--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When out fossil hunting, it is very easy…" description: "\"When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the remains you find indicate only where they ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png" --- # When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that… ![“When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the remains you find indicate only where they became fossilized.” quote by Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png) > “When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the remains you find indicate only where they became fossilized.” [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fossils reveal where organisms were preserved, not how they lived, emphasizing the limits of physical evidence. **In simple terms:** Fossils show preservation spots, not life details. Key Takeaway Consider context when interpreting evidence. Themes science interpretation evidence Mood educational analytical Type scientific informative When to use this quote - museum displays - fieldwork - educational curricula - public talks Key Concepts paleontology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do we avoid misreading fossil records? - What other sources complement fossil data? A Different Perspective Physical remains can be misleading without broader data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) ## Related quotes > [That's how fossil hunting is: It takes over, like a hunger, and nothing else matters but what you find. And even when you find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/that-s-how-fossil-hunting-is-it-takes-over-like-a-hunger-and-nothing/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“So here is the trick to designing a new fossil expedition: find rocks that are of the right age, of the right type (sedimentary),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-shubin/so-here-is-the-trick-to-designing-a-new-fossil-expedition-find-rocks/) [Neil Shubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-shubin/) > [I hate when someone gets lost in my eyes & they forget what they're telling me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/i-hate-when-someone-gets-lost-in-my-eyes-they-forget-what-they-re/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [I would hazard a guess that we have found fossilized human remains of at least a thousand different specimens in South and East Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-would-hazard-a-guess-that-we-have-found-fossilized-human-remains-of/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The whole story is about change. We are very lucky that the earth's history is recorded in fossilized remains. And we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-whole-story-is-about-change-we-are-very-lucky-that-the-earth-s/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The fossil record contains no trace of these preliminary stages in the development of many-celled organisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jastrow/the-fossil-record-contains-no-trace-of-these-preliminary-stages-in/) [Robert Jastrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jastrow/) > [Darwin's prediction of rampant, albeit gradual, change affecting all lineages through time is refuted. The record is there, and the record speaks for tremendous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/darwin-s-prediction-of-rampant-albeit-gradual-change-affecting-all/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [Other thing we need to understand is that the financial power of the fossil fuel industry has so far prevented even any minor progress.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/other-thing-we-need-to-understand-is-that-the-financial-power-of-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“The phrase 'the fossil record' sounds impressive and authoritative. As used by some persons it becomes, as intended, intimidating, taking on the aura of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-j-nelson/the-phrase-the-fossil-record-sounds-impressive-and-authoritative-as/) Gareth J. Nelson > [I lean to you, numb as a fossil. Tell me I'm here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-lean-to-you-numb-as-a-fossil-tell-me-i-m-here/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that's fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-the-world-goes-crazy-for-a-lovely-fossil-that-s-fine-with-me-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Every living being is also a fossil. Within it, all the way down to the microscopic structure of its proteins, it bears the traces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/every-living-being-is-also-a-fossil-within-it-all-the-way-down-to-the/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Any friend of fossil is a friend of mine... We’ve got to do everything we can to get people out of their automobiles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/any-friend-of-fossil-is-a-friend-of-mine-we-ve-got-to-do-everything/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [No matter what else happens, this is the century in which we must learn to live without fossil fuel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goodstein/no-matter-what-else-happens-this-is-the-century-in-which-we-must/) [David Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goodstein/) ## More by Richard Leakey > [I would hazard a guess that we have found fossilized human remains of at least a thousand different specimens in South and East Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-would-hazard-a-guess-that-we-have-found-fossilized-human-remains-of/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [It has taken biologists some 230 years to identify and describe three quarters of a million insects; if there are indeed at least thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/it-has-taken-biologists-some-230-years-to-identify-and-describe-three/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Sadly, I am not able to take part in the fieldwork myself so much anymore, as both of my legs were amputated following an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/sadly-i-am-not-able-to-take-part-in-the-fieldwork-myself-so-much/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Elephants can live to an age of up to 70 or 80 years and they have a good memory. 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To give meaning to where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/to-me-it-s-a-question-of-being-able-to-look-backward-and-give-the/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I, too, am convinced that our ancestors came from Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-too-am-convinced-that-our-ancestors-came-from-africa/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I have been raised to believe in freedom of thought and speech. If a minority wishes to accept that position it's their right. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-have-been-raised-to-believe-in-freedom-of-thought-and-speech-if-a/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [One should not forget that there are very few surviving items from this period, often just single, small bones, a tooth, a sliver of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/one-should-not-forget-that-there-are-very-few-surviving-items-from/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [For fossils to thrive, certain favorable circumstances are required. First of all, of course, remnants of life have to be there. These then need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/for-fossils-to-thrive-certain-favorable-circumstances-are-required/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The language of art is powerful to those who understand it, and puzzling to those who do not. 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A cow represents capital investment here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-land-is-not-in-the-least-bit-fertile-and-yet-the-cattle-herds/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The world's five thousand extant languages are products of our shared ability, but the five thousand cultures they create are separate from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-world-s-five-thousand-extant-languages-are-products-of-our-shared/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [We hope to find more pieces of the puzzle which will shed light on the connection between this upright, walking ape, our early ancestor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/we-hope-to-find-more-pieces-of-the-puzzle-which-will-shed-light-on/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) [Explore all 47 Richard Leakey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) ## More Creatures quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [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/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) Browse all 3,703 Creatures quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the remains you find indicate only where they became fossilized.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Leakey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy-to-forget-that-rather-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creatures" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy-to-forget-that-rather-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/richard-leakey-14374_creatures_when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy_1722754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the…” — Richard Leakey", "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": "Richard Leakey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When out fossil hunting, it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy-to-forget-that-rather-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/when-out-fossil-hunting-it-is-very-easy-to-forget-that-rather-than/#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 } } ] } ```