![]() The prints resemble those of modern humans, with an arch and a big toe aligned with the other toes. However, this conclusion is controversial and many scientists, including Johanson, say there are other plausible explanations for the breakages, such as being trampled by stampeding animals after death.Īccording to the close spacing of the footprints, the hominins who made them had short legs. Based on their evidence, the team suggest that Lucy died falling out of a tree. The researchers believe the injuries observed were severe enough that internal organs could also have been damaged. They also indicated that many of the breaks occurred perimortem, around the time of death, rather than over time as the bones became fossilised. ![]() Researchers studied injuries to Lucy's bones to see whether they offered insights into how she died, publishing their findings in 2016.ĬT scans revealed fractures in her shoulder joint and arms similar to those observed in people who fall from a great height, as if she reached out to break her fall. afarensis was the oldest hominin species known, although far older species have since been found. Only after analysing other fossils subsequently uncovered nearby and at Laetoli in Kenya did scientists establish a new species, Australopithecus afarensis, four years after Lucy's discovery.Īt the time, Au. Johanson thought Lucy was either a small member of the genus Homo or a small australopithecine.
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