Debates over Lucy

Remains of Lucy, on display in Houston in 2007.

Originally published on my World History class blog on September 12, 2016.

The discovery of Lucy in 1974 was extremely significant, rewriting our understanding of human evolution. Over forty years later, we are still rewriting our understanding of Lucy. As paleoanthropologists refine their techniques, we are better able to understand Lucy and her place in humanity's evolutionary trajectory.

One important recent discovery, which I mentioned in class on Friday, was that at least one of the bones in Lucy's skeleton does not belong to her. This 2015 article (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. reports on the discovery of a baboon vertebra among Lucy's bones.

There has also been some debate in the past month over the manner in which Lucy died. John Kappelman, a geologist from the University of Texas, used the techniques of forensic anthropology (especially x-ray analysis of injuries to Lucy's bones) to propose that she died from a fall out of a tree. He explains that, ironically, the very adaptations which allowed Lucy and her fellows to walk upright on the ground made them somewhat clumsier at maneuvering in the trees. His theory is outlined in this recent PBS article (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Shortly after Kappelman's findings were made public (and were picked up by popular media outlets), other paleoanthropologists expressed their skepticism at his theory. Some of the criticism points out that Kappelman fails to take into account the stresses that could have damaged these fossils well after Lucy's death. This article from Forbes  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.outlines some of the opposition to Kappelman's view.

The reach of these articles on social media confirms that although Lucy has lost her place in history as the oldest and most complete hominin skeleton ever discovered, she has not yet lost her place in the popular imagination.