Original subtitles

(bees buzzing)

(bark cracking)

- [Narrator] 25 million years ago,

a new species appeared on earth:

the great apes.

Among them was one family with extraordinary abilities.

They were our distant ancestors.

Through evolution they gave rise to new,

more advanced species.

They ventured far and wide and invented hunting,

power, tools, love,

and soon war.

(dramatic music)

They competed with the great beasts,

conquered the planet, adapted to every climate.

(dramatic music)

They became us, Homo sapiens,

modern man.

(dramatic music)

Where and when did our lineage begin?

Who was the first of us?

What is that quality that makes us human?

The difference that sets us apart from other animals?

Thanks to the latest scientific discoveries,

we are about to take a journey into the depths of time

to find out which of our ancestors took

the decisive step

and gave birth to the first man.

(dramatic music)

Our family story begins 25 million years ago

at at time of intense global warming,

with the vast Tethys Ocean fragmenting

and closing off in the near east,

humid forests spread north from Africa.

Our distant ancestors followed the forest

and rapidly populated the ancient world.

They ruled the canopy,

a hundred different species.

Gigantopithecus, Ramapithecus,

Sivapithecus,

stretched from Europe to modern-day China.

This is the age of the planet of the apes.

Which of these great primates is our common ancestor?

The Mediterranean coast 13 million years ago

in modern-day Spain.

A humid tropical forest.

Here lives a creature with exceptional abilities.

This acrobat is Pierolapithecus.

The animal kingdom has never seen such a marvel.

This great ape is the origin of our family, but how?

What makes him our great grandfather?

We are only beginning to understand.

Pierola lives in the trees

and mainly eats fruit.

He is too heavy to walk on the branches,

so he hangs.

Though he does sometimes end up on two feet.

He can walk.

Contrary to common belief,

the ability to walk upright wasn't developed

on the ground, but up in the branches.

Bipedalism was not man's invention, but the apes.

This Pierola is a young male.

He left his family several days ago.

He now faces a difficult task:

being adopted by a new group.

And he's just discovered one.

His fate will be decided here.

But each group has its own territory

and intruders are rarely welcome.

A young female and her infant.

Mothers are especially weary.

Not easy to approach.

(chattering)

Up there, there is an older female.

Much easier to make contact.

A large male, clearly a dominant alpha male.

He seems calm,

but it is far too dangerous to approach.

To be accepted, he must first be noticed.

A tense moment.

Has the young female picked up his scent?

She's the most beautiful Pierola he's ever seen.

It seems to be going all right.

(screeching) (dramatic music)

But there's another story with the alpha male.

(screeching)

(whimpering)

He could kill him.

But for now it's just physical intimidation.

(whimpering)

The young male's first attempt ends in failure.

But his mood provokes an unexpected reaction.

Our ancestors possessed a new quality

previously unknown in the animal kingdom.

Something shared by a very few species.

Empathy.

Understanding the emotions of others.

(whooping)

Even extraordinary, they are affected by

the feelings of others.

Sympathy.

It's happening to the older female.

She feels the distress of the young male

and it makes her anxious.

She must act.

She wants to find out more about him.

Empathy is a powerful force.

It is the thing that allows us to live

in a society today.

(chattering)

Why does he need to be adopted by strangers?

It relates to the social structure of Pierolas.

The females never leave the group while

the males are forced to leave in adolescence.

(chattering)

What do the old female's gestures mean?

Will he be able to stay?

Not yet.

The young male keeps his distance.

He needs to sleep.

Most mammals only sleep for a few minutes at a time.

Not Pierolas.

In terms of sleeping, they are revolutionaries.

The Pierolas have come up with an extraordinary invention.

They build nests in the treetops.

But it takes a long time to learn

how to build a nest,

and the only way to learn is from mother.

They young male always slept in his mother's nest.

He still doesn't know how to make his own.

Up here, Pierolas are protected from predators,

and their leaf mats stop them from falling.

They can sleep all night without fear.

Long restorative nights.

(soft instrumental music)

Thanks to the miracle of sleep,

Pierolas improve their mental faculties.

Sleep allows our brains to sort information.

Not all of it received during the day is useful.

Our brain puts some in the trash

and stores the essential part in our memory.

(whooping)

All that while we sleep.

Remarkable.

Pierolas have passed this down to us.

Without this invention,

we could never have become humans.

This morning the group have come down

to the forest floor.

The young male followed them.

He wants to make contact with the group again.

Pierolas love the sweet taste of fruit,

but they have an advantage over other species.

Their stomachs can digest all sorts of food.

Well, they still have their favorites.

(birds chirping)

There they are.

(chattering)

The young male has made his choice

and will approach the older female.

Out of all the different foods in the forest,

some are highly poisonous.

How do they know what is edible and what is poisonous?

(chattering)

For Pierolas the answer is sharing experiences.

The mother teaches her young how to choose,

how to pick.

This knowledge is passed from generation to generation.

(chattering)

The beginning of a culture.

The older female can have a new contact.

Like all Pierolas, the young male knows how to give gifts.

Figs.

Will she accept them?

(birds chirping)

It's a good sign.

Now he can begin the conversation.

(chattering)

The language of the Pierolas mainly consists of grooming.

Grooming and caresses say far more than words.

But touching females in the group risks

angering the alpha male.

(screeching)

The females defend the young male against the alpha.

Their numbers make them stronger.

The alpha must back down.

(screeching)

Among Pierolas, the females have the power.

The young male has taken an important step.

He has become the old female's favorite.

Now it's the female's turn to caress.

(chattering)

But this seems like more than caressing.

What exactly does she want?

The young male has no experience of pleasure.

(chattering)

To relax the atmosphere,

Pierolas have invented a totally new behavior.

Laughing.

(laughing)

This development which resolves conflicts

is not a human invention, but an inheritance.

Our ancestors lived in an earthly paradise.

Fruits in abundance, fresh water available everywhere,

and in all seasons.

The only real dangers are the predators

that roam the floor of the great forest.

To detect them, Pierolas read the signs of the forest.

They have a deep understanding of their environment.

(bird squawking)

The cry of a bird alerts them.

The alarm sounds.

(whooping)

A tiger.

(whooping)

They have a different call for each predator.

(whooping)

(high-pitched whooping)

That means the alert is lifted.

They can go back now.

Pierolas live in a golden age for the great apes,

but this period of prosperity cannot last.

Great upheaval is on the horizon.

Africa is on a collision course with Europe.

Tectonic activity that will soon destroy the environment.

The young male remains outside the group.

He is cautious.

The alpha is still dangerous.

To be completely adopted,

he needs the alpha's consent.

He's perhaps not the best nest builder,

but he comes from a group that knows

how to catch tasty, little insects.

An amazing technique the golden-eyed female

has never seen before.

He uses this tech to catch termites.

There is nothing tastier than termites.

(soft instrumental music) (soft chattering)

This invention is crucial.

The stick is the first tool.

An extension of the hand which allows us

to perform new tasks.

An idea that will be invaluable to us.

They have understood.

The young male is now the main attraction of the group.

(whooping)

(dramatic music)

The infant is a victim of his greed.

(whooping)

He forgot his mother's teaching

and has been poisoned.

(whooping)

A fate suffered so often by the young.

(whooping)

The young male recognizes this poison.

The Pierolas already have some knowledge

of the curative powers of plants.

This knowledge varies between groups

and allows them to cure some ailments.

The young male seems to have some knowledge on this matter

that the group does not.

There are many different types.

Plants that put tapeworms to sleep.

Plants covered in tiny spines that trap

the sleeping worms.

Pierolas were herbalists.

(whooping)

(grunting)

The tale of this young Pierola may seem secondary,

but it tells another more powerful story.

The spread of knowledge.

Societies that force their young adults to leave

possess this quality.

The young depart with the knowledge of their group

and transmit it to other groups.

The infant is saved.

(chattering)

Thanks to the young male.

The young female has made her choice.

He must become part of the group.

(chattering)

It's her will against the alpha.

(chattering)

Pierola alpha males resist the pressure of the females

as long as possible.

But the females always win.

The alpha consents.

From now on the young male is part of the group.

(deep rumbling)

It's a sign.

The earth is moving and the great period

of climatic cooling is approaching.

(dramatic music)

(birds squawking)

Our ancestors had to leave to escape this place.

And so the great exodus begins.

Africa is on a collision course with Europe.

The climate of the planet is changing dramatically.

The humid forests of Europe are disappearing.

The same is happening in large parts of Asia,

where the forests of China and Japan are fragmenting.

The Asiatic great apes migrate towards South Asia.

They give rise to the ancestors of the gibbons

and the orangutans.

The African continent has just closed

the Strait of Gibraltar,

cut off from the water of the Atlantic.

The Mediterranean dries out and becomes a dead sea.

Pierolas and their relatives cross the dry Mediterranean.

They migrate towards Africa where the forest is spreading,

notably on the vast green plains of the Sahara.

Pierolas evolved and became a new species

with new more astonishing abilities.

This new ancestor was called Sahelanthropus, or Toumai.

Further south, we rejoin the path of our lineage,

seven million years later.

Toumai lived on the shores of Lake Chad.

They were probably our common ancestor

with modern chimpanzees.

Their inventions will make them amongst

the most dangerous and intelligent species

on the planet.

With them, the march towards humanity gathers space.

(tapping)

Toumais still sleep in the trees,

but have found plenty to do on the ground.

A much more varied food supply,

even if it's a little trickier to get to.

The descendant of the young female is now a Toumai.

Her appearance has changed,

but she has kept her golden eyes

passed down through her DNA.

Her son still has much to learn.

An infant's education now takes much longer

as well as knowing what to eat.

He must learn how to eat it.

(nut crunching)

Toumai use different tools for different foods,

but mastering each tool takes hours of practice.

(branch tapping)

(screeching)

Toumai try to benefit from all nature's gifts.

The females have a greater practical

instinct than the males.

(branch tapping)

(bees buzzing)

They imagine and invent new techniques.

Toumai have also improved this strange way

of getting around.

Walking on two feet.

It has many advantages,

such as being able to carry objects long distances.

The descendant of the alpha still dominates the group.

There have been considerable changes in

our ancestor's social structure.

Now the males have the power.

There is a hierarchy and the alpha knows

it must be respected.

He often feels the need to remind everyone.

(screeching)

It's usually the weakest that feel his force.

(screeching)

A society dominated by males

is a never-ending series of rivalries.

(banging)

The alpha is a type of ultra-dominant male

who always feels the need to show his force.

(growling)

Is this young one still alive?

He's okay, just a bit shaken up.

The alpha doesn't just rely on strength

to stay on top.

He builds friendships with several allies.

He praises a male, knowing he could be a threat one day.

He sweet talks the other female.

That good will could come in useful.

(whooping)

Alliances, strategies, betrayal,

conquest and power.

This type of society has given rise

to a new activity: politics.

The males spend most of their day plotting.

It is left to the females to find ways to feed

and educate their young.

No wonder that the females have become

more resourceful than the males.

(rock banging)

To the alpha, ruling the group also means

having access to the female.

The problem with bipedalism is that the male

can't see the females genitals as clearly.

How does he know if she's interested?

Before being able to mate,

he now has to check the willingness of the female.

(grunting)

(screeching)

She's not interested.

The new territory of the Toumai includes water

and all the food it contains.

Our ancestors are just getting used to this new element

and will encounter an abundance of riches.

The Toumai's greatest invention, however, is preference.

The male and the female can decide to

get away from the group

just to spend some time together.

For these two juveniles,

it's the first time.

(soft instrumental music)

(grunting)

A big step in relationships between males and females.

Before there was only sniffing, then mating.

It only lasted a minute.

Now they can spend time together

and exchange gestures of affection.

The great apes begin to feel their hearts beating,

their hair standing on end.

The great game of seduction.

(chattering) (water splashing)

She seeks his gaze.

He is transfixed.

She smells him.

They feel desire.

(grunting)

They give kisses and invent a new way of mating:

face-to-face.

No one has noticed that the infant has

strayed from the bank.

(water splashing)

(screeching)

Too late.

The little one's frail body is limp, lifeless.

(grunting)

Toumai are well aware of the importance of the group.

The loss of a member is heartbreaking.

(water splashing)

(screeching)

Life on the ground does have its advantages,

but there are far more predators than in the canopy.

That's why Toumai still depend on the trees.

(leaves rustling)

Something strange is happening in

our ancestor's minds.

The young female should've left the lifeless body behind,

but she refused.

(chattering)

(soft instrumental music)

Why?

What does she feel?

(grunting)

(soft instrumental music)

Something happened this morning.

Several unknown individuals were spotted

on the other side of the hill.

The three males of the group are very excited.

There under the large fig tree,

another group of Toumai.

The first time they've seen them.

Two very enticing females.

They have been eating overripe figs

and are now drunk.

This group have come here for the fermented fruits

that rot on the ground.

(grunting)

The alpha wants the females.

He wants what he sees.

But they belong to other males.

And he's an absolute giant.

What can he do?

(banging fruit)

A cunning plan is formulating inside the alpha's head.

A previously unimagined idea.

An idea that will make us the most dangerous

predator on the planet.

(soft dramatic music)

(branch tapping)

(dramatic music)

(growling)

(dramatic music)

(growling)

(screeching)

(rocks and branches thumping)

(dramatic music)

(grunting and growling)

(rocks and branches thumping)

The idea is to kill.

Killing one's own species.

Killing with premeditation in an organized way.

Killing to take the goods of others.

(dramatic music)

The Toumai have just invented war.

(dramatic music)

(growling)

They have conquered a new territory.

And with it, a tree full of fruit

and a few females.

War has its advantages.

From now on, the alpha group will occupy this land.

The young female still has a worrying

connection to her infant.

She is refusing to accept reality,

because reality has become unbearable.

(solemn instrumental music)

The infant is motionless,

but his body is still there.

What is it that lives in us

and vanishes so suddenly?

(grunting)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(leaves rustling)

(solemn instrumental music)

Toumai are starting to understand

the concept of death, the loss of life,

the loss of a being.

They know that their own lives will end.

Faced with suffering and confusion,

they gather around the body

of the departed friend.

Gathering, the feeling of being in a group,

united in space and time.

(singing in foreign language)

The beginning of a ritual,

a first funeral ceremony.

For many years, we believed that awareness

of death made us human.

Not anymore.

Today we know that we share this knowledge

with many other species, including chimpanzees.

(singing in foreign language)

Awareness of the passage of time

is a huge leap forward in our family history.

(singing in foreign language)

Five million years ago Africa began to dry out.

The great forests of the Sahara

receded and placed pressure on

the descendants of the Toumai.

They separate into several families,

some evolve along the lines of

the chimpanzees and gorillas.

They abandon bipedalism and invent a new way

of getting around on four feet.

Others evolve along the line of humans.

They are spread throughout Africa,

especially in the east.

Here we find the great family of Australopithecus.

Between four and two million years ago,

there is a great diaspora.

Afarensis,

able,

africanus,

Kenyanthropus,

anamensis,

garhi.

Around two million years ago,

a new character appeared in South Africa.

He would go on to radically alter our history.

We named him sediba.

Is he an Australopithecus or the first man?

That question hasn't been solved.

Sediba lived in the south of the African continent.

Drought increasingly affects this part of Africa,

and will play a considerable role

in the development of our ancestors.

Despite spending the majority of their time on the ground,

sediba are still dependent on the trees,

the only protection from the man-eating beasts

that roam the land at that time.

(screaming)

They never stray too far.

The dry season is at its peak.

There's no more fruit on the trees.

The only food is underground.

Roots and bulbs are difficult to find

and dig out of the ground,

and they need a lot of chewing

before they can be swallowed.

But that's all there is.

Hours are spent chewing this tough food.

This young male is still part of the group,

though he has no female.

The females now live in harem with

the strongest males.

These two females are part of the alpha's harem.

When a carcass is left by the larger predators,

there's only enough for the alpha and his females.

A few bones to suck,

but only the strongest have access.

That's why the females have accepted this new arrangement.

Less power for more protection.

Sediba don't live very long.

This old female can no longer chew.

The marrow is all she can swallow.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

The alpha doesn't share with the others.

The old female would already be dead

without the young male.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

By chewing her food, he keeps her alive.

Empathy at work again.

This extreme scarcity of food is driving

out our species to extinction.

If they don't find an alternative,

they will all die.

They must adapt.

Fortunately, sediba possesses a highly developed brain

and an array of tools and techniques.

Inside the brain of one of them,

a revolutionary idea is taking shape.

(grunting)

(birds squawking)

If the meat won't come to them,

they will have to go to it.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Over there.

The alpha's female wants to take the risk.

The young male is ready to.

None before them have tried this.

Against the wishes of the alpha,

they will attempt the impossible.

(yelling)

How could they be so foolish?

Neither of them has never been so far from the trees.

The desire to eat meat outweighs the dangers

of the savanna.

The brave ones that took this reckless decision

could not have known the profound effect

it would have on the history of our species.

(grunting)

(birds squawking)

(screaming) (dramatic music)

A fresh carcass.

An abundance of meat.

(grunting)

They've never seen so much.

The first pieces they choose

are those that contain fat, the tastiest.

Fat is so rare in nature,

and yet so rich in energy,

and important for the digestion of animal proteins.

The sediba pick out the parts that contain the most.

The marrow, the entrails,

the brain, the tongue, the eyes.

(laughing and grunting)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(birds chirping)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

The two explorers are back,

their arms laden with the most wonderful food.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Food for everyone.

What a success.

A solution for the future of the species?

But the alpha is not ready to digest this humiliation.

(growling)

The female is part of his harem.

She has betrayed him.

Sometimes the females do swap males,

but a possessive alpha like him

can't lose one of his females.

It's a threat to his power.

(growling and grunting)

The young male can do nothing.

Here might is right.

(growling and grunting)

He humiliates her in front of everyone,

punishes her and isolates here from the others.

(soft instrumental music)

The old female has nothing to lose.

She's the only one that can come to her help.

(groaning)

The harshness of this life does not favor the females.

They have lost a lot of their power

to the benefit of the large males.

The first effects of the meat are immediate.

It's easier to digest than roots

and the body feels lighter.

Meat gives the sensation of well-being

and a sounder sleep.

The second effect will take hundreds

of thousands of years.

Less energy consumed by the stomach

means more energy for the brain.

Thanks to that, our mental capacity will

improve and our bodies become taller and slimmer.

Although physical force still dominates,

it won't be enough to adapt.

A new generation is coming

whose ingenuity will prove the decisive advantage.

Sediba already use rocks to break and crush roots.

But he has a new thought.

The young male has an idea that could change their lives.

Maybe even the future of his species.

If he can cut the carcasses of animals

killed by predators into smaller pieces,

they can carry them to a safe place.

If it works, they will have provisions for several days.

For this they will need a range of new tools

to cut and slice the flesh, break the bones.

He shapes them out of a rock.

These shards are as sharp as razors.

(yelling)

It will take thousands of years to master the technique.

(yelling)

One of the great advantages of our ancestors

relied on their capacity for imagination

and on the language they were beginning to articulate.

They were capable of conceiving a project,

weighing up different aspects,

and anticipating future needs.

The young male has decided to train the group

to find carcasses and bring them back.

(rocks banging)

He lays out his vision.

(speaking in foreign language)

His words evoke images of abundant feasts.

(speaking in foreign language)

He captures their attention.

(speaking in foreign language)

He wins them over with his words.

(speaking in foreign language)

The alpha understands that his dominance is under threat,

his physical force no longer sufficient.

(speaking in foreign language)

So he takes the young male's idea.

(inspiring instrumental music)

The dream of plentiful food

is leading them into dangerous territory.

Sediba are prey.

Without their trees they are vulnerable.

And yet they march into the unknown,

driven by an urge greater than any other to eat.

They explore a continent inhabited by great carnivores

on their hunt for carcasses left by

the kings of the savanna.

Who would think that this band of scavengers

would soon dominate the planet?

(inspiring dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

When a carcass is found,

everyone should take their turn.

First the top predators.

Then the hyenas.

The vultures, and the rest.

It's crucial to get there at the right time.

The alpha doesn't know that yet.

(soft dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

(lion growling)

(screaming)

(dramatic music)

(screaming)

(lion growling)

(coughing)

(lion roaring)

(cub roaring)

(screaming and gasping)

(speaking in foreign language)

Their tree.

They should never have left their tree.

It is perhaps at this moment

that the fate of the entire human race

hangs in the balance.

They could retreat to the safety of the tree

and risk dying of starvation.

Or they could head into the unknown,

risking being attacked,

but having the chance to eat.

What should they do?

The young female doesn't know what to choose.

Everything is telling them to seek shelter.

Is there another life beyond the trees?

The group splits into two factions.

Some follow the young female while the others

head back to the tree.

In fact, it is the weaker ones that will

make the right choice.

They will risk everything for a better life.

The strong, never one to give up their privileges.

Those that leave are guided by the imagination.

Open spaces, prey in abundance,

food for everyone.

They dream of another world,

a better world up there over the mountains.

Even the old female,

her energy nearly spent,

is galvanized by hope.

(inspiring dramatic music)

This world does exist.

A vast land of riches.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

If some of us hadn't had this astonishing courage,

we wouldn't be here today.

Those that have chosen to stay near the trees

will survive for a time.

They will be known as Paranthropus,

or almost humans.

But they will not be able to adapt

to the next climatic changes.

We thought that Lucy, the most famous Australopithecus,

was the grandmother of humanity.

We were wrong.

Lucy was in fact one of these almost humans

and her descendants died out

a million years later.

Those that left the savanna

freed themselves from a life in the trees,

and had to invent a new way of living.

The world isn't exactly as they imagined.

There are riches all around,

but there are just as many traps.

Limitless space lies ahead of us

and nothing will stop our advance.

Is this how man became free?

Is this how we became truly human?

Some believe so.

But is there still something missing?

After the sediba, a new species emerges,

a very mobile man.

The next character in our story is

an unparalleled explorer, Homo erectus.

Five million years ago the two Americas collided.

This led to the creation of the Gulf Stream.

This warm current travels from the Gulf of Mexico

up towards the Arctic and plunges into the ocean,

taking the heat with it.

The polar icecap formed,

the earth cooled and entered the Ice Age.

The green plains of the Sahara dried out.

Two million years ago,

populations of herbivores left Africa

in search of new pastures.

Homo erectus followed.

Some of our ancestors migrated to Europe,

others to Asia.

They crossed mountains and deserts,

forests and swamps.

They traveled unthinkable distances into the unknown.

Driven by the spirit of conquest

passed down to them from their ancestors,

they migrate to the far east.

(inspiring instrumental music)

The north of China, home of the Chinese Homo erectus.

Homo erectus possesses the anatomy of a champion.

This man of the plains is born to run.

A vertical body propelled by his long legs

and balanced by his arms.

He is equipped with an extraordinary internal

cooling system, a body covered in short hairs,

sweat glands that allow perspiration,

and in his brain

a blood-purifying system

that regulates body temperature.

This gives him the most stamina of any living creature.

Homo erectus has now become a big game hunter.

Like wolves they track their prey

across great distances.

They are slower, but can run a lot longer

than their prey.

When the prey is exhausted,

they set the trap.

For Homo erectus, power is not reserved

for the males.

The difference in size between males

and females has reduced.

The rule of the strongest has been replaced

by the leadership of the cleverest.

In this group, a female is in charge.

Her ability to anticipate,

her intelligence and her political skill

have made her their chief.

(soft dramatic music)

(screaming)

(sweeping dramatic music)

No longer scavengers competing with vultures,

thanks to their weapons and collective organization,

Homo erectus now compete with the top predators.

But they have become dependent on their prey.

They must follow them wherever they go.

They have become nomads.

And so they build shelters on their travels.

Their ancestors adapted to their environment.

They are transforming it.

Finding a site to set up camp.

They are building the first shelters.

Sometimes enclosed by fences,

camps that allow them to protect themselves.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Homo erectus has created a more complex society.

Each member of the group now has a role

often according to their particular skills.

Some are skilled at shaping rocks.

Others for cutting meat.

Social functions appear for tanning hides

or building shelters.

Work and the distribution of tasks

are now a part of human life,

with all the pressures and conflicts that come with them.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Clearly some do more than others.

The leader of the group must maintain justice.

The most important moment of the day

is when the food is shared out.

Serving some first with the best cuts,

giving a little extra to someone she may need soon,

establishing a hierarchy and nurturing alliances.

The fine details of the social life

require political skill.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

To protect their bodies,

Homo erectus have clothes made from plants,

hides, and bark.

(thunder clapping)

(flies buzzing)

But this brings its own problems.

Parasites have found a new home.

A body covered in thin visible skin

is easy and enticing prey for bloodsuckers.

(thunder clapping)

They no longer fear predators.

But another enemy now stalks them.

More dangerous, more ruthless.

(thunder clapping)

The world is still full of unexplained phenomena.

Homo erectus has an inquiring mind,

trying to make sense of the mysteries

that surround him.

One of the greatest is about to be revealed.

(thunder clapping)

(yelling in rudimentary language)

(dramatic music)

It's here.

(thunder clapping)

This savage beast appears in some dry

seasons to take lives.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(dramatic music)

It is a huge creature.

They must prepare to fight.

(yelling in rudimentary language)

(fire crackling)

They are defeated.

(solemn dramatic music)

They save whatever they can.

(yelling in rudimentary language)

(solemn dramatic music)

(fire crackling)

(solemn dramatic music)

In a few hours, the fire has destroyed their world.

Their camp has gone up in smoke

and the herds have deserted the landscape.

But Homo erectus is about to make a discovery.

What is that powerful odor?

What are these mouth-watering smells?

(speaking in rudimentary language)

An animal has been trapped in the fire.

(grunting)

Its flesh is still good and has a delicious taste.

This is perhaps how Homo erectus discovered

this remarkable property of fire

to cook food.

As well as the taste, they will soon notice

that the meat is easier to chew and digest.

And what about those awful roots?

Cooked they are delicious.

They require 16 times less energy to digest.

An amazing discovery.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Cooked food will allow us to reduce the size

of our jaw muscles and develop our brains.

We will walk with a lighter step

and think clearer.

Our brains will become high-powered machines

capable of associations,

constructed thoughts, and new emotions.

It is likely that the aesthetic sense

developed at this time.

Shapes and lights elicited new sensations.

We were affected by the beauty of the world.

(majestic music)

(wind howling)

They are all dreaming about that delicious food,

but lack the key ingredient.

(soft dramatic music)

Fire.

If only they knew how to obtain it.

(soft dramatic music)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

That one looks more and seems alone.

Maybe they can capture it.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Another group.

They have captured the beast.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(flames crackling)

Technology.

In this new world nothing is more important.

They are ready to fight to obtain it.

(screaming)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

They could fight, but the young chief

has a different idea.

His clan know how to control fire.

The other has a greater skill in working

hides and accessories.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

This period saw the first instances of trade.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Through objects, the techniques that go with them

travel between clans.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(blowing)

A new era for humanity.

The exchange of knowledge.

Thanks to traditions and language,

knowledge accumulates and the spread of skills accelerates

over vast distances.

(laughing)

From now on everything will move a lot faster.

No wonder the use of fire appeared so

suddenly and across the entire world.

The young chief is attracted to this woman.

Her face stirs something in him.

At this point in our history,

the first real couples begin to appear.

Selecting, desiring, and seeking intimate moments alone.

(soft instrumental music)

Aesthetics now play a role in sexual relationships.

Bodies are covered in colors.

Styles, decorations to arouse.

Sexuality brings people together,

but something else is happening.

A story of bonds that build and grow and last.

The story of love is still being told.

The domestication of fire changed the lives

of the first humans and gave them warmth,

protection from insects and predators,

cured their ailments, illuminated the dark,

sharpened the points on their spears,

made them stronger.

But the greatest advance was in

the domain of speech.

Thanks to the development of our left brain

and a small evolution in the throat,

the larynx, our speech became so articulate

that we could evoke the past,

(speaking in rudimentary language)

speak of the future,

(speaking in rudimentary language)

recount stories,

(speaking in rudimentary language)

imagine.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

The old woman is a storyteller.

Who are we?

Where are we from?

She tells the story of these people

and their exploits.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

These tales give meaning to their lives.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

Perhaps it is this that makes us human.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

The first man is the one that can tell his story.

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(soft instrumental music)

Homo erectus will continue to populate the earth.

With their skills they will adapt to every climate.

Different populations begin to diverge

genetically and give rise to new types of man.

In furthest China, Homo erectus would become

Beijing Man, a giant.

In Indonesia, Solo Man.

At his edges on Flores Island,

a tiny man of no more than a meter.

In central Asia, he is Denisova Man.

In the cold of Europe,

Homo erectus has become a Neanderthal,

a massive heavy man of incredible strength.

He can withstand extreme cold.

His skin whitens to better absorb

the weak sunlight.

His eyes and hair grow lighter.

In Africa, he becomes Homo sapiens,

and it is through him that the greatest

changes will occur.

At least six species of humans populate the ancient world.

Each develops according to their environment

and creates its own culture.

But this multi-faceted humanity won't last long.

Homo sapiens will soon replace them all.

(soft instrumental music)

Around a 100,000 years ago,

Homo sapiens turned the world of man upside down,

invented more complex societies,

and proved more inventive in every area.

(birds chirping)

(speaking in rudimentary language)

(screaming)

(laughing)

How will he go on to invent art, skill,

beliefs, magic,

writing,

medicine and science?

His extraordinary imagination certainly helps,

but so does the knowledge accumulated

by his forefathers.

The Pierola, Toumai,

sediba, and Homo erectus.

They have left us a heritage of millions

of years of evolution,

one through the impulse to live

and a fierce desire to learn.

With this knowledge passed down through the ages,

this great dreamer gave rise to the diversity

of peoples today.

(soft instrumental music)

A hundred thousand years ago,

Homo sapiens left, just like his ancestors,

to conquer the world.

He left Africa and spread out across the globe.

He mastered navigation.

Crossed the seas and vast spacial expanses.

He traveled to Australia,

to America over the Bering Strait

and soon inhabited the entire planet.

He occasionally intermingled with those

that went before, but everywhere he went

the other species of man disappeared.

His appearance changed according to climate and place.

His skin, his hair, the shape of his eyes.

From him arose a multitude of peoples,

all looking different,

but deep down the genes are the same.

Genes developed through millions of years of evolution.

He is the father of the entire human race

on earth today.

He is the only human on earth,

but his presence shines with a million fires.

(dramatic music)