The legacy of Lucy, the ‘Australopithecus’ that changed our idea of human evolution 50 years ago
The fossil remains of the unique hominid were found in Ethiopia in 1974, traveled around the world, were the subject of controversy and became an icon of science. Even today they continue to provide answers to where we come from
On the evening of November 24, 1974, in a camp in northeastern Ethiopia, American anthropologist Donald Johanson and his assistant Tom Gray were drinking cold beer around the fire while a goat was cooking on embers. They were celebrating, along with a handful of colleagues: that very morning they had found the fossilized bones of what appeared to be a hominid never before described by science. They sang and danced to the music of the Beatles. Their song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds came on and someone ventured: “Why don’t we call her Lucy?” The name stuck, and Lucy became the most famous fossil in history. Her discovery led to thousands of questions. The two main ones were: what species did she belong to? And was humanity beholding its closest primate relative?