In honor of the 40 year anniversary of the discovery of Lucy, the Natural History Museum of LA hosted an evening with paleoanthropologist Dr. Don Johanson.
With humor and insight, Dr. Johanson provided more than a restrospective on the circumstances of this important discovery. While it was interesting to hear about his education, his experiences at the excavation site, and his relationships to local fossil hunters, even more valuable was the activism that shaped Dr. Johanson's lecture.
Opening with praise for an audience that had "come out to hear about their own origins and where they fit into the natural world," Johanson consistently reminded viewers that Lucy provides evidence that humans united with all other humans through a common past that began in Africa. Listeners were encouraged to consider the path that led to humanity as we know it, but to avoid a sense of teleology given that evolution functions like a tree branching rather than a single line. Ultimately, Lucy is a scientific discovery as well as a symbol. She can help us to remember the excitement of scientific discovery; and she is one of many scientific discoveries who, hopefully, can help us to combat superstition and ignorance in the world.
Lucy is our past -- she gives us a clue to our origins. In an interesting way, she also hints at our future -- our potential to develop and evolve into something we cannot now even imagine. Lucy assists us in defining and questioning what it means to be "human."
