An article in LiveScience by Stacy Keltner suggests that australopithecines like the iconic “Lucy” may not have had a thick chimpanzee-like covering of hair as traditionally depicted, but instead may have already evolved the thinner (or “naked”) coat which we humans have inherited. She bases this on studies of human lice which suggest that our hair had already begun to thin 3-4 million years ago, or a little before Lucy’s time. Therefore, I wanted to see what Lucy would look like with a more human-like pattern of hair.
By the way, it’s such a shame that drawing female hominins from the pre-clothing era has the effect of making the artwork “not safe for work”, therefore limiting the places where I can share it.