http://www.nbcnews.com/...johanson-adds-human-origin-n253991
quote:
It's been 40 years since paleoanthropologist Don Johanson found the first piece of one of the world's most famous skeletons, a 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor nicknamed Lucy. During those four decades, Johanson and his peers have rewritten the story of our species' origins. And they're not finished yet.
"There are at least three species that people are chewing on, that you will hear about soon," Johanson said during a science conference in Columbus last month. "It's going to get more crowded."
Lucy still stands out in the crowd, however. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, represents a key turning point in the story of human evolution: Lucy's brain was just a little bigger than that of a modern-day chimpanzee, but the structure of her skeleton clearly shows she walked upright.
Searchers spotted more bones nearby, and that evening they threw a party to celebrate with a recording of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" playing as the soundtrack. Over the next few weeks, Johanson and his colleagues unearthed several hundred fragments of the skeleton, which they nicknamed Lucy.
The fact that Lucy's skeleton was 40 percent complete (excluding the many tiny bones of the hands and feet), plus the never-before-seen blend of ape and human characteristics, made Lucy famous.
The video is about an hour long and well worth watching, as he fleshes out the discoveries at Hadar, discoveries that are still going on ... they found a bone with scrape marks ...
Anyone who wants to debate the information surrounding Lucy can post on
{composite\Lucy\Little-Foot\Australopithicus} was bipedal - to discuss the evidence
or
Lucy - fact or fraud? - to discuss the validity (if reopened)
Now I can remember where I was when I first heard about Lucy -- can you?
Enjoy
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