Paleoartist John Gurche's sculptures of early human likenesses are on view at the Smithsonian's Hall of Human Origins.
John Gurche's "Shaping Humanity"
![This Paranthropus boisei, cast in bronze, is shown going about his daily life about 2 million years ago. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)](https://gdb.voanews.com/EEB706F6-D43C-444E-B39D-040AF913A444_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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This Paranthropus boisei, cast in bronze, is shown going about his daily life about 2 million years ago. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)
![Reaching back 1.5 million years in human history, John Gurche begins his study of Homo erectus with a series of drawings. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)](https://gdb.voanews.com/0C92DDD9-2296-4566-9DAF-A7CA116B6E56_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Reaching back 1.5 million years in human history, John Gurche begins his study of Homo erectus with a series of drawings. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)
![John Gurche builds an armature for Homo erectus and models the muscles on a live human figure. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)](https://gdb.voanews.com/956BD7E4-5EEF-49E7-B2DF-BD29424D5619_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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John Gurche builds an armature for Homo erectus and models the muscles on a live human figure. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)
![The resulting bronze sculpture in the Human Origins exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)](https://gdb.voanews.com/7D98D68A-1E31-4E48-8809-77A408DA3B77_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The resulting bronze sculpture in the Human Origins exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. (John Gurche, “Shaping Humanity”)