Lucy’s Tree House?

Ever since scientists discovered the 3-million-year-old skeleton known as Lucy in Ethiopia in 1974, they’ve been trying to piece together everything they can about this early human ancestor to better understand our evolutionary past. Now researchers at the University of Texas at Austin say they’ve solved the mystery of how Lucy died. Using CT scan technology, they say Lucy, who was of the Australopithecus afarensis species, likely plunged to her death from a height of 40 feet, suffering fractures from her ankles to her jaw. Why does this matter? Scientists say it lends weight to the theory that Lucy, and possibly some other early human ancestors, lived in trees before evolving to walk upright on the ground. It provides “indirect evidence for the idea that her species . . . spent some time in the trees,” says John Kappelman, who worked on the study.  Want to check it out yourself? Go to eLucy.org to get a glimpse of Lucy, and even print out 3-D renderings of her bones.