20 years ago the most complete Australopithecus fossils ever found were discovered. They were from little Selam, who would change history forever

It was December 10 when a discovery was made that would forever change our knowledge of human history

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

It was December 10th when a discovery was made that would forever change our knowledge about human history, about our ancestors. A team of archaeologists led by Zeresenay Alemseged finds the fossil remains of an Australopithecus afarensis. It is the most complete skeleton ever found and belonged to a three-year-old girl, renamed Selam. An important name, which in Amharic means "peace".

Already 20 years have passed since the day Selam reminded us that we all belong to the same species, the human one. Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid species of the genus Australopithecus that lived in Africa between 4 and 3 million years ago. It was first identified in 1974 (Lucy) thanks to a series of fossil finds in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia.

The story of Selam

Selam was discovered on December 10, 2000 by Ethiopian paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged of the Max Planck Institute. Her remains were found near the village of Hadar in the hills of Dikika, in the Afar depression in Ethiopia, just south of the Auasc River. It was an area very rich in fossils. It was here about 25 years earlier that Lucy, the first discovered fossil of Australopithecus afarensis, was also discovered. For this, Selam was nicknamed "Lucy's daughter".

Selam was an equally important discovery since numerous artifacts were found in a good state of conservation: the almost complete skull, the torso, the shoulder blades and most of the legs.

Also known as the "eldest son of the world", he is the most complete skeleton of a human ancestor discovered to date and represents a major advance in our understanding of human and prehuman evolution.

20 years ago the most complete Australopithecus fossils ever found were discovered. They were from little Selam, who would change history forever

©Calacademy

The author of the discovery Zeresenay Alemseged was born in the historic city of Axum in northern Ethiopia. He was and is a curious boy who after graduating in geology starts working in the National Museum of Ethiopia, home to the famous 3,2 million-year-old A. afarensi fossil "Lucy", which revolutionized the study of evolution Human.

Following an intuition, Alemseged sets his sights on the Pliocene site of Dikika, an isolated region of the Afar Depression about 400 miles from his hometown. In fact, he considers it an optimal place to look for new fossils. It was a little-loved site by other scientists due to the centuries-old tribal conflict which made working there dangerous. But Alemseged managed to overcome those obstacles and thanks to his perseverance and the ability to negotiate on December 10, 2000 he reaped the fruits of his work. While observing a hill and sifting through the earth and rubble, his team and his team discover the fossil skeleton of a 3,3 million-year-old girl. Finding such ancient human remains is remarkable but finding those of a very fragile 3-year-old child was extraordinary.

Selam is not only the most complete ancient child unearthed so far, but she is also the clearest example of her kind. Unlike Lucy's more famous but less complete skeleton, Selam's remains include toes, a foot, a full torso, and most importantly, a face.

The little girl also revealed to the world for the first time how her fellow creatures moved about 3,3 million years ago. The hip, leg and foot bones of Australopithecus afarensis indicated that Selam was an upright walking species.

Today, after 20 years, Alemseged continues to study Selam, certain that the little girl will still reveal new clues to human history.

Sources of reference: Calacademy