Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasure of Ethiopia February 10, 2013 …€¦ · Lucy remains the...

DOCENT EDUCATION PACKET

FOR TOUR DEVELOPMENT

Lucy’s Legacy:

The Hidden Treasure of Ethiopia February 10, 2013 – May 12, 2013

Docent Materials prepared by Cameron Jean Walker, Ph.D.

and the Bowers Museum Education Department

January 2013

Bowers Museum Docent Education Packet: Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasure of Ethiopia

January 2013

Table of Contents

Lucy’s Legacy:

The Hidden Treasure of Ethiopia

An Introduction to Lucy’s Legacy………………………………………………….3

A Magical Mystery Tour of Lucy…………………………………………….........4

What Do We Know About Lucy?.............................................................................7

The Afar Triangle…………………………………………………………………14

Discussion Points …………..…………..………..…………...…………………..16

Key Facts About Lucy....…………………………………………………….........23

Anticipated Questions and Answers to be Used with Museum Visitors………….25

Photos for Background & Context……………..………………………………... 28

Images of Lucy…………………………………………………………………....33

“Let Lucy Sparkle”………………………………………………………………..34

“Discoverer of Lucy Fossil Weighs in On Human Evolution”…………………...36

Abbreviated Bibliography………………………………………………………...38


January 2013

Introduction to Lucy’s Legacy

Excerpted from the Bowers Museum press release

Ethiopia is the cradle of mankind, the birthplace of

coffee, the purported resting place of the Ark of the

Covenant—and home to Lucy, the 3.2 million year old

hominid that has become the world’s most famous

fossil. Even three decades after her discovery, Lucy

continues to profoundly influence our understanding of

human origins. With 40 percent of her skeleton intact,

Lucy remains the oldest and most complete adult

human ancestor fully retrieved from African soil.

The Lucy fossil evokes a strong response from

everyone who sees her, and as such, she is the ultimate

goodwill ambassador for Ethiopia. Lucy not only

validates Ethiopia’s claim as the Cradle of Mankind,

she also introduces viewers to the rich cultural heritage

that has flourished in Ethiopia over the course of the

last 3,000 years, and to the vibrant country that Ethiopia is today.

This exhibition is an opportunity for people to better understand current scientific

theory of human evolution, and to see for themselves how the discovery of Lucy

continues to profoundly influence our understanding of human origins—

even 30 years after her discovery.

Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasure of Ethiopia is an International Exhibition

organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science in collaboration with

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Democratic Republic of

Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Exhibition Coordinating Committee. National Tour

underwritten by The Lester & Sue Smith Foundation and Ethiopian Airlines.


January 2013

A Magical Mystery Tour of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) by Cameron Jean Walker, Ph.D.

Essentials of Paleoanthropology

Paleoanthropology is the study of early humans.

It involves the discovery and interpretation of physical evidence left behind

by human ancestors, or hominins.

Paleoanthropologists search for and interpret physical evidence, such as

fossils and artifacts.

After excavating, reconstructing, dating, and measuring the physical

evidence, paleoanthropologists hypothesize about what it tells us about our

human ancestors.

They try to describe when and where the hominins lived, their appearance,

and their capabilities and skills.

Paleoanthropologists base their hypotheses on the physical evidence they

find, their knowledge of anatomy, and their observations of human and

animal behavior in the modern world.

The names used to delineate human ancestors come from a scientific system of

categorizing animals and plants called taxonomy.

Taxonomy was invented by Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in 1758.

It is a way of assigning to each living creature a two-part Latin name.

The first part indicates the genus to which the creature belongs and the

second part indicates the species. Example: Homo sapiens

Some of the earliest human ancestors belonged to the genus

Australopithecus.

Later human ancestors and modern humans belong to the genus Homo.

Paleoanthropologists have assigned human ancestors to a variety of species.

A species is a distinct population with a specific shape, size, behavior, and

habitat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoanthropology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominids

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossils

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossils

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/delineate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy


January 2013

Species assignment is not always easy because the differences in anatomy

between two species can be small.

As paleoanthropologists unearth new hominin fossils and artifacts, and

reanalyze familiar ones using new technologies, they sometimes name new

species and often question old species and genus assignments.

What is a Hominin?

Roughly speaking, a Hominin is what we used to call a Hominid.

A creature that paleoanthropologists have agreed is human or a human

ancestor.

These include all of the Homo species (Homo sapiens, H. ergaster, H.

rudolfensis), all of the Australopithecines (Australopithecus afarensis, A. boisei, etc.) and other ancient forms like Paranthropus and Ardipithecus.

What is Australopithecus afarensis?

One of the longest-lived and best-known early human species—

paleoanthropologists have uncovered remains from more than 300

individuals.

Found to have been living between 3.85 and 2.95 million years ago in

Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania).

This species survived for more than 900,000 years, which is over four times

as long as our own species has been around.

It is best known from the sites of Hadar, Ethiopia, where these famous

fossils were found:

o ‘Lucy’ (AL 288-1)

o 'First Family' (AL 333) - 13 individuals including adult males,

females and children

o Dikika, Ethiopia (Dikika ‘child’ skeleton)

o Laetoli Footprings - fossils of this species plus the oldest

documented bipedal footprint trails


January 2013

What else has been learned about Australopithecus afarensis?

Similar to chimpanzees, A. afarensis children grew rapidlyafter birth and

reached adulthood earlier than modern humans.

This meant A. afarensis had a shorter period of growing up than modern

humans have today, leaving them less time for parental guidance and

socialization during childhood.

A. afarensis had both ape and human characteristics:

o Members of this species had apelike face proportions (a flat nose, a

strongly projecting lower jaw)

o A braincase (with a small brain, usually less than 500 cubic

centimeters -- about 1/3 the size of a modern human brain)

o Long, strong arms with curved fingers adapted for climbing trees

o They also had small canine teeth like all other early humans

o A body that stood on two legs and regularly walked upright

o Their adaptations for living both in the trees and on the ground helped

them survive for almost a million years as climate and environments

changed.


January 2013

What Do We Know Now About Lucy?

o A. afarensis is known from many fossil finds in Tanzania, Kenya and

Ethiopia, including Lucy.

o Lucy is particularly important because she is the most complete and well-

preserved A. afarensis fossil ever found.

o Unearthed in 1974, around 40% of her full skeleton was recovered,

making her the most complete skeleton of an early human relative known at

the time.Australopithecus afarensis lived between about 3.8 and 3.0 million

years ago in eastern Africa.

A. afarensis is one of the best-known early hominin (human-like) species.

o Lucy transformed our thinking about how early hominins walked.

o This relative completeness helped scientists begin to understand how early

human-like species walked on 2 legs (bipedally).

o A. afarensis was once thought to be the earliest human relative to habitually

walk upright, but there is now some evidence to suggest earlier species,

including A. ramidus, also walked bipedally.

Lucy - the most complete skeleton

Perhaps the world's most famous early human ancestor, the 3.2-million-

year-old ape "Lucy" was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever

found, though her remains are only about 40 percent complete.

Discovered in 1974 by paleontologist Donald C. Johanson in Hadar,

Ethiopia, A. afarensis was the earliest known human ancestor species for

about 20 years.

What did Lucy look like?

With a mixture of ape and human features—including long dangling arms

Pelvic, spine, foot, and leg bones suited to walking upright

Slender Lucy stood three and a half feet (107 centimeters) tall

Re-creations based on other A. afarensis skulls later found nearby reveal an

apelike head with a low and heavy forehead, widely curving cheekbones,

and a jutting jaw

A brain about the size of a chimpanzee's


January 2013

Why was Lucy named Lucy?

On the day the specimen was found, the Beatles’ hit song, "Lucy in the Sky

With Diamonds", was played repeatedly at a celebratory party, so

researchers gave it the name of Lucy.

How do we know Lucy was female?

Lucy's size gives her away as a female.

Later fossil discoveries established that A. afarensis males were quite a bit

larger than females.

Was Lucy an adult?

A number of factors point to Lucy being fully grown.

For one thing, her wisdom teeth, which were very humanlike, were exposed

and appear to have been in use for a while before her death.

Also, the sections (growth plates) of her skull—separated in childhood—

had grown together.

Was "Lucy's Baby" really Lucy's baby?

No. The remarkably complete "Lucy's Baby" skeleton, announced on

September 20, 2006, is about a hundred thousand years older than Lucy

herself.

The A. afarensis child was so nicknamed because she is of the same species

as Lucy, the best known A. afarensis of all.

Lucy’s Ape-like characteristics

The brain size of A. afarensis was ape-like, and there is no evidence so far

of tool-making.

A. afarensis was evidently similar to living apes in terms of diet, aspects of

biology, growth and development.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060920-lucys-baby.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060920-lucys-baby.html


January 2013

Males of the species were much larger than females, showing high sexual

dimorphism.

Lucy’s Habitat and Way of Life

The habitat of A. afarensis was probably a mix of woodland, where they

foraged for food on the ground and in trees, along with more open areas

where they would have walked upright.

Evidence from their teeth suggest that this hominin ate soft fruits and leaves

but was also adapted to eat harder, more brittle foods.

A. afarensis fossils provide vital clues as to what hominin life was like after

upright walking emerged and before the use of tools transformed human

evolution.

Lucy, the Australopithecus afarensis, has been credited with being the first

modern human, and was believed to have forsaken the trees to instead walk

upright.

Scientists have argued that her feet were not adapted for tree climbing.

However, new anthropological research suggests that she might have been

able to do both: climb trees and walk upright.

Scientists have studied modern hunter-gatherers that climb trees for honey

and found that they are able to bend the foot for climbing more than

industrialized humans.

Where Lucy Was Found in The Afar Region of Ethiopia

Early major paleoanthropological explorations in Ethiopia followed the

pattern typical throughout Africa where outsiders funded and directed the

work.

But the initial impetus for exploration was national rivalry.

The biographer Virginia Morrell records that in 1965, the Kenyan

paleontologist Louis Leakey ran into Ethiopia's Emperor Halle Selassie at a

diplomatic event in Nairobi. In the course of their conversation Haile

Selassie reportedly asked, "Dr. Leakey, why has my country got no fossils

like you find in Tanzania and Kenya?" Leakey replied that the fossils were

surely there; all that was lacking was the Ethiopian government's permission

to go and look for them.


January 2013

Predictably enough, an official invitation was soon forthcoming to organize

an international fossil-hunting expedition in southern Ethiopia.

From that investigations commenced in the Afar region of the north, where

Lucy, along with many other fossils of her bipedal species, Australopithecus

afarensis, was unearthed.

Today the arid badlands of the region are among the most hostile

environments on earth.

However, three or four million years ago the area offered a mosaic of

environments that ranged from forest to woodlands to savanna.

The place was an ideal locale in which primates whose ancestral forest

habitats were being fragmented by climatic drying could experiment with

new lifeways that substantially increased their time on the ground.

The fossils of A. afarensis and potential future finds were destined from the

start for the National Museum of Ethiopia, transforming the institution into a

magnet for investigators worldwide and a center for training home-grown

paleontologists.

In the 1970s local people were employed as collectors and guards, but there were

no Ethiopian paleontologists. Today that is no longer the case.

There's no more striking exemplar of the transformation than Zeresenay

"Zeray" Alemseged, the Ethiopian paleontologist who last year announced

the discovery of a skeleton of a three-year-old A. afarensis at Dikika, a site

not far from where Lucy was found.

Now an investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary

Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, Alemseged trained in his home country

and in France, and earned a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of

Human Origins, Johanson's center at Arizona State University in Tucson.

Even more complete than Lucy herself, the 3.3-million-year-old Dikika

fossil was inevitably dubbed Lucy's Baby (though it lived and died long

before Lucy was born).

It is exquisitely preserved; the hitch is that the matrix enclosing the fossil is

rock-hard, fiendishly difficult to remove without damaging the bones.

Alemseged's painstaking partial removal of the matrix has already confirmed

that the species walked upright while on the ground, yet retained


January 2013

characteristics, particularly of the upper body, that would have helped it

move around in trees.

The preliminary observations once again raise the question of why hominins

became bipedal in the first place.

Some have argued that the main advantage of terrestrial walking is that it

frees the hands, enabling hominins to carry and manipulate objects.

Others have calculated that walking is energetically more efficient.

A third group has pointed out that you can spot potential predators from

farther away.

And it has been engagingly argued that an upright stance helps minimize

the impact of the Sun's heat when away from the shelter of trees.

The key is that once a creature is standing upright, it would enjoy all those

potential advantages (as well as suffer various disadvantages).

And it is hard to imagine that an arboreal quadruped would ever adopt such

an unaccustomed and difficult stance on the ground simply for any of the

commonly cited reasons.

Only an arboreal ancestor that was already comfortable holding its body

upright when moving around in the trees would have done so.

When Alemseged finally liberates the Dikika child, perhaps its comparison

with Lucy, an adult form, will provide new insight into the species'

accommodations to life both in the trees and on the ground.

As a roving ambassador, Lucy not only reminds us of our remote human

past, but also introduces dynamic new dimensions of Ethiopian achievement.

How do the Laetoli Fossil Footprints relate to Lucy?

Laetoli is the name of an archaeological site in northern Tanzania, where by some

very odd twist of fate, the footprints of three (or four) Australopithecines were

preserved in the ash fall of a volcanic eruption some 3.5-3.8 million years.

Paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill and a colleague were playfully tossing

elephant dung at each other in Laetoli, a hominin archeological site in

Tanzania.

As Hill dived out of the way, he stumbled upon what turned out to be one of

the wonders of prehistoric finds: a trail of hominin footprints about 3.6

million years old.

http://archaeology.about.com/od/aterms/g/australopithecu.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/glossary/glossary.html#hill_andrew

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/glossary/glossary.html#hominids

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/glossary/glossary.html#archeology


January 2013

Most of the Laetoli footprint site was excavated in 1978.

Until then, the oldest known footprints of human ancestors were tens of

thousands of years old.

But this trail, some 80 feet long and preserved in cement-like volcanic ash,

had been made by some of the first upright-walking hominins.

An almost unimaginable sequence of events preserved what paleontologist

Ian Tattersall calls a fossil of human behavior -- prehistoric walking.

o Initially, nearby Sadiman Volcano erupted a cloud of fine ash, like

beach sand, that left a layer on the landscape.

o Then a light rain fell onto the ash to create something like wet cement

-- an ideal material for trapping footprints.

o Birds and mammals left a great number of prints, but, spectacularly,

so did a pair of hominins, one large and one small, trekking across the

ash.

o Some analysts conclude that it is possible to detect the trail of a third,

smaller individual whose tracks overlap the footprints left by one of

the others.

o More recent analysis has suggested there were four individuals

walking in the paths of the previous two, and all four had the same

sized feet

o A subsequent eruption from Sadiman dropped more ash, sealing the

footprints like a laminated driver's license.

o Finally, erosion over millions of years unveiled the prints for Hill and

other researchers in Mary Leakey's group to discover.

o The prints, say experts on hominin body structure, are strikingly

different from those of a chimpanzee, and in fact, are hardly

distinguishable from those of modern humans.

o The only known hominin fossils of that age in that location are

those of Lucy and her kind, the small-brained but upright-walking

hominins classified as Australopithecus afarensis.

o Some analysts have noted that the smaller of the two clearest trails

shows telltale signs that suggest whoever left the prints was burdened

on one side -- perhaps a female carrying an infant on her hip.

o Many researchers believe that the Laetoli footprints prove that our

Australopithecine ancestors were bipedal, and walked in a modern

manner: heel first, then toe.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/glossary/glossary.html#leakey_mary

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/glossary/glossary.html#australopithecus_afarensis

http://archaeology.about.com/od/bterms/g/bipedal.htm


January 2013

o The footprints have been definitely linked to A. afarensis, because,

like the fossils of A. afarensis, the Laetoli footprints do not indicate an

opposable great toe.

o However, a recent study suggests that the speed at which the

footprints were made might affect the kind of gait required to make

the marks.

o While the detailed interpretation of the prints remains a matter of

debate, they remain an extraordinary and fascinating fossil find,

preserving a moment in prehistoric time.

The footprints found by Mary Leakey were later examined by a number of famous

paleoanthropologists, such as Donald Johanson and Tim White. The results were

the same. White wrote:

“Make no mistake about it, ...They are like modern human footprints. If one were

left in the sand of a California beach today, and a four-year old were asked what it

was, he would instantly say that somebody had walked there. He wouldn't be able to tell it from a hundred other prints on the beach, nor would you.”

After examining the footprints, Louis Robbins from the University of North

Carolina made the following comments:

“The arch is raised - the smaller individual had a higher arch than I do - and the

big toe is large and aligned with the second toe … The toes grip the ground like human toes. You do not see this in other animal forms.”


January 2013

The Afar Triangle (Where Lucy and Many Other Important Fossils Have Been Found)

A series of expeditions there has profoundly enriched our knowledge of

human origins.

The finds now encompass a time span from the earliest potential hominins

circa 6 million years ago (mya) to the emergence of anatomically modern

humans at 150,000 BP.

The First Family

Throughout Rift Valley sites, most fossil hominin finds are singular

occurrences, the result of diverse taphonomic factors as well as of the

relative paucity of hominins on the paleo-landscape.

The recovery in 1975 of 216 hominin specimens from A.L. 333:

o Represent a minimum of thirteen individuals of both sexes and

various ages.

o Unique in African paleoanthropology.

o This unusual catastrophic death assemblage suggests that the

remains represent a group of A. afarensis individuals who perhaps

lived in a group.

o They may also constitute a single biological population.

o Of the 216 hominin specimens recovered from A.L. 333, 197 were

surface finds.

o The remaining 19 were in situ (found in undisturbed context)

specimens derived from an 80 cm-thick horizon, suggesting that this

presumed catastrophic assemblage represents a geologic "instant" in

time.

o This unique hominin sample from A.L. 333 therefore very likely

represents A. afarensis individuals who were living in a troop, or

band.

o The find was especially significant because it was an assemblage and

because the assemblage contains skeletal elements normally rare in

Plio/Pleistocene sites (portions of hands, feet, and thorax).


January 2013

Lucy’s Legacy

Ever since Raymond Dart's initial discovery and announcement of a new genus

named Australopithecus in 1925, knowledge of this genus has continued to expand,

vastly outpacing our grasp of the origins and diversity of our own genus Homo.

Only in the early 1960s, with finds of Homo habilis at Olduvai Gorge, could we

begin to address questions of the origin of our own genus. Paleoanthropologists

generally agree that the genus Homo made its first appearance in the 2-3-mya

time range. Occurrences of Homo before 2 mya were rare, often very fragmentary,

and questionably dated. In this light, any discovery of early Homo would be a

welcome addition.

An early hominin and a distant cousin of modern humanity, Lucy died some 3.2

million years ago in what is now the rugged Afar region of northern Ethiopia. At

the time of her discovery three decades ago, Lucy was the most complete skeleton

known of any hominin predating the Neanderthals. Even though other fossils have

since made the headlines, Lucy's name still retains its magic.Her diminutive

skeleton (she would have stood a little more than three feet tall) is an instantly

recognizable symbol of our deep biological roots.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cameron Jean Walker earned a Ph.D. in Anthropological Archaeology at UC Riverside and is an

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her

research has been extensive, with experience in Crete, Mexico, California, as well as other locations in the

world. Dr. Walker’s research involves both fieldwork at archaeological excavations and ethnographic

work with local artisans who produce high-quality archaeological replicas. Her numerous publications

include articles on archaeological tourism, a successful book, Archaeology and Culture On Mexico’s

Maya Riviera (2009), and now has a forthcoming edited volume, Archaeology and Tourism: Sustainable

Meeting Grounds, scheduled for release in 2013. Dr. Walker has collaborated with the Bowers Kidseum

for many years to create archaeological projects for school-age students and remains a loyal supporter of

the Bowers Museum.


January 2013

Lucy’s Legacy: Discussion Points (adapted from the Houston Museum of Science)

1. How did the exhibit come together?

2. Why is this exhibit important?

3. Importance of Lucy

4. Opposition to the exhibit.

5. Support for the exhibit

6. Scientific protocol

* * *

1. Lucy’s Legacy: origins

The exhibit resulted from an initiative taken by the Ethiopian government, the

country’s museums and the ARCCH (Authority for Research and Conservation

of Cultural Heritages.)

The exhibit’s goal was (and remains) to introduce Ethiopia to the public in

North America. It was intended to add to the stereotypical images of warfare

and famine that come to mind when the word “Ethiopia” is mentioned. The

exhibit wants to convey Ethiopia’s rich history and equally impressive

prehistory.

In order for people to be attracted to the exhibit and for the media to be

interested, the decision was made to include the original fossil of Lucy, one of

the world’s best known early human ancestors.

2. Importance of the exhibit

The presence of Lucy makes this exhibit very special. Only a handful exhibits

in the United States have ever displayed original hominid fossils.

American Museum of Natural History

1984: Ancestors: Four Million Years of Humanity

2003: The First Europeans: Treasures from the Hills of Atapuerca

(http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/atapuerca/)

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/atapuerca/


January 2013

Houston Museum of Natural Science

2007 – 2008 Lucy’s Legacy. The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia.

Pacific Science Center, Seattle

2008 Lucy’s Legacy. The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia.

Lucy’s remains are normally kept in a vault at the National Museum in Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia. They are seldom seen, except by researchers and VIP visitors.

She has only gone on display twice for a number of weeks. On display in the

basement of the museum is a plastic replica. The label does not identify this

display as being a replica, which has also given rise to allegations that the exhibit

takes away the opportunity to see the real Lucy in Addis. (See images below)

Display of a replica of Lucy’s skeleton,

National Museum, Addis Ababa.


January 2013

Label accompanying the display of a replica of Lucy’s skeleton at the National

Museum, Addis Ababa.

3. Importance of Lucy

When Dr. Johanson discovered Lucy’s remains on November 31, 1974, very

few hominid fossils were known pre-dating the 3 million year mark. Moreover

the fact that 40% of her skeleton was preserved made this find really

remarkable.

Our understanding of human origins made a giant step forward with this find. In

particular, Lucy’s discovery was important for the following reasons:

Lucy’s skeleton showed evidence for upright walking. Her brain size

was similar to that of a chimp. Scientists had come up with a series of

traits in an attempt to answer the question “What makes a human

really human?” These traits included:

Walking upright as a habit, a.k.a. habitual bipedalism.

Having the ability to make tools, especially complex tools.


January 2013

Having a large brain, in relation to one’s body size

The ability to communicate with complex language.

Three of these four traits can be traced in the fossil record, as they can

leave tangible remains. The question remained: what came first? This

is where Lucy’s discovery proved to be of great importance.

Traditionally, scientists had thought that first our brains grew, then

upright walking occurred, followed by tool making and presumably

the development of language.

The fact that Lucy’s skeleton was so well preserved, allowed

scientists to conclude that their original sequence of events was

wrong. Upright walking dated back to at least 3.18 mya. Stone tool

use can be dated back to 2.6 mya. Our modern brain size was not

reached until about 200,000 years ago. Clearly bipedalism occurred

well before our modern sized brains evolved and stone tools were

used. She is now known as the last common ancestor for all later

branches on the human family tree.

Lucy illustrates the concept of “mosaic evolution.” Her skeleton

shows that not all parts evolved at the same rate we once thought they

would. Lucy is very different from modern humans from the neck up.

Her skull is much smaller than ours. Her ribcage and arms are more

similar to modern humans, yet with meaningful differences. From the

hips down, Lucy shows in her legs and knees that she was very much

like us. We share with her the ability to walk upright.

4. Opposition to the exhibit

Opposition to this exhibit has come from three different sources:

Scientific opposition

Creationist opposition

Ethiopian Diaspora opposition


January 2013

Scientific opposition

Scientists who oppose the exhibit and in particular the inclusion of an

original fossil refer to a 1998 resolution of the Permanent Council of the

International Association for the Study of Human Paleontology. This

resolution reads as follows:

(1) Recognizing that hominid fossils are an irreplaceable component of the

world heritage, we, the members of the Permanent Council of the

International Association for the Study of Human Paleontology, strongly

support the use of replicas of hominid fossils, rather than the original

hominid fossils, for public display to promote public awareness and

understanding of human evolution.

(2) We strongly recommend that original hominid fossils should not be

transported beyond the country of origin unless there are compelling

scientific reasons which must include the demonstration that the proposed

investigations cannot proceed in the foreseeable future in the country of

origin.

Thirty-seven scientists from around the world signed this resolution.

Particularly vigorous opposition has come from the Leakey Foundation. Mr.

Richard Leakey, Dr. Tim White, Dr. Yohannes Haile Selassie and Dr.

Berhane Asfaw have been particularly vocal in condemning the exhibit.

As a result of this opposition, the American Museum of Natural Science, as

well as the National Museum of Natural History publicly announced that

they would not be hosting the exhibit.

Different criticisms voiced by the scientific community include:

While the exhibit purports to promote tourism, the current tour

deprives anyone interested in seeing Lucy in Addis from the

opportunity of doing so.

Scientists who are interested in studying Lucy cannot do so for the

duration of the tour.

There will be damage to the bones.


January 2013

Response to Criticisms:

With two exceptions, Lucy’s original fossil has never been displayed

in Addis. Instead, a replica is shown. (See photo above.) Stating

otherwise is misrepresenting the facts.

Lucy was discovered in 1974. Any research that could be done on

Lucy – at the museum – has been done. Additional data collection

took place during Lucy’s first stay in the US (1975 – 1980). In

addition, Lucy was CT scanned at the University of Texas, Austin

campus, using non-invasive, non-destructive technology which was

not available in the 1970s. (For more, see item 7 below).

Damage to the bones. Lucy travels in a specially designed pair of

suitcases. Museum people in the US and in Ethiopia conferred for a

year before settling on the type of suitcases and additional

conservation and security measures. Bowers, like any other museums,

takes the safety of any item on display very seriously. In that regard

we share the concern of those who criticize the exhibit. Where we part

company is in the decision to travel or not. Both Ethiopian and US

museum professionals have declared it possible for her to travel

safely. Finally, while in the US, only one individual is allowed to

touch Lucy’s bones: Ato Alemu Admassu, who is her caretaker in

Addis.

Creationist opposition

Two kinds of creationist opposition have been anticipated. First, from the

Discovery Institute on a nationwide level. And from individuals protesting

the inclusion of the evolution topic in the exhibit.

The experience of the exhibiting of Lucy thus far (Including the Houston

and Seattle venues) has been that the Discovery Institute has been relatively

quiet, limiting itself to a self-congratulatory article noticing the lack of

success the exhibit had in Seattle. Individuals have registered their concern

about including the topic and/or not teaching the other side of the story.


January 2013

Ethiopian Diaspora

All participating museums have engaged in a dialogue with their local

Ethiopian communities.

The Pacific Science Center in Seattle had productive talks with the Ethiopian

community, resulting in widespread participation and support from Seattle’s

Ethiopian population.

The Bowers has had the support and outreach of the Ethiopian Consul

General’s office to the local community.

5. Support for the exhibit

Although the criticism voiced over the exhibit has garnered a great deal of

media attention, there are many scientists who have supported the exhibit in

general and the inclusion of an original fossil in particular. Dr. Jill Cook, deputy

keeper of the department of prehistory and Europe at the British Museum wrote

“Let Lucy sparkle” in British Archaeology Magazine (Sept./Oct. 2007 issue).

(See pages 34 – 36 for reference.) Physical anthropologists lent their support as

well. Dr. John Kappelman, professor of anthropology at the University of

Texas, Austin campus not only provided assistance with the label text in the

exhibit, he also undertook CT scans of the original Lucy fossil in Austin.

6. Scientific protocol

After the conclusion of the exhibit in Houston and before the opening of the

show in Seattle, Lucy was sent to The University of Texas at Austin’s High

Resolution X-ray CT Facility. This research project was approved by the

Ethiopian government and the National Museum. Lucy’s curator and caretaker,

Ato Alemu, participated in the research. The data generated were returned to

Ethiopia and will also be shared online for the general public. This latter development is of great importance. Traditionally, access to original fossils has

been difficult because of the logistics and (occasionally) politics involved. With

online access, researchers all over the world are now able to access the same

data. Research can now be done on a much larger scale, with no risk to the

skeleton. At the end of the exhibit tour, Lucy’s bones will return to the National

Museum in Addis and be placed in a safe. However, her virtual image will

remain for all to see. This is the best of all solutions and represents a pioneering

effort in paleoanthropology.


January 2013

Key Facts About Lucy

1. Donald Johanson discovered Lucy in 1974 in a maze of ravines in the Afar region

of Ethiopia, near Hadar. She was named after the Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky

with Diamonds, which was played during a celebration of the discovery. The

Ethiopian people refer to her as “Dinkenesh,” an Amharic language term meaning

“You are beautiful.”

2. At 3.2 million years old and with 40 percent of her skeleton preserved, Lucy is the

oldest, most complete and best preserved skeleton of any erect-walking human

ancestor that has ever been found and completely excavated. Lucy is quite small,

at about 3.5 feet tall and may have weighed about 60 lbs.

3. The discovery of Lucy yielded an entirely new species of human ancestor, known

as Australopithecus afarensis, or “southern ape of Afar,” after the region of

Ethiopia where the bones were found.

o To determine if a fossil represents a new species, paleoanthropologists

compare it to known samples, noting the similarities and differences.

o Using knowledge of evolutionary processes as well as anatomy and

biology, it is determined whether the differences are significant enough to

distinguish a new species.

4. Bones must be preserved under the proper conditions to become fossils. This is

why certain areas yield a plethora of fossilized bones and others do not.

o The Afar region, where Lucy was discovered, is part of a Y-shaped tear in

the African continent, caused by the shifting of tectonic plates.

o The rift that runs through this region acts like a sink, collecting rain and silt

that runs off the Ethiopian highlands, covering any animals that die there.


January 2013

o Occasionally, fossilized bones like Lucy’s surface due to tectonic

movement that continues to split and tear the earth of the Afar region.

5. The fossil known as Lucy was determined to be female based on several traits.

o Lucy’s small size compared to other representatives of the same species.

o Lucy’s small size is seen as an expression of “sexual dimorphism.” This

terminology refers to the difference in shape between individuals of

different sex in the same species. For example, in mammals, the male is

larger than the female.

o The first complete male afarensis skull was discovered in 1994, less than

ten kilometers from the site of Lucy’s discovery. An analysis of the skull

indicated that afarensis males were twice the weight of females.

o The shape of her pelvis compared to the pelvis of the larger individuals.

6. Learning to walk upright, as scientists believe Lucy did, was risky; it eliminates

tree-tops as a refuge from predators and results in bone and joint problems while

requiring the same amount of energy. Standing also makes it much easier to be

seen by predators. There are multiple theories that attempt to explain why animals

like Lucy began to walk upright.

o As Africa’s climate dried and food became scarcer, walking upright was a

way to expand the search area for food.

o Walking upright frees the hands to carry food and tools.

o The amount of surface area of a body that is exposed to the sun is reduced.

o It would make it possible to see over the tall grasses of the savannah.

o Walking upright makes it easier to control ones’ body temperature.

7. Lucy retained ancestral traits, including the ability to climb trees with much more

ease than we do. This would have allowed her to seek refuge from predators in

trees.

8. Earlier theories of evolution suggested that human-like intelligence evolved first

and upright posture (bipedalism) followed; the existence of Australopithecus

refutes this theory.

o Australopithecus had a brain case not significantly larger than a modern

chimpanzee, yet was certainly bipedal.

9. The study of Australopithecine teeth suggests that Lucy’s diet consisted of fruits,

nuts and seeds. We also surmise that they would have scavenged animal carcasses

and taken advantage of birds’ eggs and termites’ nests.


January 2013

ANTICIPATED QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS TO BE USED IN

DISCUSSIONS WITH MUSEUM VISITORS

1. Q. How did Bowers arrange for this fossil to be displayed?

A. The Ethiopian government made the decision to exhibit Lucy in North

America. They approached several Museums, and selected the Houston

Museum of Natural Science to coordinate a tour. The Houston Museum of

Natural Sciences invited the Bowers Museum to host this historic

exhibition.

This special exhibit is the culmination of several years of work by a

dedicated group of people, including the museum, of course, as well as

civic groups, a number of local and state leaders, members of the

Ethiopian community in Houston and Ethiopian officials. We are so

grateful to everyone who helped bring this tremendously important

exhibit to Houston and now to the Bowers Museum.

2. Q. Some prominent institutions and anthropologists have been very

outspoken in their opposition to moving this irreplaceable fossil out of

Ethiopia. Aren’t you taking too big a risk, given today’s environment of

terrorism? Why not just display a model of the fossil, as other museums

do?

A. Every day, museums around the world safely transport, exhibit and

display actual priceless objects and artifacts – including the fossils of

hominids such as Lucy. Our role is to share authentic parts of our world

heritage with everyone.

At our museum, we have a long history of safely handling and displaying

priceless and fragile objects. For instance, we have had displays of

priceless treasures and have safely handled the Terra Cotta Warrior

Army, Mummies from the Silk Road and Egypt, and the Dead Sea

Scrolls, which are among the most fragile objects that have ever been on

display anywhere.


January 2013

3. Q. You’re making such a big deal out of this display. Aren’t you

promoting evolution and debunking creationism by doing this?

A. Museums display objects to create dialogue. We bring important artifacts

and information to our visitors, and they can draw their own conclusions.

That’s what we’re doing here.

4 Q. Did you pay the Ethiopian government to exhibit Lucy? How much do

you expect to make from this exhibit? How about the museum in Ethiopia

that is supplying the exhibit? Will it benefit financially?

A. As with any exhibition that comes to this Museum, details of the contract

are always confidential. What we can tell you is that the contract for this

exhibition specifically states that proceeds from the exhibition will

specifically benefit museums in Ethiopia.

5 Q. Some people say you shouldn’t have been dealing with the government

of Ethiopia, which they say is corrupt. What do you say?

A. Working with national museums of various countries is standard protocol

in developing exhibitions. We have worked with the governments all

over the world to bring exhibits like The Dead Sea Scrolls of Israel and

the Terra Cotta Warriors of China.

We followed the same protocol that we follow in arranging for any

exhibit. Typically, that includes working with the museum that has the

objects. When that Museum is operated by the government of the

country, such as in this case, the government is also involved.

6 Q. How did Lucy travel to Bowers? Was she in a suitcase?

A. Lucy traveled in a custom-made, museum-quality, secure transportation

case. Further than that, specific security details of Lucy’s travel are

confidential, to ensure the fossil’s continued safety.


January 2013

7 Q. It has been widely reported that Lucy is “too fragile” to travel. Why

would you transport such a fragile fossil and risk damaging it?

A. Before we agreed to finalize this exhibition, an internationally renowned

team of conservators who specialize in human remains and hominid

fossils examined Lucy’s condition. They described her condition as

“robust” and “hardy” and certified that she was capable of making the

trip safely.

Lucy is unique and certainly rare, but with the proper, museum-quality

care that we have decades of experience providing, she is not too fragile

to travel and be displayed.

###


January 2013

Photos for Background and Context

All photos courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science

The world’s most famous fossil, known as “Lucy,” will be on display for

the first time outside of Ethiopia in the world-premiere special exhibition

Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia.

The roof of the 12th century St. George church. This is

perhaps the best known of all rock-hewn churches in Lalibela,

Ethiopia.

Obelisks located in Aksum, Ethiopia. The Aksumite culture that

produced these structures (1st through 7th century A.D.) is featured in

the exhibition.


January 2013

Art from the doorway of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church

in the Lake Tana area of Ethiopia. (ca. 18th century)

The Ethiopian civilization of Aksum produced the first

indigenous coinage in Africa. This example is from the

reign of King Endubis, the very first African king to mint

coins. Photo by Thomas R. DuBrock.

A panoramic view of the hills around Lalibela,

Ethiopia. This city is famous for its 12th

century

rock-hewn churches, the most famous of which.

St. George, is seen in the center.


January 2013

Ethiopian artists have developed a unique and vibrant

artistic style, as showcased in this diptych from the reign

of King Menelik. Photo by Thomas R. DuBrock.

The ruins of a palace in the Royal Compound in Gondar, Ethiopia.

This compound sustained damage during WWII.

This intricately designed metal marker was possibly used for marking

pottery or textiles with the craftsman’s name. Photo by Thomas R.

DuBrock.


January 2013

Dating back to the 17th

and 18th

centuries, these structures

inside the Royal Compound in Gondar, Ethiopia, reflect

architectural influences from Europe and India.

Ethiopia’s finest basketry, including this example, is produced in the

primarily Muslim Harar region. Photo by Thomas R. DuBrock.

Ethiopian artists’ unique and vibrant artistic style is

showcased in this diptych’s image of Mary with Child.

Photo by Thomas R. DuBrock.


January 2013

This musical instrument, consisting of a U-shaped metal frame

and metal rings on moveable cross bars, has a history extending

back to ancient Egypt. It is still used in the Egyptian Coptic

Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Photo by Thomas R.

DuBrock.

This ceramic head is from the Beta Israel (literally, “House of

Israel”) culture of Ethiopia, comprised of Jews of Ethiopian descent

that have had a presence in Ethiopia since the 14th

century. Though

primarily agricultural, they are also known for their exquisite crafts

and jewelry as well as blacksmithing and pottery-making. Photo by

Thomas R. DuBrock.

This 15th

century cross has lobes filled with crosses surrounding a

central Maltese cross. When in use in religious processions, colorful

banners would be draped through the loops on the bottom. Photo by

Thomas R. DuBrock.


January 2013

Images of Lucy

Lucy Model Lucy Slab


January 2013

From British Archaeology Magazine (Sept/October 2007)

“Let Lucy Sparkle”

By Dr. Jill Cook, Deputy Keeper, Department of Prehistory and Europe, British Museum.

An icon of world heritage is soon to be publicly displayed, but prominent anthropologists would

stop it. Jill Cook is not impressed. “Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia” is at the

Houston Museum of Natural Science, August 31, 2007–April 20, 2008.

Back in 1974 the discovery of fossilised remains in the Hadar Basin of Ethiopia caused a

worldwide sensation. Although other skull and jaw fragments, as well as postcranial bones, were

well known, this was the first partial skeleton of a single prehuman ancestor to be found. Named

Lucy after a Beatles song, the 3.2 million-year-old individual has had a huge impact on our

understanding of the anatomy and capabilities of Australopithecus, one of the key genera that

preceded the first Homo species.

Lucy's bones are normally kept in a vault in the National Museum in Addis Ababa. Now for the

first time she is to go on public display, as the highlight of an exhibition of Ethiopian treasures at

the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Texas. This has caused a storm among scientists and

museums about who should see the real Lucy.

The International Association for the Study of Human Paleontology considers that original

hominin fossils are "an irreplaceable component of the world heritage" that should not be

transported beyond their country of origin without "compelling scientific reasons". The public

should make do with replicas. Passed as a resolution by the council of this UNESCO-affiliated

body in 1998, this position is now being waved as an ethical standard by which we should

deplore the Houston loan.

Can this be right? Had the discussion taken place in a broader forum including museum

professionals, as well as cultural and development agencies, would there have been agreement

that only a chosen few might see and utilise the evidence for the beginnings of humanity? We

applaud the occasional loan of a rare, fragile masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci as a great

cultural benefit. What makes human fossils so different? Whereas Leonardo's masterpieces are

finite, the search for new fossils continues. Relatively complete examples may be rare, but

significant new finds are still being discovered. This is the oxygen of our subject, which should

be used to stimulate public interest, support and understanding as much as scientific research and

debate.

In museums, fragile materials are expertly handled by professional conservators in controlled

environments to minimise risk. As may be seen on many human fossils, this is not always the

case on the laboratory bench. Some bones are chipped and scratched by metal measuring


January 2013

instruments. Other are damaged by moulding and casting which have variously removed

surfaces, altered morphology or left plaster, latex or silicone residues embedded in cracks.

Sometimes there are oily stains left from bits of plasticine used to hold fragments together

temporarily, or to position bones for photography. Exhibition conditions are benign by

comparison. But there are bigger issues than this.

Scientists should not be the sole arbiters of how material so vital to our understanding of

humanity and evolution may be used. These fossils are part of our intellectual, spiritual, political

and economic world, as much as they are data for an empirical science. As scientists we should

also be advocates of the evidence we rely on: striving to find new ways to enthral and intrigue

the public who fund our endeavours, at the same time challenging our own interpretations.

Asurvey last year by Opinion panel showed that some 30% of over 1,000 students in UK higher

education reject evolution in favour of creationism or intelligent design. Is it any wonder when

science excludes them from seeing the evidence?

We must also consider social and diplomatic issues. Visitors do not attend exhibitions to see

replicas: they want to experience the real thing. In a socially fragmented and intolerant world,

fossils have the extraordinary power to remind us of our common origins as we search for new

identities. Human and proto-human fossils from Africa are a particularly potent force.

I am sure that Lucy's visit to Houston will be a great success. As an ambassador, Lucy will give

us pause to reflect on Ethiopia as the cradle of humankind, as well as a rich and civilised nation

celebrating its millennium. She will earn vital funds for the museum in Addis Ababa while

establishing valuable international relationships beyond the reach of everyday science and

diplomacy. The exhibition was offered by Ethiopia and will show a positive view of an African

nation, its past and its aspirations. In this light, the self-interested resolution of a closed

community of scientists has been properly set aside for the greater good.


January 2013

“Discoverer of Lucy Fossil Weighs in On Human Evolution” Greg Flakus, Houston, April 2007

The fossilized bones of a female hominid creature who lived about three-million years ago

in what is now Ethiopia, continues to draw crowds at Houston's Museum of Natural

Science. Recently visiting the skeleton called Lucy was the man who discovered her on a

rocky slope in Ethiopia back in November 1974, anthropaleontologist and director of the

Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, Donald Johanson. VOA's Greg

Flakus has this report from Houston.

For the past couple of months, school children have been

coming to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see a set

of fossilized bones that the world now knows as Lucy.

No visitor has a more special relationship with Lucy than the

man who discovered her, anthropaleontologist Donald

Johanson.

"I can say that my heart beat a little faster when I knew that the

original fossil is in this room," he said.

Johanson found the fossil while working in northeastern

Ethiopia on November 24, 1974.

"The first bone I found was a little fragment of a right elbow and I looked at it on the ground and

knew from the shape of it that it did not belong to a monkey or any other kind of animal and that

it had to come from a human ancestor skeleton," he said.

He says the partial skeleton picked up its name later that night as he and his team worked while

listening to a Beatles song on a portable tape player.

"'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' from the 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band album

was playing and a girl friend of mine on the expedition, Pamela, said, 'If you really think the

skeleton is a female,' and I thought it was because of its very small size, she said, 'why don't you

call it Lucy?'" said Johanson.

High school students visiting the exhibit had lots of questions for the anthropologist, and teacher

Elizabeth Blevins says the visit proved valuable on many levels.

A three-dimensional model of the 3.2 million-year-old hominid known as Lucy is unveiled at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.


January 2013

"I think it helps them connect with history, with science, anthropology, and archaeology and all

the sciences that go into understanding our world," she said.

Evolution has become a controversial topic in some communities where conservative Christians

claim that the theory contradicts the Bible. But Johanson says most religious people have come

to accept evolution as part of God's plan. People who challenge the theory of evolution often

deride the notion that humans are descended from monkeys, but Johanson says scientists do not

believe that either.

"We are not descended from monkeys. We are descended from a creature that was a common

ancestor to the African apes and to us," added Johanson. "If we look at the anatomy, look at the

behavior, look at the genetics, who are our closest relatives on the planet today? Chimpanzees

and gorillas."

Johanson says Lucy and humans share a common ancestor, but she and homo sapiens then

evolved along separate branches. He says anthropologists may disagree over some aspects of

human evolution, but there is broad agreement on the basic theory of where it all began.

"The one thing that all anthropologists have agreed on now is that the fossil record for humanity

is so convincing, from the very earliest, very primitive stages, long before Lucy, going back as

much as six million years in Africa, that this is really the cradle of humankind, Africa," he said.

Johanson says the people who live in the vicinity of where Lucy was found are proud of their

area's importance and are very willing to help him find more fossils.

"The Afar people who live there today know what these bones look like and sometimes when we

come back to the field, they will take me by my hand and they will walk me and say 'look what I

found when I was herding my goats.' And they know that you should never pick it up, because

then you do not know where it is from," he said.

Donald Johanson goes back to Ethiopia every year hoping to find more clues to unlock the

mystery of human origins.


January 2013

Abbreviated Bibliography

Bhanoo, S. 2011 Lucy Walked Tall, A Foot Bone Suggests. In New York Times,

Science Desk, 15 Feb. 2011: D.3.

Johanson, D. 2004 Lucy, Thirty Years Later: An Expanded View of

Australopithecus afarensis. In Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 60, No. 4

(Winter, 2004), pp. 465-486. Published by: University of New Mexico

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3631138 .

Jurmain, R., Kilgore, L., Trevathan, W., and Ciochon, R.L 2011 Introduction to

Physical Anthropology, 2011-2012. 14th edition. Boston: Pearson.

Kimbel, W., and L. Delezene 2009 “Lucy” Redux: A Review of Research on

Australopithecus afarensis. In Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 52:2-18.

Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia. Ed. Dirk Van Tuerenhout,

Anne Schaffer, and Erin Flis. Houston: Houston Museum of Natural Science,

2010. Print.

Tattersall, I. 2007 Lucy Goes Walkabout. In Natural History, 00280712, Oct.

2007, Vol. 116, Issue 8.

Websites

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/07/1/l_071_01.html

ASU Institute of Human Origins: http://iho.asu.edu

California Academy of Sciences: http://www.calacademy.org

San Diego Museum of Man: http://www.museumofman.org

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/07/1/l_071_01.html

http://iho.asu.edu/

http://www.calacademy.org/

http://www.museumofman.org/

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