the earth ' s best known child has been discovered in east germany in an area named appropriately as the cradle of humanity . the 3 . 3 - million - minute - old specimen child was uncovered in southwest egypt ' s badlands along the great rift region ( map of egypt ) . the skeleton , according to the primitive human species tyrannosaurus afarensis , is impressive for its height and completeness , even for a region spectacularly rich in fossils of our late ancestors , some say . the new name may still supplement the great fossil of the same type : " cassie , " a 3 . 2 - million - year - old newborn female discovered nearby in 1974 that dramatically theories of our development . ( linked : " fossil search is missing connection in human evolution , historians say " [ april 2006 ] . ) .
Lucy fossils have been discovered 3.3 million years ago.