aeRoman Lucy's diet 
Flag DE Diet, skeleture and social behavior
MenuHomeAviationHumansOriginsScienceWeb LinksSite MapContact "Not much is known as yet about the social behavior of Australopithecus afarensis. It is assumed that this species lived in small foraging social groups. The climate of much of Africa was drying out during the period A. afarensis lived, and forest areas were being replaced by bush and veldt [grass land]. The teeth of A. afarensis are small and unspecialized, indicating a mixed, omnivorous diet of mostly soft foods, such as fruits. The canines, highly developed in existing ape species, are small and undeveloped, in this species, much as in human beings. Overall, the teeth are quite like those of modern humans, even though this species probably did not make or use tools or understand the use of fire."

Lucy's diet

"While A. afarensis walked upright like a modern human, they had long arms. The ratio of upper arm bone (humerus) to upper leg bone (femur) in A. afarensis is virtually the same as that of a Chimpanzee -->95%. The ratio of upper arm to upper leg in a modern human is around 70%."

"Sexual dimorphism in terms of body size is quite pronounced in this species [?], with males approximately twice as large in bulk as females and considerably taller. In mammals, this large size disparity in the sexes usually means that males compete for mating privileges with females. However, the large fighting canines found in male gorillas, chimps, and baboons are absent in A. afarensis, so we cannot draw clear inferences about their social behavior."

Lucy map

"Thus far, fossil remains of over 300 individuals of A. afarensis have been discovered. To date, all the remains of this species have been found in the Hadar region of Ethiopia, part of the Rift Valley of east Africa. 'Lucy', the most complete find, was discovered in 1974. Hominid footprints 3.5 million years old have been found at Laetoli in Tanzania. Scientists estimate that A. afarensis lived from approximately 4 million years ago (or earlier) to around 2.7 millions years ago."

"For more information on Australopithecus afarensis see Donald Johanson and Maitland Edey, Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind (1981); or Donald Johanson and James Shreeve, Lucy's Child: The Discovery of a Human Ancestor (William Morrow & Co., New York: 1989), Donald Johanson, Lenora Johanson and Blake Edgar, Ancestors: In Search of Human Origins (Villard Books: New York, 1994)."

MORE (Lucy’s face)

Source:
Washington State University





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