Ethiopia is the only country in the world that has substantial fossil remains that span the entire timeline of human evolution, from the 10-million-year-old ape relative to the 160,000-year-old earliest example of a 'modern human' fossil.
The most famous of these fossils is 'Lucy', who is 3.18 million years old. Unlike many of the other fossils, a full 40% of her human skeleton was retrieved, and they have reconstructed her in a jaunty walking pose. She is short - probably just over half my height, has long arms and a very large rib-cage.
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| Lucy |
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| Lucy - Out for a stroll |
In the museum they track the evolution of fossils by the ridge of bone over the eyes, whether the big toe is able to grasp things, the length of the arms and legs, and also by the volume of the brain casing. One interesting thing was that although 'brain volume' increased steadily from the earliest ancestors - the most recent versions actually had a smaller brain volume. I guess that is just one way of saying that humans are no longer getting smarter. Hmmm....
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| Lucy's Great Grandpa - Check out the uni-brow! |
