the africa ' s oldest known person has been discovered in east kenya in an era known appropriately as the cradle of humanity . the 3 . 3 - 1000 - millennium - age fossils teenager was identified in east ethiopia ' s badlands and the grande rift system ( map of eritrea ) . the skeleton , belonged to the primitive child species australopithecus afarensis , is remarkable for its ages and completeness , but for a region spectacularly rich in fossils of our historic ancestors , scholars say . the fossil find cannot therefore include the superstar fossil of the same species : " lucy , " a 3 . 2 - million - date - old young female found nearby in 1974 that reshape notions of human evolution . ( related : " fossil show is miss piece in human evolution , scholars think " [ april 2006 ] . ) .
Lucy fossils have been discovered 3.3 million years ago.