What habitat did Australopithecus afarensis live in?

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Side view illustration of Australopithecus afarensis, an early human ancestor, shown walking upright with a hairy body and ape-like facial features. A scale beside the figure marks 12 inches and 40 centimeters. — Australopithecus Artist's rendering of *Australopithecus afarensis*, which lived from 3.8 to 2.9 million years ago.

Australopithecus afarensis inhabited a diverse range of environments. Evidence from fossil sites, particularly in northern Ethiopia, indicates that this species lived in a mosaic of habitats, including riverine forest, lowland woodland, savanna, and dry bushland.1

Animal fossils found in association with Au. afarensis further suggest that the species occupied areas characterized by woodland with patches of grassland. These environments were part of a broader ecological shift in Africa during the Pliocene Epoch, where forested areas were increasingly replaced by more open terrestrial biomes. This mosaic landscape allowed Au. afarensis to utilize different resources, reflecting their adaptation to both forested and more open, savanna-like settings.213