22 Donald Johanson Quotes for You to Enjoy

Donald Johanson

American Scientist

Born: Jun 28, 1943

Had Me People Think Time You

Related authors: Ben Carson Carl Sagan E. O. Wilson George Washington Carver Isaac Asimov Margaret Mead Neil deGrasse Tyson W. Edwards Deming

There have been some friendships lost over this. That's the most difficult for me. I find it very uncomfortable to know that I was at one time close friends with someone, and because of jealousies and misunderstandings and so on, these friendships have dissolved. Donald Johanson

Most achievers I know are people who have made a strong and deep dedication to pursuing a particular goal. That dedication took a tremendous amount of effort. Donald Johanson

People Strong Made Dedication Took Tremendous Tremendous Amount Pursuing Particular Know Most Goal Effort Achievers Who Deep Amount

In our case, finding a Lucy is unique. No one will ever find another Lucy. You can't order one from a biological supply house. It's a unique discovery, a unique specimen. Donald Johanson

You Will Our Find Finding Case No-One Supply House Another Discovery Order Unique Lucy Ever Specimen Biological

Normally, we are happy to find a fragment of jaw, a few isolated teeth, a bit of an arm, a bit of a skull. But to find associated body parts is extremely rare. Donald Johanson

Happy Rare Few Fragment Teeth Extremely Bit Find Arm Parts Isolated Normally Jaw Body Skull Associated

Where we are going as a species is a big question. Human evolution certainly hasn't stopped. Every time individuals produce a new zygote, there's a reshuffling and recombination of genes. And we don't know where all of that is going to take us. Donald Johanson

Scientists are very afraid of being proven wrong. Donald Johanson

Wrong Proven Scientists Very Afraid Being

It's very hard for all of us, when we've committed ourselves to a particular interpretation, to change our minds. Donald Johanson

Change Interpretation Our Minds Ourselves Particular Very Committed Us Hard

I was aware of it, but I grew up in a very a-religious family. My mother never went to church, she never had any religious training or background. It was never a part of our social interaction. Donald Johanson

Family Training Mother Church Our Background Religious Never Had Part She Up Very Any Interaction Grew Social Social Interaction Aware

As an undergraduate, I had an opportunity to go on a number of archeological digs. So I had experience excavating, digging up remains of ancient Indian villages in the Midwest and in the Southwest. Donald Johanson

Experience Opportunity Digging Ancient Indian Archeological Remains Had Undergraduate Go Up Southwest Midwest Villages Number

I was very intellectually oriented, very early on. Donald Johanson

Intellectually Very Oriented Early

But it really wasn't until three to four years later, when we had an opportunity in the lab to make very detailed observations, and comparisons with other fossil discoveries, that we realized she was a new species of human ancestor. Donald Johanson

Opportunity Three Other Later Ancestors Detailed Had Observations New Until She Make Years Discoveries Lab Very Human Realized Really Fossil Comparisons Species Four

What makes us human depends on what place on our evolutionary path we're talking about. If you go back six million years ago, what makes us human is that we were walking upright. That's all. If you go to 2.6 million years ago, it's the fact that we're designing and making stone tools. Donald Johanson

You Path Tools Back Our Evolutionary About Fact Talking Makes Making Go Were Years Years Ago Walking Stone Upright Six Human Depends Place Us Million Designing Million Years

I don't think we interbred with the Neanderthals at all. There are some people who think that there was some level of interbreeding. I think that we look so biologically different, that we looked and we acted so different, and we culturally were so different that we would not have had interbreeding between two species. Donald Johanson

People Some People Think Would Some Had Between Look Looked Were Different Acted Who Species Level Biologically Two

Evolution explains our biological evolution, but human beings are very unique creatures. As the Dobzhansky said, all animals are unique; humans are the uniquest. And that uniqueness of being human, language, art, culture, our dependency on culture for survival, comes from the combination of traditional biological evolution. Donald Johanson

Art Survival Culture Language Animals Our Evolution Combination Said Traditional Very Human Dependency Being Human Beings Explains Being Human Human Language Unique Beings Uniqueness Creatures Biological Humans

Evolution is a fact. It is the best explanation of what is known from observations. It's a theory as powerful as the theory of gravity. Donald Johanson

Best Evolution Fact Observations Powerful Known Explanation Theory Gravity

I was being groomed as an undergraduate to specialize in Midwestern prehistory, but going back to my teenage days, my interest has always been in our early human ancestors. I wanted to work in Africa. Donald Johanson

Work Teenage Back Our Ancestors Days Undergraduate Always Been Going Human Africa Being Wanted Interest Midwestern Prehistory Specialize Early

Journalists often ask me when I go to the field, 'What do you expect to find?' And my answer always is, 'The unexpected,' because we're just looking at the tip of the iceberg; we've just scratched the surface. Donald Johanson

When we look for the origins of all humanity today, let's not just look at Europe, because I think Africa was the cradle, the crucible that created us as Homo sapiens. Donald Johanson

Today Humanity Think Crucible Look Because Cradle Just Africa Us Created Sapiens Europe Origins Homo Homo Sapiens

Regardless of what we look like on the outside, genetically, on the inside, everyone is an African. Donald Johanson

Everyone Inside Outside Genetically Like Look African Regardless

You don't just magically flip some evolutionary switch somewhere and transmute a quadruped into an upright-walking bipedal human. Donald Johanson

You Somewhere Evolutionary Some Human Just Flip Switch

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