Half a century ago on Nov. 24, 1974, a young paleontologist named Donald Johanson made a remarkable find in Hadar, Ethiopia: the skeleton of "Lucy," part of a species called Australopithecus afarensis that's considered a direct human ancestor. The discovery of the bones, estimated to be 3.2 million years old, revolutionized the study of human origins.
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On the eve of the anniversary, Donald Johanson talks with ASU News about how he became interested in science, the Lucy discovery and what's next for Lucy’s lasting legacy.
Read how Lucy's secrets could help unlock clues to how humans adapt to a changing world
To round out this year of education outreach and public events — including a trip with supporters to Ethiopia — the Institute of Human Origins has some “grand finale” offerings.
Donald Johanson and geologist Maurice Taieb in Hadar, Ethiopia, in 1974.
Johanson flags each piece of fossil found eroding out of the hillside in 1974.
During a three-day event, experts from across every field of human origins study gathered to address how Lucy's impact has evolved.
Researchers found that at various times, endemic animals — those that were found in only one region — disappeared from the fossil record, a long trend that likely resulted from some mammals being able to travel to new regions as immigrants rather than evolving there.
“A Year for Human Origins” will bring awareness of our species’ success — through innovation, cooperation and a shared tenacity for survival — as residents of Earth who started in Africa millions of years ago.
Unique to this mission are the multiple ways that ASU is involved: The spacecraft is named in honor of the “Lucy” fossil; onboard is an ASU-led instrument; and watching the launch will be thousands of students who have attended the ASU-led “L’SPACE” Academy.
ASU researchers will gather samples and data from two important paleoanthropology sites — Hadar and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia — to gain a more detailed understanding of how ancient hominins shared the landscape more than 3 million years ago.
A study used CT-scanning technology to view 3-million-year-old brain imprints inside fossil skulls of the species Australopithecus afarensis to shed new light on the evolution of brain organization and growth.
