Dr. Johanson

Dr. Donald Johanson was the Latin Initiative For Ethics (LIFE) speaker at a Thursday afternoon Upper School assembly April 8, 2004. Johanson, the Director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, first spoke at Latin 20 years ago.

Best known for his discovery of Lucy in 1974, Dr. Johanson's career as a physical anthropologist really began when he was a young boy who was encouraged to pursue this interest by a neighbor and mentor. So, he went from collecting rabbit skulls and small bones he found around his neighborhood to traveling to different regions in Africa to excavate whole skeletons.

He was a young man--one year out of graduate school at the University of Chicago--when he traveled to Ethiopia and found the fossilized bones of a specimen he called Lucy. First he found human bones that formed an elbow in the sand and then he noticed there were more nearby. He wrote a postcard home to a former professor that said, "Found something."

Dr. Johanson

The "something" turned out to be the oldest, most complete skeleton of an extinct species from which humans may be descended. This discovery altered scientists' understanding of human evolution.

Prior to this discovery, the prevailing view was that humans descended directly from apes as that branch of primates developed larger brains, became capable of making tools, and began walking upright, perhaps to free up hands for using tools. Lucy, however, clearly walked upright though she had a smaller brain about the size of a softball. Moreover, there was no evidence that Lucy used tools. After much debate among scientists and after further evidence was unearthed, Johanson's view of human evolution has prevailed.

Dr. Johanson

Johanson gave a quick summary of the major milestones in human evolution, emphasizing the "Africa Firsts": First to stand upright, first to have big brains, first to make tools, and first to become modern.

While focusing on human evolution, Johanson has spent much time reflecting on the qualities that define humans. He reminded his audience that "homo sapiens" means "wise man," and asked students to consider whether we really are wise. As "supremely unique beings with the capacity to change the path of our world," he said, we have a duty to act wisely and with compassion.

© 2008 The Latin School of Chicago

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