Lucy, a 3.5ft skeleton discovered in Ethiopia by American palaeoanthropologist Donald Johanson in 1975, has been reconstructed with unprecedented accuracy. The Australopithecus afarensis species’ most intact early hominin, Lucy’s discovery helped prove that human ancestors walked on two legs before developing large brains.
Prior to her discovery, scientists hypothesized that larger brain size was required for the dexterity needed in upright walking. Now, an international team has created a detailed facial reconstruction of Lucy using scans of her skull and soft tissue data from chimpanzees, whose brain size is similar to Australopithecus afarensis. This breakthrough sheds new light on humanity’s evolutionary history.
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/09/true-face-of-lucy-humanitys-most-famous-ancestor-revealed