Lucy was an Australopithecus afarensis who lived about 3.2 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia. Her fossil, discovered in 1974, is one of the most complete early hominid skeletons ever found.

Home/Prehistoric Periods/Pliocene-Late Pleistocene

Pliocene to Late Pleistocene

5.3 million years ago to 130,000 years ago

This interval covers the full sweep of human evolution, from the earliest upright-walking hominids in the Pliocene through the development of stone tools, fire, language, and modern cognition in the Pleistocene.

Fun Facts

✓Lucy, one of the most famous early hominid fossils, lived during the Pliocene about 3.2 million years ago.
✓Stone tool use began about 3.3 million years ago, also during the Pliocene.
✓By the Late Pleistocene, Homo sapiens had spread to every continent except Antarctica.

Questions About the Pliocene-Late Pleistocene

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