Lucy Debuts in Houston

But dem bones ain't made for traveling, say scientists
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2007 5:20 AM CDT
Lucy Debuts in Houston
Dirk Van Tuerenhout, curator of Anthropology, Houston Museum of Natural Science, stands in front of the museum in Houston Thursday August 28, 2007. The 3.2 million year old, complete Australopithecus Afarensis skeleton from Ethiopia called Lucy will go on display for the public in Houston on Friday,...   (Associated Press)

Lucy kicks off her public debut  at the Houston Museum of Natural Science tomorrow amid controversy that the world's favorite human ancestor should never have left her home in Ethiopia. The public wants the chance to the 3.2 million-year-old remains, but scientists say Lucy's too fragile to travel.

Despite the fact that a slew of older ape-like species have been unearthed since her discovery in 1974, Lucy remains "an icon of human evolution," one scientist told the Houston Chronicle. But her spot in the popular imagination could also be her undoing. Her projected six-year tour —in violation of UNESCO guidelines— could severely damage the fossil. (More Houston stories.)

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