Archaeologist Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov: biography, activities and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Gerasimov Mikhail Mikhailovich is a world famous anthropologist, archaeologist, sculptor. It was he who developed the technology for restoring the external human appearance using skeletal remains and a skull. He also reconstructed sculptural portraits of historical figures and people of antiquity, in particular Tamerlane, Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan the Terrible and others.

From the article you will learn the biography of Gerasimov Mikhail Mikhailovich. You will also get acquainted with his activities and some interesting facts from life.

Biography

Lived Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov from 1907 to 1970. Born on September 15 in the city of St. Petersburg. He died on July 21, 1970 in the capital of our country. Michael's father was a doctor. In addition to the main profession, he was very fond of nature, was fond of the world of ancient geological eras and studied the writings of Darwin.

The house was filled with similar manuscriptslibrary. It is not surprising that Michael became interested in antiquities and devoted his life to anthropology. About the life of M. M. Gerasimov before adolescence, history is not known. The main facts fall on the beginning and formation of Michael as an archaeologist, anthropologist and sculptor-reenactor.

At the age of 11, the boy went to archaeological excavations in the suburbs of the city of Irkutsk (Verkholenskaya Gora). He was already very attracted to Cuvier's experiments on the reconstruction of the appearance of historical animals.

At the age of 13, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov went to work in the Museum of Anatomy, located at Irkutsk University. He was very interested in anatomy. They took the boy under their wing: forensic doctor Professor Grigoriev and anatomist Kazantsev.

Mikhail had an excellent visual memory and natural powers of observation, which helped him to study in detail the relationship between the bones of the skull and the soft tissues of the face. This knowledge was useful to him in later life when reconstructing faces.

First discoveries

At the age of 14, Mikhail independently opened the burial of people who lived in the Stone Age. This was his first open burial. The second was dug up at the age of 17.

At the age of 18, the young man published his first own scientific article devoted to paleontological excavations at the resettlement point (Innokentievskaya station, and now Irkutsk-2) in the city of Irkutsk.

These were excavations of settlements of people who lived in the Paleolithic era. And to this day, the artifacts he found are the best in the country andnow housed in museums.

At the age of 20, he participated in excavations near Khabarovsk, where he discovered a Mesolithic settlement with a supporting multi-layered monument.

The main findings of the paleontologist

In 1928, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov came to the village of M alta in the Irkutsk region for excavations. Previously, a mammoth tusk was discovered in this very place, and it was here that the most important discovery of great importance for archeology was made. One of the most famous late paleontological sites in Siberia (M alta) was found, which had been underground since the Paleolithic era. Previously, such artifacts were found only in Western Europe.

In total, 15 buildings were found, the walls of which were made of mammoth bones. Archaeologists also unearthed bone and stone sculptures, tools, works of nascent art and the burial of a four-year-old boy.

The work of an archaeologist

During the year (1931-1932) Gerasimov Mikhail Mikhailovich received knowledge at the State Academy of Material Culture in Leningrad. In 1932, he was invited to a full-time job, which he combined with his hobby of excavation. A little later, he was offered a position as head of the Hermitage restoration workshops, which, of course, he did not refuse.

He communicated with highly qualified art historians, which later played a big role in the development of anthropologist Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov as an artist, scientist and sculptor. Despite the large amount of work, he still continued to visit excavations in the Angara region and other important sites.

Reconstruction of ancient people

Since 1927, archaeologist Gerasimov Mikhail Mikhailovich has been reconstructing the appearance of primitive people. Sculptures-reconstructions of a Neanderthal and a Pithecanthropus are on public display in the local history museum of Irkutsk.

Now his method of work is called the “Gerasimov method”. To achieve the result, he spent most of his time experimenting and experimenting, rereading many books, dissecting heads, measuring the thickness of the skin and muscle cover. As a result, his works have taken a well-deserved place in Russian exhibition centers.

In 1941, Gerasimov M. M. carried out the first mass experiment on the basis of the Moscow morgue in Lefortovo. In total, he made 12 control reconstructions from skulls that belonged to a Chinese, Pole, Ukrainian, and Russian people. The result of the experiment was stunning. When Mikhail was shown the photographs, it turned out that all 12 constructed faces had a striking portrait resemblance.

In 1938, during excavations in Tashkent, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov found an ancient burial dating back to the Stone Age, in which the skeleton of a Neanderthal boy was completely preserved. Later, Mikhail made a full-length reconstruction of it, which caused a big stir.

Checking Anthropologist's Art

Many people thought that Mikhail designed the appearance of his sculptures. A number of scientists decided to arrange for him to verify the authenticity of persons who had a lifetime image. Gerasimov did his first control workin Leningrad.

He was given a skull, but no one said exactly who it belongs to. It turned out that these were the remains of a Papuan who lived in St. Petersburg. Gerasimov Mikhail Mikhailovich made a reconstruction according to his own methodology. Skeptics believed that they would receive a sculpture of a European, but they received a Papuan. So Mikhail passed his first test.

The second control experiment he had to perform in 1940. The archaeologist was presented with a skull that was found in one of the crypts of a cemetery in Moscow. Gerasimov was told that the man lived about 100 years ago and is a relative of a Russian writer.

The anthropologist in the course of his work determined that the skull belongs to a young woman. He reconstructed her face, did the hairstyle that was worn at that time.

When scientists began to check his work, they were amazed that there was almost a complete resemblance to Dostoevsky's mother. Her sculpture was compared to the only portrait that was painted at the age of 20.

This completed Gerasimov's checks. Scientists were convinced of his professionalism. Gerasimov can indeed create accurate reconstruction portraits of people who once lived.

Works by Mikhail Gerasimov

The anthropologist's most famous work is the sculpture-portrait of the face of Ivan the Terrible, which he designed in 1964. He deliberately did not study the data of the appearance of the king, so as not to experience their pressure.

The fact is that the images of the ruler for certain have not survived to our times. Afterreconstruction, scientists noted that, most likely, this image is as close as possible to the real one. Gerasimov portrayed the image of a strong-willed and courageous man who was very much like the king.

Another portrait sculpture of an anthropologist is a reconstruction of the Tajik poet Rudaki, who lived in the 10th century. The work was created in 1957. Gerasimov himself found in the cemetery in the village the remains of a male skeleton that once belonged to the poet. How did he know?

Mikhail studied the poems written by the poet, which describe that he went blind in adulthood and was left without teeth. When he began to study the found skeleton, it turned out that he had no teeth and the upper edges of the ophthalmic nerve were atrophied. It is this fact that suggests that it was Rudaki.

In 1946, a reconstruction of the image of Skilur, the king of the Scythians, who lived in the 2nd century BC, was created. The remains of the ruler were found during excavations in the Scythian Neapolis. The status of the found skeleton was indicated by the expensive weapons that were in the tomb, a bronze helmet with silver inlay, gold jewelry and other riches.

Gerasimov made a reconstruction of Tamerlane (Timur), a medieval conqueror who lived in the 14th century, in 1941 after opening the tomb. All the information about the conqueror known until that time testified that it was he who was in the tomb. The face was constructed from the skull, and the clothes and headgear were based on an analysis of items from that era and surviving miniatures.

The remains of Ulugbek, the grandson of Timur, were found in the mausoleumGur-Emi Samarkand. He was a physician, poet and astronomer. There was documentary evidence that it was Ulugbek, since the body was found separately from the head (since it was cut off by Khan Abbas). Therefore, there was no doubt that it was Ulugbek.

These were the main works of the great anthropologist. He is also the author of reconstructions:

• Yaroslav the Wise;
• Andrei Bogolyubsky;
• Ushakova.

Published books

Despite the fact that the great sculptor had almost no free time, he managed to write several books. Now the books of Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov are popular among lovers of the humanities and social sciences. All of them are anthropological:

"Restoration of the face from the skull (modern and fossil man)". The book was published in 1955. Earlier in 1949, a summary of the work had been published. This is a new and complete description of the fundamental work of the Russian sculptor and anthropologist. It presents a graphical reconstruction, discussing in detail the technique of portrait reconstruction and its application as a historical study

People of the Stone Age is a book published in 1964. Here you can learn about the most interesting reconstructions of people that have been made over the course of 20 years of work. It also describes some of the conditions for finding human remains. A special place in the book is occupied by the description of a particular era in which a person lived

There is another book that was released after the death of the archaeologist -"Tamerlane the Conqueror of Asia". It includes studies of such prominent orientalists as L. A. Zimin, V. V. Bartold, A. Yu. Yakubovsky and, of course, M. M. Gerasimov.

Achievements

The following unique works were carried out by the anthropologist:

• He created more than 200 portrait sculptures using the reconstruction technique. They were both ordinary people who lived in ancient times, and historical figures.
• He, together with a team of archaeologists, explored and discovered the M alta site of the Upper Paleo period.
• For several years (1931-1936) he explored the Fofanovsky burial ground, located near the village of Fofanovo in Buryatia (Kabansky district).
• Gerasimov reconstructed the face of a late Neanderthal, whose remains were found in the grotto of La Chapelle-aux-Seine in France, as well as Cro-Magnons excavated at the Sungir site, located near Vladimir.

Interesting facts

The first experiments of M. M. Gerasimov were carried out under the leadership of the Criminal Investigation Department. They officially gave him orders. Everything was done in strict secrecy. It was not the kind of work that the archaeologist dreamed of. He saw it as a necessity. In addition, Mikhail received money for her. Here are some interesting stories about how crimes were solved thanks to Gerasimov.

In Leningrad it became known about the disappearance of a boy who could not be found for a long time. In the end, they found him and provided the skeleton to Gerasimov. At the same time, he never saw a photo of the boy. It's amazing, but he's so good and clearmade a reconstruction that when a couple of pictures were given to the mother of the missing boy, she selected exactly those that were taken from the reconstruction of Mikhail.

Another incident occurred in Stalingrad before the war. One man said that his pregnant wife was missing. A year later, in the forest, a teacher with children found a skull and the remains of a skeleton. The city prosecutor thought that it could be just the missing woman. The skull was sent by parcel to Gerasimov. An anthropologist created a reconstruction, and when a photo of the sculpture was shown to the husband of a missing woman, he confessed that he had killed his wife.

Later life

In 1944, archaeologist-sculptor Mikhail Gerasimov moved with his family to Moscow, where he began working at the Institute of the History of Material Culture. In the same year, he received the State Stalin Prize.

The archaeologist has another state award of the USSR - the Order of the Badge of Honor for success in research activities.

In 1950, the Laboratory of Plastic Reconstruction was established at the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. She is still working. Gerasimov was in charge of it until the end of his life.

The famous anthropologist died at the age of 63. He left to his followers detailed descriptions of his own technique for reconstructing faces from the skull. He said that if you strictly follow his instructions, it will not be difficult for a trained specialist to do what he himself once did.

Gerasimov left a daughter, Margarita, who followed in her father's footsteps and also becameanthropologist.

This was the story of Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov, an outstanding anthropologist of his time. He, in fact, opened a new activity - the reconstruction of the remains of the skull and skeleton. It is worth noting that all modern portrait sculptures were made according to his scientific works. Now his works are exhibited in various museums of the country, where thousands of people can look at the works of the master.