--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it really wasn't until three to four…" description: "\"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 ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png" --- # But it really wasn't until three to four years later, when… ![“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.” quote by Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png) > “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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Detailed lab analysis revealed a previously unknown human ancestor species. **In simple terms:** New species discovered through careful study. Key Takeaway Support thorough scientific investigation. Themes science discovery human evolution research Mood curious excited Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - museum curation - academic research - educational curricula - media reporting - public outreach Key Concepts anthropology methodology Questions to Reflect On - What does this discovery change about our understanding of human origins? - How can we ensure future finds are examined rigorously? A Different Perspective Limited fossils can lead to misinterpretation without careful comparison. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) [Comparisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparisons/) [Discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Observations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observations/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) ## Related quotes > [When I realized, in 1978, that Lucy did represent a new species of human ancestor, and that I had an opportunity to name this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/when-i-realized-in-1978-that-lucy-did-represent-a-new-species-of/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [“You look like someone who’s discovered a new species of human”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-look-like-someone-who-s-discovered-a-new-species-of-human/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [It seems inconceivable that a species of human could possess fully modern language and not be fully modern in all other ways, too. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/it-seems-inconceivable-that-a-species-of-human-could-possess-fully/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Every species, human and subhuman, has some distinguishing mark, so that you can tell a man from a beast, or a dog from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/every-species-human-and-subhuman-has-some-distinguishing-mark-so-that/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The peasant is the only species of human being who doesn't like the country and never looks at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/the-peasant-is-the-only-species-of-human-being-who-doesn-t-like-the/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“In the external world, she is the force of evolution, the erotic thrust at the heart of life. She is the intrinsic creative drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-kempton/in-the-external-world-she-is-the-force-of-evolution-the-erotic-thrust/) [Sally Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-kempton/) > [When biological technology becomes further advanced, human beings as we know them, will become a modified species. If we as human beings fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/when-biological-technology-becomes-further-advanced-human-beings-as/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [“The only species of human beings that are immune to failure are those that are dead and gone. Failure is constant; just prepare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-only-species-of-human-beings-that-are-immune-to-failure-are-those/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“It is a characteristic conceit of our species to put human face on random cosmic violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-a-characteristic-conceit-of-our-species-to-put-human-face-on/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“It is fear that turns minor difference into major, that makes the gulf between ethnicities into a distinction between species, between human and non-human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/from-the-warrior-s-honour-by-michael-ignatieff/it-is-fear-that-turns-minor-difference-into-major-that-makes-the-gulf/) from The Warrior's Honour, by Michael Ignatieff > [Moses - the man of God - was a species of human chameleon - scholar, general, law-giver, leader, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-studd/moses-the-man-of-god-was-a-species-of-human-chameleon-scholar-general/) [Charles Studd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-studd/) > [Perhaps it won't matter, in the end, which country is the sower of the seed of exploration. The importance will be in the growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/perhaps-it-won-t-matter-in-the-end-which-country-is-the-sower-of-the/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [We are creatures. We have a link with a native habitat just like every other species. Throughout most of human history, physical activity was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/we-are-creatures-we-have-a-link-with-a-native-habitat-just-like-every/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [You know what we need to heal are the thought forms and the feelings that cause us to create war and mass destruction on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-know-what-we-need-to-heal-are-the-thought-forms-and-the-feelings/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I cannot conceive such a Being could make such a Species as the human, merely to live and die on this earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/i-cannot-conceive-such-a-being-could-make-such-a-species-as-the-human/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Donald Johanson > [My real father died when I was two years old, so I never knew him. He was a barber in Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/my-real-father-died-when-i-was-two-years-old-so-i-never-knew-him-he/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/but-what-really-excited-me-was-the-idea-that-humans-had-a-tremendous/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [You don't just magically flip some evolutionary switch somewhere and transmute a quadruped into an upright-walking bipedal human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/you-don-t-just-magically-flip-some-evolutionary-switch-somewhere-and/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [We are placed in the genus of Homo, which is Latin for man - Homo sapiens: supposedly wise men. I sometimes think - wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/we-are-placed-in-the-genus-of-homo-which-is-latin-for-man-homo/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [When I realized, in 1978, that Lucy did represent a new species of human ancestor, and that I had an opportunity to name this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/when-i-realized-in-1978-that-lucy-did-represent-a-new-species-of/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [Journalists often ask me when I go to the field, 'What do you expect to find?' And my answer always is, 'The unexpected,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/journalists-often-ask-me-when-i-go-to-the-field-what-do-you-expect-to/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [I find a tremendous receptivity among the public for the subject matter of, 'Where did we come from and how did we get here?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/i-find-a-tremendous-receptivity-among-the-public-for-the-subject/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [Evolution explains our biological evolution, but human beings are very unique creatures. As the Dobzhansky said, all animals are unique; humans are the uniquest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/evolution-explains-our-biological-evolution-but-human-beings-are-very/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [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.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/in-our-case-finding-a-lucy-is-unique-no-one-will-ever-find-another/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/most-achievers-i-know-are-people-who-have-made-a-strong-and-deep/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/evolution-is-a-fact-it-is-the-best-explanation-of-what-is-known-from/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [It's very hard for all of us, when we've committed ourselves to a particular interpretation, to change our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/it-s-very-hard-for-all-of-us-when-we-ve-committed-ourselves-to-a/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [This was the most important discovery I had ever made in my life. It was a discovery which has irrevocably changed my whole life's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/this-was-the-most-important-discovery-i-had-ever-made-in-my-life-it/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [What's changed is we now have good anatomical, geological, archaeological evidence that Neanderthals are not our ancestors. When I wrote 'Lucy,' I considered Neanderthals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/what-s-changed-is-we-now-have-good-anatomical-geological/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/what-makes-us-human-depends-on-what-place-on-our-evolutionary-path-we/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) [Explore all 38 Donald Johanson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) ## More Ancestors quotes > [The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/the-desire-to-fly-is-an-idea-handed-down-to-us-by-our-ancestors-who/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and it seems only fair that they should leave us the money to pay with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/we-pay-for-the-mistakes-of-our-ancestors-and-it-seems-only-fair-that/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Most of us do more than subsist. From the vantage point of our ancestors, we live lives of almost unimaginable ease. Here again, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/most-of-us-do-more-than-subsist-from-the-vantage-point-of-our/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-look-deeply-into-the-palm-of-your-hand-you-will-see-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-are-the-fairy-tale-told-by-your-ancestors/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [...I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sanchez/i-write-to-keep-in-contact-with-our-ancestors-and-to-spread-truth-to/) [Sonia Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sanchez/) > [“Each of us is the product of history. Our lives today are evidence that our ancestors survived unbelievable odds stretching back to prehistory. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wheldon/each-of-us-is-the-product-of-history-our-lives-today-are-evidence/) Laura Wheldon > [Do we have to give Mr Sarkozy a history lesson? Yes, there are Gauls among our ancestors. But there are also Romans, Normans, Celts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/do-we-have-to-give-mr-sarkozy-a-history-lesson-yes-there-are-gauls/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders - in the industry in particular - who have paved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-vine-joy-randolph/as-a-woman-of-color-i-always-pay-homage-to-my-ancestors-and-elders-in/) [Da'Vine Joy Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-vine-joy-randolph/) > [“Each of us, along with our ancestors, inhabits the same cosmos. When we tell stories, we enter the stream of human consciousness; we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/each-of-us-along-with-our-ancestors-inhabits-the-same-cosmos-when-we/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 443 Ancestors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Johanson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four-years-later-when-we-had-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four-years-later-when-we-had-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/donald-johanson-16932_ancestors_but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four_1251354.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it really wasn't until three to four years later, when we had an opportunity in the lab to make very…” — Donald Johanson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donald Johanson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But it really wasn't until three...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four-years-later-when-we-had-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/but-it-really-wasn-t-until-three-to-four-years-later-when-we-had-an/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```