Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) reconstruction

3D Model

Reconstruction of AL 288-1 “Lucy,” Australopithecus afarensis Johanson, White, and Coppens, 1978

This reconstruction, created by the CMNH Exhibits team and on display in the Gallery of Human Origins from the late 1990’s through the late 2000’s, is now considered outdated. New knowledge from specimens discovered in Ethiopia indicate that Lucy did not have a funnel-shaped (ape-like) rib cage, as depicted in this model, nor a barrel-shaped (human-like) rib cage. The shape was intermediate between humans and apes. In addition, this reconstruction does not show lumbar lordosis, the curvature of the lower spine that characterizes hominins that walk on two legs.

Scanner: Artec Spider

Image by Hailey Majewski, CMNH, & Rosana Villafan, CMNH & CWRU