What the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy fossil reveals about nudity and shame

The way Lucy has been depicted in newspapers, textbooks and museums shows how today’s cultural norms influence perceptions of the past.

By: Stacy Keltner, Kennesaw State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 1, 2026

Words: 1,267

Last Updated: 2 days, 6 hours ago

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By Stacy Keltner, Kennesaw State University

n 1974, scientists discovered a nearly complete fossilized skull and hundreds of pieces of bone of a 3.2-million-year-old female specimen of the genus Australopithecus afarensis, often described as “the mother of us all.” During a celebration following her discovery, she was named “Lucy,” after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

Though Lucy has solved some evolutionary riddles, her appearance remains an ancestral secret.

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