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ELLA AL-SHAMAHI:
Where do we come from?

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When did our story really begin?

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Who were the first Homo sapiens?

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Not just humans
who looked like us,

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but people who thought

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and behaved as we do.

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People we would recognize
as truly one of us.

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We Homo sapiens first appeared

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over 300,000 years ago.

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We're not
the first species of human.

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We're not the biggest,
we're not the strongest.

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We're just the latest
in a long line of other humans.

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Yet a few hundred
thousand years later,

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we are the only ones left.

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How on Earth did this happen?

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♪ ♪

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I'm Ella Al-Shamahi,

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a paleoanthropologist.

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People spend their whole lives

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trying to find a fossil as
significant as this.

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Our story
is stranger and more dramatic

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than most of us realize.

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Thanks to groundbreaking
fossil evidence,

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and advances in DNA science,

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we are able to picture the lives

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of our ancestors
as never before.

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From our very earliest origins

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to our migration to
every corner of the globe.

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From the first marks
we made on cave walls

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to the rise of cities.

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These are the unlikely events
that forged us.

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Moments of chance,

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but also ingenuity,
of beauty and destruction.

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This is us.

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This is our story.

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And it's what happened

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in the 99% of our history

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before the invention of writing,

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when our story wasn't written
in books,

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but was written
in our bones and DNA.

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This is
the story of what made us...

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"Human."

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"Origins."

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Right now, on "NOVA."

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♪ ♪

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(birds chirping)

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(giraffe bleating)

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AL-SHAMAHI:
We're used to living in a world
filled with other species.

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Over eight million
share our planet with us.

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But there is only one of us.

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Only one human species,
Homo sapiens.

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And so,
it's really easy to forget

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that it wasn't always like this.

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The world before us was alive
with other human activity.

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♪ ♪

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When Homo sapiens first emerged,

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there were at least
six different human species.

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And using
the latest scientific data,

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we can reconstruct what
they might have looked like.

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There were
so many species of human.

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You had Homo erectus,
an ancestor of ours

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and an incredibly successful

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species because they lived
for about two million years.

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Now Homo erectus was
actually the first in our genus

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to leave Africa.

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And we also think that they were
the first to use fire.

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There's also
Homo neanderthalensis,

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who you probably
know as the Neanderthals.

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Neanderthals lived in Europe
all the way into Central Asia.

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They were cold-adapted.

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And they were expert hunters.

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There was also
Homo floresiensis,

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who some people affectionately
call "the Hobbit."

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Because they were
only about a meter tall,

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so that's about
three and a half feet.

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Tiny, and yet adapted
for living on an island.

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It seems like
a fantastical world.

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And I can't help it; it reminds
me of "Lord of the Rings."

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Only instead of
a world with elves and dwarfs,

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you had a magical place
with other humans.

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♪ ♪

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The human family tree
had many branches.

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But which branch did
Homo sapiens first emerge from?

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We don't know for sure,

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but we're getting closer
than ever to finding out.

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♪ ♪

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For the longest time,

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we thought we knew
the origins of our species.

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We thought we began 200,000
years ago in East Africa.

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♪ ♪

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But new revelations
from out here in Morocco,

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from a part of Africa
that people

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weren't really considering,
are forcing us to rethink

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our very first steps
on this planet.

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In a remote cave
in North West Africa,

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a chance discovery

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uncovered some mysterious
human remains.

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Someone was living here.

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Thousands of years
earlier than we imagined.

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(speaking Arabic):

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ABDELOUAHED BEN-NCER
(speaking Arabic):

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AL-SHAMAHI:

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BEN-NCER:

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AL-SHAMAHI:
This is Jebel Irhoud 1,
and it was a complete mystery,

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because some of its features
are very much like us,

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very Homo sapiens and others are
much older, much more primitive.

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So, if you look at
this individual's face.

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Its face looks a lot like ours.

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The Homo sapiens face
is incredibly gracile.

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We have incredibly
delicate features.

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They kind of tuck in under
our braincase.

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If you imagine
a prehistoric human,

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you kind of always imagine
a much kind of more prognathic,

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we say, much more kind of
jutting forwards face.

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This individual's face
is much more tucked under,

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it's much shorter.

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But there are some features
that aren't us.

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Notice this brow ridge up here,
this supraorbital structure.

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Now look at me.

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You don't get modern
humans walking around today

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with these massive
things on top of their eyes.

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Now the brain case is not us.

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Can you see how round
my brain case is, it's globular.

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Whereas this
is almost stretched out,

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so it almost looks like somebody
has got my braincase,

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but kind
of stretched the back of it out.

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It's almost like...

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...straight on
the face is Homo sapiens,

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but from the other angles,
it's not us.

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♪ ♪

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This skull was an enigma.

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An anomaly
that didn't fit neatly

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into the human family tree
we thought we knew.

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It looked partly
like Homo sapiens.

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And partly like
an earlier kind of human.

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So, the question was,
was this a different species,

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or could it be
an early version of us?

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(tools clanking, dirt brushing)

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Several decades after

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the initial discoveries
came a breakthrough.

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Archaeologists
uncovered another 16 fossils.

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All with
the same blend of features.

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And taken
together with the old finds,

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a fuller picture
started to emerge.

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BEN-NCER:

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AL-SHAMAHI (speaking Arabic):

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BEN-NCER:

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AL-SHAMAHI:

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BEN-NCER:

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AL-SHAMAHI:

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BEN-NCER:

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AL-SHAMAHI:
With each new find
the evidence grew.

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These were
not some other species.

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But Homo sapiens, with hints
of an earlier ancestor.

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But it wasn't
until archaeologists

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were able to more
accurately date the remains,

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that the final piece
of the puzzle fell into place.

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The archaeologists,
using new and improved

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dating techniques,
were able

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to give us dates for these
fossils.

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And they tell us
that these individuals

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lived about 300,000 years ago.

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And that is
mind-boggling because

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we thought our species was only
about 200,000 years old.

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What these fossils tell us

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is that our species,

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Homo sapiens, is 100,000 years
older than we thought.

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We are much
older than we realized.

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This fossil
went from being enigmatic

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and a, basically a mystery,

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to being one
of the most important fossils

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in our whole field.

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♪ ♪

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Thousands of
miles from East Africa

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where many anthropologists
thought we began,

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and far older than expected,

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these are the earliest
Homo sapiens ever found.

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And they have
forced us to re-think

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other finds across Africa.

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Which are painting
an entirely new picture

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of our origins,
suggesting Jebel Irhoud...

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...was just one of many emerging
Homo sapiens populations.

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It's... (exhales)
it's a bit like having a peek

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behind the curtain of evolution.

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This is a stage
in the journey to becoming us.

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I wonder what it would feel
like to come face to face

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with one of the people
from Jebel Irhoud.

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(wind blowing)

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If we were to look into
their eyes...

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...into those quite delicate
features...

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...would we see ourselves
within them?

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The answer is they were not
modern humans like us, not yet.

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(fire crackling)

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They were an earlier stage
in our evolutionary journey,

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bridging the gap between us

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and our more
ancient human ancestors.

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Our emergence was actually slow,
and honestly, at the beginning

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we were just not that special.

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Now, early iterations
of Homo sapiens

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like Jebel Irhoud were
popping up all over Africa.

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Many anthropologists once
believed in a single origin,

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a sole cradle of humanity
in East Africa,

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but our story is far richer

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and more interesting.

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The latest evidence
suggests the traits that make us

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who we are today,

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emerged in different places,

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across thousands of miles,

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and over hundreds of thousands
of years.

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Appearing bit by bit.

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Like sparks igniting
across the African continent.

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♪ ♪

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(thunder rumbling)

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And yet,

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Homo sapiens could have
easily vanished without trace.

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(lightning striking,
thunder rumbling)

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Because just as we were finding
our place in the world...

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...something threatened
to wipe us out altogether.

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It's in East Africa's
Great Rift Valley

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that we can trace
the next chapter of our story.

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This dynamic landscape

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holds some of the clearest
evidence

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of the forces that set

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our species on a radically
new path.

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When they say
the Great Rift Valley

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of East Africa
is a dramatic place...

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they're not kidding.

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I mean, look at it.

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I can literally hear it
bubbling behind me

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and it's the result of
a geological process

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that sees three tectonic plates
tearing

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away from each other,

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which results in
a dynamic landscape.

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And even though

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this part doesn't look that
hospitable,

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it has been a home to people

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for a very long time.

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In fact, the conditions here

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for fossil preservation
are so good,

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we know that is has been a home

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to people for millions of years
because of the wealth

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of archaeological evidence
found here.

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This is one of the most
fossil rich regions in Africa.

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Its unusual geology
has preserved human remains,

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but it also offers

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a glimpse into the forces
we think drove our evolution.

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So, within the lake beds

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here, if you dig deep,

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you can actually
extract sediment cores.

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Now one here in Ethiopia
was about 280 meters deep.

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So that represents
over 600,000 years.

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And within that sediment,

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it's a bit like a time machine
because

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bits of ancient
environment are trapped.

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00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,033
By analyzing
these sediment layers...

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...scientists have uncovered
a window...

257
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,200
...into the world some of the
earliest Homo sapiens

258
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,400
were living in.

259
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,133
(thunder rumbling)

260
00:19:27,533 --> 00:19:30,100
Over tens of thousands of years,

261
00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:33,400
wild climate swings
engulfed Africa.

262
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,933
(splashing footsteps)

263
00:19:35,933 --> 00:19:38,833
Thrusting the different
fledgling

264
00:19:38,833 --> 00:19:41,666
populations of Homo sapiens...

265
00:19:41,666 --> 00:19:45,400
(thunder rumbling,
lightning striking)

266
00:19:46,966 --> 00:19:49,766
...into a landscape of extreme

267
00:19:49,766 --> 00:19:52,200
and unpredictable change.

268
00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:56,233
♪ ♪

269
00:19:59,966 --> 00:20:02,233
(waves crashing)

270
00:20:03,833 --> 00:20:06,366
Ecosystems were transformed.

271
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,833
Rivers and lakes swelled.

272
00:20:22,133 --> 00:20:24,733
Cutting people off.

273
00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:33,733
Elsewhere,
grasslands turned to desert.

274
00:20:38,866 --> 00:20:41,966
Creating
a struggle for survival.

275
00:20:46,966 --> 00:20:51,466
That could have wiped
Homo sapiens out altogether.

276
00:20:55,233 --> 00:20:59,500
(baby crying)

277
00:21:00,700 --> 00:21:04,333
But it didn't,
it had the opposite effect.

278
00:21:05,333 --> 00:21:08,100
It helped drive us forward.

279
00:21:15,366 --> 00:21:17,066
Under pressure,

280
00:21:17,066 --> 00:21:19,800
isolated Homo sapiens
populations both learnt

281
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,366
new skills
and genetically adapted

282
00:21:22,366 --> 00:21:24,533
to the challenging conditions.

283
00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:31,100
People with minds able
to innovate

284
00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:34,866
had a better chance of
staying alive.

285
00:21:39,900 --> 00:21:41,733
Then, as their climate
continued to change,

286
00:21:41,733 --> 00:21:43,566
the surviving groups

287
00:21:43,566 --> 00:21:46,233
came back together,

288
00:21:46,233 --> 00:21:49,566
they shared skills,
and crucially,

289
00:21:49,566 --> 00:21:51,166
interbred.

290
00:21:53,166 --> 00:21:57,866
Passing their unique genes
onto their children.

291
00:21:57,866 --> 00:21:59,533
(water trickling)

292
00:21:59,533 --> 00:22:01,100
It was a process

293
00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:05,666
that began to change
our ancestors permanently.

294
00:22:20,633 --> 00:22:24,633
The people who survived
emerged stronger than ever.

295
00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:44,266
(animal bleating)

296
00:22:44,266 --> 00:22:47,433
Today, most of us live
in towns and cities.

297
00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:53,700
And so, the reality of
being affected by the climate

298
00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:56,133
as a result of being
a nomadic person kind of

299
00:22:56,133 --> 00:22:57,966
escapes us,
but you've actually got

300
00:22:57,966 --> 00:22:59,000
a really good example

301
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,566
here with the Afar people.

302
00:23:02,166 --> 00:23:03,700
They are nomadic and so they get

303
00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:06,133
pushed and pulled
around the landscape.

304
00:23:08,666 --> 00:23:11,400
And it would have been
very similar with our ancestors,

305
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:13,766
but actually,
in a more extreme fashion.

306
00:23:17,133 --> 00:23:18,766
These different groups,

307
00:23:18,766 --> 00:23:21,233
as they were moving around,
would have at times met

308
00:23:21,233 --> 00:23:23,533
and when they did,
they would have, of course,

309
00:23:23,533 --> 00:23:26,966
shared skills
and knowledge and DNA.

310
00:23:31,966 --> 00:23:34,933
It was this mixing of groups
that ultimately brought

311
00:23:34,933 --> 00:23:37,900
us closer to becoming
the Homo sapiens

312
00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:39,200
we are today.

313
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,533
There's this new exciting theory

314
00:23:46,533 --> 00:23:50,033
that suggests that our origins
as a species are so much more

315
00:23:50,033 --> 00:23:53,666
complicated and dynamic,
involving not just East Africa,

316
00:23:53,666 --> 00:23:56,200
but the whole
of the African continent.

317
00:23:58,066 --> 00:24:01,400
Africa was a continent rich
in diversity,

318
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,866
and climate acted
as a sort of catalyst,

319
00:24:04,866 --> 00:24:07,700
blending these various
groups together.

320
00:24:09,333 --> 00:24:11,133
And so,
we were formed as a result

321
00:24:11,133 --> 00:24:15,700
of a mosaic of these different
populations across Africa.

322
00:24:18,166 --> 00:24:20,133
It was our diversity,

323
00:24:20,133 --> 00:24:22,533
our resilience in the face
of climate change.

324
00:24:24,066 --> 00:24:26,533
It shaped us,
our minds and our bodies

325
00:24:26,533 --> 00:24:30,500
and transformed us into
a new and evolved human.

326
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:32,300
(goats bleating)

327
00:24:39,166 --> 00:24:42,500
We all carry an echo
of what happened in Africa

328
00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:44,433
at this pivotal moment.

329
00:24:50,333 --> 00:24:54,000
Because what happened then,
changed us forever.

330
00:24:56,300 --> 00:25:00,400
♪ ♪

331
00:25:04,666 --> 00:25:09,066
What began as different,
scattered populations...

332
00:25:13,033 --> 00:25:17,066
...in the face of adversity,
came together.

333
00:25:22,300 --> 00:25:24,766
Propelling us to become one,

334
00:25:24,766 --> 00:25:28,200
stronger, smarter species.

335
00:25:38,366 --> 00:25:43,400
♪ ♪

336
00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:51,333
This is a museum that houses

337
00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:54,633
some of the most important
fossils in the human story.

338
00:25:58,500 --> 00:26:02,633
And one of those fossils is
Herto1.

339
00:26:02,633 --> 00:26:05,433
Easily, one of the most
significant Homo sapiens fossils

340
00:26:05,433 --> 00:26:07,333
that has ever been found

341
00:26:07,333 --> 00:26:10,000
and that's because this
individual

342
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,000
is one of the very first
in our lineage

343
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,966
that we can describe
as an anatomically modern human.

344
00:26:16,966 --> 00:26:18,700
Its physical
characteristics and traits

345
00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:20,900
are overwhelmingly similar

346
00:26:20,900 --> 00:26:22,533
to those of yours and mine.

347
00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:25,400
And if you look at this
individual

348
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,333
compared to Jebel Irhoud,

349
00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:30,566
look how rounded it is.

350
00:26:30,566 --> 00:26:32,600
Some people have put forward

351
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,633
this intriguing idea that
perhaps

352
00:26:36,633 --> 00:26:39,633
the shape of the skull

353
00:26:39,633 --> 00:26:44,033
reflects a change
in brain organization.

354
00:26:44,033 --> 00:26:46,833
This evolution
of a rounder skull

355
00:26:46,833 --> 00:26:50,100
has been linked to coordination
and language skills.

356
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,666
And it is really exciting
to consider

357
00:26:54,666 --> 00:26:57,100
that this change in shape

358
00:26:57,100 --> 00:27:01,200
reflects
a really significant shift

359
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,466
in the way that Homo sapiens
were starting to think.

360
00:27:11,633 --> 00:27:15,733
These reorganized brains
had slowly but surely

361
00:27:15,733 --> 00:27:19,966
opened a gap between
Homo sapiens and our ancestors.

362
00:27:22,100 --> 00:27:26,400
But it wasn't only the shape
of our brains that set us apart.

363
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,600
One of the lines of evidence
for this,

364
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,433
are actually the teeth.

365
00:27:32,433 --> 00:27:34,200
Now scientists have
discovered that if you look

366
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,666
very closely at the teeth,
what you find

367
00:27:36,666 --> 00:27:39,633
are very fine lines called
Perikymata; they represent

368
00:27:39,633 --> 00:27:41,900
about a week
in the life of an individual.

369
00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:43,300
So that means

370
00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:47,166
you can count how long
an individual has been alive,

371
00:27:47,166 --> 00:27:49,466
a bit like tree rings.

372
00:27:49,466 --> 00:27:53,633
The teeth can also
reveal when they erupted.

373
00:27:53,633 --> 00:27:55,733
That timing can be used
to estimate

374
00:27:55,733 --> 00:27:59,733
how close a child is to
becoming an adult.

375
00:27:59,733 --> 00:28:03,033
And so, if you look at a
Homo erectus individual

376
00:28:03,033 --> 00:28:05,433
and compare it to, say,

377
00:28:05,433 --> 00:28:09,766
a Homo sapiens living today,
our species

378
00:28:09,766 --> 00:28:13,800
takes an incredibly long time
to get to sexual maturity.

379
00:28:14,966 --> 00:28:16,600
From the lines on their teeth,

380
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,666
we know that Homo sapiens
children

381
00:28:18,666 --> 00:28:22,333
were growing up
slower than earlier humans.

382
00:28:23,500 --> 00:28:27,533
♪ ♪

383
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,633
The thinking behind it is
that we needed

384
00:28:31,633 --> 00:28:36,466
a really long time to learn how
to use these brains of ours.

385
00:28:40,466 --> 00:28:42,133
And the longer

386
00:28:42,133 --> 00:28:45,900
that you exist in childhood,
the longer you have to learn.

387
00:28:49,966 --> 00:28:52,366
And so, this thing that
is a real headache

388
00:28:52,366 --> 00:28:55,500
to so many
parents out there today,

389
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:59,100
that our children take so long
to become fully formed.

390
00:29:00,466 --> 00:29:04,533
That might actually
be a huge key to our success.

391
00:29:07,266 --> 00:29:11,433
♪ ♪

392
00:29:11,433 --> 00:29:15,200
Reorganized minds
and longer childhoods.

393
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,300
Our brains
and bodies had evolved.

394
00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:27,333
At last, we were Homo sapiens
who physically looked like us.

395
00:29:33,066 --> 00:29:37,100
What you might call sapiens 2.0.

396
00:29:40,466 --> 00:29:44,500
♪ ♪

397
00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:49,766
It was some of these modern,
evolved Homo sapiens

398
00:29:49,766 --> 00:29:53,500
that found their way out
into the wider world.

399
00:29:55,266 --> 00:29:59,666
But beyond Africa was
already home to other humans.

400
00:30:03,566 --> 00:30:07,400
Neanderthals had spread
across central Asia and Europe.

401
00:30:10,866 --> 00:30:13,400
Other parts of Asia
were populated

402
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,866
by multiple human species,

403
00:30:15,866 --> 00:30:18,533
including Homo erectus.

404
00:30:23,166 --> 00:30:25,666
And there is
evidence in the Middle East

405
00:30:25,666 --> 00:30:28,966
of an early group of
Homo sapiens.

406
00:30:33,833 --> 00:30:36,366
Who followed in the footsteps

407
00:30:36,366 --> 00:30:39,600
of these other human species.

408
00:30:46,066 --> 00:30:48,700
We're so used to living in a
world with borders

409
00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:51,166
that it is easy to forget
that Homo sapiens at the time

410
00:30:51,166 --> 00:30:54,533
had no concept of Africa.

411
00:30:54,533 --> 00:30:56,866
And so, if the climate allowed,

412
00:30:56,866 --> 00:31:00,900
they ventured out
and expanded into new territory.

413
00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:10,300
I do love thinking about

414
00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:13,066
those huge moments
in our history, like,

415
00:31:13,066 --> 00:31:16,033
when Homo sapiens
first left Africa.

416
00:31:16,033 --> 00:31:19,800
It was a massive achievement,
even though they would

417
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,066
have had no idea
of the significance of it.

418
00:31:23,066 --> 00:31:25,066
And it's amazing to think
that it happened

419
00:31:25,066 --> 00:31:26,666
so early on in our story.

420
00:31:26,666 --> 00:31:29,566
But it's in
the Levant that I think

421
00:31:29,566 --> 00:31:31,866
things get really interesting.

422
00:31:31,866 --> 00:31:34,466
♪ ♪

423
00:31:34,466 --> 00:31:37,766
Evidence has been
uncovered of Homo sapiens

424
00:31:37,766 --> 00:31:40,566
living in caves in the Levant

425
00:31:40,566 --> 00:31:43,800
in an area now part of Israel.

426
00:31:48,366 --> 00:31:50,000
And it's in this place,

427
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,300
they would have encountered
something unexpected.

428
00:31:56,266 --> 00:31:58,233
There is one mountain
called Mount Carmel,

429
00:31:58,233 --> 00:32:02,200
where one cave called Skhul
has been found

430
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,766
with Homo sapiens,

431
00:32:04,766 --> 00:32:08,266
and another cave
on the same mountain,

432
00:32:08,266 --> 00:32:09,700
called Tabun Cave,

433
00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:12,866
has been found with
Neanderthal individuals.

434
00:32:12,866 --> 00:32:15,200
And these two peoples

435
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,800
were living at around
the same time.

436
00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,200
(fire crackling)

437
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,066
It is kind of
wonderful to think about.

438
00:32:22,066 --> 00:32:25,533
(tapping)

439
00:32:34,366 --> 00:32:38,166
Two species perhaps sharing
the same mountain

440
00:32:38,166 --> 00:32:39,900
at the same time.

441
00:32:39,900 --> 00:32:42,800
We don't know
if they interacted.

442
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,300
But we do know

443
00:32:49,300 --> 00:32:51,400
that while Neanderthals
remained in the region,

444
00:32:53,333 --> 00:32:57,600
all traces of this group of
Homo sapiens vanished.

445
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,300
Their bloodline
died out completely.

446
00:33:08,933 --> 00:33:12,800
What is most fascinating
about these Homo sapiens

447
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,633
isn't who they met; it isn't
even what they achieved.

448
00:33:16,633 --> 00:33:21,600
It's that all of these
early dispersals failed.

449
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:26,600
We know from genetic evidence
that those Homo sapiens

450
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,200
are not the ones who would go on

451
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,600
to ultimately populate
the planet.

452
00:33:38,766 --> 00:33:41,866
This failed migration
was a stark reminder

453
00:33:41,866 --> 00:33:43,533
of our fragility.

454
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:54,866
These people looked like us.

455
00:33:55,933 --> 00:33:58,866
But we don't know
if they thought like us.

456
00:34:05,433 --> 00:34:08,833
Because what would come
to define our species

457
00:34:08,833 --> 00:34:11,133
wouldn't be how we look

458
00:34:11,133 --> 00:34:13,566
or even the size

459
00:34:13,566 --> 00:34:15,133
of our brains.

460
00:34:15,133 --> 00:34:18,300
But something else altogether.

461
00:34:26,833 --> 00:34:29,500
While these
early migrants vanished...

462
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,533
...populations in Africa
thrived.

463
00:34:37,966 --> 00:34:41,166
Coming together
to manifest some behaviors

464
00:34:41,166 --> 00:34:43,900
that feel very familiar.

465
00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:52,533
(insects chirping)

466
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,200
These behaviors would set
Homo sapiens apart.

467
00:35:18,166 --> 00:35:21,200
And some of the earliest
traces of this

468
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:25,300
can be found in a remote cave
in Botswana.

469
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,966
Sheila Coulson has been
studying this cave

470
00:35:34,966 --> 00:35:36,933
since 2004.

471
00:35:38,333 --> 00:35:41,466
And she has an intriguing theory

472
00:35:41,466 --> 00:35:44,700
about what might
have taken place here.

473
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,800
COULSON:
This is obviously
a very large natural outcrop.

474
00:35:53,033 --> 00:35:55,333
And as you can see,
goes on and on.

475
00:35:55,333 --> 00:35:57,300
It's seven meters long.

476
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,700
The front has
a natural slit for a mouth,

477
00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:06,733
and a natural depression
for an eye and even,

478
00:36:06,733 --> 00:36:09,466
if you want to go that far,
a nostril up at the front.

479
00:36:09,466 --> 00:36:12,466
Right.
With the head rearing up,

480
00:36:12,466 --> 00:36:15,500
it does, in modern eyes,

481
00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:17,166
look like a snake.

482
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,266
The overall form has
been altered

483
00:36:26,266 --> 00:36:28,600
to make it look even more
snake-like.

484
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,666
(scraping)

485
00:36:31,666 --> 00:36:33,533
There are over 300

486
00:36:33,533 --> 00:36:37,633
indentations that have been
ground into the surface

487
00:36:37,633 --> 00:36:40,633
over what is obviously
an extended period of time.

488
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,466
When the initial
excavations were conducted,

489
00:36:44,466 --> 00:36:48,833
they absolutely
revealed a number of questions.

490
00:36:51,966 --> 00:36:56,900
One of the things found
was an extremely large number

491
00:36:56,900 --> 00:36:59,500
of tools that appeared
to be manufactured

492
00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:02,666
and then just left there
in pristine condition.

493
00:37:02,666 --> 00:37:05,000
These look gorgeous, I mean,
they're absolutely stunning.

494
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:06,900
COULSON:
Once they were manufactured,

495
00:37:06,900 --> 00:37:08,866
then you did one
of three things with it.

496
00:37:08,866 --> 00:37:12,100
You either
manufactured it perfectly

497
00:37:12,100 --> 00:37:14,466
and just left it.
Hm.

498
00:37:14,466 --> 00:37:17,266
Or more interestingly,
you burnt it.

499
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:26,066
But not burnt to just,
like, throwing it in a bonfire.

500
00:37:30,033 --> 00:37:32,100
It's controlled burning.

501
00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:38,866
And the third and most bizarre
thing that they did with them

502
00:37:38,866 --> 00:37:41,833
is they made it,

503
00:37:41,833 --> 00:37:44,800
manufactured it perfectly

504
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,200
and when they were finished,

505
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:49,333
turned it over,
smashed it in the middle.

506
00:37:51,733 --> 00:37:54,100
AL-SHAMAHI (voiceover):
This behavior
suggests that people

507
00:37:54,100 --> 00:37:56,866
were likely coming here
to make offerings.

508
00:37:58,066 --> 00:38:02,300
Which tells us something
about how their minds worked.

509
00:38:02,300 --> 00:38:06,200
COULSON:
Although, it's absolutely
magnificent during the daytime,

510
00:38:07,966 --> 00:38:10,400
it comes to life at night.

511
00:38:14,266 --> 00:38:16,000
You make an offering

512
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:17,666
and hope for something back.

513
00:38:17,666 --> 00:38:20,800
Asking for probably some of the
things that we would ask for:

514
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:25,466
food, health, children,
etcetera, etcetera.

515
00:38:25,466 --> 00:38:28,400
And you just think, oh my gosh,
that's some of the...

516
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,466
...that's some of the earliest
behavior

517
00:38:32,466 --> 00:38:35,533
that we know so well.

518
00:38:41,433 --> 00:38:45,000
(voiceover):
Some scientists believe
that the people who performed

519
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,933
these rituals were likely

520
00:38:46,933 --> 00:38:50,766
holding abstract ideas
in their minds.

521
00:38:50,766 --> 00:38:53,800
(rock scraping)

522
00:39:01,166 --> 00:39:05,266
When I see this,
this is what moves me,

523
00:39:05,266 --> 00:39:07,066
because this

524
00:39:07,066 --> 00:39:09,500
is who we are, in a way

525
00:39:09,500 --> 00:39:13,466
that feels more us than bones.

526
00:39:15,166 --> 00:39:17,466
♪ ♪

527
00:39:19,366 --> 00:39:23,466
We are, as a species,
obsessed with ritual.

528
00:39:23,466 --> 00:39:26,366
It is religion and spirituality,

529
00:39:26,366 --> 00:39:28,800
or things like the handshake
or birthdays,

530
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:30,000
graduation ceremonies,

531
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:33,300
Burning Man,
Glastonbury, New Year's Eve.

532
00:39:33,300 --> 00:39:37,900
Profoundly and fundamentally
Homo sapiens behavior.

533
00:39:37,900 --> 00:39:41,300
♪ ♪

534
00:39:46,566 --> 00:39:49,366
This intriguing site hints at

535
00:39:49,366 --> 00:39:52,833
how our mental abilities
were developing.

536
00:39:56,300 --> 00:39:59,666
Forming new connections
that would

537
00:39:59,666 --> 00:40:03,000
embed abstract thought
into our behavior.

538
00:40:08,733 --> 00:40:12,033
And this wasn't
just confined to ritual,

539
00:40:12,033 --> 00:40:15,500
it touched
every part of our lives.

540
00:40:17,833 --> 00:40:20,100
(insects chittering)

541
00:40:25,900 --> 00:40:30,933
(hoofbeats pounding)

542
00:40:34,700 --> 00:40:37,700
♪ ♪

543
00:40:37,700 --> 00:40:39,933
By 70,000 years ago,

544
00:40:39,933 --> 00:40:43,300
a sophisticated new weapon
began appearing

545
00:40:43,300 --> 00:40:45,600
across southern Africa.

546
00:40:52,566 --> 00:40:57,566
Homo sapiens were using
abstract thought to innovate,

547
00:40:57,566 --> 00:41:00,166
inventing complex projectile

548
00:41:00,166 --> 00:41:04,500
weapons like the bow and arrow.

549
00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:08,966
We were seeing the world
not just as it was,

550
00:41:08,966 --> 00:41:10,766
but as it could be.

551
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,066
It takes a lot to see the
potential

552
00:41:14,066 --> 00:41:15,700
in a piece of wood.

553
00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:19,233
Projectile weapons were
revolutionary technology

554
00:41:19,233 --> 00:41:21,433
for us humans,
because up until now,

555
00:41:21,433 --> 00:41:24,833
we'd been using closer range
hunting strategies

556
00:41:24,833 --> 00:41:27,933
which were
less effective, less lethal,

557
00:41:27,933 --> 00:41:31,066
and yet more dangerous for
the person holding the weapon.

558
00:41:37,033 --> 00:41:39,233
For over two million years,

559
00:41:39,233 --> 00:41:43,666
early humans mostly relied
on axes and spears.

560
00:41:47,700 --> 00:41:51,066
But Homo sapiens took
materials...

561
00:41:52,533 --> 00:41:56,100
...and imagined how they could
fit together

562
00:41:56,100 --> 00:41:58,966
...to engineer a more
powerful weapon.

563
00:42:01,966 --> 00:42:04,333
One that is safer to use.

564
00:42:10,300 --> 00:42:12,333
If you look
at this bow and arrow,

565
00:42:12,333 --> 00:42:15,100
you can see how much
knowledge is required.

566
00:42:15,100 --> 00:42:18,700
You need to know where
to get the wood for the bow.

567
00:42:18,700 --> 00:42:20,433
You need to know about the glue.

568
00:42:20,433 --> 00:42:23,033
You need to know how
taut the strings should be.

569
00:42:23,033 --> 00:42:25,566
So many elements
that require not just

570
00:42:25,566 --> 00:42:28,633
knowledge, but the ability
to pass that knowledge on.

571
00:42:28,633 --> 00:42:30,700
Something like this
is not the result

572
00:42:30,700 --> 00:42:32,433
of one person's genius.

573
00:42:32,433 --> 00:42:37,333
It's the result of many, many
people over many generations

574
00:42:37,333 --> 00:42:40,966
inventing, reinventing,
perfecting, tinkering.

575
00:42:47,700 --> 00:42:49,533
We weren't just inventing.

576
00:42:51,066 --> 00:42:52,233
We were adapting

577
00:42:52,233 --> 00:42:54,033
and expanding our knowledge.

578
00:43:01,766 --> 00:43:02,833
Human culture

579
00:43:02,833 --> 00:43:04,533
was becoming more complex.

580
00:43:04,533 --> 00:43:06,866
The technology was exploding.

581
00:43:06,866 --> 00:43:09,533
Now, many of us think that this
is a result of something

582
00:43:09,533 --> 00:43:10,933
called cumulative culture,

583
00:43:10,933 --> 00:43:14,000
the idea that
you accumulate culture.

584
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,033
So, every generation builds
upon the previous generations'

585
00:43:17,033 --> 00:43:18,733
science and technology.

586
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:27,833
Homo sapiens were displaying
a degree of cumulative culture

587
00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:30,866
that went beyond the other
human species

588
00:43:30,866 --> 00:43:33,233
and was growing.

589
00:43:35,100 --> 00:43:37,400
And as our numbers increased,

590
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:40,500
this was more powerful
than any weapon.

591
00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:47,133
A giant leap towards becoming
the species we are today.

592
00:43:56,033 --> 00:44:00,600
♪ ♪

593
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:04,066
When was our species truly born?

594
00:44:06,566 --> 00:44:09,033
Was it when we first appeared?

595
00:44:11,833 --> 00:44:15,200
Or when we started
to look like modern humans?

596
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:23,400
Or was it when our minds lit up?

597
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,766
(rock scraping)

598
00:44:25,766 --> 00:44:27,466
Creating,

599
00:44:27,466 --> 00:44:30,833
inventing and
building on our knowledge?

600
00:44:35,633 --> 00:44:38,633
Each was a crucial step in
our evolution.

601
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:49,866
But none would be possible
without one special ingredient.

602
00:44:51,866 --> 00:44:56,900
♪ ♪

603
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,166
The glue that binds all
of our achievements together.

604
00:45:05,066 --> 00:45:07,766
It leaves no
direct fossil evidence,

605
00:45:07,766 --> 00:45:09,966
but we can find traces of it

606
00:45:09,966 --> 00:45:13,366
in some unexpected places.

607
00:45:15,833 --> 00:45:19,266
In archaeology,
sometimes the smallest finds

608
00:45:19,266 --> 00:45:23,500
actually tell
the grandest of stories.

609
00:45:24,833 --> 00:45:29,400
These are tiny marine shells,

610
00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:33,100
and shells like this have been
found in caves in South Africa.

611
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:37,566
And they are just too small
to have been collected for meat.

612
00:45:37,566 --> 00:45:39,766
If you look really closely,

613
00:45:39,766 --> 00:45:43,200
what you see is
that they have holes in them.

614
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,200
Now, some of these were
collected because

615
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:46,633
they already had holes,

616
00:45:46,633 --> 00:45:50,433
but others were perforated
by Homo sapiens.

617
00:45:53,833 --> 00:45:57,566
(bird chirping)

618
00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:03,766
♪ ♪

619
00:46:12,066 --> 00:46:15,833
And really close examination
of the shells show

620
00:46:15,833 --> 00:46:18,966
that they had
wear marks on them consistent

621
00:46:18,966 --> 00:46:21,233
with having
been worn on the body.

622
00:46:30,900 --> 00:46:33,333
So that, along with these

623
00:46:33,333 --> 00:46:37,666
holes in them, well it's really
easy to paint a picture

624
00:46:37,666 --> 00:46:40,966
of them having been strung...

625
00:46:42,966 --> 00:46:45,100
...and turned into jewelry.

626
00:46:49,233 --> 00:46:53,133
♪ ♪

627
00:46:59,566 --> 00:47:04,633
They were also painted red;
these weren't just beads,

628
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:08,433
they were symbols
of value and meaning,

629
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:12,866
shared and understood by many.

630
00:47:15,633 --> 00:47:17,133
(waves crashing)

631
00:47:18,933 --> 00:47:23,733
Perhaps you were trading them
for food, for goods.

632
00:47:23,733 --> 00:47:27,100
Perhaps you'd give them as some
kind of a gift, at a wedding.

633
00:47:27,100 --> 00:47:29,633
Perhaps they were
just a sign of friendliness,

634
00:47:29,633 --> 00:47:31,933
and you can
also imagine that people

635
00:47:31,933 --> 00:47:34,700
would be wearing them
to make themselves look good.

636
00:47:34,700 --> 00:47:37,133
It would perhaps be a sign
of prestige.

637
00:47:46,233 --> 00:47:49,833
The most remarkable thing
about these shells

638
00:47:49,833 --> 00:47:52,900
is that they have been found
not just in South Africa,

639
00:47:52,900 --> 00:47:56,100
but all over Africa,
from the south,

640
00:47:56,100 --> 00:48:00,300
all the way to the north
in Morocco and Algeria.

641
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:07,033
And that for me is so exciting.

642
00:48:08,433 --> 00:48:10,566
Because when you look at this,

643
00:48:10,566 --> 00:48:13,566
you might think,
oh my God, isn't that amazing?

644
00:48:13,566 --> 00:48:16,233
Humans have a kind of
cultural expression

645
00:48:16,233 --> 00:48:17,466
that they never had before.

646
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:33,366
Homo sapiens were now sharing
complicated technology,

647
00:48:33,366 --> 00:48:36,200
rituals and traditions.

648
00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:38,100
They were expressing

649
00:48:38,100 --> 00:48:42,633
sophisticated ideas
that likely required language.

650
00:48:49,966 --> 00:48:53,300
While earlier humans probably
had basic language,

651
00:48:53,300 --> 00:48:56,400
it's thought that Homo sapiens
were speaking

652
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:59,400
to each other
in a different way.

653
00:49:03,466 --> 00:49:06,233
♪ ♪

654
00:49:06,233 --> 00:49:08,800
Culture connected our species,

655
00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:12,466
possibly across
the entire continent.

656
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:19,433
All over Africa,

657
00:49:19,433 --> 00:49:24,066
we understood
the cultural symbolism

658
00:49:24,066 --> 00:49:25,700
of these beads.

659
00:49:25,700 --> 00:49:29,466
Somebody was telling you,
this shell is important,

660
00:49:29,466 --> 00:49:30,866
not that shell.

661
00:49:30,866 --> 00:49:34,066
Red is important,
not the other colors.

662
00:49:34,066 --> 00:49:36,000
We had an understanding

663
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,633
that wasn't just you,
me and our three families.

664
00:49:39,633 --> 00:49:41,666
You, me and
the village next door.

665
00:49:41,666 --> 00:49:44,800
We had a kind of
symbolism and understanding

666
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:49,833
and interconnectedness
that was continent-wide.

667
00:49:51,166 --> 00:49:55,200
♪ ♪

668
00:49:58,766 --> 00:50:02,333
Our species' birth
wasn't a single moment,

669
00:50:02,333 --> 00:50:04,733
it unfolded over millennia.

670
00:50:08,333 --> 00:50:12,433
Complex language
and our powerful shared culture

671
00:50:12,433 --> 00:50:16,966
were the final elements setting
us apart from other humans.

672
00:50:21,733 --> 00:50:23,800
No longer scattered groups,

673
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:28,333
we had become one connected,
cooperative species.

674
00:50:31,433 --> 00:50:34,266
We had become Homo sapiens.

675
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:39,533
The ancestors of us all.

676
00:50:42,433 --> 00:50:45,133
Sometimes in life
things come together

677
00:50:46,433 --> 00:50:49,366
and this was a coming
together for our species.

678
00:50:51,633 --> 00:50:54,100
It was a perfect storm.

679
00:50:54,100 --> 00:50:56,400
You had a change in brain.

680
00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:58,666
You had language,
increased numbers,

681
00:50:58,666 --> 00:51:01,733
increased connectivity,
cumulative culture,

682
00:51:01,733 --> 00:51:05,400
better technology and weaponry,
and the right climate.

683
00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:08,866
But through all of this,

684
00:51:08,866 --> 00:51:11,133
there was a hidden thread.

685
00:51:11,133 --> 00:51:13,933
Our secret weapon is that we are

686
00:51:13,933 --> 00:51:16,900
a social, cooperative species.

687
00:51:16,900 --> 00:51:20,966
Friendliness,
it turns out, is our superpower.

688
00:51:20,966 --> 00:51:24,966
We are more
than the sum of our parts,

689
00:51:24,966 --> 00:51:28,566
whether it's ritual,
technology, language,

690
00:51:28,566 --> 00:51:32,766
all of it comes down
to cooperation, in my opinion.

691
00:51:32,766 --> 00:51:36,533
And that's how you go
from a species

692
00:51:36,533 --> 00:51:41,533
that started off feebly,
unremarkably,

693
00:51:41,533 --> 00:51:45,900
to one that would become
so extraordinary,

694
00:51:45,900 --> 00:51:48,700
one ready to explore
this planet.

695
00:51:52,666 --> 00:51:56,533
♪ ♪

696
00:52:33,100 --> 00:52:37,900
♪ ♪

697
00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:54,200
♪ ♪

698
00:53:06,466 --> 00:53:12,266
♪ ♪