--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certainly the first true humans were…" description: "\"Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared with that of a ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/jane-goodall-950_apes_certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-uni_220535.jpg" --- # Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of… ![“Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared with that of a chimpanzee that paleontologists for years hunted for a half-ape, half-human skeleton that would provide a fossil link between the human and the ape.” quote by Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/jane-goodall-950_apes_certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-uni_220535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/jane-goodall-950_apes_certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-uni_220535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/jane-goodall-950_apes_certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-uni_220535.jpg) > “Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared with that of a chimpanzee that paleontologists for years hunted for a half-ape, half-human skeleton that would provide a fossil link between the human and the ape.” [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Large brains distinguished early humans, driving fossil searches for transitional forms linking apes and humans. **In simple terms:** Human brain size set early humans apart, prompting fossil hunts Key Takeaway Study evolutionary anthropology, value cognitive uniqueness Themes evolution anthropology brain development Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific educational When to use this quote - educational seminars - museum exhibits - academic research Key Concepts cognitive evolution fossil record Questions to Reflect On - What does brain size tell us about cognition? - How do we balance fossil gaps with genetic data? A Different Perspective Fossil evidence remains incomplete and interpretive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-brain/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeletons/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [It's very important for us to see that science is done by people, not just brains but whole human beings, and sometimes at great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/it-s-very-important-for-us-to-see-that-science-is-done-by-people-not/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [There is always this interesting relationship we have with technology. When we invented writing Socrates used to say it was going to rot our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/there-is-always-this-interesting-relationship-we-have-with-technology/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [“There is more information in one thimble of reality than can be understood by a galaxy of human brains. It is beyond the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/there-is-more-information-in-one-thimble-of-reality-than-can-be/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [What makes humans unique is that evolution gave us the most incredible and sophisticated vision system, motor system, and language system, and they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fei-fei-li/what-makes-humans-unique-is-that-evolution-gave-us-the-most/) [Fei-Fei Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fei-fei-li/) > [We have a lot of historical and religious baggage in our culture. It's ancient; we are clannish as a species. We like things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherri-saum/we-have-a-lot-of-historical-and-religious-baggage-in-our-culture-it-s/) [Sherri Saum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherri-saum/) > [“Humans are unique in having the astonishing capacity to extend our sympathies far beyond the here and now. through time and space, to anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-westoll/humans-are-unique-in-having-the-astonishing-capacity-to-extend-our/) Andrew Westoll > [“Humans are unique in this world in that, as opposed to all other animals, they have developed a consciousness so advanced that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/humans-are-unique-in-this-world-in-that-as-opposed-to-all-other/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The Nobel Prizes are much more than awards to scholars; they are a celebration of civilization, of mankind, and of what makes humans unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/the-nobel-prizes-are-much-more-than-awards-to-scholars-they-are-a/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/in-what-terms-should-we-think-of-these-beings-nonhuman-yet-possessing/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees are incredibly intelligent. They can learn more than 400 signs of American Sign Language. They have memories for spatial distribution, like numbers on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-are-incredibly-intelligent-they-can-learn-more-than-400/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees have given me so much. The long hours spent with them in the forest have enriched my life beyond measure. What I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-have-given-me-so-much-the-long-hours-spent-with-them-in/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We are unique. Chimpanzees are unique. Dogs are unique. But we humans are just not as different as we used to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-are-unique-chimpanzees-are-unique-dogs-are-unique-but-we-humans/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I got to Africa. I got the opportunity to go and learn, not about any animal, but chimpanzees. I was living in my dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-got-to-africa-i-got-the-opportunity-to-go-and-learn-not-about-any/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## More by Jane Goodall > [The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/the-voice-of-the-natural-world-would-be-could-you-please-give-us/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions, a consequence of our sophisticated spoken language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/what-makes-us-human-i-think-is-an-ability-to-ask-questions-a/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I did this book 'Harvest for Hope,' and I learned so much about food. And one thing I learned is that we have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-did-this-book-harvest-for-hope-and-i-learned-so-much-about-food-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/from-my-perspective-i-absolutely-believe-in-a-greater-spiritual-power/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We are always talking about how we can get more environmental and humanitarian education. It is about listening to the voice of young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-are-always-talking-about-how-we-can-get-more-environmental-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some humans are mathematicians-others aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-humans-are-mathematicians-others-aren-t/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We started off with physical evolution and got our form. Then we somehow developed language, which meant cultural evolution could race so we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-started-off-with-physical-evolution-and-got-our-form-then-we/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I wanted to talk to the animals like Dr. Dolittle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-wanted-to-talk-to-the-animals-like-dr-dolittle/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some people say, therefore, that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-people-say-therefore-that-violence-and-war-are-inevitable-i-say/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It's been proven by quite a few studies that plants are good for our psychological development. If you green an area, the rate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-s-been-proven-by-quite-a-few-studies-that-plants-are-good-for-our/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Having respect for animals makes us better humans..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/having-respect-for-animals-makes-us-better-humans/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-we-kill-off-the-wild-then-we-are-killing-a-part-of-our-souls/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“We still have a long way to go. But we are moving in the right direction. If only we can overcome cruelty, to human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-still-have-a-long-way-to-go-but-we-are-moving-in-the-right/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) [Explore all 321 Jane Goodall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) J. Lee Thompson > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. 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