Research Conclusion : "Lucy" Was NOT Covered In Hair

https://greekreporter.com/2024/06/26/lucy-human-ancestor-hairless/

Recent advances in genetic analysis indicate Lucy might
have been hairless or at the very least had much less
body hair than previously believed.

Based on research on human evolution and lice, our
ancestors likely lost much of their body hair between
3 to 4 million years ago

. . .

"Lucy" - the popular name given to an example of
Australopithecus afarensis - is almost always
portrayed rather like a somewhat-tall chimp, all
covered in thick body hair ... a 'Wookie'.

But that view is likely based on prejudice, that
OUR tiny twig of the family tree is so "different",
and on latent puritanism.

"Lucy"s branch of the tree is LIKELY ancestral
to our own. More examples and better analysis
techniques will eventually answer that question.

Afarensis could walk 2-legged pretty well and
preserved footprints have been found that tell
a lot about that. They were likely quite good
in the trees as well. It is suggested from the
examples of the pelvis that they might not have
been able to do the long-stride as well as
those further up the family tree, but for most
situations they DID have their very-human looking
hands free to do "stuff".

Afarensis also apparently used tools - though the
evidence cannot yet discern whether they actually
made them, or just used handily-shaped stone bits
they found laying around. Animal bones with clear
cut-marks at afarensis sites are good confirmation
that they did know how to use sharp stuff.

"Small" brains are not necessarily "stupid" brains,
it depends on how they're wired at the fine level.
Maybe the best examples are of parrots and covids
(technically dinos) where there's a tremendous
amount of smarts per cubic centimeter. All in all
"Lucy" was surely smarter than a chimp - maybe
like, say, a human 5-year-old. Could have probably
taught them to read and write a little.

Alas we are not going to find "The Epic of Lucy"
inscribed on any tablets - even our species did
not invent proper writing until maybe 7000 years
ago in the early Sumerian period. That started
as a hieroglyphic system but soon evolved into
a proper phonetic language (with a few 'emojies'),
Cuneiform ... likely invented by bureaucrats who
were charged with keeping exact, detailed, records.
Before then 'cities' were tiny and there was no
need for bureaucrats or detailed records.

The megalithic sites at Gobekli Tepe show the
use of a few symbols, but no 'writings' per-se.
This rather defines the bracket where 'writing'
was invented. That site dates to about 12,000
years ago and no earlier 'monuments' have yet
been found though there MAY have been some stuff
going on in current Iran or further east. The
Sumerians say one of their oldest gods came
from across the water from the east in a sort
of fish-themed boat.

Oh well, in any case, future depictions of Lucy
and friends should be nudies ... much more like
modern humans. The "hairy primitive" picture
was just WRONG - kind of embarrassing really,
said more about US than about 'Lucy'.

Note : "Lucy" died at around age 20-22, likely
had several kids by then and was drifting into
middle-age. Interesting how the time WE spend
running up student debt comprised basically
the entire productive lifespan of afarensis.