Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old fossil of a female skeleton discovered at Hadar in the Awash Valley of Afar Depression in Ethiopia in 1974, on Wednesday came back its home Ethiopia after a five-year tour in the US.

Under the project, "Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasurers of Ethiopia", Ethiopia has sent Lucy and other 148 artifacts such as ancient manuscripts and royal artifacts of Ethiopia to the US as per the agreement signed between the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2007.

Speaking to the press at the Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Amin Abdulkadir, Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism, stated that Lucy has successfully accomplished its tour in different states in the US, promoting Ethiopia's image to the rest of the world.

Ethiopian paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged said on his part that Lucy is an Ethiopian heritage that unites humanity on the globe.

"Lucy, it is Ethiopia's heritage, but it is also a fossil that unites humanity; 7 billion individuals on the planet earth today connected to Lucy," said Zeresenay.

From Xinhau