3D muscle reconstruction reveals 3.2 million-year-old ancestor walked upright
In the mid-1970s, scientists unearthed a fossil specimen in Ethiopia belonging to an ancient hominin species: Australopithecus afarensis.
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What is Australopithecus afarensis?
This 3.2 million-year-old skeleton fossils came to be famously known as "Lucy" -- named after the Beatles' hit "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
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What is Lucy?
A Cambridge University researcher has now been able to reconstruct Lucy's missing soft tissues digitally. The 3D reconstruction shows that Lucy and other members of this hominid species were likely able to stand upright as we do today.
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How does the discovery change the current understanding of Australopithecus afarensis?
Lucy was a young adult at the time of her death, standing over one meter tall, weighing over 28kg, and having a smaller brain.