Obama meets Lucy, 'the grandmother of humanity,' during Ethiopia visit

Lucy is a 3.2 million-year-old member of Australopithecus afarensis and the most complete skeleton of an early human ancestor ever discovered

She had never heard of Barack Obama, or the United States for that matter, and did not say a word when she met the president before a state dinner in Ethiopia.

Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old member of Australopithecus afarensis, is the most complete skeleton of an early human ancestor ever discovered. The fossil, normally housed in Ethiopia's national museum, was brought to the national palace on Monday for Obama's visit and helped put the ephemera of politics in perspective.