|
Wesleyan University Archaeology & Anthropology Collections Hominin Fossil Casts |
||
|
Species Designation: Australopithecus afarensis ID/ Nickname: AL 288-1, Lucy Date: 2.9 - 3.5 million years ago Catalog #: 2004-11-38 Description: Cranium, Mandible |
 |
|
   |
||
Context of Discovery:
Discovered at Hadar, Ethiopia by Donald Johanson in 1974. Fossils found in a gulley. After 3 weeks of mapping, collecting and sieving, the bones gathered became the most complete early hominin found. Hadar hominin fossils are now commonly known as A. afarensis, with some debate.
Facts about "Lucy":
Lucy's anatomy combines ape and human characteristics. The knee joint and pelvis indicate bipedalism. Lucy had somewhat ape-like proportions: short legs and long arms, and an apelike cranium and dentition. She lived by a lake about 3 million years ago and stood about 3 feet tall (average A. afarensis height was about 3.5 - 4 feet). Lucy probably died in her early twenties.
Important Publications:
Johanson, D., C.O. Lovejoy, W.H. Kimbel, T.D. White, S.C. Ward, M.E. Bush, B.M. Latimer, and Y. Coppens. 1982. "Morphology of the Pliocene partial hominid skeletion (AL 288-1) from the Hadar Formation, Ethiopia." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 57: 403-451.
Johanson, D., and M. Edey. 1981. Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Jungers, W.L. 1982. "Lucy's limbs: Skeletal allometry and locomotion in Australopithecus afarensis." Nature 297: 676-678.
Lewin, R. 1983. "Were Lucy's feet made for walking?" Science 220: 700-702.