Donald Johanson, born June 28, 1943, is an American paleoanthropologist specializing in the study of human evolution . His discovery in 1974 of the fossil skeleton Lucy dramatically changed our understanding of how human beings may have evolved.
What was Donald Johanson looking for?
| Donald Johanson | Nationality American | Alma mater University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign University of Chicago | Known for Discovery of a new hominid, Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”) | Scientific career |
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Who was Donald Johanson and what did he discover?
One of the most accomplished scholars in the field of human origins, Donald Johanson is best known for his 1974 groundbreaking discovery of the 3.2 million- year-old skeleton known as Lucy .
Where did Donald Johanson teach?
Johanson teaches at Arizona State University where he serves as the Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins. He received his Ph. D.
What did Johanson discover about Lucy?
In 1974, Johanson discovered a 3.2 million-year-old fossil of a female skeleton in Ethiopia that would forever change our understanding of human origins. Dubbed Australopithecus afarensis, she became known to the world as Lucy.
Why is 1974 fossil called Lucy?
“Lucy” acquired her name from the 1967 song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles, which was played loudly and repeatedly in the expedition camp all evening after the excavation team's first day of work on the recovery site.
Who found Lucy?
The team that excavated her remains, led by American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and French geologist Maurice Taieb , nicknamed the skeleton “Lucy” after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” which was played at the celebration the day she was found.
Who was after Lucy?
Only after analysing other fossils subsequently uncovered nearby and at Laetoli in Kenya did scientists establish a new species, Australopithecus afarensis , four years after Lucy's discovery. At the time, Au. afarensis was the oldest hominin species known, although far older species have since been found.
Who found Lucy in Africa?
Discovered in 1974 by paleontologist Donald C. Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia, A. afarensis was for about 20 years the earliest known human ancestor species (Africa map).
When did Johanson find Lucy?
Lucy was found by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray on November 24, 1974 , at the site of Hadar in Ethiopia. They had taken a Land Rover out that day to map in another locality. After a long, hot morning of mapping and surveying for fossils, they decided to head back to the vehicle.
Who found Lucy in Ethiopia?
“Lucy” is the nickname for the Australopithecus afarensis partial skeleton that was discovered in the Afar desert of Ethiopia in 1974 by an international team of scientists led by former Museum curator Dr. Donald Johanson .
Who is the American archeologist who discovered a whole skeleton of a teenage girl at Hadar?
Reconstructed replica of the skull of “Lucy,” a 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis found by anthropologist Donald Johanson in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia.
Who was the first human?
The First Humans
One of the earliest known humans is Homo habilis , or “handy man,” who lived about 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago in Eastern and Southern Africa.
What is the oldest human skeleton ever found?
The oldest directly dated human remains have turned up in a Bulgarian cave. The tooth and six bone fragments are more than 40,000 years old . The new discoveries came from Bulgaria's Bacho Kiro Cave. They support a scenario in which Homo sapiens from Africa reached the Middle East some 50,000 years ago.
How is Lucy different than modern humans?
Some experts argue that Lucy was in some ways more adapted to walking upright than a modern human , whose pelvis has to be a compromise between bipedal locomotion and the ability to give birth to large brained babies. ... Because her skeleton was so complete, Lucy gave us an unprecedented picture of her kind.
