In November the famous ‘Lucy’ fossil discovery turns 50, continues to impact human origins scientific research

September 24, 2024, Tempe Ariz.– Fifty years ago—on November 24, 1974—only a few years after humans’ first steps on the moon, a young paleoanthropologist, Donald Johanson, walking in the dusty landscape of the Afar Rift Valley of Ethiopia discovered the first human ancestor fossil who reliably walked upright on two feet—“Lucy.”

Popularly known as Lucy because of the discovery team listening to The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” the 3.2-million-year-old fossilized Australopithecus afarensis skeleton remains the most complete representative of human ancestors who were adapting to life on a changing landscape.

During 2024, renowned paleoanthropologist and public scientist Donald Johanson and Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the fossil skeleton Lucy, one of the most significant anthropological findings of our time, which ushered in a new era of science-based human origins discoveries.

By reflecting on the importance of that discovery, the institute aims to reignite a global interest in how we “became human,” promoting the importance of connecting our human past to the planet’s global future.

This year, Johanson, founding director of the Institute of Human Origins, has been engaging audiences with Lucy’s story and illuminating his sense of where humanity should be turning to save ourselves from extinction. Johanson will be speaking at New York City’s 92nd Street Y in November with New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer on the impact of the last 50 years of discoveries of our origins on Earth and our responsibility to protect its future.

“Lucy and those early hominins were integrated into and closely tied to the landscape. Today, humans have largely lost an understanding of our connection to the natural world,” Johanson said. “We need to make important decisions now about how we treat our planet so that we will leave descendants who will look back on their ancestors.”

“All humans have a common African ancestry, a common destiny and a shared responsibility,” said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins. “As stewards of Earth, we have an opportunity to actively promote a balance with nature grounded in science with an aim to protect and preserve our species and our planet’s health.”

The ASU Institute of Human Origins is one of the preeminent research organizations in the world devoted to the science of human origins. Its scientists are global collaborators on the forefront of new paradigm-shifting discoveries and novel approaches to solutions of pressing and newly emerging scientific questions about human existence over deep time.

Johanson and Haile-Selassie are available for interviews about the history and wider impact of the Lucy discovery on modern human origins research.

Resources for Media—Images and Video

https://iho.asu.edu/Lucy50/MediaResources

 

Media contact:

Julie Russ

[email protected]

(480) 338-1733

 

Direct contact:

Donald Johanson

[email protected]

 

Yohannes Haile-Selassie

[email protected]