The world’s most famous human ancestor 3.2 –million-year old ape “Lucy” was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found. The significance of this fossil was that it contained 40 percent of it’s skeleton making it one of the most complete individual to be discovered. Anthropologist show that Lucy is a transitional fossil and helps prove the way hominids changed throughout the ages. Lucy is our oldest, most complete human ancestor that has led to change our view of human origins. Researcher’s believe that she is the missing link of human evolution and helps provide evidence supporting evolution. The most important characteristic Lucy shares with humans is the knee joint. Lucy’s knee joint looked vaguely human, This joint was capable of locking straight up. Unlike the quadrupedal ape, Lucy was bipedal. Bipedalism has traditionally been regarded as the fundamental adaption that sets hominids apart from other primates. The term “hominid” generally means an erect-walking primate that is an ancestor of present humans. Lucy’s fossil remains provide evidence that early hominines walked upright, this is evidence to evolutionist of the early evolution of bipedalism. Her body structure is supporting evidence that Lucy was more adapted to walking upright than a modern human. She showed us that upright walking preceded all of the other changes we would normally consider being human. Fossil proves our ancestor Lucy was a bipedal. The bones are
