Here she is!
This is the skull of australopithecus afarensis.
Probably the most famous of hominid fossils is of the Australopithecine 'Lucy'.
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Here she is! |
Lucy was found at Hadar, Ethiopia, in 1974 by Dr.Donald C. Johanson. She has been identified as an adult female of about 25 years. Lucy has been the star of much thorough research. The results of these studies have been very informative and have brought great insight into the cryptic world of these ancient hominids. Lucy was indeed a wonderful find for paleoanthropologists as nearly 40% of her skeleton has been recovered. Lucy was about three feet, eight inches and is presumed to have weighed about 65 pounds. Her brain was probably a third the size of a modern day human's. Lucy belongs to the group Australopithecus afarensis and comes from Ethiopia, but other specimens of this group have been found in Tanzania as well. |
| The members of Lucy's species had primitive heads and
,quite surprisingly, human-like bodies. These hominids were much
smaller in stature than modern-day humans. The hand and shoulder
features of this species suggest that it may have spent time in trees.
Australopithecus afarensis emerged in East Africa and roamed the
savannas and woodlands of the Great Rift Valley. Her species survived
for about one million years and then disappeared from the fossil record.
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This is the skull of australopithecus afarensis. |
