Johanson, D. Lucy: The beginnings of humankind. Pliocene hominids from the Hadar Formation, Ethiopia - : Stratigraphic, chronological, and paleoenvironmental contexts, with notes on hominid morphology and systematics. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 57 , Jungers, W.
Lucy's length: stature reconstruction in Australopithecus afarensis A. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 76 , Kimbel, W. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 52 , McHenry, H. Femoral lengths and stature in Plio-pleistocene hominids. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 85 , Scott, J. Bootstrap tests of significance and the case for humanlike skeletal-size dimorphism in Australopithecus afarensis.
Journal of Human Evolution 51 , Smith, B. Mortality and the magnitude of the "wild effect" in chimpanzee tooth emergence. Journal of Human Evolution 60 , Sylvester, A. Assessing A. Journal of Human Evolution 55 , A Primer on Paleolithic Technology.
Lucy: A marvelous specimen. Overview of Hominin Evolution. Reconstructing Hominin Life History. Australopithecus and Kin. Archaic Homo sapiens. Evidence for Meat-Eating by Early Humans. Neanderthal Behavior. The "Robust" Australopiths. The Transition to Modern Behavior. Lucy: A marvelous specimen By: Caitlin M. Citation: Schrein, C. Nature Education Knowledge 6 7 How much do you know about Lucy and why is she so special?
Where did we come from? Humans continue to search for the answer to this fundamental question. Over the years, we've turned to both religion and science to explain where our species came from. Innovators of their time, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, used science to explain where humans came from, posing the theory of evolution. Then, Mary and Louis Leaky explored the fossil record to see if they could piece together the story of humans. Evolutionary science and archaeology continue today.
Use these materials in your classroom to teach your students about the origins of the homo sapien. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Lucy's Cousin "Lucy" is the nickname given to the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton fossils discovered in East Africa in It's possible she scaled them only from time to time for safety or that she nested in them every night.
Based on data on the nesting habits of chimps, an average of 46 feet above the ground makes them feel safe. She stood up straight, with feet, knees and hips that are similar to ours. If you saw her walking from afar, you would think Lucy was human by her silhouette. But up close, she had a small head, a brain comparable in size to a chimpanzee's, longer arms and hair covering her body. Bridging the gap between humans and chimps, Lucy had slightly curved fingers and toes, with mobile ankles and shoulders that provided more overhead range of movement.
Even with those abilities, she would have been better at walking than climbing. Perhaps Lucy was spooked by a predator, or perhaps she was asleep or settling in for the night. Maybe she spied some fruit and wanted to forage. Either way, this is what Kappelman believes happened next. The 'Underground Astronauts' in search of new human species. A sculptor's rendering of the hominid Australopithecus afarensis. From 46 feet in the air, Lucy fell out of her tree, fully conscious.
She fell toward the ground rapidly at 35 mph and hit feet-first, sending an impact punching through her body that created fractures in her ankles, knees, hip and shoulder. Internal organs were probably punctured by this "hydraulic ram effect. It would probably be her final conscious act. She twisted to her right, landing primarily on that side. That twist fractured her neck and tilted her head.
Image courtesy of Daderot [ CC0 1. The canine teeth of Au. The canine premolar honing complex has been completely lost - this is a feature present in chimpanzees and other apes outside of the hominin lineage, where the large and projecting upper canine teeth are sharpened against the lower third premolars. All known modern and fossil apes have this honing complex. Its absence, along with the presence of bipedalism, is thought to be characteristic of species on the hominin lineage.
The 3. You can see it in the Human Evolution gallery. However, it may not have walked in exactly the same way as we do or been able to walk long distances efficiently. Anatomical features associated with upright walking are present in the spine, pelvis, legs and feet. These include a broad pelvis and a femur that is angled inwards towards the knee so that the centre of gravity lies directly above the foot.
Reconstruction of Lucy's pelvis in the National Museum of Ethiopia. The broad pelvis of Australopithecus afarensis is an adaptation to upright walking. Lucy and her species also retained some adaptations for climbing and hanging from trees. These features are seen in the shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. It is likely that the species, particularly the smaller females, spent a significant amount of time moving around in trees.
The larger males were probably less arboreal. Chimpanzees and other apes are known to build nesting platforms in tree canopies. The site of Laetoli in Tanzania preserves the oldest known hominin footprints. Nearly 3. Rain created a surface like wet cement and, before it hardened, a variety of animals wandered across it.
Further eruptions covered the footprints they left behind, preserving them for posterity. In , two years after the first animal prints were uncovered, palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey excavated a metre-long trail made by hominins, consisting of about 70 footprints.
They were attributed to Au. Replica in the Museum's Human Evolution gallery of some of the footprints preserved at Laetoli, Tanzania, thought to be made by Australopithecus afarensis. The tracks show two individuals walked side by side and a third followed behind. Their toes and way of walking were more human than ape-like. According to the close spacing of the footprints, the hominins who made them had short legs. The prints resemble those of modern humans, with an arch and a big toe aligned with the other toes.
Their steps were also similar to those of modern humans, with the heel touching the ground first and weight transferring to the ball of the foot before the toes push the foot off the ground.
Biomechanical analysis suggests the bipedal gait was not entirely modern though, and that the leg may have been slightly more bent at the knee as the foot hit the floor. The impressions left in the ash reveal that a small group - with different sized feet - were walking from south to north.
At least one smaller individual was walking behind and stepping into the footprints made by a larger individual. Nearly forty years later, another set of footprints was found metres from the original trail. These were made by two individuals, one of whom was much taller and heavier, walking in the same direction as the original group. Perhaps a single social group made the two trails, possibly a large male walking with females and children.
A second set of footprints, also nearly 3. It's quite rare to find footprints of hominins, the group to which humans and our ancestors and close relatives belong. The footprints at Laetoli are the only ones attributed to a species not in the genus Homo. Various lines of evidence suggest that Au.
Carbon isotope values in tooth enamel reveal that Au. Some of the anatomical changes compared to the earlier species Au. Illustration by Maurice Wilson of the extinct hominin Australopithecus afarensis.
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