What Is Lucy A Possible Ancestor

Ardipithecus has been discovered, an Ancestor that dates back prior to the remains of Lucy. In the article written by Ann Gibbons and others, it dives into the discovery of our most ancient ancestor and the clues given to us from all 110 remains that have been found of A. ramidus. First let me begin with Lucy whose remains were found in 1974 and that dated back to 3.2 million years ago. These skeletal remains gave us the evidence needed to prove that our ancient ancestors were bipedal before evolving their big brains. After Lucy was discovered the scientist found themselves with even more questions, such as, were any previous ancestors before Lucy bipedal or did

‘Lucy’ was exposed by Donald Johanson, an anthropologist, with his team, went to survey Hadar in Ethiopia during the late 1970s for signs in understanding Human origins. On November 24, 1974 by the Awash River, Donald’s’ plan for the day was to update his notes but decided otherwise when one of his students, Tom Gray, joined him to find fossil bones. Both of them were on the hot waterless plains examining the sandy terrain when a fossil was spotted; it turned out to be an arm bone fragments on a slope. As they looked closer, more and more bones were found, including a jaw, arm bone, a thighbone, ribs, and vertebrae. Donald and Tom had cautiously examined the limited skeleton and calculated that a remarkable 40% of a hominid skeleton was salvaged,

Through this type of fossil discovery, scientists have learned much about our ancestors. They feel privileged to study them and become attached to the non-human primates they find; they even give them names. Research studies of living non-human primates have provided a glimpse into their habitats and offers clues to the nature of this species and how it leads to humans. At the same time humans over consumption and abuse by the very primates related to Ida, Lucy and Ardi are forcing non-human primates into extinction today. Because of human interaction we are destroying our ancestors.

2) Lucy is a collection of fossils from an early hominid species that is over 3 million years old. Lucy's fossils were discovered in Ethiopia, and Lucy was also very short compared to the average modern

Despite her short stature and hirsute frame, Lucy the Australopithecus afarensis, whose discovery is today commemorated with a Google Doodle, was from a species that could be a forerunner to modern humans.

(D) - Donald Johanson discovered the australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as “Lucy”. “Lucy” was named as such after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”, as it had been playing in the expedition camp. Using a famous song to name the skeleton increased public awareness of early humans and evolution studies. Donald Johanson’s discovery allowed researchers a much better understanding of what australopithecus afarensis looked like.

Lastly, we come to Homo erectus which date back from 1.8 million years to about 200,000 years ago. Homo erectus has been found in Africa and Asia which makes it the first wide ranging species of its kind (Human Evolution). Despite the look of Homo erectus’s skull it was very similar body structure to that of a humans. Homo erectus is also thought to be the first hominid to use fire and have a true sence of culture (Human Evolution). Though it was probably dramatically different than what we see

Discoveries relating to the human lineage are extremely exciting and often baffling. This is the case with the recent discovery of what seems to be the oldest member of the human family. A skull found in northern Chad in 2001, has been deemed the earliest relative to the human ever found. Nicknamed Toumai, and discovered by Michel Brunet and his paleontology team, this new category of human has been given the scientific name, Sahelanthropus tchaensis. What makes this skull so definitive is the fact that it dates back approximately 6-7 million years in the earth’s history (Whitfield 2002). Since the discovery there have been anthropologists and paleontologists that have

The earliest known and accepted fossils are categorized as Australopithecus or the southern ape. A well known and famous fossil known as Lucy belongs to this fossil group, fossils of Australopithecus's have been found in areas such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Chad, and South Africa and are dated as far back as 4.2 - 2.3 MYA. These primates are known as bipedal apes meaning they walked upright, members of this primate group also had facial features that were apelike, had brains half the size of chimpanzees, and weighed on average of one-hundred and five pounds. It is thought these primates adapted to arboreal and terrestrial environments because dental exams of their teeth indicate a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and leaves. On the contrary members of the Paranthropus primates have fossils that have also been recognized these fossils have been found in places like: Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa which are dated as far back as 2.8 - 1MYA. This species was thought

Lucy has an interaction with an ape, which I believe is perceived as the old her. I do not personally believe we evolved from monkeys but I do see where the thought of it comes from. This movie has no religion base, and that’s the absolute best thing about it. Many people can sit here and watch it and actually understand the concept without having to deal with the religious basis on it.

The discovery of Ardipithecus Ramidus (Ardi) changed our whole insight of how humans evolved. The theory that we evolved from ape like species was disproven. Because of Ardi’s has close resemblance of qualities of both a chimpanzee and a human, she is thought to be the “missing link” between our last common ancestor and the Australopithecines. Ardi’s had a pelvis structure, which was evident that she was bipedal on the ground while she could also climb trees, using her long fingers and opposable big toe for grasping, however the flexibility that apes use to grab and scale tree trunks and vines she lacked. The way the hand, wrist and shoulder bones demonstration shown that she wasn't a knuckle walker and did not spend much time hanging or swinging

The book identifies “Lucy” as an ancient demonstration of bipedalism and a bowl-shaped pelvis. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, had both ape-like and human features. The adaptations she exhibited are an example a further branching off of species. Aside from bone structure, I found it logical that early hominids

Homo heidelbergensis was an early human species that lived around 700,000 to 200,000 years ago. These pioneers were the first to live in colder climates, hunt large animals with wooden spears, and utilize fire. They were also our first ancestors to construct simple shelters out of wood and rock. Interestingly a comparison between Neanderthal and modern human DNA suggests the two lineages diverged from a common ancestor, most likely Homo heidelbergensis!

Learning from early Modern Humans or Neanderthals can help shed light on our ancestors that walked the earth thousands of years ago offering a unique perspective or window into the lives of our hominin relatives and may hold the key to unlocking the unprecedented obscurity surrounding why humans survived while the Neanderthals went extinct.

Three recent fossil findings believed to be hominin ancestors have been selected for description and any controversy surrounding their discovery will be discussed. The three fossils are: Homo floresiensis, Homo rudolfensis and Kenyanthropus