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During the interval between the acceptance of Darwinian evolution theory and the rise of modern understanding of genetics, atavism was used to account for the reappearance in an individual of a trait after several generations of absence. Such an individual was sometimes called a "throwback". The term is often used in connection with the unexpected reappearance of primitive traits in organisms.
The concept was much more widely used in the pre-genetic Darwinism of Ernst Haeckel, who proposed a recapitulation theory commonly summed up in the phrase that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny: the notion that a developing embryo revisits the previous evolutionary stages of the organism in the course of its development, and resembles the successively more complex organisms out of which it had evolved.
The notion of atavism was used frequently by social darwinists, who claimed that inferior races displayed atavistic traits, and represented more primitive traits than their own race. Both the notion of atavism, and Haeckel's recapitulation theory, are saturated with notions of evolution as progress, as a march towards greater complexity and superior ability.
In addition, the concept of atavism as part of an individualistic explanation of the causes of criminal deviance was popularised by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso in the 1870’s. He attempted to identify physical characteristics common to criminals and labelled those he found as atavistic, ‘throwback’ traits that determined 'primitive' criminal behaviour. His statistical evidence and the notion that physical traits determine inevitable criminality have long since been debunked, but the concept that physical traits may affect the likelihood of criminal behaviour in the individual remains popular in some circles. For instance, the presence of an XYY chromosomal abnormality was widely touted as a predictor of violent behaviour among male prison inmates in past decades. However, despite the number of studies done on the subject, no conclusive evidence exists of any statistical link between physical traits and individual criminality.
Ideas that the genetic clock could somehow be reversed led to the selective breeding of cattle with selected primitive traits, in hopes of reviving the extinct aurochs.
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