In 1978, Donald Johanson and Maitland Edey received word that their interpretive paper on the discovery of the hominid Lucy would be published in the January issue of Science. Their hominid was officially named australopithecus afarensis, and was ready to be presented to the world. What reaction would the paper receive? In this chapter, the author recounts the responses to the hominid find, ranging from complete acceptance to utter skepticism, and ends with his team’s important additions to the theories on human evolution.
