What is the importance of the "Lucy's baby" in Evolution?

Answer 1

From National Geographic:

"The world's oldest known child has been discovered in East Africa in an area known appropriately as the Cradle of Humanity.

The 3.3-million-year-old fossilized toddler was uncovered in north Ethiopia's badlands along the Great Rift Valley (map of Ethiopia).

The skeleton, belonging to the primitive human species Australopithecus afarensis, is remarkable for its age and completeness, even for a region spectacularly rich in fossils of our ancient ancestors, experts say.

The new find may even trump the superstar fossil of the same species: "Lucy," a 3.2-million-year-old adult female discovered nearby in 1974 that reshaped theories of human evolution. (Related: "Fossil Find Is Missing Link in Human Evolution, Scientists Say" [April 2006].)

Some experts have taken to calling the baby skeleton "Lucy's baby" because of the proximity of the discoveries, despite the fact that the baby is tens of thousands of years older."

So it is important because of its completeness and because a juvenile skeleton will give some information into afarensis growth and development.

wl

Answer 2

The first answer was good. Babies often have features that reflect their ancestry. For example, we go through a stage of development that resemples a tadpole and even have what appear to be gills. If lucy's baby has features which suggest that Lucy evolved from a knucklewaker, that would be important as it would if features suggested that she was fully bipedal. I suspect that she is from a long line of bipedal apes and would expect that the baby would reflect that. Often certain features are present in juveniles that are lost in adulthood. Male chimps are far different looking than humans than are female chimps and babies. I am very curious what this young A. Afarensis will tell us. Regards

Answer 3

She is a very complete juvenile, giving information about growth and development of A. afarensis, in terms of brain and body. The completeness of the upper body gives previously unknown information about the transition from arboreal adaptation to terrestrial adaptation among hominins, and has sparked new debates among scientists about whether or not her species would have spent much time in trees or if the ability was simply an inheritance from her ancestors.

Answer 4

Its of no importance whatsoever as it is an Ape.