Lucy at 50-Continuing impact on human origins science
“Lucy” is one of the most famous human ancestor fossils of all time. Discovered by ASU Institute of Human Origins (IHO) Founding Director Donald Johanson in 1974 in the deserts of Hadar, Ethiopia, the unearthing of this 3.2-million-year-old species had a major impact on the science of human origins and evolution and on the public’s understanding of our origins. Why? What was that impact and is there a continuing impact?
During a three-day event celebrating the 50th anniversary of this discovery, the institute gathered a group of international experts from across every field of human origins study for a single-day symposium to address this question. Organized by ASU Foundation Professor and IHO Research Scientist Curtis Marean and IHO Director Yohannes Haile-Selassie, their goal was to specifically discuss the discovery’s impact through time, starting with what we knew about human origins before the 1974 discovery, its lasting impact on science, and the state of the art in that research area today.
Read more about the 50th anniversary of the Lucy discovery iho.asu.edu/Lucy50
More about Donald Johanson
search.asu.edu/profile/50790