Google celebrates early human ancestor with Doodle of Lucy

By Sudhiir

| Updated: Wednesday, December 23, 2015, 11:21 [IST]

Like in the past, today too Google made its mark with a doodle celebrating the discovery of Lucy, the Australopithecus. Lucy is names after a the discovery of a pile of bones by archaeologists working in Ethiopia. The Google Doodle was made by Kevin Laughlin who has brought Lucy's upright gait to life on the Google homepage.

The pile of bones is an age old skeleton that throws light on the way human species have evolved. It traces the way we have evolved from the earliest form to the developed human species that we are today.

According to the post by Google, the skeleton was named Lucy while it was found when a song named 'Lucy', sung by The Beatles was playing in the background. The fossil bones were made up of almost half of the full skeleton of a previously unknown species. The scientists who studied the Skeleton gave it the name, 'Australopithecus afarensis.'

According to the study,the carbon date of the bones of Lucy is 3.2 million years and were found to be unique as most skeletons that were carbon dated to the same age were either incomplete or destroyed. Scientists have been able to make a thorough study of the evolution of human species from the remains of Lucy's bones.

Google celebrates early human ancestor with Doodle of Lucy

The best part of Lucy's bones are here knee structure and the curvature of her spine. Scientists concluded that Lucy had human traits as she walked upright. The skeletal remains measured 1.1 meters tall and weighed 27 kilograms. Lucy had grown to become a full grown adult for her species. Her arms were relatively longer than her legs. Her skull bone was small unlike the large skull of apes. Scientists suggests that some of her facial features and structure could be similar to a gorilla.

Researchers originally believed that several of her body structures could indicate that she followed a plant based diet, but findings made in 2010 made scientists to believe that the the species could cut, cook and eat meat.

There is a puzzle surrounding the death of Lucy as Scientists are unable to conclude how she died. The Scientists conclude from the findings that she was a mature young female from her tooth degradation, but there is hardly any indication to show the reason of her death.

There is a carnivorous tooth mark on her left pubic bone and also not clear how it has appeared. The skeletal remains were hidden in the National Museum of Ethiopia. However, only a replica of the skeleton is now there at the museum.

The Google Doodle is designed and based on the "March for Progress" - showing a stylized evolution of species. It suggests the key role that Lucy has played in understanding the evolution of human species right from the apes to the developed species that we are today.