What happened to the Caveman dioramas?

Many generations of adults remember coming to the Museum and being transported back to a time when people were living in caves. The first of two Neanderthal family dioramas was installed in 1929, in the Hall of Historical Geology which was located on the Museum's 2nd floor. In 1933, the Hall of Prehistoric Man (located on the Museum's Ground Floor) opened with a series of 8 prehistoric scenes.
Learn moreMany generations of adults remember coming to the Museum and being transported back to a time when people were living in caves. The first of two Neanderthal family dioramas was installed in 1929, in the Hall of Historical Geology which was located on the Museum's 2nd floor. In 1933, the Hall of Prehistoric Man (located on the Museum's Ground Floor) opened with a series of 8 prehistoric scenes. In the early 1970s, the Neanderthal figures were replaced with new ones made by Museum artist Joseph Krstolich. By 1994, the Hall of the Stone Age of the Old World exhibit had been dismantled because most were considered to be scientifically inaccurate. The Hall had included the Neanderthal Family diorama as well as dioramas depicting Mas d'Azil cave in France (also called Azillian Boar Hunt); Aurignacian Cave Art (Gargas cave, France); Chellean scene in northern France; Neolithic Sun Worship; Solutrean sculptor; Swiss Lake Dwellers; Cap Blanc Rock Shelter and the skeleton of Magdallenian girl.
View less1929 - Neanderthal (Mousterian) Man
1930 - Exhibits to Visualize 1,500,000,000 years of Life
1933 - Stone Age Hall, soon to open, will show ancestors of human race
1933 - Stone Age Hall Exhibit shows men of 250,000 years ago
1933 - Neanderthal Group in Hall of Stone Age
1933 - Field Museum Annual Report
1933 - Prehistoric Man, Hall of the Stone Age of the Old World
1941 - Fishes Play An Important Role in Human's Culture
1972 - New Neanderthals
1973 - Welcome to the Stone Age: The Museum's Stone Age Hall Revisited
2003 - Hall of Prehistoric Man

