Lucy The Australopithecus: 10 Curious Facts

People always wonder how their predecessors looked like. Are you interested in this question too? Does your mind preoccupied not only with trying to find more reasons why to buy new car now, or any other routine problems? Are you really burning with impatience to know what appearance the first humans had, what manner of walking was inherent to them, and how they communicated with each other? Although it is not too easy to imagine that millions of years ago a humanlike creature was hairy and furious, the scientists are sure that modern people came from these monkeys, which surely had much in common with us.

How It All Began

The deserts of Ethiopia, 1974. Nothing foreboded any shocking breakthroughs, though the chain of the next events became life-changing for the world science. The finding, which was discovered by the group of archeologists headed by Donald Johanson turned the concept of a man’s evolution upside down. Just several bones, which Mr. Johanson dug out accidently, propelled the science to the cardinally new level and brought the paleoanthropologist the never-before-seen fame. The skull, the jaws, and some other skeleton fragments gave no doubts: the scientists run against one of the most ancient human bones.

How old was this skeleton? Was it female or male remains? What was its exact age and how many millions of years it was covered by the thick layer of ground? The questions were numerous, while the answers were still unready to be announced. When the situation got clearer, the info about the skeleton was publicized immediately. Here are the most interesting facts about the ancient finding, which became one of the most significant objects of the world heritage.

Do You Know That…?

1. Despite the fact that the skeleton’s age went beyond 3 million years, it was perfectly preserved in the ground. Two weeks of exploration works gave the bombastic results. When the bones were dug out and combined together, the scientists saw that more than 40% of the skeleton was restored! Perfectly-done work!
2. There were no doubts that the bones belonged to a hominid. When the puzzle was assembled, the proofs were easy to see: the found individual had all the signs of upright walking.
3. It was soon identified that the skeleton fragments belonged to the ancient female hominid. How did the archeologists ascertain this fact? The ancient hominid feminine species were much smaller than the male ones. Undoubtedly, the newly found skeleton belonged to the smaller group.
4. Lucy the Australopithecus was the name that the skeleton was given. The name sounds a bit funny for such a grandiose item, right? Besides, there is a reasonable explanation of such a choice. When the bones were accidently founded on November 24, the expeditionary brigade’s sheer joy made them throw a party. Long night was dedicated to dancing, singing, and celebrating. One and the same record was spun again and again. It was The Beatles’ song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ adored by everybody. Suddenly someone gave a cry, ‘Let the Australopithecus be given a name Lucy!’ So the name was stuck to the skeleton and the collected model became Lucy. 
5. The next question, which disturbed the minds of both the scientists and the common people, was why Lucy died. Unfortunately, the cause of her death was undetermined. However, the wholeness of the found bones showed that she wasn’t killed by any wild bloodthirsty animals and none of them bit her body after death. There were no signs of chewing, gnawing, and other damages on her bones. She missed just one tooth, though this nuance pointed at nothing in fact.
6. What was the age of Lucy by the time she died? This question worried the researches greatly. Her skeleton development was finished and this fact indicated that Lucy was fully adult. The detailed investigation of Lucy’s teeth just confirmed the guesses: she was mature, though rather young.
7. Is it possible to see a real skeleton of Lucy? In fact, the original is thoroughly protected from the other people’ eyes, external factors, and many other dangers, which are ruinous for these precious and rare bones. That’s the main reason why Lucy’s skeleton is kept in a special safe in the Ethiopian laboratory in Addis Ababa.
8. The Institute of Human Origin may propose those, whose desire to look at our ancient predecessor is too great, to satisfy the interest by looking at the Lucy’s skeleton replica. Hardly a person is able to find any difference, the more especially all the sizes are thoroughly kept.
9. The age of Lucy’s bones is another mystery that is tried to be disclosed carefully. The ground, in which the remains were found, had the traces of volcanic rock, some ashes, and these signs are the best indicators of the time period of Lucy’s years of life.  By comparing the facts and studying them attentively, the scientists gave the first statements: Lucy is a bit less than 3,2 million years old.
10. The quantity of bones, which were found by Donald Johanson, was numerous. The total quantity of fragments was bigger than several hundred items. First, there were a lot of doubts whether all of the segments belonged to one figure only or it was a symbiosis of different skeletons. The further investigations and tests showed that all the bones composed the integral skeleton of one individual. The height and weight of Lucy was indentified too. She was 3, 5 feet tall and the mass of her body approximately equaled to 60 pounds.  

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