Nancy Odegaard, conservator and head of the Arizona State Museum Preservation Division and University of Arizona professor of anthropology and materials science and engineering, examines Lucy replica in her campus laboratory.
Odegaard examines the 3.2 million-year-old "Lucy" remains in Ethiopia with Alemu Admassu, Lucy's caretaker, in preparation for the U.S. exhibition. (Credit: Ron Harvey)
The blockbuster exhibit, "Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia," which is traveling throughout the U.S., won't be stopping in Arizona, but several University of Arizona researchers did help make the visit possible.
"Lucy" is the 3.2 million-year-old skeletal key to the evolutionary first steps of modern humans. Nancy Odegaard, conservator and head of the Arizona State Museum Preservation Division and UA professor of anthropology and materials science and engineering, was part of a three-member conservation team asked to help analyze Lucy's remains. Odegaard and the others also developed a detailed travel plan and oversaw the creation of a customized display case and luggage to ensure the safety of the fragile skeleton.
"Lucy was discovered in the 1970's," Odegaard said. "What the discovery meant then for human knowledge and the knowledge that continues to be gained thus far from studying her remains, may not be known certainly to younger members of society who don't remember or were not around to experience the excitement of the discovery. It's been over 30 years."
Lucy is the oldest and most complete adult human ancestor retrieved from Africa. Her discovery yielded an entirely new species of human ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, or "southern ape of Afar," after the region in Ethiopia where her bones were found. Odegaard said the bones have rarely left Ethiopia and have only been shown publicly two times there.
"Lucy's Legacy" is presently at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.
Since the exhibit won't be coming to Arizona, at Odegaard's suggestion, the Arizona State Museum will host a month-long lecture series, "Walking in Her Footsteps: Evolutionary Milestones of our Early Upright Ancestors," each Thursday in March. The lectures are at 6:30 p.m. in the museum, part of Archaeology Awareness Month.
Plastic replicas of a chimpanzee, a human and Lucy also will be on display through the month to coincide with the lecture series.
The lecturers and their topics include:
March 5 – "Lucy's Smile: How Teeth and Diet Evolve Together." Jim Watson assistant curator of bioarchaeology at the Arizona State Museum and UA assistant professor of anthropology
March 12 – "Lucy's Locomotion: Are Two Legs Better than Four?" David Raichlen, UA assistant professor of anthropology and an authority on the evolution of distance running in humans
March 19 – "Lucy's Nature: Animal or Human?" John McClelland, Arizona State Museum osteology lab manager and UA assistant professor of anthropology, and Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman, Arizona State Museum associate curator of zooarchaeology and UA associate professor of anthropology.
March 26 – "Lucy's Luggage: Should an Ancient Fossil Travel?" Nancy Odegaard on the practical and political pitfalls in planning the itinerary of a fragile, 3.2 million-year-old skeleton.
Cost is $15 for individual lectures and $50 for the series for non-members, and $10 per lecture or $30 for the series for Arizona State Museum members.
There will be a free event offered at the museum on Saturday, March 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. The public is invited to explore the evolution of our species and see and compare the replicas on display of Lucy's skeleton, a chimpanzee and those of a modern human. The event includes an opportunity to talk with archeologists and anthropologists.
Complete lecture descriptions are available on the Arizona State Museum Web site.
Cost:
$15 (non-members)
$10 (Arizona State Museum members)
The fee for the entire series is $50 for non-members and $30 for museum members.
A free event wil take place at the Arizona State Museum on Saturday, March 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. Explore and compare the replicas on display of Lucy's skeleton, a chimpanzee and those of a modern human. The event includes an opportunity to talk with archeologists and anthropologists.
