Postage stamps are small consumable works of art meant to commemorate an event or person, pay tribute to a country or organization or explore a topic of interest. Many topics have been covered on postage stamps including the subject of human evolution as explored on this set of Cuban postage stamps issued in 1997. Several of the known hominid species are depicted including Neanderthal, Java, China, Oberkassel, Australopithecus and Cro-Magnon man. The best renderings of these pre-historic man-like creatures are approximations based on computer models and anatomic formulae with a healthy dose of artistic license. The versions on these stamps, given their diminutive size and primarily commerical purpose, are mere caricatures of the best approximations of what these ape-man creatures actually looked like. As simplifications of simplifications, they become generic in appearance; hairy or smooth, thin or thick, light or dark. The only one of the group which appears to have any specific gender is Cro Magnon man which perhaps takes its features on this stamp from the pejorative meaning that the word Cro-Magnon has taken on when used to refer to men in contemporary society who are insensitive to politically correct language and behavior, especially when it comes to gender specific issues.
Evolution Stamps
