It proved to be the first of 47 bones of a single individual – an early human ancestor whom Johanson nicknamed “Lucy.” Her discovery would overturn what scientists thought they knew about ...

To get a picture of how Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, moved, scientists compare fossils to the bones of modern humans, as well as to the anatomy of "knuckle-walking" primates like ...

The team first scanned Lucy’s bones, which represent about 40 percent of her complete skeleton, using X-ray computed tomography. The technique allowed them to peer deep into the fossils, and trace the ...

but the impact her influence had on many real people in the world and Lucy was the vehicle to show this. "The source material offered up terrific bones for a really interesting look at the rise ...