Lucy quickly became a celebrity of the fossil record. The search for human ancestors . As a kid growing up in Connecticut, Johanson got a book from a neighbor that planted an electrifying idea: ...

How the Famous Lucy Fossil Revolutionized the Study of Human Origins. Half a century after its discovery, this iconic fossil remains central to our understanding of human origins.

Lucy quickly became a celebrity of the fossil record. A reconstructed skeleton of Lucy is displayed next to Grace Latimer, 4, to illustrate Lucy's small stature and brain size.

Lucy’s discovery transformed our understanding of human origins. Don Johanson, who unearthed the Australopithecus afarensis remains in 1974, recalls the moment he found the iconic fossil.

Lucy the fossil has another nickname. In Ethiopia she is known as Dinkinesh, which means “you are marvelous” in one of the country’s official languages, Amharic.

Donald Johanson discovered the Lucy fossil 50 years ago NPR's Scott Simon speaks with paleoanthropologist, Donald Johanson, about the 50th anniversary of his biggest discovery, Lucy, an early ...

In his view, traits of that fossil indicate that one branch of Lucy’s species evolved into the first members of the genus Homo, and eventually gave rise to H. sapiens (SN: 3/4/15).

Donald Johanson excavating a fossil in 1975. (Image credit: David Brill) Finding Lucy. The modern story of Lucy began on Nov. 24, 1974, in Hadar, Ethiopia.

The fossil "Lucy" is unveiled in Ethiopia at Addis Ababa's National Museum on May 7, 2013. Jenny Vaughan / AFP via Getty Images. If we were to meet them in life, A. afarensis ...