Mary Leakey

“No amounts of stone and bone could yield the kinds of information that the paintings gave so freely.”

“Theories come and go, but fundamental data always remain the same.”

“She stops, pauses, turns to the left to glance at some possible threat or irregularity, and then continues to the north. This motion, so intensely human, transcends time.”

“Now this really is something to put on the mantelpiece.”

“I quite liked having a baby - I think I won't put it more strongly than that. But I had no intention of allowing motherhood to disrupt my work as an archeologist.”

“I got too old to live in the bush. You really need to be youngish and healthy, so it seemed stupid to keep going.”

“I had never passed a single school exam, and clearly never would.”

“I go once a year to the Serengeti to see the wildebeest migrations because that means a lot to me, but I avoid Olduvai if I can because it is a ruin. It is most depressing.”

“I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.”

“The first money I ever earned was for drawing stone tools.”

“I dug things up. I was curious. I liked to draw what I found.”

“Basically, I have been compelled by curiosity.”

“You only find what you are looking for, really, if the truth be known.”

“I never felt interpretation was my job.”