A Relative for Lucy

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06/25/2010

Jun. 25, 2010

A Relative for Lucy

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How well did 'Lucy' walk on two legs? New research says that upright walking may be an ancient skill. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe the discovery of a partial skeleton of a relative of 'Lucy,' the famous Australopithecus afarensis skeleton. The new find, named 'Kadanuumuu,' or 'Big Man,' is also an Australopithecus afarensis, but dates from 3.6 million years ago, compared to Lucy's 3.2 million years.

"We can now confidently say that 'Lucy' and her relatives were as proficient as ourselves walking on two legs," said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, one of the authors of the paper. We'll talk with him about the find.

Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer

Guests

Yohannes Haile-Selassie
Curator and Head of Physical Anthropology

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Cleveland, Ohio

Jun. 25, 2010