Historical extinction: Steller’s sea cow, the power of images and the problem of evidence in nineteenth century zoology

Authors

  • Irina Podgorny

Abstract

This paper analyzes the itineraries of the depictions of Steller’s sea-cow, an aquatic mammal from the Bering Insel that went extinct in 1768, leaving behind almost no evidence of its former existence. This story of images travelling around can be read as a case study of how “proxy images” worked, but also as a good example of how images work to creatr new realities.

keywords: rhytina stelleri; historic extinctions; Ernst von Baer.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Irina Podgorny
    Doutora em Ciências Naturais pela Universidade Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Investigadora do Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Conicet) e diretora do Archivo Histórico del Museo de La Plata/Argentina. Autora do livro Charlatanería y cultura científica en el siglo XIX. Madrid: Catarata, 2015.

Published

2016-12-27

Issue

Section

Minidossiê: História, Imagem, Ciência & Cultura

How to Cite

Historical extinction: Steller’s sea cow, the power of images and the problem of evidence in nineteenth century zoology. (2016). ArtCultura, 18(32). https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/artcultura/article/view/37067