The 3.2-million-year-old fossil, discovered 50 years ago, is considered to be one of the most significant early hominin specimens.

She was, for a while, the oldest known member of the human family. Fifty years after the discovery of Lucy in Ethiopia, the remarkable remains continue to yield theories and questions.

Paleontologists unearthed the iconic fossil in 1974. Today, her legacy remains just as much cultural as it is scientific.

But the researchers nicknamed it Lucy after The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", which they listened to after celebrating their discovery. Lucy walked on two legs and is thought to have died aged between 11 and 13 – considered an adult for this species.