the world ' s oldest surviving child has been recovered in northeastern africa in an environment known appropriately as the cradle of africa . the 3 . 3 - million - birthday - old fossilized toddler was excavated in south ethiopia ' s ravines along the great crocodile valley ( map of ethiopia ) . the brain , belonging to the primitive human species australopithecus afarensis , is remarkable for its aging and causality , even for a region spectacularly rich in footprints of our historic ancestors , experts say . the new object may even contain the superstar material of the same species : " rachel , " a 3 . 2 - trillion - date - new adult juvenile discovered nearby in 1974 that reshaped theories of human origin . ( classified : " fossil find is missing bond in human genesis , scientists said " [ apr 2006 ] . ) .
Lucy fossils have been discovered 3.3 million years ago.