Courtesy of Someone Named Lucy

…Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes…

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Lennon & McCartney

Almost fifty years ago, on November 24, 1974, a remarkable discovery happened in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

Dr. Donald Johanson, a paleoanthropologist, and Tom Gray, a doctoral student, found a right proximal ulna (right forearm) of what Johanson immediately recognized as a hominid. They soon discovered more bones of what would turn out to be a 3.2-million-year-old ancestor to humans whose scientific name was Australopithecus Afarensis.

But the world would know her as Lucy, or in the local dialect of the Ethiopian people who inhabited the region, Dink’inesh meaning “you are marvelous.”

This past Thursday, we had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Johanson talk about finding Lucy and the implications of this remarkable discovery at a symposium sponsored by Arizona State University. For those who may not know this, Dr. Johanson is a Beatles fan.

At dinner, the night of the discovery, they discussed what to call “her.” Someone suggested “Lucy” from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; the name stuck. It is infinitely more poetic than Australopithecus Afarensis, although I like the sound of Dink’inesh.

The latest edition of Science magazine has Lucy, imagined by a paleo-artist, gracing the cover. One cannot help but be in awe looking back 3.2 million years into the eyes of our ancient ancestor.

Dr. Johanson is now eighty years old and an engaging and entertaining speaker. The most important thing he said was not about the scientific value of his discovery or the success and fame that followed but that he considered it a privilege to bring solid evidence of our shared lineage to the world.

We share 99% of our DNA with our genetic cousins, the Chimpanzee and 100% of our DNA with our fellow Homo Sapiens.

We are all descended from that same genetic tree. Each of us carries within us the DNA of our forebears, and we should embrace this commonality rather than focus on what amounts to little more than surface differences.

It would be a better world.

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