This introduction gives an overview of the current state of the discussion regarding the representation of individuals of ‘minority’ appearance in past communities: those visually representing as non-white, non-able bodied, older, non-heteronormative/male. While the rapid development of new research methods, especially in the field of archaeogenetics, changes our perception of these aspects of past lives, the disparity in the visual picture that is catered via science communication institutions (museums, publishing, media) to the public is remarkable. While this might be due to matters of curatorial practice, the public’s reactions to such images in the last couple of years might be another factor leading to these discrepancies. After a short discussion of some case studies, the authors present an attempt to evaluate the perception of the audience on the matter of diversity in the visual representation of past societies.