Donald Johanson Quotes

Commitment, belief and positive attitude are all important if you're going to be a success, whether you're in sports, in business or, as in my case, anthropology.

Donald Johanson

Sports, Attitude, Commitment

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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

Unique, Finding The One, Discovery

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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I think that many of my ideas are correct, but I'll bet you, before my death other discoveries will be made that will prompt me to alter various ideas I have about human evolution.

Donald Johanson

Thinking, Discovery, Ideas

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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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, Unique, Animal

"How Will Humans Evolve?". bigthink.com. 2017.

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Lucy brought with her an image of our human ancestors that you don't get when you find a jaw or an arm bone or a leg bone. Here was 40 percent of a single skeleton.

Donald Johanson

Skeletons, Hands, Legs

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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One has to take initiative in life to achieve what he or she wants.

Donald Johanson

Want, Initiative, Achieve

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And what I wanted to do was, I wanted to explore problems and areas where we didn't have answers. In fact, where we didn't even know the right questions to ask.

Donald Johanson

Facts, Asking The Right Questions, Answers

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Scientists are very afraid of being proven wrong.

Donald Johanson

Scientist, Proven Wrong, Proven

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be successful at anything, you have to make a total commitment to it.

Donald Johanson

Commitment, Successful, Pursuit

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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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

Strong, Dedication, People

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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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

Hands, Skulls, Teeth

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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But what really excited me was the idea that humans had a tremendous pre-history that went back millions of years. I wanted to go to Africa to find some of these creatures.

Donald Johanson

Years, Ideas, Excited

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The right question to ask from a Darwinian prospective is what was it about bipedalism that was so advantageous? Why did it lead to a - why did that adaptation ultimately lead to a species Homo sapiens that has come to dominate the planet today with six and a half billion people?

Donald Johanson

People, Half, Today

"Anthropologist Donald Johanson On 'Lucy's Legacy'". "Science Friday" with Ira Flatow, www.npr.org. March 6, 2009.

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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

Lost Friendship, Close Friends, Difficult

"The Quest for Human Origins". Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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When the first fossils began to be found in eastern Africa, in the late 1950s, I thought, what a wonderful marriage this was, biology and anthropology. I was around 16 years old when I made this particular choice of academic pursuit.

Donald Johanson

Years, Choices, Fossils

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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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

Opportunity, Hiking, Numbers

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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My real father died when I was two years old, so I never knew him. He was a barber in Chicago.

Donald Johanson

Father, Real, Two Year Olds

"The Quest for Human Origins". The Academy of Achievement Interview, www.achievement.org. January 25, 1991.

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Born: June 28, 1943
Occupation: Anthropologist
Cite this Page: Citation

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