Scientists once believed they could pinpoint the moment when humans first appeared. But as new fossils have filled in our evolutionary history, that defining moment has begun to disappear 鈥� replaced by a far stranger picture of what it means to be human.
Lucy is one of the most famous fossils ever discovered, but in recent years her spotlight has dimmed. She was part of the species Australopithecus afarensis and for decades was considered one of our earliest known human ancestors. To understand Lucy is to understand the story of discovery, human evolution and, ultimately, the changing story of us.