Celebrating Lucy

How do we know when early humans began to walk upright—or when our large, powerful brains first evolved? Fifty years ago, a chance discovery changed our understanding of human evolution.

When Cleveland Museum of Natural History curator Dr. Donald Johanson unearthed a humanlike fossil in Ethiopia in 1974, it was the oldest and most complete hominin skeleton known at the time. Nicknamed Lucy, the fossil was classified as a new species: Australopithecus afarensis.

Her discovery made headlines around the world, enthralling scientific and public audiences alike. Fifty years later, Lucy’s skeleton continues to captivate the popular imagination—and shed new light on our distant past.

Through photographs, specimens, casts, and lifelike reproductions, this exhibit tells the marvelous story of Lucy’s discovery, explores how she fits into the human family tree, and reveals how she continues to inform our understanding of what makes us human.

See Celebrating Lucy in the Visitor Hall, a welcoming community space that is free to all. The Visitor Hall’s permanent exhibit of Lucy is sponsored by Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz.