Staff Report
"Lucy," the 3 million-year-old fossil discovered 29 years ago, remains a central figure in the still unraveling tale of human evolution.
Tonight, one of the scientists who made the groundbreaking discovery will speak about the advances made in science since the discovery and how it has impacted anthropology.
Donald Johanson, an anthropology professor at Arizona State University and director of the Institute of Human Origins, will also discuss the current understanding of early human origins in light of recent discoveries much older than Lucy.
Johanson's lecture, "Lucy: 30 Years Later," will be a rare chance for the Albuquerque community to hear "one of the most dynamic speakers on the story of early man," said Lawrence Straus, a UNM anthropology professor.
"He was instrumental in shaping our future as humans," Straus said. "Thanks to his painstaking efforts in the field we know more about our origins and in turn understand more about ourselves."
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Johanson and his team's discover of Lucy in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia offered evidence that early humans with very small brains and apelike jaws walked erect at the end of Pliocene era.
Scientists hypothesize that walking upright might have been an important step in our evolution, freeing our hands.
The human evolution study is a famously contentious area of science, as scientists try to piece together our evolutionary ancestry from fragmentary fossils found in Eastern Africa, where our evolutionary roots are found.
Johanson's lecture tonight will be the 17th Journal of Anthropological Research Distinguished Lecture.
The lecture is a fundraiser for the UNM anthropology department graduate student support fund, established this year in honor of the department's 75th anniversary, Straus said.
The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in UNM's Keller Hall.
Tickets are $15 or $5 with a UNM student ID and are available at the UNM Bookstore and PIT ticket offices, Raley's, Western Warehouse and www.tickets.com, or call 925-5858.
In addition to the lecture, Johanson will lead a free seminar "New Hominid Finds from Hadar, Ethiopia" on Friday at noon at the UNM Hibben Center, room 105.
