The bone fragments of Lucy, one of the oldest human ancestors at 3.18 million years old, will be on display in Europe for the first time this year. They will be exhibited in Prague later this year. This exhibition rarely leaves Ethiopia, where the bones are kept.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala made the announcement. “Lucy’s skeletal remains will be displayed in Europe for the first time ever, The fragments will be shown at Prague’s National Museum as part of a ‘Human Origins and Fossils’ exhibition for two months from August 25,” He said.
The specimen of “Australopithecus afarensis,” known as Lucy, was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. It was the most complete and hominid ever found at the time of discovery, revolutionizing our understanding of humanity’s ancestors.
Lucy will be exhibited alongside another human ancestor, Selam
The remains will be presented alongside another human ancestor, Selam. The latter is a fossil of a baby “Australopithecus” who was 100,000 years older than Lucy and was discovered in the same place in 1995.
Ethiopian Tourism Minister, Selamwit Kassa said, “This historic exhibition… will offer tourists and researchers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these priceless fossils first-hand.”
🇨🇿3.18-MILLION-YEAR-OLD HUMAN ANCESTOR TO GO ON DISPLAY IN EUROPE FOR THE FIRST TIME
The remains of Lucy, one of the oldest known human ancestors, will be exhibited at Prague’s National Museum starting August 25.
Discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, Lucy transformed our… pic.twitter.com/O80sFzmDCP
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 4, 2025
Lucy’s remains consist of fossilized dental remains, skull fragments, pelvis, and femur. The skeleton stands 1.1 meters tall (3.6 feet) and weighs 29 kilograms (64 pounds). The fossil last left Ethiopia between 2007 and 2013 when it toured around U.S. museums.
The remains were named after a Beatles song
The research team that discovered the remains was listening to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” by the Beatles at the time of finding, and thus, subsequently naming the remains after the song.
This specimen walked on two legs, and scientists believe it died between the ages of 11 and 13, considered an adult for its species. For a while, it was thought to be the oldest human ancestor ever found. But in 2001, researchers discovered “Toumai” in Chad, a skull that dates back six or seven million years.
Another competitor for Lucy’s status as the oldest living human relative was discovered in 1994 in Ethiopia. This specimen is a female “Ardipithecus ramidus” which lived almost 4.5 million years ago.
Fifty years ago, an extraordinary fossil skeleton was discovered in Ethiopia. Nicknamed Lucy, it belonged to a small-brained, upright-walking human ancestor who lived nearly 3.2 million years ago. Today, Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, is the best-known early human… pic.twitter.com/GsZA9HHjze
— Scientific American (@sciam) October 17, 2024
A 2016 study on Lucy led scientists to conclude that she had strong upper arms, indicating she climbed trees and nested in branches at night. The study also revealed she had weak legs, and so were not used for climbing and were suboptimal for walking.
In that year, scientists also analyzed a fracture in one of Lucy’s bones, which revealed that she had died from a fall from a tall tree.
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