For nearly 50 years, “Lucy” has been one of the most famous fossils in the world. Discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, the 3.2-million-year-old skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis has long been seen as a key ancestor of modern humans. But new research suggests Lucy may not have been as unique as once thought.

Scientists studying fossils from Ethiopia’s Afar Rift have uncovered evidence of another early human species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, which lived around the same time as Lucy, roughly 3.4 million years ago. This discovery challenges the idea that Lucy’s species was the only one dominating the landscape at the time.

The team analyzed new jaw and tooth fossils, connecting them to a partial foot found more than a decade ago, known as the “Burtele foot.” Together, the remains show that A. deyiremeda was different from Lucy’s species, not just a regional variation.

While Lucy’s species was well adapted for walking on two legs, the Burtele foot suggests A. deyiremeda still climbed trees. Their diets also differed: chemical analysis of teeth shows A. deyiremeda relied more on fruits and leaves, while Lucy’s kind had a broader diet.

Researchers think A. deyiremeda may be closely related to an even older species, Australopithecus anamensis. If so, this suggests that multiple human-like species may have evolved from a shared ancestor, creating a branching “bush” of early humans rather than a linear lineage to modern humans.

This new evidence paints a picture of eastern Africa 3.5 million years ago as a busy place, with several species living alongside each other, each finding its own way to survive. While some scientists still see Lucy as a main ancestor of humans, it’s becoming clear that she wasn’t the only player in the story of our origins.

As more fossils emerge from Ethiopia’s ancient landscapes, the story of human evolution is being rewritten, showing that the path to humanity was far more complex, and far more crowded, than previously imagined.