How Lucy died
Lucy is one of the most iconic fossil skeletons in the world. Found 42 years ago in the Afar region of Ethiopia, every aspect of this fossil has long intrigued researchers. Part of that fascination stems from the fact that she occupies an important branch of the human evolutionary tree. Now, Dr. John Kappelman, a professor of Anthropology and Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, believes he has solved a long-standing mystery: how Lucy met her end. Dr. Kappelman and his researchers scanned Lucy's bones and based on those scans, determined that her bones show evidence of a fall from a height. After a process of elimination, he thinks it only makes sense that it was a tree from which she fell.
Related Links:
New York Times article on Lucy's fall
Science Magazine story on Lucy's death