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Scientists and leaders from around the world came together in a joint effort to bring Lucy, the famed 3.2 million year old fossil, along with the fascinating history and culture of Ethiopia, to people throughout North America.
Discover why they believe the history of Lucy and Ethiopia is such an important story. Read one professor’s thoughts below, and then click the links in the “More to Xplore” sidebar.
Dr. Sheela Athreya
"I can think of no better way to celebrate the culture of Ethiopia than to have humanity's oldest most complete specimen, Lucy, represent the beginnings not just of this country's heritage, but the heritage of humankind. It is a remarkable accomplishment that the Houston Museum of Natural Science has received permission to display the original fossil and not a cast. Museum goers will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view something that in the 30+ years since she was discovered, only a very select group of scientists have had access to: the original 3.2 million year old fossil bones of Lucy.
I hope the public takes advantage of the chance to view the Lucy specimen. But more importantly, I hope they experience the same awe and sense of connection with the past, our evolution and our ancestors, that I and all anthropologists feel when we come so close to the original remains of our hominid forbears. Even though I have handled my share of original fossils, I am anxiously awaiting the chance to view Lucy's remains up close and in person. Seeing her will remind me once again how remarkable our evolutionary journey has been and how exciting it is to study it firsthand when such fossils are found. Having the original bones of Lucy is also a potent reminder that she was once a living, breathing individual who has traveled a long journey across several thousand miles and several million years so that we may learn more about where we have come from."
(In attribution) Dr. Sheela Athreya, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University
Dr. Athreya’s research focuses on the evolution of Middle Pleistocene Homo and the role of these populations in modern human origins. Looking at morphological features of the skull, she asks questions of phylogeny and systematics—that is, who was related to whom in the Pleistocene? She is also interested in the use of quantitative methods in physical anthropology, including a critical examination of how different methodological approaches can lead to differing analytic conclusions. She has excavated at Lower and Upper Paleolithic sites in France, as well as a Harappan site in western India. She has conducted research in museums throughout Europe, Asia and Africa looking at the original fossils of most Middle Pleistocene specimens. Dr. Athreya is currently organizing a field project to search for Pleistocene hominin remains in Central India.
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