Paleoart as Epistemic Mediation and a Psychogenetic Device: Reconstruction of Fossil Species and Symbolic Formation in Educational Contexts

Author Information

Waldir Siqueira Moura, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lívia Diniz Rodrigues, UNINTER, Brazil
Edgar Delbem, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Paleoart is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of the visual arts and the Earth sciences, devoted to the visual reconstruction of extinct organisms and ecosystems from fossil evidence. Although it is often perceived as a form of popular-science “illustration,” specialized scholarship has repeatedly emphasized that paleoart is integral to the epistemic culture of Paleontology, insofar as it translates anatomical, functional, and paleoenvironmental hypotheses into evaluable representations. Such representations can guide scientific communication and, in some cases, contribute to the formulation and refinement of interpretations—for example, by making gaps, inconsistencies, and anatomical choices explicit. At the same time, studies indicate that aesthetic and scientific decisions in paleoart are not always documented transparently, which can perpetuate inaccuracies across successive media cycles and reinterpretations. This article proposes an integrated Art–Paleontology–Education framework that conceptualizes paleoart production as (i) a reconstruction protocol grounded in evidential traceability (decision chains, levels of inference, and plausible alternatives) and (ii) a formative and diagnostic device inspired by the Educational Psychogenetics of Fr. Joaquim Ferreira Xavier Júnior, sjr.

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