lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . discovered in 1974 , the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton stunned archaeologists who unearthed the fossil while digging in an isolated spot in the afar region of ethiopia . now , a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the bones may , in fact , belong to a baboon . los angeles , california -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the first official indication that a family service for michael jackson will be held at forest lawn cemetery came from a los angeles police official sunday . a memorial poster for michael jackson is displayed outside staples center in los angeles on sunday . forest lawn officials were working with the jackson family on their plans , which were part of `` a package '' of events tuesday , said jim mcdonnell , assistant chief of staff of the los angeles police department . his comments , however , did not answer questions about where or when jackson would be buried . while there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the los angeles area , a long line of media trucks and crews have been parked at the gate of the hollywood hills facility for several days in anticipation of jackson 's possible interment there . lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the vertebrae bones may belong to a baboon . despite being uncovered 40 years ago , lucy is still being studied to learn more about our ancestors . the skeleton belongs to a species called australopithecus afarensis and is around 40 per cent complete . when discovered in ethiopia , lucy was the only skeleton of the species known ; she would 've stood 3.5 feet -lrb- about a meter -rrb- tall . currently , more than 300 individuals of this species , which lived between about 3.85 million and 2.95 million years ago , have been uncovered . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton -lrb- right -rrb- . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton . ` mike pointed out that one of the -lsb- vertebra -rsb- fragments , which no one , including me , had really paid close attention to , looked fairly small to fit with the rest of lucy 's vertebral column , ' scott williams at new york university told the new scientist . the family of the singer , who died june 25 , has given no public statement on the planning . however , brother jermaine jackson told cnn on thursday that a private service would be held tuesday morning . a public memorial for michael jackson at the staples center in los angeles is set to start at 10 a.m. pt tuesday . mcdonnell said police do not expect a jackson motorcade to take place on tuesday . an official with aeg live , the concert promoter handling the public memorial plans , said there would be no funeral processional . the researchers thought one possible explanation was that the fragment was missed up with another , younger member of lucy 's species . a comparative study of vertebrae from other australopithecus fossils in that region disproved this theory . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from thesterkfontein caves to gauge its age . scientists have revealed a sophisticated new dating . technique shows that little foot , an important fossil of an . about 1.6 million fans registered for a chance at fewer than 9,000 pairs of tickets to the memorial service , organizers said . registration ended at 6 p.m. saturday . the 8,750 registrants picked in a random drawing were to receive an e-mail sunday after 11 a.m. pt , aeg live said . tickets will be handed to the winning registrants monday outside the staples center , said tim leiweke , president of aeg live . early human forerunner unearthed in the 1990s in south africa , . is roughly 3.7 million years old . ticketholders will also have wristbands to match their tickets , a precaution against people `` trying to take advantage '' of the system , he said . ` the age of little foot has been highly debated , ' said . geologist darryl granger of purdue university in indiana , whose . research appears in the journal nature . the study found little foot , a member of the species . australopithecus prometheus , lived at roughly the same time as . australopithecus afarensis , the species whose most famous . fossil , known as lucy , comes from ethiopia . both species blended ape-like and human-like traits but with different features . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the . nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from the . sterkfontein caves to gauge its age . the findings may have important implications about the . evolutionary relationships among humankind 's ancient relatives . the team then compared it to the vertebrae of other creatures living in that region 3.2 million years ago , and found a baboon bone was the closest fit . williams told new scientist that the fossil of a gelada baboon thoracic vertebra must have somehow been mixed up with lucy 's remains . the team now plan to present their findings at the paleoanthropology society in san francisco next week . our species , homo sapiens , appeared roughly 200,000 years . ago . earlier members of the human genus , homo , date back more . than 2 million years . our genus was predated by other species on . the human family tree including various representatives of lucy 's genus australopithecus . dr simon underdown , principal lecturer in anthropology at oxford brookes university , said : ` the co-mingling of skeletons is quite common in the archaeological record and it can often be difficult to separate out different elements if multiple bodies are mixed together . ` lucy was not found in association with lots of other different bones and was painstakingly studied during excavation and description . mistakes can of course be made with 1000s of fragments but that was n't the case here . ` even if one fragment of a bone from the spine turns out to be from a baboon it does not alter the larger picture of what lucy brings to the story of human evolution . ' our genus was predated by other species on . the human family tree including various representatives of the . genus australopithecus , of which lucy -lrb- reconstruction pictured -rrb- belonged to .
l.a. police : cemetery officials working with singer 's family for private service . when , where michael jackson will be buried are still not publicly known . one of jackson 's brothers has said private service will be held tuesday . public memorial to be held at staples center in los angeles on tuesday .
lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . discovered in 1974 , the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton stunned archaeologists who unearthed the fossil while digging in an isolated spot in the afar region of ethiopia . now , a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the bones may , in fact , belong to a baboon . los angeles , california -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the first official indication that a family service for michael jackson will be held at forest lawn cemetery came from a los angeles police official sunday . a memorial poster for michael jackson is displayed outside staples center in los angeles on sunday . forest lawn officials were working with the jackson family on their plans , which were part of `` a package '' of events tuesday , said jim mcdonnell , assistant chief of staff of the los angeles police department . his comments , however , did not answer questions about where or when jackson would be buried . while there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the los angeles area , a long line of media trucks and crews have been parked at the gate of the hollywood hills facility for several days in anticipation of jackson 's possible interment there . lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the vertebrae bones may belong to a baboon . despite being uncovered 40 years ago , lucy is still being studied to learn more about our ancestors . the skeleton belongs to a species called australopithecus afarensis and is around 40 per cent complete . when discovered in ethiopia , lucy was the only skeleton of the species known ; she would 've stood 3.5 feet -lrb- about a meter -rrb- tall . currently , more than 300 individuals of this species , which lived between about 3.85 million and 2.95 million years ago , have been uncovered . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton -lrb- right -rrb- . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton . ` mike pointed out that one of the -lsb- vertebra -rsb- fragments , which no one , including me , had really paid close attention to , looked fairly small to fit with the rest of lucy 's vertebral column , ' scott williams at new york university told the new scientist . the family of the singer , who died june 25 , has given no public statement on the planning . however , brother jermaine jackson told cnn on thursday that a private service would be held tuesday morning . a public memorial for michael jackson at the staples center in los angeles is set to start at 10 a.m. pt tuesday . mcdonnell said police do not expect a jackson motorcade to take place on tuesday . an official with aeg live , the concert promoter handling the public memorial plans , said there would be no funeral processional . the researchers thought one possible explanation was that the fragment was missed up with another , younger member of lucy 's species . a comparative study of vertebrae from other australopithecus fossils in that region disproved this theory . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from thesterkfontein caves to gauge its age . scientists have revealed a sophisticated new dating . technique shows that little foot , an important fossil of an . about 1.6 million fans registered for a chance at fewer than 9,000 pairs of tickets to the memorial service , organizers said . registration ended at 6 p.m. saturday . the 8,750 registrants picked in a random drawing were to receive an e-mail sunday after 11 a.m. pt , aeg live said . tickets will be handed to the winning registrants monday outside the staples center , said tim leiweke , president of aeg live . early human forerunner unearthed in the 1990s in south africa , . is roughly 3.7 million years old . ticketholders will also have wristbands to match their tickets , a precaution against people `` trying to take advantage '' of the system , he said . ` the age of little foot has been highly debated , ' said . geologist darryl granger of purdue university in indiana , whose . research appears in the journal nature . the study found little foot , a member of the species . australopithecus prometheus , lived at roughly the same time as . australopithecus afarensis , the species whose most famous . fossil , known as lucy , comes from ethiopia . both species blended ape-like and human-like traits but with different features . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the . nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from the . sterkfontein caves to gauge its age . the findings may have important implications about the . evolutionary relationships among humankind 's ancient relatives . the team then compared it to the vertebrae of other creatures living in that region 3.2 million years ago , and found a baboon bone was the closest fit . williams told new scientist that the fossil of a gelada baboon thoracic vertebra must have somehow been mixed up with lucy 's remains . the team now plan to present their findings at the paleoanthropology society in san francisco next week . our species , homo sapiens , appeared roughly 200,000 years . ago . earlier members of the human genus , homo , date back more . than 2 million
lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . discovered in 1974 , the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton stunned archaeologists who unearthed the fossil while digging in an isolated spot in the afar region of ethiopia . now , a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the bones may , in fact , belong to a baboon . los angeles , california -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the first official indication that a family service for michael jackson will be held at forest lawn cemetery came from a los angeles police official sunday . a memorial poster for michael jackson is displayed outside staples center in los angeles on sunday . forest lawn officials were working with the jackson family on their plans , which were part of `` a package '' of events tuesday , said jim mcdonnell , assistant chief of staff of the los angeles police department . his comments , however , did not answer questions about where or when jackson would be buried . while there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the los angeles area , a long line of media trucks and crews have been parked at the gate of the hollywood hills facility for several days in anticipation of jackson 's possible interment there . lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the vertebrae bones may belong to a baboon . despite being uncovered 40 years ago , lucy is still being studied to learn more about our ancestors . the skeleton belongs to a species called australopithecus afarensis and is around 40 per cent complete . when discovered in ethiopia , lucy was the only skeleton of the species known ; she would 've stood 3.5 feet -lrb- about a meter -rrb- tall . currently , more than 300 individuals of this species , which lived between about 3.85 million and 2.95 million years ago , have been uncovered . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton -lrb- right -rrb- . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton . ` mike pointed out that one of the -lsb- vertebra -rsb- fragments , which no one , including me , had really paid close attention to , looked fairly small to fit with the rest of lucy 's vertebral column , ' scott williams at new york university told the new scientist . the family of the singer , who died june 25 , has given no public statement on the planning . however , brother jermaine jackson told cnn on thursday that a private service would be held tuesday morning . a public memorial for michael jackson at the staples center in los angeles is set to start at 10 a.m. pt tuesday . mcdonnell said police do not expect a jackson motorcade to take place on tuesday . an official with aeg live , the concert promoter handling the public memorial plans , said there would be no funeral processional . the researchers thought one possible explanation was that the fragment was missed up with another , younger member of lucy 's species . a comparative study of vertebrae from other australopithecus fossils in that region disproved this theory . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from thesterkfontein caves to gauge its age . scientists have revealed a sophisticated new dating . technique shows that little foot , an important fossil of an . about 1.6 million fans registered for a chance at fewer than 9,000 pairs of tickets to the memorial service , organizers said . registration ended at 6 p.m. saturday . the 8,750 registrants picked in a random drawing were to receive an e-mail sunday after 11 a.m. pt , aeg live said . tickets will be handed to the winning registrants monday outside the staples center , said tim leiweke , president of aeg live . early human forerunner unearthed in the 1990s in south africa , . is roughly 3.7 million years old . ticketholders will also have wristbands to match their tickets , a precaution against people `` trying to take advantage '' of the system , he said . ` the age of little foot has been highly debated , ' said . geologist darryl granger of purdue university in indiana , whose . research appears in the journal nature . the study found little foot , a member of the species . australopithecus prometheus , lived at roughly the same time as . australopithecus afarensis , the species whose most famous . fossil , known as lucy , comes from ethiopia . both species blended ape-like and human-like traits but with different features . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the . nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton does not alter the larger picture of what lucy brings to the story of human evolution . ' our genus was predated by other species on . the human family tree including various representatives of the . genus australopithecus , of which lucy -lrb- reconstruction pictured -rrb- belonged to .
lucy, the oldest and most complete fossil ever still has a few secrets discovered 1974, stunned who unearthed while an isolated spot the afar region ethiopia now, a new look the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one, los angeles, california -lrb- cnn -- the first official indication a family service for michael jackson will forest lawn cemetery came a los angeles police official sunday. a memorial poster michael jackson is staples center los angeles sunday. forest lawn officials were working the jackson family their plans, part `` a package '' events tuesday said jim mcdonnell assistant chief his comments, however, did answer questions where or jackson buried while there five forest lawn cemeteries the los angeles area, a long line media trucks crews parked the hollywood hills facility in jackson 's possible interment there lucy, the oldest and most complete fossil ever still has a few secrets a new look the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one the vertebrae bones belong. despite uncovered 40, lucy being studied to our ancestors. the skeleton belongs around 40 per complete. when discovered ethiopia, lucy was the only skeleton known ; she would 've stood -lrb- about -rrb-. currently, more than 300 individuals of this species, which lived between about 3.85 uncovered. the strange discovery a baboon bone was when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum new york began work a reconstruction lucy 's skeleton -lrb- right -rrb-. the strange discovery a baboon bone was when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum new york began work a reconstruction lucy 's skeleton. ` mike pointed one the -lsb- vertebra -rsb- fragments, no one, really paid looked fairly small to fit with lucy 's vertebral column ' scott williams at new york university told the new scientist. the family the singer, june 25 has given no public statement the planning. however, brother jermaine jackson told cnn on thursday a private service would tuesday. a public memorial michael jackson at the staples center los angeles is set start pt tuesday. mcdonnell said police do expect a jackson motorcade take tuesday. an official with aeg live, the concert promoter handling the public memorial plans, said there no funeral processional. the researchers thought one possible explanation the fragment missed up with another, younger member lucy 's species a comparative study vertebrae that region disproved. the researchers analysed 11 rock samples around the nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from thesterkfontein caves to gauge. scientists revealed a sophisticated new dating. technique shows little foot, an important fossil an. about 1.6 million fans registered a chance fewer than 9,000 pairs tickets the memorial service, organizers. registration ended saturday. the 8,750 registrants picked in were to an e sunday after pt, aeg live said. tickets will handed to the winning registrants monday outside the staples center, said tim leiweke aeg live. early human forerunner unearthed in south africa,. is roughly years. ticketholders will also wristbands match their tickets, a precaution against people `` trying take '', he ` the age little foot has highly, ' said. geologist darryl granger of purdue university indiana, whose. research appears the journal nature. the study found little foot, a member. australopithecus prometheus, lived. australopithecus afarensis, the species whose most. fossil, known lucy comes ethiopia both species blended but with. the researchers analysed 11 rock samples around. nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton. sterkfontein caves to gauge its age. the findings may about. evolutionary relationships among humankind 's ancient relatives. the team then compared the vertebrae other creatures living that region 3.2, a baboon bone was the closest fit. williams told new scientist the fossil of a gelada baboon thoracic vertebra must somehow mixed lucy 's remains. the team now plan present the paleoanthropology society san francisco next. our species, homo appeared roughly. ago. earlier members the human genus, homo, date more. than 2 million years. our genus was predated. the human family tree including various representatives lucy 's genus australopithecus. dr simon underdown, principal lecturer anthropology oxford brookes said : ` the comingling skeletons quite can often difficult different elements if multiple bodies mixed. ` lucy was not found association lots other different bones was painstakingly studied during excavation description. mistakes can of with 1000s fragments but that was n't. ` even one fragment a bone from the spine turns from a baboon it alter the larger picture what lucy brings. ' our genus was predated. the human family tree including various representatives. genus australopithecus, of lucy -lrb- reconstruction pictured -rrb- belonged.
lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . discovered in 1974 , the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton stunned archaeologists who unearthed the fossil while digging in an isolated spot in the afar region of ethiopia . now , a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the bones may , in fact , belong to a baboon . los angeles , california -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the first official indication that a family service for michael jackson will be held at forest lawn cemetery came from a los angeles police official sunday . a memorial poster for michael jackson is displayed outside staples center in los angeles on sunday . forest lawn officials were working with the jackson family on their plans , which were part of `` a package '' of events tuesday , said jim mcdonnell , assistant chief of staff of the los angeles police department . his comments , however , did not answer questions about where or when jackson would be buried . while there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the los angeles area , a long line of media trucks and crews have been parked at the gate of the hollywood hills facility for several days in anticipation of jackson 's possible interment there . lucy , the oldest and most complete fossil of an early human ever found , still has a few secrets to reveal . a new look at the ancient hominin 's skeleton suggests one of the vertebrae bones may belong to a baboon . despite being uncovered 40 years ago , lucy is still being studied to learn more about our ancestors . the skeleton belongs to a species called australopithecus afarensis and is around 40 per cent complete . when discovered in ethiopia , lucy was the only skeleton of the species known ; she would 've stood 3.5 feet -lrb- about a meter -rrb- tall . currently , more than 300 individuals of this species , which lived between about 3.85 million and 2.95 million years ago , have been uncovered . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton -lrb- right -rrb- . the strange discovery of a baboon bone was made when gary sawyer and mike smith at the american museum of natural history in new york began work on a reconstruction of lucy 's skeleton . ` mike pointed out that one of the -lsb- vertebra -rsb- fragments , which no one , including me , had really paid close attention to , looked fairly small to fit with the rest of lucy 's vertebral column , ' scott williams at new york university told the new scientist . the family of the singer , who died june 25 , has given no public statement on the planning . however , brother jermaine jackson told cnn on thursday that a private service would be held tuesday morning . a public memorial for michael jackson at the staples center in los angeles is set to start at 10 a.m. pt tuesday . mcdonnell said police do not expect a jackson motorcade to take place on tuesday . an official with aeg live , the concert promoter handling the public memorial plans , said there would be no funeral processional . the researchers thought one possible explanation was that the fragment was missed up with another , younger member of lucy 's species . a comparative study of vertebrae from other australopithecus fossils in that region disproved this theory . the researchers analysed 11 rock samples from around the nearly complete little foot fossil skeleton from thesterkfontein caves to gauge its age . scientists have revealed a sophisticated new dating . technique shows that little foot , an important fossil of an . about 1.6 million fans registered for a chance at fewer than 9,000 pairs of tickets to the memorial service , organizers said . registration ended at 6 p.m. saturday . the 8,750 registrants picked in a random drawing were to receive an e-mail sunday after 11 a.m. pt , aeg live said . tickets will be handed to the winning registrants monday outside the staples center , said tim leiweke , president of aeg live . early human forerunner unearthed in the 1990s in south africa , . is roughly 3.7 million years old . ticketholders
 The text is about Lucy, an ancient human fossil discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. It's considered one of the most significant discoveries in paleoanthropology. The fossil is estimated to be around 3.2 million years old and has provided valuable insights into human evolution. The discovery was made by Donald Johanson and Tim White, who were part of a team led by French geologist Maurice Taieb. The fossil was found in Hadar, Ethiopia, and is now housed at the National Museum of Ethiopia. The discovery of Lucy has been recognized as one of the most important scientific findings of the 20th century.