Selam (Australopithecus)

Selam
Catalog no.DIK-1/1
Common nameSelam
SpeciesAustralopithecus afarensis
Agec. 3.3 million years
Place discoveredDikika, Afar Depression, Ethiopia
Date discovered2000
Discovered byZeresenay Alemseged

Selam (DIK-1/1) is the fossilized skull and other skeletal remains of a three-year-old Australopithecus afarensis female hominin, whose bones were first found in Dikika, in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia in 2000 and recovered over the following years. Although she has often been nicknamed Lucy's baby, the specimen has been dated at 3.3 million years ago, approximately 100,000 years older than "Lucy" (dated to about 3.2 million years ago). Selam is also known as the Dikika Child. The word "Selam" means "peace" in Amharic.