Lucy was eventually revealed to be an early hominin—a member of a hominid subfamily that includes humans, chimps and bonobos—with a brain about one-third to one-fourth the size of modern humans who ...

afarensis. An overlooked early human had become known from a wealth of information. Lucy’s relative completeness helped make the fossil a star, as well. Early hominins were often known from ...

What was the crucial change that set us on the path to becoming human? Our big brains, with their capacity for language and making complex tools, set us apart from other animals. Our ability to ...

"What we have found are arguably the most complete early hominid skeletons ever discovered. Each individual is far more complete than the famous Lucy fossil from Ethiopia."The hominids walked upright ...

The only known hominid fossils of that age in that location are those of Lucy and her kind, the small-brained but upright-walking hominids classified as Australopithecus afarensis. Some analysts ...

That was 50 years ago. The discovery of Lucy, or “Dinknesh” as the remains are locally known, changed not just Johanson’s career but it also shed new light on how humans evolved and changed ...