Google Doodle commemorates the 41st year of Lucy, the Australopithecus Afarensis discovery. This extinct hominid lived between 3.9 million and 2.9 millions years ago. The primate or hominid of the Hominidae family, which includes humans today and their fossil ancestors is called a hominid. Google Doodle archive explains how on 24thNovember, 1974 – exactly 41 year ago today – a group of scientists led by Donald Johanson (American paleoanthropologist), Maurice Taieb (French geologist, paleoanthropologist) and Yves Coppens celebrated a remarkable discovery at the Afar Triangle’s southern border, near Hadar, Ethiopia. The team had spent several weeks searching the region – an area Taieb made a priority area for anthropologists many years ago. Their search in 1974 paid off with the discovery of Dr. Johanson and Tom Gray. Google Doodle today celebrating the 41st Anniversary of Lucy, the Australopithecus Afarensis’ discovery. (Image by Google) Their discovery of the skeletal fragments in Ethiopian terrain made it the best Australopithecus specimen they have ever seen. Lucy got her name from a Beatles song. While the scientists were celebrating, the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was playing in the background. Lucy, the Australopithecus farensis is a world-famous Australopithecus. Her name comes from a Lennon/McCartney song. It was part of the Beatles’ 1967 album. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Google Doodles archives writes online: This find will upend our understandings of bipedalism and rewrite an important chapter in human evolution. Kevin Laughlin brought Lucy with her upright gait to our homepage in recognition of the 41st year since this momentous occasion. This is a reconstruction of Lucy’s likely appearance. (Image from Wikipedia) For six years, the fossilized remains of Lucy along with associated artifacts were displayed in public across the United States. The exhibition was called Lucy’s Legacy: Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia. Lucy was a worldwide celebrity during this time. She was then returned to Ethiopia in 2013,. Video: Walking with Lucy. This video by the California Academy of Sciences compares Lucy to modern chimpanzees, humans and highlights Lucy’s upright walking.
