Wide brown eyes stared warily from a dark face on a screen at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Thursday night. The face wasn’t human, but it seemed disconcertingly close.
From an 18,000-year-old skull pulled from a cave in Indonesia, Denver artist John Gurche re-created the tiny human relative Homo floresiensis, one of the most dramatic archaeological discoveries of last year.
His work graces the cover of this month’s National Geographic magazine, and Thursday, he discussed his reconstructions with a group of museum donors.
“If she looks a little spooked, that was actually intentional,’ Gurche told an audience of about 50.
The tiny female, who stood about 3 feet tall, may have co-existed with our own human relatives, he said: If she feared them, she might be frightened to see us.
Homo floresiensis, better known as the “Hobbit people,’ lived on a remote island in Indonesia at a time when it was thought our own species was the only hominid around, Gurche said.
Soon after archaeologists uncovered humanity’s tiny relative, National Geographic magazine called Gurche to rebuild her face. The Denver artist is known worldwide, and his work is based on years of research and dissections, as well as artistry.
Last month, researchers with a Golden company reconstructed the face of an ancient Egyptian mummy who lies under wraps at the Denver museum. That team started with sophisticated medical images of the mummy’s bones and shriveled skin, said Steve Humphries, director of business development with Medical Modeling.
Gurche is a “true artist,’ Humphries said, and works with far more ancient material.
“John captures more nuances; he really puts life into these kinds of reproductions,’ Humphries said.
Gurche is scheduled to give a public lecture at the museum later this month.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at khuman@denverpost.com or 303-820-1910.
