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Donald Carl Johanson (born June 28, 1943) is an American paleoanthropologist
Paleoanthropology

Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil Hominidae evidence such as Petrifaction bones and footprints....
. Along with Maurice Taieb
Maurice Taieb

Dr. Maurice Taieb, is a Tunisian born France geologist and paleoanthropologist who discovered the Hadar formation, recognised its potential importance to paleoanthropology and founded the International Afar Research Expedition ....
, and Yves Coppens
Yves Coppens

Yves Coppens is a French anthropology. He graduated from the University of Rennes. He has studied ancient Hominidaes and has had multiple published works on this topic, and has also produced a film....
 he is known for the discovery of the skeleton of the female hominid
Hominidae

The Hominidae form a taxonomic biological family, including four extant genus: Homo s, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.A number of known extinct genera are grouped with humans in the Hominina subtribe, others with orangutans in the Ponginae subtribe....
 australopithecine
Australopithecine

The term australopithecine refers to two very closely related genus within the Hominina subtribe of the Hominini tribe . They appeared in the Pliocene:...
 known as "Lucy
Lucy (Australopithecus)

Lucy is the common name of AL 288-1, the 40% complete skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis specimen discovered in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression....
", in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
.

nson was born in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
, and earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public university research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
 in 1966. He earned his master's degree
Master's degree

A master's degree provides a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of profession. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theory and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, Critical thinking and/or professional application; and the ability to problem solving a...
 in 1970 and his PhD
PHD

PHD may refer to:* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian reform organization* PHD, a track on The Crystal Method album Tweekend* PHD finger, a protein sequence...
 in 1974 from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
.

Johanson established the Institute of Human Origins, in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland, California and Emeryville, California....
 in 1981, which he later moved moved to Arizona State University
Arizona State University

Arizona State University is the largest public university research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 67,082 as of fall 2008....
 in 1998.

was discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia
Hadar, Ethiopia

Hadar is a village in Ethiopia, on the southern edge of the Afar Depression with a latitude and longitude of approximately . The village is known for the nearby archaeological site....
 on November 24, 1974, when Johanson, coaxed away from his paperwork by graduate student Tom Gray for a spur-of-the-moment survey, caught the glint of a white fossilized bone out of the corner of his eye, and recognized it as hominid.






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Donald Carl Johanson (born June 28, 1943) is an American paleoanthropologist
Paleoanthropology

Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil Hominidae evidence such as Petrifaction bones and footprints....
. Along with Maurice Taieb
Maurice Taieb

Dr. Maurice Taieb, is a Tunisian born France geologist and paleoanthropologist who discovered the Hadar formation, recognised its potential importance to paleoanthropology and founded the International Afar Research Expedition ....
, and Yves Coppens
Yves Coppens

Yves Coppens is a French anthropology. He graduated from the University of Rennes. He has studied ancient Hominidaes and has had multiple published works on this topic, and has also produced a film....
 he is known for the discovery of the skeleton of the female hominid
Hominidae

The Hominidae form a taxonomic biological family, including four extant genus: Homo s, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.A number of known extinct genera are grouped with humans in the Hominina subtribe, others with orangutans in the Ponginae subtribe....
 australopithecine
Australopithecine

The term australopithecine refers to two very closely related genus within the Hominina subtribe of the Hominini tribe . They appeared in the Pliocene:...
 known as "Lucy
Lucy (Australopithecus)

Lucy is the common name of AL 288-1, the 40% complete skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis specimen discovered in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression....
", in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
.

Biography


Early years

Johanson was born in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
, and earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public university research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
 in 1966. He earned his master's degree
Master's degree

A master's degree provides a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of profession. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theory and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, Critical thinking and/or professional application; and the ability to problem solving a...
 in 1970 and his PhD
PHD

PHD may refer to:* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian reform organization* PHD, a track on The Crystal Method album Tweekend* PHD finger, a protein sequence...
 in 1974 from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
.

Johanson established the Institute of Human Origins, in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland, California and Emeryville, California....
 in 1981, which he later moved moved to Arizona State University
Arizona State University

Arizona State University is the largest public university research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 67,082 as of fall 2008....
 in 1998.

"Lucy"

Lucy was discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia
Hadar, Ethiopia

Hadar is a village in Ethiopia, on the southern edge of the Afar Depression with a latitude and longitude of approximately . The village is known for the nearby archaeological site....
 on November 24, 1974, when Johanson, coaxed away from his paperwork by graduate student Tom Gray for a spur-of-the-moment survey, caught the glint of a white fossilized bone out of the corner of his eye, and recognized it as hominid. Forty percent of the skeleton was eventually recovered, and Johanson's girlfriend suggested she be named "Lucy" after the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

"'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'" is a song by English rock music band The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the group's 1967 album Sgt....
 which was played repeatedly during the night of the discovery. A bipedal, Lucy stood about three and a half feet tall, and confirmed Raymond Dart's theory that australopithecines walked upright. Johanson and his team were also able to deduce from Lucy's ribs that she was vegetarian, and from her curved finger bones that although bipedal she was probably also at home in trees.

Bibliography


See also

  • Australopithecus afarensis
    Australopithecus afarensis

    'Australopithecus afarensis' is an extinct hominid which lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. In common with the younger Australopithecus africanus, A....
  • List of fossil sites
    List of fossil sites

    This is a worldwide list of important and/or well-known localities where fossils have been found. Such locations may either be a geological formation or a single site....
     (with link directory)
  • List of hominina (hominid) fossils (with images)
  • Multi-regional origin
  • Single-origin hypothesis


External links