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in 1974, a team of paleontologists discovered in Ethiopia what looked like the skeleton of a hominid. When they returned from the excavation, scientists celebrated the discovery to the rhythm of The Beatles. The remains were called Lucy in honor of one of the songs that sounded that night, ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’. Three years after the investigation, the importance of the discovery was realized. The fossils were the first to demonstrate the relationship between primates and humans. But the cause of his death was a complete mystery.
In 1974, the discovery of bones in Ethiopia changed the history of human evolution
The bones of Lucy belonged to a female species Australopithecus afarensis who lived 3.2 million years ago. The hominid, measuring just 1.1 m high, and walked like us. Although our ancestor was bipedal, still had the ability to climb trees. However, this skill was responsible for his death, according to a study published in Nature .
Researchers at the University of Texas have analyzed the bones of Lucy by 3D scanners and CT scan. Their conclusions are clear: fossil fractures have beaten post-mortem should not be, as the scientists who discovered this Australopithecus more than four decades ago believed. Various breaks in the humerus and joints, plus two strokes in other bones of the skeleton, are enough clues to suggest that Lucy died after falling from a tree high-rise.
the remains belonged to Lucy, a hominid who lived 3.2 million years ago and already walked like us
“it is ironic that this fossil, which occupied the center of the debate on the role played by the ability to live in trees in human evolution, died from injuries sustained after falling from a tree, “he says John Kappelman , professor of Geology and Anthropology at the University of Texas. In 2008, the first author of the paper in Nature Lucy began photographing using the technique of computed tomography. Received more than 35,000 images that served to analyze in detail the Australopithecus bones.
This is how Kappelman observed something unprecedented. A part of the right humerus, the longest arm bone was broken in a strange way. It was, as described by researchers in Nature , a compression fracture , ie, injury caused by a traumatic event. The initial hypothesis was confirmed after playing bones thanks to 3D printing. By observing the three-dimensional copy of Lucy, the surgeon Stephen Pearce Kappelman confirmed his theory. Our ancestor had fallen from a tree and trying to hold on to the branches to stop the fall, had caused several damages.
John Kappelman et al., Nature 2016.
John Kappelman et al., Nature 2016.
The death of our ancestor was a mystery. According to the study, fell from a tree 12 meters high slamming into the ground at 60 km / h
fractures in the humerus were not the only ones still they hide in the Lucy skeleton. Scientists then saw other less severe breaks in various parts of his body, as the left shoulder, ankle, ribs or left knee. But how he could suffer such a blow?
The Texas team notes that probably Lucy seek food and shelter in trees night, but could walk like humans. According to the analyzes, our forefather could fall from a height of 12 meters and hitting the ground at 60 kilometers per hour . Death was immediate.
The study not only ends the mystery about the death of Lucy, as stated in the Institute of Human Origins. Research shows the difficulties that our ancestors had to adapt to bipedalism and walk properly. In that sense, Kappelman argues that his ability to move around the floor could have compromised the skill of Lucy to climb trees. In other words, it is possible that the species Australopithecus afarensis suffer more frequent falls, as the impact that ended the life of this Ethiopian hominid. Similar investigations in other fossils of the time also allow us to know a little better lifestyle at that time and determine the causes of death of our ancestors.
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