John Gurche, paleo-artist, will discuss his facial reconstructions for the new hominid species Homo naledi, recently discovered in South Africa at a lecture Saturday, April 9, at the Bruce Museum.

The “Marianne Smith Memorial Lecture” is titled “The Story of Homo naledi: From Fossil to Face”

Reception with light refreshments begins at 6:30 p.m, lecture at 7 p.m.

Free for Bruce Museum members, $15 non-members.

Please register on Eventbrite.com.

In 2014, National Geographic sent artist and anatomist John Gurche to South Africa to study the newly discovered fossil remains of a previously unknown species of human ancestor. The purpose of the study was to look at bony clues pertaining to what the creature looked like.

This eventually led to a sculpted reconstruction of the new species Homo naledi, which appeared on the cover of the October, 2025 issue of National Geographic, and in publications and news stories around the world.

In his lecture at the Bruce Museum, Gurche will tell the story of Homo naledi’s discovery and analysis, with special focus on the anatomical clues he used to work out details of H. naledi’s appearance.

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— an announcement from Bruce Museum