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September 2011, Featured Articles, Videos

On the Quest for Human Origins

Thu, Aug 25, 2011

World-renowned scientist and paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, the discoverer of "Lucy", speaks about the quest and journey of human evolution.

On the Quest for Human Origins

The names "Donald Johanson" and "Lucy" are now household names in the world of human evolution.  Dr. Johanson's discovery of the fossilized, 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton (nick-named "Lucy") in 1974 at Hadar in the Afar region of Ethiopia shook the field of paleoanthropology and human origins research and established a new standard, a benchmark species against which new-found species are still measured. He is perhaps the most sought-after and quoted scientist in the field, despite the fact that major new discoveries and theories have arguably eclipsed the impact and sensation of the Lucy discovery and the evolutionary paradigm that it represented.  In this video lecture, Dr. Johanson relates the journey of human evolution both in terms of the finds and what they mean and the historic path that the quest for human origins has taken. [Note: The first 6.5 minutes consists of opening introductory remarks before Dr. Johanson even reaches the podium. Viewers who have no interest in introductory remarks may skip directly to Dr. Johanson's lecture].   

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