Australopithecus afarensis
Early hominin known for Lucy and Laetoli footprints.
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct species of australopithecine that lived from about 3.9–2.9 million years ago in the Pliocene of East Africa. First fossils were discovered in the 1930s, but major finds occurred in the 1970s, including the well-preserved skeleton AL 288-1 ('Lucy') and the site AL 333 ('the First Family'). The species was first described in 1978 and is hypothesized to have given rise to Homo, though this is debated.
- lived
- 3.9–2.9 million years ago
- region
- East Africa
- first_fossils
- 1930s
- major_finds
- 1970s
- described
- 1978
- known_for
- Lucy skeleton and Laetoli trackways
Lore & Background
The International Afar Research Expedition, led by Maurice Taieb, Donald Johanson, and Yves Coppens, unearthed hundreds of hominin specimens in Hadar, Ethiopia, from 1972 to 1977. The most significant were AL 288-1 ('Lucy') and AL 333 ('the First Family'). Beginning in 1974, Mary Leakey led an expedition into Laetoli, Tanzania, recovering fossil trackways. In 1978, Johanson, Tim D. White, and Coppens classified the specimens into a single new species, A. afarensis, attributing wide variation to sexual dimorphism.
Reader's Guide
A. afarensis is significant as one of the best-known early hominins, providing key evidence for bipedalism through leg bones and Laetoli trackways, though it was somewhat less efficient at walking and slower at running than humans. The species shows a mix of ape-like and human-like traits, with arm and shoulder bones similar to orangutans and gorillas, interpreted as evidence of partial tree-dwelling or basal traits. Its diet was likely omnivorous, including C3 forest plants and C4 CAM savanna plants, with potential stone tool use indicating meat consumption. The species inhabited a wide range of habitats. Debate continues over whether it gave rise to Homo, with the 2013 discovery of the 2.8-million-year-old Homo specimen LD 350-1 potentially affirming its ancestral position, though some argue A. afarensis was too derived.
Did You Know?
- Lucy was named after the Beatles song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' playing on the evening of her discovery.
- The Laetoli fossil trackways were discovered by Mary Leakey's expedition beginning in 1974.
- A. afarensis probably descended from A. anamensis and may have coexisted with it for at least 100,000 years.
- The species is known only from East Africa, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya.
More in Extinct Hominins 1-19
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