Some of you may have noticed an evolution - themedGoogle Doodleappear today ; the more curious probably discovered that it links to Lucy , the name given to the reconstructed fossilized remains of an emulator that stalk the champaign of Ethiopia around 3.2 million years ago – around 3 million class before anatomically modernistic human ( man sapiens sapiens ) formally appear on the reality stage . Today marks the forty-first anniversary of her discovery .
Lucy belongs to the out coinage of the hereditary hominidAustralopithecus afarensis . outstandingly , unlike mosthominid(modern and extinct Great Apes ) fogey , up to 40 percent of her skeleton was found intact , allowing paleontologist to make a unmistakably accurate Reconstruction Period of her . In honor of her archeological site from the Afar Triangle , here are five thing you may not have known about this incredible fossil .
1 . Scientists are n’t sure how unmediated an ancestor she was to forward-looking humankind
Evolutionary life scientist and paleontologist are convinced that the genus that Lucy belonged to – Australopithecus – was the one that finally gave rise to the 2.8 - million - class - oldHomogenus to which our species belong . However , they are n’t sure whichspecific speciesof this genus develop into theHomogenus . When Lucy was get wind , she was ab initio intend to be the oldest direct ancestor of humans . today , she is seen as simply a close opening .
Ironically , although the Google Doodle show Lucy as our direct ancestor , the analytic thinking of her remains finally led researchers to question exactly this notion .
2 . She may have been capable to use Harlan Stone tool
No pit tools were found at the website of her mining , but a study back in 2010 let on thatstone tools used to carve and eat up meatwere describe dating back 3.4 million years – 800,000 years earlier than antecedently thought . As Lucy ’s species develop around this time , it only seems plausible to suggest they were thepotential user of these tool .
3 . She point that bipedalism precede an growth in nous size of it
Although she possessed a small skull , she appeared to also own the power to take the air upright – a form of move known asbipedalism . This supports the whim that bipedalism develop before an increase in psyche size , a primal leg in our evolutionary story .
Although there are multiple hypothesis as to why it happened , the need forlanguage is often citedas the prime initiator of the dramatic growth in brainpower size in our own species ’ evolutionary chronicle . So although Lucy could take the air upright , her own species was far from accomplish the neurological hardware necessary for such innovative communicating .
4 . She could probably mount Tree like an imitator , too
There is an on-going debate as to whether or not she was a climbing iron , despite her skeleton implying she was more suited forbipedal motionon the ground . Some studies highlight her long blazon , positioned more towards the skull ( unlike New - solar day humanity ) as evidence for her power to dig branches above her ; some researchers even believe she couldclimb trees quite expeditiously .
5 . She was appoint after a Beatles call
After making his uncovering , American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson headed back to his camping ground . His team then begin to serendipitously heed to the song " Lucky in the Sky with diamond , " and one of the group suggested that Lucy may be a catchier name for the fossil – as counterbalance to its more proficient designation , AL 288 - 1 .
