Lucy, an early human ancestor who walked upright on two legs—a milestone in human evolution—had speed and energy efficiency ...

New research uses 3D modeling to reconstruct Lucy's running style, revealing surprising insights into the evolution of human ...

D models of Australopithecus afarensis suggest the muscular adaptations that made modern humans better runners.

By digitally modeling muscles and tendons for the skeleton of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), researchers determined that our hominin ancestors could run well but topped out around 11 mph.

Recent research suggests Australopithecus afarensis was able to run upright at speeds of around 5 meters per second ...

In a study published in Current Biology, researchers have revealed that Australopithecus afarensis, an ancient hominin species, exhibited a limited capacity for running. This small bipedal ancestor, ...

Subsequent discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis and associated fauna appeared to corroborate this hypothesis. However, the ecological contexts of the earliest hominins suggest that the link ...

To get a picture of how Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, moved, scientists compare fossils to the bones of modern humans, as well as to the anatomy of "knuckle-walking" primates like ...

Australopithecus afarensis. “We knew that because it was so complete it was important, but I didn’t realise it would actually launch a new species,” says Johanson. Lucy’s anatomy provided ...

Other remarkable fossils of Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, were later unearthed at other sites. Together, they offer a picture of one of our earliest human ancestors. Learn how ...