Discovery of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis)

Paleontology & Fossils 1974 Featured

Discoverers: Donald Johanson, Tom Gray

Overview

Discovery of a remarkably complete 3.2-million-year-old hominin skeleton in Ethiopia, providing key evidence for bipedal locomotion in early human ancestors.

Significance

Demonstrated that upright walking preceded brain enlargement in human evolution, reshaping the timeline and understanding of hominin evolution.

Methodology

Systematic surface survey in the Hadar Formation, Afar Depression, Ethiopia, recovering 40% of a single individual's skeleton.

Impact