On the Trail of Lucy: Public Symposium
An international group of experts on research into human origins and evolution will visit Cleveland to participate in a two-day symposium and panel discussion hosted by Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Institute for the Science of Origins and The Leakey Foundation.
More than 25 experts are expected to attend a rare gathering to discuss collaboration on human evolution research. A keynote lecture will kick off the programming on Thursday, Sept. 19 when Dr. Bernard Wood presents a lecture titled "Relatives and Ancestors." Wood is university professor of human origins and director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology at The George Washington University and adjunct senior scientist at the National Museum of Natural History. The lecture will be held at Case Western Reserve University's Strosacker Auditorium.
Eleven of these scientists will share their insights and research into human origins with the public at a daylong symposium titled "On the Trail of Lucy: A Collaborative Exploration of Australopithecus" on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Museum. The panel will discuss the current understanding of early human ancestors who lived between 3 and 4 million years ago, including "Lucy," the famous 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor. Lucy is the nickname for the partial fossil skeleton of the species Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 by Dr. Donald Johanson, a former curator at the Museum and Case Western Reserve University professor.
Event attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Museum's newly renovated Human Origins Gallery as it is unveiled to the public. They can meet an amazingly lifelike model of Lucy and see the most scientifically accurate skeletal reconstruction of this ancient human ancestor.