Lucy (Australopithecus)

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lucy-australopithecus

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Lucy (Australopithecus)?Hadar, Afar Triangle, Ethiopia
2. What is the scientific name?Australopithecus afarensis
3. What is the specimen designation?AL 288-1
4. Who is Lucy and why is she important?Lucy is a fossil skeleton of an early human ancestor that shows how our ancestors walked upright.
5. How old is Lucy?Lucy lived about 3.2 million years ago.

Australopithecus afarensis: An extinct hominin species that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago in East Africa.
Bipedalism: A mode of locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two legs, a key characteristic of hominins.
Encephalization: The evolutionary increase in the size of the brain relative to body size.
Paleoanthropology: The scientific study of human evolution through the examination of fossil hominins and other ancient evidence.