how science, art, and imagination help us understand our origins (Book, 2014) [WorldCat.org]

Publisher Synopsis

“Paleoartist John Gurche crafts hyperrealistic sculptures of extinct hominins, built up from casts or three-dimensional models of their skeletons. . . . [A] coffee-table gem.”-Nature * Nature * Won an Honorable Mention for the 2013 New England Book Festival given by the JM Northern Media Family of Festivals, in the General Non-Fiction Category. — New England Book Festival * JM Northern Median * “This coffee-table gem showcases and contextualises 15 of these finely judged creations, representing a span of 6 million years.”-Nature * Nature * “Using gorgeous illustrations and photographs, [Gurche] describes exactly how he draws from studies of modern-day musculature and even his own facial features to turn crumbling skeletons into the evocative sculptures and images that have appeared in museums, magazines, journals and textbooks worldwide.”-Rachel Feltman, Scientific American — Rachel Feltman * Scientific American * “John Gurche doesn’t just sculpt the various species of early ancestors, he channels them. Shaping Humanity is authoritative yet gentle, objective (in and about a field that is not), and beautifully written. The illustrations are so breathtaking you will want to put the book on your coffee table, yet its up-to-date and accessible science will be appreciated by anyone interested in the evolution of the human intellectual and creative spark.”-Dean Falk, author The Fossil Chronicles: How Two Controversial Discoveries Changed Our View of Human Evolution — Dean Falk “John Gurche is one of the great paleoartists of our time. In this beautifully illustrated book, Gurche’s skills are on full display as he, quite literally, puts flesh on the bones of our extinct ancestors and relatives spanning the past seven million years.”-Brian G. Richmond, The George Washington University — Brian G. Richmond “There are many books written on human evolution. Shaping Humanity is something different and unusual…there is nothing like it.”-Andrew Hill, Yale University — Andrew Hill “John Gurche brings a special and detailed understanding of human and comparative anatomy to his illustrations and sculptures of human relatives and ancestors…what emerges from this very special fusion of science and art is a beautifully illustrated guide to human evolution through an accomplished artist’s hands and eyes. But it is more than that: it also chronicles another uniquely human process, one involving creativity and passion in making art. The total package is an intellectual tour-de-force.”-William Jungers, SUNY Stony Brook — William Jungers “John Gurche brilliantly brings the long human past alive with his powerful reconstructions of our extinct precursors, and skillfully explains just where the boundaries lie between art and science in his demanding profession.”-Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins — Ian Tattersall
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