This volume describes a 3.6 million-years-old partial skeleton of
Australopithecus afarensis from the Woranso-Mille, central Afar,
Ethiopia. This specimen is the first adult partial skeleton to be
recovered since Lucy's (A.L. 288-1) discovery in 1974. It is older than
Lucy by 400,000 years and sheds light on the paleobiology of early
Australopithecus afarensis, particularly the morphology of the
shoulder girdle and thoracic shape, which are thus far poorly understood
and actively debated. The fauna associated with the partial skeleton
tells us enormously about Au. afarensis paleoecology and give us another
piece of the puzzle regarding habitat availability and use for Au.
afarensis outside the Hadar region where it has been well-known for the
last four decades.