When it comes to the theory of evolution surrounding mankind, then one of the key names that you will hear is ‘Lucy’. Now, that is perhaps not what you were expecting, but the story behind Lucy is certainly a lot cooler than you would have imagined.
Lucy was discovered by a family of archaeologists that specialized in evolution called the Leakey’s. They tended to work in various parts of Africa, but primarily in parts of Ethiopia. It was there that they would uncover one of the most remarkable finds ever in the history of archaeology, the skeleton of an early hominid.
The year was 1974, and during an excavation, they discovered fragments of bone which would end up leading to around 40% of the skeleton being uncovered. The skeleton belonged to an early hominid and was actually over 3 million years old. Lucy was very small, not much bigger than a chimpanzee, and was clearly in between species. For the time, and still to this day, she was regarded as being a very special discovery.
But why was she called Lucy? Well, we clearly have no idea as to what her real name was as she would not have had one, but it turns out that the Lucy moniker was simply due to the favorite song of the individuals that made that first discovery. The song? ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ by The Beatles.