The real appearance of the small primate "Lucy," which demonstrated that our ancient human ancestors were bipedal about 3 million years ago, has now been unveiled.
The 3.5-foot skeleton, nicknamed after the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," was found in Ethiopia in 1975 by Donald Johanson, an American paleontologist.
She was part of the Australopithecus afarensis species and was the the most complete early human ancestor specimen ever discovered , which assisted in demonstrating that our early human ancestors stood upright on two legs prior to evolving larger brains.
Prior to her findings, numerous individuals speculated that an increased brain size was necessary to facilitate the manual skill required for such tasks. upright walking .
Now, an international team including Cicero Moraes, a world leader in forensic facial reconstruction software, has reconstructed her face using scans of her skull, coupled with soft tissue data from chimpanzees, who have a similar brain size to the Australopithecus afarensis.
“Seeing Lucy’s face is like glimpsing a bridge to the distant past, offering a visual connection to human evolution,” said Mr Moraes.
The reconstruction, merging science with art, enables us to envision her appearance from about 3.2 million years ago, thereby enhancing both public and scientific comprehension of our forebears.
It’s a testament to technological advancement that brings an extinct creature back into our grasp.
Features such as her hair and skin color were established according to previous research concerning the Pliocene habitat where she resided.
The end product is an entity that isn’t fully ape nor entirely human, resembling contemporary great apes but featuring distinct characteristics like a flatter visage and a less prominent mandible.
"It features a less prominent brow ridge compared to chimpanzees, although it remains distinguishable from that of modern humans," said Mr. Moraes.
The artistic interpretation depicts dark skin and hair, influenced by paleoanthropological accounts indicating adaptations to Ethiopia’s scorching climate around 3.2 million years ago.
He stated, "The team feels that even with the constraints imposed by the incomplete skull pieces, they still provide a cohesive depiction of a female Australopithecus afarensis."
Lucy's remains exhibit characteristics from both apes and humans as well. Her upper body indicates adaptation for tree-dwelling, yet her lower body suggests she could walk upright on two feet.
Her brain, nonetheless, differs significantly from those of modern humans. The interior surface of her cranium measures approximately 391 cubic centimeters in volume—comparable to that of chimpanzees and considerably smaller than the average 1,350 cubic centimeters found in contemporary human beings.
This suggests that her brain organization was more similar to those of other primates.
It is believed that Lucy passed away sometime between the ages of 12 and 18, which marks adulthood for her species, and she might have potentially fallen from a tree.
Her fossilized remains will be exhibited in Europe for the first time this summer at Prague’s National Museum in August.
The study has been sent to a journal for peer review.
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