Oh, sacred Donald Johanson! What a lot of nerve! The discovery of Lucy on 24 November 1974 is almost always associated with his name alone. It’s that guy from American paleontologist knows about it with the media. The truth is that two French, geologist Maurice Taieb and our famous Yves Coppens, are involved in this discovery. Their misfortune is that these two co-leaders of the expedition were not on site the day of the discovery of the cute Australopithecus afarensis.
So in the early 70s, Johanson, a paleontologist who is still in short trousers, but very ambitious, at a party meeting in Paris Maurice Taieb. This one tells him about his last expeditions in Ethiopia, in the ‘Afar triangle, “where he found fossils of pigs and elephants at least three million years. It invites generously, the young American to join him at the next excavation campaign. Yves Coppens is also part as a specialist proboscidients (ancestors of elephants), the College of France.
The remains of a hominid at least 3 million years
In spring 1972, a first scoping mission. In 1973, it left for the first excavation campaign. Paleontologists discover a tibia fragment, then that of a femur. Both visibly fit and prove that they belonged to a hominid who could walk on two legs. A first breakthrough! The appearance of Lucy occurs during the following year, in November 1974. Maurice Taieb had left the camp for supplies. Yves Coppens is in another corner of the desert to dig up a fossil skull gingerly elephant. On November 24, during the morning, a young student named Tom Gray insists that Johanson follow him to consider a pig skull found nearby. When back in the Land Rover, Johanson sees a bones on the floor he identifies as an elbow piece belonging to a hominid. Soon, the two men realize many other bones, jaw, pelvis, femur around. They are stunned, amazed. No one before them had yet discovered an almost complete hominid at least 3 million years, the age of the geological layer.
Baptized by the Beatles
Back to camp fanfare. Tom yells of joy. Everyone rushes to the site. The scope is carefully defined to avoid upsetting anything. The same night, and the feast at the camp. The beer flows freely, the music started to bottom. Beatles fan, Johanson plays Lucy in the sky with diamonds among other pieces. His girlfriend gives him: “Because you think it is a female, why not call it Lucy?” And as the days, the team adopted the name.
For three weeks the excavation team and picks up every splinter of bone with the care of a Sarkozy collecting each voter votes. At the time, Johanson and Coppens know there is a Australopithecus, but do not imagine that this is a new species. Lucy finally classified as a new species, Australopithecus afarensis , which however is not in the right human lineage. It belongs to another branch that will go out later
According to the fineness of its skeleton is an adult female. – Between 14 and 15 years – about one meter high. Short legs and long arms because she had to spend part of its time in trees. Not really the size mannequin with its 50 kilos. Not very sly brain with a 380 to 560 cm3 and a projected face forward like a monkey. There remains the question of his approach. How is she standing? Right ? Leaning? Every square millimeter of his bones was reviewed hundreds of times. Hundreds of studies have been published about it. No reply has yet been taken on its exact approach. Johanson is now convinced she walked with agility, although not unfolded leg and knees bent, although still sleeping in a nest in the trees. “She had the rolling gait,” notes Coppens. With some pride, he said that if it was the Americans who first discovered Lucy, is the Academy of Sciences who published the first scientific paper devoted to the beautiful Lucy. And that Donald can not deny it!
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