Acclaimed paleoartist speaks at Ohio State

• John Gurche shows the starting point for his Denisovan reconstruction.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• Gurche's model develops further.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• A layer of skin is applied to the model.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• The final reconstruction.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• John Gurche shows the starting point for his Denisovan reconstruction.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• Gurche's model develops further.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• A layer of skin is applied to the model.

  Photo: The Ohio State University
• The final reconstruction.

  Photo: The Ohio State University

Acclaimed paleoartist speaks at Ohio State

John Gurche delivers 2025 Bourguignon art and anthropology lecture

When reconstructing the face of a recently deceased individual, scientists can use data from human cadavers and living people. But how do you reconstruct a face that's more than 140,00 years old? According to paleoartist John Gurche, science needs some help from the visual arts.

This year's Paul H. and Erika Bourguignon Lecture in Art and Anthropology was given by Gurche, artist-in-resident at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York. His work has been featured in museums around the country, including the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Erika Bourguignon's career at The Ohio State University spanned 40 years. She was chair of the Department of Anthropology from 1971 to 1976, making her the first woman to hold such a role in the university's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (now part of the College of Arts and Sciences).

Her husband, Paul-Henri Bourguignon, was a celebrated artist and art critic. The Department of Anthropology has held an annual lecture in their honor for more than 20 years, with speakers discussing the intersection between art and anthropology.

"With exceptional drawing, painting and sculpting skills, John reconstructs extinct species," said Barbara Piperata, professor of anthropology. "Working with human paleontologists, John studies the original fossils of our human ancestors and primate anatomy to create his reconstructions."

Gurche discussed a project he did in collaboration with National Geographic: recreating the face of a "Denisovan," a species of early human.

Discovered in 2008 in the Denisova Cave in Siberia, Denisovans are still a physical mystery. With few fossils found, it's difficult to know what they looked like. This is where Gurche comes in. He shared his technique for building an anatomical model that, layer by layer, gives viewers a glimpse into the past.

"How can we reconstruct the face of an extinct species?" he asked the audience. "We don't have [modern data]. We have to be a little more clever. What could possibly be the evidence that we could use in reconstructing an ancient face?"

Gurche described his use of comparative anatomy - using data from humans and our closest relatives to make educated guesses about bones, musculature and facial features.

"I have to look at some of the major differences between ape faces and human faces when I do a reconstruction," he said. "I want to let the bones speak for themselves instead of making … an assumption."

While Gurche is an accomplished artist, he only uses his creativity at the very end of a reconstruction.

"I try to use art as little as possible because I want the science to take me as far as I can," he said. "I do use art when I'm thinking of facial expressions. I want that expression to be somehow reflective of the species."

In the case of the Denisovan reconstruction, Gurche chose to let the challenges of life nearly 150,000 years ago dictate the expression.

"I wanted this individual to look a little bit wary," he said. "I wanted this to look like an individual who has seen a lot, and not all of it good."

Expressions also help modern-day viewers connect with his work, Gurche said.

"One of the things I have to put into my reconstruction is a feeling that there's someone home, a feeling of presence behind the eyes," he said. "I want you to look into the eyes of this thing and really relate to it as a being that was once alive, that was living and breathing and felt joy and fear and pain."

Pointing to a photograph of his model, Gurche walked the audience through using art and science to reconstruct the Denisovan's mouth.

"[Using science,] I can tell you something about the major form of the mouth, like how wide it is, for example," he said. "But science will not tell me, at least not presently, any details about the specific form of the lip. Does it have a little divot? Does to have an upturn at the corners? … That's where the art comes into it."

Before taking questions, Gurche ended his presentation with a question of his own.

"Is this the face of a Denisovan? We still don't know," he said. "Almost all of these talks end with, 'We need more fossils.' So I'll say, we need more fossils."

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