“As a result, her species is positioned at a very pivotal point in our quest to understand our origins.” In September 2013, the Museum unveiled a new Human Origins Gallery featuring Lucy, the famous 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor showcased as a skeletal mount as well as a sculpted reconstruction.
Lucy’s fossil is currently housed alongside other early hominin fossils at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, following a five-year tour in the United States. Her Ethiopian name, Dinkinesh, translates to “you are marvelous.”
Ethiopia, and the famous “ Lucy,” a hominin of the species Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar, Ethiopia. Ardi’s skeleton, which is more than 50 percent complete, dates to about 4.4 mya. The design of her pelvis and feet are suggestive of bipedal locomotion. However, other skeletal elements indicate that she spent…
The two new representations of Lucy were created under the direction of Haile-Selassie. Skeletal reconstructions are always based on available fossil material. The previous skeletal reconstruction of Lucy was designed under the assumption that the earliest hominins had chimpanzee-like, funnel-shaped rib cages.
Australopithecus afarensisThey presented their findings to a team of researchers and the group ultimately agreed that Lucy was part of a single, previously undiscovered, species of hominin. This newly identified species, Australopithecus afarensis, was announced by Johanson in 1978.
Australopithecus afarensis"Lucy" is the nickname given to the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton fossils discovered in East Africa in 1974.
The scientific name of Lucy is Australopithecus afarensis.
The genus Australopithecus is a collection of hominin species that span the time period from 4.18 to about 2 million years ago. Australopiths were terrestrial bipedal ape-like animals that had large chewing teeth with thick enamel caps, but whose brains were only very slightly larger than those of great apes.
What species did the fossil lucy belong to? Australopithecus afarensis.
the National Museum of EthiopiaThe “real” Lucy is stored in a specially constructed safe in the Paleoanthropology Laboratories of the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Because of the rare and fragile nature of many fossils, including hominids, molds are often made of the original fossils.
Southern apeAustralopithecus afarensis / GenusLucy belonged to genus Australopithecus and the species afarensis, but she also belonged to the the hominid family (hominidae) to which humans belong. Although humans are of the family hominidae, we are not of Lucy's genus or species.
Who is Lucy the Australopithecus? Lucy was one of the first hominin fossils to become a household name. Her skeleton is around 40% complete - at the time of her discovery, she was by far the most complete early hominin known.
the National Museum of EthiopiaThe Lucy skeleton is preserved at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. A plaster replica is publicly displayed there instead of the original skeleton. A cast of the original skeleton in its reconstructed form is displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Australopithecus, (Latin: “southern ape”) (genus Australopithecus), group of extinct primates closely related to, if not actually ancestors of, modern human beings and known from a series of fossils found at numerous sites in eastern, north-central, and southern Africa.
Australopit... afarensisAustralopit... africanusAustralopit... anamensisAustralopit... sedibaAustralopit... garhiAustralopit... bahrelgha...Southern ape/Lower classifications
Australopithecus means 'southern ape' and was originally developed for a species found in South Africa. This is the genus or group name and several closely related species now share this name.
Move over, Lucy. Scientists today announced the discovery of the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor. The find reveals that our forebears underwent a previously unknown stage of evolution more than a million years before Lucy, the iconic early human ancestor specimen that walked the Earth 3.2 million years ago.
In 1974, the world was stunned by the discovery of "Lucy," the partial skeleton of a human ancestor that walked upright—and still spent time in the trees—3.2 million years ago. Later discoveries revealed her species, scattered throughout eastern Africa, had brains bigger than chimpanzees.
Laetoli is a well-known palaeontological locality in northern Tanzania whose outstanding record includes the earliest hominin footprints in the world (3.66 million years old), discovered in 1978 at Site G and attributed to Australopithecus afarensis.
Homo sapiensThe species that you and all other living human beings on this planet belong to is Homo sapiens. During a time of dramatic climate change 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens evolved in Africa.
Perhaps the world's most famous early human ancestor, the 3.2-million-year-old ape "Lucy" was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found, though her remains are only about 40 percent ...
When the partial skeleton was found, it was the oldest and most complete early human ancestor ever found, with 40 percent of the skeleton unearthed. Lucy has served as an important reference that has expanded researchers’ understanding of the morphology and anatomy of the earliest human ancestors and increased our knowledge of human evolution.
In September 2013, the Museum unveiled a new Human Origins Gallery featuring Lucy, the famous 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor showcased as a skeletal mount as well as a sculpted reconstruction.
The process began by articulating the Museum’s restorations of Lucy’s bones in a dynamic, confident striding pose. Gurche then used modeling clay to sculpt realistic muscles, based on muscle markings visible on Lucy’s bones. “Her skeleton is not identical to that of any creature alive today, ape or human, and her muscles follow suit,” said Gurche. “The result is a body all her own.”
The new reconstruction is based on new knowledge from specimens discovered in Ethiopia that indicate that Lucy had neither a funnel-shaped (ape-like) nor barrel-shaped (human-like) rib cage. The shape was intermediate between humans and apes.
Lucy. Australopithecus afarensis, 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor. Where Human Origins Gallery. “Lucy” is the nickname for the Australopithecus afarensis partial skeleton that was discovered in the Afar desert of Ethiopia in 1974 by an international team of scientists led by former Museum curator Dr. Donald Johanson.
Sharing the spotlight with the new skeletal mount is a strikingly lifelike sculpture created by internationally renowned paleoartist John Gurche. This fully “fleshed-out” reconstruction details the muscular build and facial features of the upright walking human ancestor.
Lucy stood about 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall and weighed about 60 pounds (27 kg). See also Hadar; Laetoli; Sterkfontein. Reconstructed replica of the skull of “Lucy,” a 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis found by anthropologist Donald Johanson in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia.
The specimen is usually classified as Australopithecus afarensis and suggests—by having long arms, short legs, an apelike chest and jaw, and a small brain but a relatively humanlike pelvis—that bipedal locomotion preceded the development of a larger (more humanlike) brain in hominin evolution.
When the partial skeleton was found, it was the oldest and most complete early human ancestor ever found, with 40 percent of the skeleton unearthed. Lucy has served as an important reference that has expanded researchers’ understanding of the morphology and anatomy of the earliest human ancestors and increased our knowledge of human evolution.
In September 2013, the Museum unveiled a new Human Origins Gallery featuring Lucy, the famous 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor showcased as a skeletal mount as well as a sculpted reconstruction.
The process began by articulating the Museum’s restorations of Lucy’s bones in a dynamic, confident striding pose. Gurche then used modeling clay to sculpt realistic muscles, based on muscle markings visible on Lucy’s bones. “Her skeleton is not identical to that of any creature alive today, ape or human, and her muscles follow suit,” said Gurche. “The result is a body all her own.”
The new reconstruction is based on new knowledge from specimens discovered in Ethiopia that indicate that Lucy had neither a funnel-shaped (ape-like) nor barrel-shaped (human-like) rib cage. The shape was intermediate between humans and apes.
Lucy. Australopithecus afarensis, 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor. Where Human Origins Gallery. “Lucy” is the nickname for the Australopithecus afarensis partial skeleton that was discovered in the Afar desert of Ethiopia in 1974 by an international team of scientists led by former Museum curator Dr. Donald Johanson.
Sharing the spotlight with the new skeletal mount is a strikingly lifelike sculpture created by internationally renowned paleoartist John Gurche. This fully “fleshed-out” reconstruction details the muscular build and facial features of the upright walking human ancestor.