Question

Why are Lucy and the law took footprints so important in the scope of evolutionary change and proving a missing link in humans?

Answer 1

Evolutionary studies reveal that man (homo sapiens) evolved from apes. In evolutionary studies missing link is an ancestoral organism which brideges the gap between 2 related organism. It includes morphology and anatomy changes of the ancestors and descendant which is important to describe the evolution. Fossil named as Lucy is often regarded as the missing link between ape and humans . Lucy is australopithecus , forefathers (ancestors) of homo sapiens and the successor of apes. Lucy's skeleton consist of only 47 bones which is only 40% of the total 206 bones of Australopithecus afarensis species which was discovered in year 1974 in Ethiopia. This fossil is around 3.2 million years old. Intensive study and examination of spinal cord of both apes and human suggested that apes walked with four limbs and we're called as tetrapods whereas humans are bipedal because we walk with 2 legs .

Earlier the scientific community believed that bipedalism in human was the result of increased brain size but this ideology was challenged with the discovery of Lucy. as Lucy was small brained. Her developed leg bones and pelvic girdle suggested that she could stand erect.

Hence discovery of Lucy completely changed our understanding of evolution.