the earth ' s oldest known child has been discovered in east africa in an environment known appropriately as the cradle of humanity . the 3 . 3 - million - year - old fossilized preschooler was uncovered in north italy ' s badlands on the main rift valley ( geography of ethiopia ) . the skeleton , belonging to the advanced human population australopithecus afarensis , is outstanding for its age and completeness , even for a region spectacularly rich in fossils of our primitive ancestors , academics say . the new discovered should even trump the superstar fossil of the same country : " lucy , " a 3 . 2 - dozen - night - old adult female discovered someplace in 1974 that dramatically notions of human evolution . ( related : " fossil find is lacking link in human evolution , historians talk " [ april 2006 ] . ) .
Lucy fossils have been discovered 3.3 million years ago.