Bryan McAllister’s personal reference notebook
September 11, 2026Short & citedBlog
Civic Viewpoint.
A quiet encyclopedia with a personal desk
Kept by Bryan McAllister — short guides, clear facts, and the Canadian angle when it matters.
Field Notes • Paleoanthropology

Lucy (Australopithecus)

Lucy is the nickname of a famous partial fossil skeleton of a female *Australopithecus afarensis* specimen, catalogued as AL 288-1.

Updated September 11, 20261 min readCited sources

Lucy is a famous partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. She lived about 3.2 million years ago and is a key fossil for understanding bipedal walking.

What it is

Lucy (catalog number AL 288-1) is a partial skeleton of a female Australopithecus afarensis, an early hominin species. The fossil is about 40% complete and includes bones from a single individual, making it one of the most complete early hominin skeletons ever found.

Why it matters

Lucy’s anatomy shows a mix of ape-like features (small brain) and human-like traits suited to upright walking. This provided strong evidence that bipedalism evolved before major brain expansion in human evolution, a key point in paleoanthropology.

Key details

Lucy was discovered on 24 November 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia, by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray. The skeleton dates to about 3.2 million years ago. The nickname came from the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” played after the discovery.

In short

  • Lucy is a 3.2-million-year-old hominin skeleton
  • Discovered at Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974
  • About 40% complete
  • Shows evidence of upright walking before large brain
Canadian angle

Lucy is relevant to Canadian readers as one of the most famous fossil discoveries in paleoanthropology and a standard reference point in education, museum exhibitions, and human-evolution research.

Quick questions

What is Lucy?
Lucy is the nickname of a famous partial fossil skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, an early hominin species.
Why is Lucy important?
Lucy is important because her skeleton provided major evidence that early hominins walked upright before their brains became much larger.
How old is Lucy?
Lucy is dated to about 3.2 million years ago.

Sources

  1. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/australopithecus-afarensis
    Supports: Species identification, date range, eastern Africa distribution, and importance of *Australopithecus afarensis*
  2. Encyclopaedia Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lucy-fossil
    Supports: Discovery context, age, completeness, naming origin, anatomy, and curation details
  3. Arizona State University Institute of Human Origins — https://iho.asu.edu/aboutLucy
    Supports: Discovery date, location, discoverers, and age estimate
  4. American Museum of Natural History — https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/human-origins/lucy
    Supports: Completeness, age, discovery year, and naming origin
  5. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(hominid)
    Supports: Overview of anatomy and interpretation of bipedalism in relation to brain size