Louis Leakey quotes

Louis Leakey, a renowned archaeologist and paleontologist, made ground-breaking discoveries in East Africa. Born in 1903, Leakey dedicated his life to unearthing human remains, shedding light on our ancient origins. His expeditions in the Olduvai Gorge led to stunning finds like Homo habilis, challenging previous assumptions about early humans. Leakey's work revolutionized the field, earning him global recognition. Today, his discoveries continue to shape our understanding of human evolution. Learn more about Louis Leakey's remarkable contributions to paleoanthropology and the rich history of East Africa's prehistoric past.

We set up the promised clinic for the sick and wounded Masai.

- Louis Leakey

Sometime during the many millions of years that have elapsed since mammalian faunas came into existence, some sort of island crossed from West Africa to South America.

- Louis Leakey

When my father arrived in Kenya, he had found the Kikuyu way of life similar to that of the British at the time the Romans invaded England 2,000 years ago.

- Louis Leakey

I saw what looked like another fallen tree in front of me and put my foot on it to cross over. At that moment it reared up in front of me-the biggest python I had ever seen!

- Louis Leakey

I felt that in time simple stone tools would be found in early Pleistocene in England.

- Louis Leakey

The author knows just what he wants to illustrate and how he would like it to be done.

- Louis Leakey

I put a bullet into the back of the crocodile's neck just behind the head, thus killing it. If a crocodile is hit in any other part of its anatomy it disappears into the water and is irrecoverable.

- Louis Leakey

To save an animal's life in order that it may suffer indefinitely is something I would never condone.

- Louis Leakey

At Olduvai, for 20 years, Mary and I had investigated and made a general survey of the overall geology.

- Louis Leakey

Most Kikuyu marriages were arranged on the basis of what is described by anthropologists as the bride price.

- Louis Leakey

The majority of people in Angola were not provided with any kind of schooling and were completely illiterate, very badly paid, and treated almost as slaves.

- Louis Leakey

Far too often animals are put to sleep when they could be saved through proper care and nursing.

- Louis Leakey

There is tragic evidence to show that the paintings at the French prehistoric art sites are deteriorating.

- Louis Leakey

The Dalmatian breed of dog has many primitive characteristics.

- Louis Leakey

I have examined the stomach contents of seven aardvarks.

- Louis Leakey

The trip I made to Angola to study the prehistoric contents of the gravel beds as a means of deciding the age of the deposits and their economic potential was the first time prehistory had ever been used for such a purpose.

- Louis Leakey

South Africa had a long record of studies in prehistory, going back to the end of the last century.

- Louis Leakey

Sometimes string figures were used to illustrate stories, as in the case of an Eskimo example that depicts a man catching a salmon. Sometimes they had magic or religious significance.

- Louis Leakey

Colonial governors and senior civil servants are not easy people to argue with, and I was not popular because of my criticism of the colonial service in Kenya.

- Louis Leakey

The Foxhall jaw has now been missing for many years.

- Louis Leakey

Raising funds for my fourth expedition proved to be very difficult.

- Louis Leakey

Although we followed that hyena for the best part of half an hour, we never caught up with it.

- Louis Leakey