But what really excited me was the idea that humans had a tremendous pre-history that went back millions of years. I wanted to go to Africa to find some of these creatures.

Generally thought to be members of the species Australopithecus afarensis they are estimated to be about 3. Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. S.

Along with Maurice Taieb and Yves Coppens he is known for discovering the fossil of a female hominid australopithecine known as "Lucy" in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar Ethiopia.