Private Institute Briefs

Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson's biggest claim to scientific fame is his discovery 14 years ago of "Lucy," a three-million-year-old fossil hominid, our possible ancestor. Now, Johanson, the director of the Institute for Human Origins in Berkeley, wants to make a name for Lucy and himself in a totally different field - toys, subspecies educational. Under Johanson's direction, E.T. designer Jonathan Horton and museum exhibit designer Kevin O'Farrell have already fashioned prototype "action figures," not just of Lucy, but also of her "husband," Lorcan, and their three children, Lonnog, Lifi, and Liban. But that's not all. The big-eyed, rubber dolls, dubbed the world's first family, also are the stars of an action-packed illustrated book, a tale high adventure on the North African savanna to be published by Villard Books. Johanson and his partners in the venture - Horton, O'Farrell, and marketing consultant Harry W. Clark - hope that the book will not ...