethodsanddataasatoolfor
systematicrecreationoftheexistingandpastculturaldiversity.Ofcoursethelimi-
tationsofearly19thcenturytechnologycouldn’tprovidethepicturehowtheseob-
jectswereusedbytheirownersthroughphotographs,soundrecordingsormovies,
butneverthelesstheMuseumsinLondon,ParisorViennastartedtobefilledwith
culturalobjectsfromeverycorneroftheworld,makingfortheviewersmucheasi-
ertoseehowthetribesandcivilizationsoutsideEuropechangedthroughtheages
untilitspresentform.meOtherhadtobeputindisplayinallitsdiversityforthe
bourgeoisieeyetomakeitmorereal,possibletograsp,andrationallyexplained.
mehistoricalaspectoftheinterpretationoftheseexhibitionsisobviousinthe
lightoftheideologyofsocialevolutionismorearlypositivism.Bothapproaches
