The species Australopithecus africanus ... Read a 1977 cover story about Richard Leakey’s work, here in the TIME Vault: Puzzling Out Man’s Ascent. More Must-Reads from TIME.

The ape-like human ancestor Australopithecus—perhaps best known from the iconic fossil ‘Lucy’—might not have had much meat on its menu. After examining more than 3.3-million-year-old ...