"Lucy brought with her an image of our human ancestors that you don't get when you find a jaw or an arm bone or a leg bone. Here was 40 percent of a single skeleton"

This quote by Donald Johanson is describing the discovery of the fossilized remains of a female hominid, referred to as Lucy. This discovery was considerable because it offered a lot more total image of our human ancestors than what might be gleaned from the discovery of individual bones. By discovering 40 percent of a single skeleton, Johanson and his group had the ability to get a better understanding of the physical characteristics of our ancestors, such as their size, shape, and posture. This discovery was a major advancement in the field of paleoanthropology, as it supplied a much more complete image of our ancestors than what could be gleaned from the discovery of private bones. This discovery has actually permitted us to get a better understanding of our evolutionary history and has actually assisted to shape our understanding of the human types.