Dude, I see your future in this flame

I love these illustrations of prehistoric "man" from 1950s Life magazines.  They are simultaneously ridiculous and intriguing.  These colorful depictions have the power to widen our vision of ancient worlds. At the same time, they are fictional narratives that either stretch the truth of current research, or are purely products of the artist's imagination.  Some 60 years later we still don't have a firm grasp of when and where fire was first utilized or even purposely created by early hominids.  In this early image from Life, the answers seem pretty clear: a few guys stumble upon the utility of fire while the women and children panic and flee the eruption.

Neanderthals are a common player in these early media.  Here's another humorous depiction -- the clan seems terribly frenzied and naive as they try to take down a Ice-age mammoth.  Any relation to reality?  Nope.  Does this image capture the public's attention and fuel their interest in the ancient past?  Most definitely.

I see you Muammar Gaddafi...

I'm convinced that the illustrator who authored this 1970s-era, grossly out-of-date Time-Life illustration depicting our human lineage intentionally depicted Muammar Gaddafi in the rendering of Homo habilis in the center of the image. If I'm correct, it's a fascinating example of a science illustrator interjecting--albeit subtlety--political commentary through an artistic representation of the past.  Of course, this was the younger, rouge Gaddafi who ruled the 'pariah state' of the 1980s.