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♪ ♪

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ELLA AL-SHAMAHI:
Why are Homo sapiens

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the only species of human

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that has spread all the way
across the world?

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To make that incredible journey,

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we would have
traversed scorching deserts...

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It's thought that there was
no rainfall

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for years on end.

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Overcome the challenges
of the jungle...

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OSHAN WEDAGE:
They developed this
bone-tipped arrows.

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AL-SHAMAHI:
I've got in my hands
right now something

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that was used 48,000 years ago.
Of course, of course.

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AL-SHAMAHI:
And it was absolutely
revolutionary.

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...and ultimately navigated
treacherous seas.

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Because that would be an
expedition today,

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let alone back then.

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All while sharing the planet

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with other
remarkable species of human.

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THOMAS SUTIKNA:
We place this skeleton

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as a new species.

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It's, um,
it's giving me goosebumps.

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But none would ever reach

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as far as we did.

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"Human: Journeys,"

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right now on "NOVA."

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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AL-SHAMAHI:
Over 300,000 years ago,

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Africa was
the cradle of humanity.

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The place where humans evolved.

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Including the first of
a new species,

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Homo sapiens.

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Our species.

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From humble beginnings,
our growing culture

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and connections helped us spread
across that great continent.

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And then, we ventured outwards,

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away from our home
and into the wider world.

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♪ ♪

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Our ancestors did something,

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which is actually remarkable.

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From a beach
not unlike this one,

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possibly quite close by...

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they ventured out

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into an open ocean,

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with only an empty horizon
in front of them.

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And after many days and nights
on the water,

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they eventually came upon this
new landmass

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that they would settle.

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We call that landmass Australia.

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It was a pivotal moment
in the history of our species.

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But in so many ways,

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it's not actually the
destination that's important,

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it is everything it took,
all the challenges they had

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to overcome to make it

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so far away from where
they began in Africa.

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We were not the first humans
to leave Africa.

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Long before we evolved,
the ancestors of our cousins,

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the Neanderthals, set out...

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and Homo erectus,

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one of the most ancient humans,

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had made it deep into Asia.

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But none had ever made
the voyage to Australia.

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Every other species of human
reached a point,

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and then they just stopped.

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They faced a barrier
that they either could not

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or would not pass.

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But not us.

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This is the story of how time
and again,

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we took on perilous journeys.

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How the last species
of human to evolve

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took on environments
like no others had.

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To become the only
global species of human.

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That title
is ours and ours alone.

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Our journeys out of Africa began

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over 120,000 years ago.

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But as our species spread,

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we were blocked by
expanses of ocean on most sides.

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One of the few places
we could go was east.

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To the vast landmass
that today is made up

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of Arabia and the Levant.

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At this time,
one of the few gateways

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out of Africa
to the rest of the world.

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♪ ♪

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Of all the species
of human that have ever existed,

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I think we, Homo sapiens,

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are the explorer species.

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We can't help it.
We have to wander.

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It is in our want to travel.

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And this place

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was the landmass next door.

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You could see it from Africa.
And look at it!

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It is absolutely breathtaking.

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But it's not exactly welcoming.

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And so, the question is,
why did Homo sapiens come here?

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We know they did.

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Thanks to finds
across the entire region.

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From Israel and Saudi Arabia
to the Gulf states...

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and even beyond to
the fringes of Europe and Asia.

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Which is hard to explain
when today,

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these lands look just as much
of a barrier as any ocean.

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I always say archaeology is
a bit like a jigsaw puzzle,

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and you're just constantly
looking for pieces

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of that puzzle to help
you get the full picture.

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And this is one of those pieces.

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This particular piece
is a copy of a tooth.

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Now it's a single tooth,
which gives you an idea

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of how large this animal
must have been,

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because it's,
it's bigger than a brick.

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It's, I mean, it's, it's
practically the size of my head.

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It is the tooth
of an extinct elephant.

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And it was found in Jordan.

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And we also have hippo fossils
from the Saudi Desert.

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Now, hippos and elephants

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do not belong in this
landscape-- look around.

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Where's the water?

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Hippos actually need
standing bodies of water,

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and they need greenery.

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And that's the thing
about some fossils.

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They tell us

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about what a landscape
used to look like.

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Because these
do not belong here.

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♪ ♪

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These finds point
to a very different Arabia.

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One that,
if you know where to look,

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you can see hints of
to this day.

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If you look over there,

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it almost looks like a mirage,

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that white and silver
on the landscape.

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So that used to be a lake,

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and the white and silver is
actually salt

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and gypsum that was left behind
when the water evaporated.

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And scientists are really
interested

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in not just aging them,
but also working out these

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ancient water systems,
these extinct water systems.

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And so,
one of the ways they do this

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is by just getting
on the ground and walking

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these beautiful but
incredibly intense landscapes,

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looking at maps,
looking at satellite images.

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And this is the result
of some of that work.

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Now, if you look here,

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this is a map of the region
just slightly north

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of here, so, this is Saudi,
which is to our east,

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and that there
is the Sinai of Egypt.

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You can see it's basically
shades of beige and gray.

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Now, look.

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So, this is
about 125,000 years ago.

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Water litters this landscape,
I mean,

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you can see
the veins just running through.

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There is no way that this land
would not have been green.

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There are paleo lakes and paleo
rivers absolutely everywhere.

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(rainfall, thunder rumbling)

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And this is this region

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as we have never known it.

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Now, remember,

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this was a world
without borders,

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and this was a land of plenty

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within easy reach.

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And so, why wouldn't
Homo sapiens have come here?

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♪ ♪

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(thunder rumbling)

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But what they didn't know,

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what they couldn't have known,

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is that this region
would be a trap.

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The green days of Arabia
were numbered.

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The desert was on the march.

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Subtle variations
in the orbit of the Earth

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caused the climate to change.

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♪ ♪

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Within as little
as a few hundred years,

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the rains vanished.

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Starving this
entire region of water...

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...leaving humans
at the mercy of the desert.

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If you set out to create
an environment

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that was completely
and utterly hostile

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to our biology,

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you'd come up with this.

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The heat is such a presence,
that I can feel it on my back.

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The sun, even at this time
of the morning,

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feels like
it's borderline torture.

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And there is no water
as far as the eye can see,

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there's nothing.

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And back then, it would
have been so much worse.

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It wasn't arid,
it's what we call hyper arid.

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It's thought that there was
no rainfall for years on end.

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And so, we go from seeing
multiple sites

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where humans lived

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in this region to nothing.

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♪ ♪

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We seem to vanish
for thousands of years.

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And this could so easily have
been the end of our journey.

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Defeated by the harsh desert.

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♪ ♪

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We think that some Homo sapiens

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clung on in pockets
that we call refugia;

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those are refuges
where the climate is milder.

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But from all we can tell,
they would have been

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few and far between,
and they effectively faded away.

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And so,
for all intents and purposes,

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Homo sapiens outside of Africa
had failed.

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And what's interesting is

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other species of human
had cracked the code

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of living outside of Africa,
but not us.

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And so how did this happen?

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People like me, so many of you,

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how did we become
the only species of human

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00:14:10,866 --> 00:14:14,000
who exists across the globe?

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These brutal conditions

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persisted for years on end.

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(thunder rumbling)

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Until finally,

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there was another
subtle change in climate;

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allowing conditions
to become less extreme.

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(insects chirping, buzzing)

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And giving Homo sapiens
another chance.

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Occasional, seasonal rains
returned.

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Just enough to bring
precious water

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back to the desert.

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♪ ♪

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Now, the conditions here
did get better.

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So, yes,
you had desert and sand dunes.

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But you also
had lakes and rivers.

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And that resulted

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in us being able to exist
in this place,

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but not just exist here.

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From an oasis here
to a river and spring

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system there, we were able

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to actually leave
the Arabian Peninsula

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and face the rest of the world.

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♪ ♪

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As they did,
these new waves likely absorbed

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any small pockets of
Homo sapiens that had held on.

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00:16:17,466 --> 00:16:21,133
And now, scientists studying
the genetic code

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00:16:21,133 --> 00:16:24,000
of people alive today,

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believe this moment was
a pivotal point in our history.

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Our DNA has the power

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to tell stories about us.

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But some of
them aren't just stories.

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They're sagas.
And they're extraordinary.

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And one of them is that
every single one of us

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whose origins are
from outside of Africa

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comes from a tiny population
of Homo sapiens.

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We started in Africa from
multiple populations

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across the continent.

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00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,200
But then only
a small group of us left.

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00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,633
Perhaps as few
as 10,000 individuals.

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And so, all of us from outside
of Africa

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come from this

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minuscule population who went on

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to populate not one,
not two continents, but five.

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♪ ♪

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00:17:36,766 --> 00:17:40,600
But our journey through
the desert

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was only one
of a multitude of challenges

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00:17:45,033 --> 00:17:49,033
Homo sapiens would face
as we spread

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00:17:49,033 --> 00:17:50,866
across the globe.

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And because
we were so few in number,

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our very survival outside
of Africa

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was far from certain.

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00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:09,233
(birds chirping)

259
00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:19,700
As this tiny population grew
and spread...

260
00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:26,900
it crashed into another
extreme environment.

261
00:18:30,833 --> 00:18:32,666
One that had thwarted

262
00:18:32,666 --> 00:18:34,500
other species of human.

263
00:18:36,066 --> 00:18:39,266
A vast, green wall.

264
00:18:44,100 --> 00:18:47,266
Beyond the desert,
our species found themselves

265
00:18:47,266 --> 00:18:51,233
in the giant
landmass of Europe and Asia.

266
00:18:52,966 --> 00:18:57,166
To their north,
lay high, cold mountains.

267
00:18:57,166 --> 00:19:01,233
So many spread
eastwards and south,

268
00:19:01,233 --> 00:19:04,333
down through what is now India.

269
00:19:04,333 --> 00:19:08,866
Reaching modern day Sri Lanka,
at that time joined

270
00:19:08,866 --> 00:19:12,066
to the mainland
by lower sea levels.

271
00:19:17,366 --> 00:19:22,400
And dominated by expansive,
dense rainforests.

272
00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:34,400
And while this may look
so much more

273
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,900
welcoming than the desert,
nothing could

274
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:39,966
be further from the truth.

275
00:19:45,266 --> 00:19:47,533
(birds chirping)

276
00:19:47,533 --> 00:19:49,100
These leeches are

277
00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:51,233
absolutely everywhere.

278
00:19:51,233 --> 00:19:54,500
And when I say everywhere,
I mean, one has just got me.

279
00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:58,366
And there are creepy crawlies
absolutely everywhere,

280
00:19:58,366 --> 00:20:00,033
including in our trousers.

281
00:20:00,033 --> 00:20:02,466
And they are
actually quite irritating.

282
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,100
This place is
also full of mosquitoes.

283
00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:08,966
We saw a viper,

284
00:20:08,966 --> 00:20:12,600
and a cobra, and that's
the thing about this place.

285
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,866
It is difficult to exist in,
it's hot,

286
00:20:15,866 --> 00:20:17,633
it's humid, it's oppressive,

287
00:20:17,633 --> 00:20:19,933
and you have to constantly have
your wits about you.

288
00:20:22,233 --> 00:20:25,966
♪ ♪

289
00:20:29,033 --> 00:20:30,266
This is one of the most

290
00:20:30,266 --> 00:20:32,966
extreme environments
on the planet.

291
00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:39,633
So much of what grows here
is poisonous to eat.

292
00:20:41,733 --> 00:20:45,400
And there are few
large animals to provide meat.

293
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,333
Conditions are so difficult,

294
00:20:48,333 --> 00:20:50,900
that as far as we can tell,

295
00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:53,666
other species of human
that left Africa

296
00:20:53,666 --> 00:20:56,233
never ventured past the fringes

297
00:20:56,233 --> 00:20:59,166
of such formidable forests,

298
00:20:59,166 --> 00:21:02,400
instead taking
alternative routes.

299
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,700
♪ ♪

300
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,866
Being here is a bit
like stepping back in time.

301
00:21:33,866 --> 00:21:35,800
Because about 50,000 years ago,

302
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,400
this place would've
basically looked the same.

303
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,500
This huge cave mouth

304
00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:42,266
would have been here.

305
00:21:42,266 --> 00:21:45,066
Only back then,
the rainforest would have been

306
00:21:45,066 --> 00:21:48,966
unbroken, and it would have gone
on for kilometers

307
00:21:48,966 --> 00:21:51,200
in every single direction.

308
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,500
And yet, somehow,

309
00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:56,966
in this cave and two other caves
not far away,

310
00:21:56,966 --> 00:21:58,633
we have found evidence

311
00:21:58,633 --> 00:22:01,800
of our ancestors living here,

312
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,766
all the way back then,

313
00:22:03,766 --> 00:22:08,600
in the heart of what would
have been a massive rainforest.

314
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,933
So, how were Homo sapiens

315
00:22:14,933 --> 00:22:17,400
able to plunge into a place

316
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,233
no others had?

317
00:22:20,233 --> 00:22:24,033
How did they find food,
particularly meat?

318
00:22:25,866 --> 00:22:28,266
They did have the advantage

319
00:22:28,266 --> 00:22:30,500
of bow and arrow technology,

320
00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:33,233
which had arisen
thousands of years earlier.

321
00:22:34,866 --> 00:22:38,700
But heavy, stone-tipped arrows
were not well-suited

322
00:22:38,700 --> 00:22:42,933
to firing into the high canopy
of the rainforest.

323
00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:48,700
Their solution was uncovered,

324
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:52,133
thanks to over
30 years of excavations

325
00:22:52,133 --> 00:22:54,633
deep into the floor of this cave

326
00:22:54,633 --> 00:22:57,500
and the two other similar caves.

327
00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:00,433
Digs that reach all the way back

328
00:23:00,433 --> 00:23:03,433
to 48,000 years ago,

329
00:23:03,433 --> 00:23:06,800
when the pioneers of our species

330
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:11,533
first attempted to overcome the
challenges of this rainforest.

331
00:23:14,733 --> 00:23:18,666
Starting with perhaps
one of the most important;

332
00:23:18,666 --> 00:23:21,866
how to find enough meat
to sustain them.

333
00:23:24,166 --> 00:23:26,300
WEDAGE:
So here, you can see a
monkey bone.

334
00:23:28,066 --> 00:23:30,500
We can clearly
see that the "V" shape.

335
00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:32,700
This 'V' shaped cut marks

336
00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:35,533
only can produced by
the stone tools.

337
00:23:35,533 --> 00:23:37,200
AL-SHAMAHI:
Yeah, so, this here,

338
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,600
that's where somebody
is cutting.
Yeah, yeah.

339
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,333
Yeah, they are cutting or
skinning also can be possible.
Yeah.

340
00:23:43,333 --> 00:23:47,533
Whatever stuck with the bones,
they tried to remove.

341
00:23:47,533 --> 00:23:49,033
AL-SHAMAHI:
It's funny because I think

342
00:23:49,033 --> 00:23:50,833
butchery marks often need
to look at it

343
00:23:50,833 --> 00:23:52,866
through a magnifying glass,
but not always.

344
00:23:52,866 --> 00:23:54,533
And actually,
this one is quite clear.

345
00:23:54,533 --> 00:23:57,166
And this is not the kind of
thing that you would

346
00:23:57,166 --> 00:23:59,700
see if an animal killed it.

347
00:23:59,700 --> 00:24:01,066
This is an indication

348
00:24:01,066 --> 00:24:02,500
that this is killed by a human.

349
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,933
This is definitely
Homo sapiens.

350
00:24:04,933 --> 00:24:06,666
AL-SHAMAHI:
And so, the question is,

351
00:24:06,666 --> 00:24:08,766
how they killed them?

352
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,466
♪ ♪

353
00:24:14,466 --> 00:24:16,466
WEDAGE:
It is remarkable, Ella, because,

354
00:24:16,466 --> 00:24:19,466
there are lots of trees,
very tall,

355
00:24:19,466 --> 00:24:22,433
in second they can climb
up to the top,

356
00:24:22,433 --> 00:24:25,766
so therefore, it is
very difficult to catch them.

357
00:24:25,766 --> 00:24:27,133
(animal screech)

358
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,666
The pre-historic people,
our ancestors,

359
00:24:31,666 --> 00:24:34,966
should need to develop their own
technology,

360
00:24:34,966 --> 00:24:36,600
to get them down.

361
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,633
So I would like to show you
some earliest,

362
00:24:41,633 --> 00:24:44,633
which goes
back to 48,000 years old.

363
00:24:44,633 --> 00:24:46,900
They developed this
bone point technology

364
00:24:46,900 --> 00:24:50,166
and they made
bone-tipped arrows.

365
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,800
They identified the monkey bones
are really special

366
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:57,500
to make arrowheads,

367
00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:00,233
because those are light
in weight,

368
00:25:00,233 --> 00:25:02,666
to hunt these
fast-moving animal.

369
00:25:08,966 --> 00:25:13,466
If you use a stone point,
the arrow is heavier.

370
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,066
So here you can see,
it is a little bit chipped

371
00:25:18,066 --> 00:25:20,933
because it's hit,
it contacted something.

372
00:25:20,933 --> 00:25:22,400
Right.
So that is why

373
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,133
at the end,
it's very small...

374
00:25:25,133 --> 00:25:26,566
AL-SHAMAHI:
So that chip mark there,

375
00:25:26,566 --> 00:25:28,000
shows us that
it was actually used.

376
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:29,133
WEDAGE:
Yes.

377
00:25:29,133 --> 00:25:30,933
Uh, it's, I mean,
it's amazing because

378
00:25:30,933 --> 00:25:32,800
this is obviously,
I've got in my hands

379
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,266
right now something
that was used 48,000 years ago.
Of course, of course.

380
00:25:36,266 --> 00:25:39,300
And it was absolutely
revolutionary.

381
00:25:41,366 --> 00:25:44,066
These bone points are only
the tips

382
00:25:44,066 --> 00:25:45,733
of the full arrowheads.

383
00:25:47,533 --> 00:25:51,800
Many are chipped
from actually hitting prey.

384
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,100
And each one
would have been attached

385
00:25:54,100 --> 00:25:56,766
to the end of a long,
wooden arrow.

386
00:26:02,166 --> 00:26:06,566
These hunters didn't
invent a brand-new technology.

387
00:26:08,866 --> 00:26:11,400
They adapted an old one.

388
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:15,266
These are some of
the earliest examples

389
00:26:15,266 --> 00:26:19,233
of bow and arrows
found outside of Africa.

390
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,100
Enabling Homo sapiens

391
00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:27,266
to hunt with exceptional skill
and efficiency...

392
00:26:27,266 --> 00:26:30,066
...within the forest.

393
00:26:35,133 --> 00:26:37,100
(fires arrow)

394
00:26:49,866 --> 00:26:52,066
But we know
that the humans living here

395
00:26:52,066 --> 00:26:54,900
were doing
more than just surviving.

396
00:26:57,500 --> 00:27:02,600
♪ ♪

397
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,133
Oshan Wedage
and the team also found beads;

398
00:27:12,133 --> 00:27:14,300
many fashioned from shells.

399
00:27:16,633 --> 00:27:17,866
Shells perhaps bought in

400
00:27:17,866 --> 00:27:19,866
as trade from groups

401
00:27:19,866 --> 00:27:21,933
living on the coast.

402
00:27:22,966 --> 00:27:25,833
A constant struggle to survive.

403
00:27:25,833 --> 00:27:29,466
Doesn't leave much time for
making works of art.

404
00:27:34,766 --> 00:27:37,000
Suggesting a long established

405
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,500
and successful community

406
00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:40,533
existed here.

407
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:51,166
And for that,

408
00:27:51,166 --> 00:27:53,466
to turn this place into
a true home,

409
00:27:53,466 --> 00:27:56,166
would take something fundamental

410
00:27:56,166 --> 00:27:58,333
to our species.

411
00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:08,400
This is...

412
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:09,500
...a replica.

413
00:28:11,233 --> 00:28:15,166
Of a tool that was found in the
caves in this area

414
00:28:15,166 --> 00:28:17,866
dated from about
40,000 years ago.

415
00:28:17,866 --> 00:28:20,100
It is a monkey tooth,

416
00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:23,900
specifically a canine,
but that's been modified.

417
00:28:23,900 --> 00:28:26,633
If you look here,
it's been cut into

418
00:28:26,633 --> 00:28:28,500
to create a much sharper point.

419
00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,966
And the reason for that

420
00:28:31,966 --> 00:28:34,633
is that it's

421
00:28:34,633 --> 00:28:36,900
a tool used for puncturing.

422
00:28:38,666 --> 00:28:41,033
Oh, it's not easy.

423
00:28:44,133 --> 00:28:48,466
All right, look, I finally
managed to make a hole.

424
00:28:50,300 --> 00:28:55,033
And once you make a hole,
you can then use plant fiber,

425
00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:57,900
animal sinew as a string

426
00:28:57,900 --> 00:29:00,133
and start stringing
animal skins,

427
00:29:00,133 --> 00:29:02,366
animal hide together
and create clothes.

428
00:29:02,366 --> 00:29:05,433
But actually, in so many ways,

429
00:29:05,433 --> 00:29:09,233
that's not the most interesting
thing about this tool,

430
00:29:09,233 --> 00:29:11,966
because for me,
the most interesting thing

431
00:29:11,966 --> 00:29:15,800
is what this tells us
about the minds of the people

432
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,433
who have made it.

433
00:29:17,433 --> 00:29:19,633
Because you have
to be taught how to use it.

434
00:29:19,633 --> 00:29:22,200
You have to
be taught how to make it.

435
00:29:23,533 --> 00:29:26,133
So, it actually tells us
something much deeper.

436
00:29:28,300 --> 00:29:30,733
♪ ♪

437
00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:36,233
Throughout the years, humans
made this cave their home,

438
00:29:36,233 --> 00:29:38,300
countless elder generations

439
00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:39,666
would have taught children

440
00:29:39,666 --> 00:29:41,633
these techniques.

441
00:29:44,033 --> 00:29:46,766
Something we still do
to this day;

442
00:29:46,766 --> 00:29:50,533
a communal passing on
of knowledge

443
00:29:50,533 --> 00:29:52,866
that is key to our ability

444
00:29:52,866 --> 00:29:55,933
to master so many
different environments.

445
00:30:04,466 --> 00:30:05,966
That engagement,

446
00:30:05,966 --> 00:30:09,433
constant engagement,
turns every generation

447
00:30:09,433 --> 00:30:12,866
of children into a step in
the evolution of knowledge.

448
00:30:12,866 --> 00:30:14,766
And for us, Homo sapiens,

449
00:30:14,766 --> 00:30:17,900
that's probably
what adaptation is:

450
00:30:17,900 --> 00:30:20,233
the evolution of knowledge.

451
00:30:20,233 --> 00:30:24,666
Because it's what turns a
simple projectile like an arrow

452
00:30:24,666 --> 00:30:27,733
into a weapon fine-tuned, honed,

453
00:30:27,733 --> 00:30:30,700
and specialized for the
rainforest.

454
00:30:30,700 --> 00:30:35,433
And that constant
innovation unlocks resources.

455
00:30:35,433 --> 00:30:39,733
♪ ♪

456
00:30:50,933 --> 00:30:53,533
And it's this ongoing evolution

457
00:30:53,533 --> 00:30:55,533
of tools and techniques...

458
00:30:56,833 --> 00:31:00,466
...that has allowed our species,
time and again,

459
00:31:00,466 --> 00:31:02,133
to live and thrive...

460
00:31:05,033 --> 00:31:07,766
...even in extreme environments.

461
00:31:10,933 --> 00:31:14,133
That is the strength of our
species,

462
00:31:14,133 --> 00:31:16,566
that we were opening up
so many new environments,

463
00:31:16,566 --> 00:31:20,433
places that previously
other species saw

464
00:31:20,433 --> 00:31:23,633
as impenetrable,
as too difficult.

465
00:31:23,633 --> 00:31:26,333
We thought of having
long-term potential

466
00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:29,166
and we were able
to expand in number.

467
00:31:29,166 --> 00:31:31,533
We were able
to then adapt to it.

468
00:31:31,533 --> 00:31:35,366
And as we grew,
some people could decide

469
00:31:35,366 --> 00:31:38,766
to move on to yet
another environment.

470
00:31:38,766 --> 00:31:43,600
We were becoming a species
with truly global potential.

471
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,633
♪ ♪

472
00:31:51,066 --> 00:31:53,000
It was that ability to take on

473
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,200
so many different,
challenging environments

474
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,700
that carried us
through so much of the world.

475
00:32:00,700 --> 00:32:04,400
By now,
to the fringes of Europe...

476
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,766
...into the cold expanses
of northern Asia.

477
00:32:08,766 --> 00:32:11,866
♪ ♪

478
00:32:11,866 --> 00:32:16,100
And, within only a few thousand
years of leaving Africa,

479
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,466
deep into Southeast Asia.

480
00:32:20,766 --> 00:32:23,600
Where today there
are sweeping stretches

481
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:28,000
of tropical waters,
back then much lower sea levels

482
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,800
created a vast landmass
known as Sundaland.

483
00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:35,500
Eventually, our wandering feet

484
00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:38,300
brought us to its outer edge.

485
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:43,666
Beyond lay an ocean...

486
00:32:45,433 --> 00:32:48,366
...dotted with isolated islands.

487
00:33:00,633 --> 00:33:02,800
Even all those years ago,

488
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,800
the ocean could not
stop the spread of our species.

489
00:33:09,966 --> 00:33:13,300
Homo sapiens reached
these remote islands,

490
00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:16,300
thanks to an ancient technology
that we

491
00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:18,333
quickly came to master.

492
00:33:20,466 --> 00:33:23,233
This is a tuna fish bone.

493
00:33:23,233 --> 00:33:25,133
This particular one
happens to be quite fresh.

494
00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:26,900
It's a few days old.

495
00:33:26,900 --> 00:33:30,166
But we have actually found
tuna fish bones

496
00:33:30,166 --> 00:33:33,266
on an archaeological site on
these islands

497
00:33:33,266 --> 00:33:36,533
that dates
back to over 40,000 years.

498
00:33:37,533 --> 00:33:41,433
Tuna swim in open waters.

499
00:33:41,433 --> 00:33:43,000
And that means...

500
00:33:44,533 --> 00:33:47,600
...that over 40,000 years ago,
they were fashioning some kind

501
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,966
of vessel and going out
into the open waters

502
00:33:50,966 --> 00:33:54,533
and coming back
again and again and again.

503
00:33:56,733 --> 00:34:00,233
We can't be sure what form
these vessels took

504
00:34:00,233 --> 00:34:02,300
since no evidence survives,

505
00:34:02,300 --> 00:34:06,333
but they were probably simple
rafts made from available wood.

506
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,566
And they did more
than just help us fish.

507
00:34:15,866 --> 00:34:18,066
There is a very interesting
archaeological site

508
00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:20,566
on one of
the neighboring islands that has

509
00:34:20,566 --> 00:34:23,833
this one layer that is just
filled with artifacts

510
00:34:23,833 --> 00:34:25,466
belonging to Homo sapiens,

511
00:34:25,466 --> 00:34:27,700
but the layer just before it,

512
00:34:27,700 --> 00:34:29,766
immediately preceding it,

513
00:34:29,766 --> 00:34:32,666
is empty and barren
of those same artifacts.

514
00:34:32,666 --> 00:34:35,500
So almost suggests
that our ancestors just kind of

515
00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:37,933
turned up overnight and spread

516
00:34:37,933 --> 00:34:41,133
rapidly through these islands
in large numbers,

517
00:34:41,133 --> 00:34:44,566
just because of the sheer volume
of artifacts within that layer.

518
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,333
And none of that
would really be possible

519
00:34:48,333 --> 00:34:52,033
unless you were skilled enough
to build robust craft,

520
00:34:52,033 --> 00:34:55,800
you were skilled enough
to navigate treacherous waters.

521
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,000
But in a truly unexpected twist,

522
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:08,033
Homo sapiens were not the
first humans to reach Flores.

523
00:35:10,666 --> 00:35:14,433
Somehow,
someone made it here before us.

524
00:35:19,133 --> 00:35:22,066
We know, thanks to
an incredible discovery

525
00:35:22,066 --> 00:35:26,100
made in a cave
in the west of the island.

526
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,900
For over 20 years,

527
00:35:30,900 --> 00:35:34,400
a team of Indonesian and
international archaeologists

528
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,266
has been excavating this cave.

529
00:35:37,266 --> 00:35:39,633
They were searching
for evidence of the spread

530
00:35:39,633 --> 00:35:42,766
of Homo sapiens
through the islands.

531
00:35:42,766 --> 00:35:47,366
Instead, they found something
completely unexpected...

532
00:35:48,833 --> 00:35:53,500
...a strange skeleton from
at least 70,000 years ago...

533
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:55,133
...so long before our species

534
00:35:55,133 --> 00:35:58,200
reached this far from Africa.

535
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,800
I think the first thing
obviously that strikes you

536
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,666
when you see her
is that she's very short.

537
00:36:06,666 --> 00:36:08,100
Yeah, yeah, very short.

538
00:36:08,100 --> 00:36:09,933
Um, what are we talking,
one meter?

539
00:36:09,933 --> 00:36:12,933
Yeah, the skeleton
is about a meter

540
00:36:12,933 --> 00:36:15,066
and six centimeters tall.

541
00:36:15,066 --> 00:36:16,700
Right, so, about
three and a half feet?

542
00:36:16,700 --> 00:36:19,233
SUTIKNA:
Yeah, just like all of our team,

543
00:36:19,233 --> 00:36:22,566
when saw this
for the first time,

544
00:36:22,566 --> 00:36:25,266
we thought that this
belonged in a child.

545
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,933
But then after we able to,
to clean up all the dirt,

546
00:36:30,933 --> 00:36:32,766
you can see,

547
00:36:32,766 --> 00:36:36,366
all the, the, the molars
have already erupted.

548
00:36:36,366 --> 00:36:38,500
It's got wisdom teeth.
Yes, yes.

549
00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:40,366
There is already
permanent teeth.

550
00:36:40,366 --> 00:36:42,666
Yeah, I mean, the molars are,
the adult molars are there.

551
00:36:42,666 --> 00:36:44,666
Yeah, already there.
Three of them. Yeah.

552
00:36:44,666 --> 00:36:48,300
As soon as you look closely,
this is 100% an adult.

553
00:36:48,300 --> 00:36:50,033
SUTIKNA:
Yeah, yeah.

554
00:36:52,433 --> 00:36:56,133
AL-SHAMAHI:
An adult,
but the size of a child.

555
00:36:56,133 --> 00:36:58,833
And that was
only the first surprise.

556
00:37:01,366 --> 00:37:03,666
The legs,
they're quite short.

557
00:37:03,666 --> 00:37:04,800
Yeah.

558
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,366
The leg is only
slightly longer than,

559
00:37:08,366 --> 00:37:10,266
than the, the arm here.

560
00:37:10,266 --> 00:37:11,333
AL-SHAMAHI:
Whereas with us...

561
00:37:11,333 --> 00:37:13,033
SUTIKNA:
Yeah, with us, it's different.

562
00:37:13,033 --> 00:37:14,833
Our legs are really long
compared to our arms.

563
00:37:14,833 --> 00:37:17,433
Compared to upper limb,
I think.

564
00:37:17,433 --> 00:37:19,633
And also, if you have a
look on the feet...

565
00:37:19,633 --> 00:37:21,900
Yeah.
Yeah, the feet is about

566
00:37:21,900 --> 00:37:25,500
70% of the length
of the femur.

567
00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:27,200
Which is huge...
Is huge, yes.

568
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,033
...because on me,
that would be... (laughs)
Yeah.

569
00:37:29,033 --> 00:37:30,533
About that length.
Yeah, it's true.

570
00:37:30,533 --> 00:37:34,266
Because so many unique features

571
00:37:34,266 --> 00:37:37,000
not seen in other species,

572
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:41,333
we place this skeleton
as a new species.

573
00:37:41,333 --> 00:37:43,366
And we named

574
00:37:43,366 --> 00:37:46,466
the skeleton Homo floresiensis.

575
00:37:46,466 --> 00:37:51,500
♪ ♪

576
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,300
AL-SHAMAHI:
This new species of human
was a revelation.

577
00:37:58,466 --> 00:38:01,766
Named Homo floresiensis
after the island,

578
00:38:01,766 --> 00:38:06,033
they quickly became known
to many as the Hobbits,

579
00:38:06,033 --> 00:38:09,800
after the heroes from the
"Lord of the Rings" books,

580
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,966
who were also small as adults.

581
00:38:15,766 --> 00:38:19,400
They likely arrived
entirely by chance,

582
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,233
initially perhaps a few
individuals

583
00:38:22,233 --> 00:38:26,333
swept here on driftwood
from the islands to the north,

584
00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:30,300
more than 700,000 years ago.

585
00:38:34,133 --> 00:38:37,666
They eventually became
a unique species

586
00:38:37,666 --> 00:38:40,033
seemingly with a mix of modern

587
00:38:40,033 --> 00:38:42,933
and more ancient
characteristics.

588
00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:47,033
Now, we can see obviously

589
00:38:47,033 --> 00:38:49,733
the brain is small,
but how small are we talking?

590
00:38:49,733 --> 00:38:52,133
SUTIKNA:
Only one third of the

591
00:38:52,133 --> 00:38:54,800
modern humans' brain size,
I think,

592
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,166
almost similar to
an adult chimp.

593
00:38:58,166 --> 00:39:00,166
That... how incredible.
That's right.

594
00:39:00,166 --> 00:39:02,266
We discover the skeleton

595
00:39:02,266 --> 00:39:03,866
with stone artifact here.

596
00:39:03,866 --> 00:39:05,933
AL-SHAMAHI:
Such a small brain

597
00:39:05,933 --> 00:39:08,333
and yet they had stone tools.

598
00:39:08,333 --> 00:39:09,566
Yes, indeed.

599
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,466
AL-SHAMAHI:
Before this,
scientists assumed

600
00:39:14,466 --> 00:39:17,200
that a human
with such a small brain

601
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,733
could never have developed
such tools.

602
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,366
One theory is that they were
initially a much larger species,

603
00:39:25,366 --> 00:39:29,700
before the long isolation
on Flores caused them to shrink,

604
00:39:29,700 --> 00:39:33,166
a process known
as island dwarfism,

605
00:39:33,166 --> 00:39:36,966
where large animals get
smaller due to fewer resources.

606
00:39:38,133 --> 00:39:42,833
At the same time, some small
animals actually get bigger,

607
00:39:42,833 --> 00:39:45,600
due to a lack of predators.

608
00:39:47,100 --> 00:39:49,066
SUTIKNA:
We found a giant rat,

609
00:39:50,166 --> 00:39:52,533
up to about three kilos.

610
00:39:55,300 --> 00:39:57,833
We also found
elephant-like creatures,

611
00:39:57,833 --> 00:39:59,533
called stegodon,

612
00:39:59,533 --> 00:40:02,566
as big as a water buffalo.
This is smaller one.

613
00:40:03,766 --> 00:40:06,466
AL-SHAMAHI:
So stegodons generally are not
the size

614
00:40:06,466 --> 00:40:07,566
of water buffalos...

615
00:40:07,566 --> 00:40:09,266
SUTIKNA:
Exactly, yeah.

616
00:40:09,266 --> 00:40:11,066
AL-SHAMAHI:
But on this island, they're the
size of a water buffalo.

617
00:40:11,066 --> 00:40:12,633
And then on this island,

618
00:40:12,633 --> 00:40:13,833
you've got humans
that are a meter tall.

619
00:40:13,833 --> 00:40:14,833
Yeah, they're small.

620
00:40:14,833 --> 00:40:16,933
What you're describing there

621
00:40:16,933 --> 00:40:19,433
is a species that

622
00:40:19,433 --> 00:40:21,700
has been shaped
by this island,

623
00:40:21,700 --> 00:40:24,200
has been shaped by
the environment on this island.

624
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,866
And the result is this.

625
00:40:30,233 --> 00:40:32,966
Long isolation allowed evolution

626
00:40:32,966 --> 00:40:36,033
to tailor the Hobbit
to this environment.

627
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:42,533
Their long arms
compared to short legs,

628
00:40:42,533 --> 00:40:46,000
a response
to perhaps the steep terrain,

629
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,733
or the lack of predators
on the island to run away from.

630
00:40:51,966 --> 00:40:56,200
Physical adaptations that, along
with those simple stone tools,

631
00:40:56,200 --> 00:41:00,800
helped them survive here for
hundreds of thousands of years.

632
00:41:11,066 --> 00:41:13,066
You can see
it's like layers of cake.
Yes.

633
00:41:13,066 --> 00:41:16,033
AL-SHAMAHI:
So, every period
has left a layer.

634
00:41:16,033 --> 00:41:19,566
So, this is like
a snapshot in time

635
00:41:19,566 --> 00:41:21,833
telling us a lot about
different periods.

636
00:41:23,133 --> 00:41:27,233
Yeah, there is a series
of volcano eruption.

637
00:41:28,233 --> 00:41:30,400
Eight volcanic tephras.

638
00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,300
AL-SHAMAHI:
That's basically
flow from volcanic eruption.

639
00:41:33,300 --> 00:41:34,700
SUTIKNA:
Yeah.

640
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,666
This tephra is very important
at Liang Bua

641
00:41:38,666 --> 00:41:42,533
because there,
this tephra, called Tephra 3,

642
00:41:42,533 --> 00:41:46,400
this dated
to about 50,000 years ago.

643
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:47,666
AL-SHAMAHI:
Mm-hmm.

644
00:41:47,666 --> 00:41:50,633
SUTIKNA:
And all Homo floresiensis
skeletal remains

645
00:41:50,633 --> 00:41:53,300
derive from below this tephra.
Right.

646
00:41:53,300 --> 00:41:55,800
And then, Tephra 5,

647
00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,666
the gray and pinkish color.
Yeah.

648
00:41:58,666 --> 00:42:01,000
And when we dated
this flow stone,

649
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:05,800
including charcoal, date back
about 46,000 years ago.

650
00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:08,633
And just above all this layers,

651
00:42:08,633 --> 00:42:13,066
we found several
element of modern humans.

652
00:42:13,066 --> 00:42:15,400
So Homo sapiens.
Homo sapiens.

653
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,666
So that there is
a boundaries between

654
00:42:17,666 --> 00:42:20,300
floresiensis and modern humans.

655
00:42:20,300 --> 00:42:24,233
The massive
pyroclastic flow here.

656
00:42:24,233 --> 00:42:25,566
AL-SHAMAHI:
That's really significant.

657
00:42:25,566 --> 00:42:27,900
So, the pyroclastic flow
is when you have the gas

658
00:42:27,900 --> 00:42:30,200
and material that comes from
a volcanic eruption,

659
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,100
and really, I mean, that would
just be quite destructive.
Yeah.

660
00:42:33,100 --> 00:42:38,100
But we still don't
have the fixed evidence

661
00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:40,933
that this volcanic eruption

662
00:42:40,933 --> 00:42:44,900
causes the extinction
of the Homo floresiensis.

663
00:42:47,766 --> 00:42:50,033
AL-SHAMAHI:
We don't think that
final eruption

664
00:42:50,033 --> 00:42:53,366
alone caused
the extinction of the Hobbit.

665
00:42:53,366 --> 00:42:55,200
It would have been
a catastrophic event

666
00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:58,200
here at the cave,
but we don't know how

667
00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:01,266
it affected
the rest of the island.

668
00:43:01,266 --> 00:43:03,700
What we do know
is that this shows

669
00:43:03,700 --> 00:43:07,833
the time of the Hobbit here
was coming to an end.

670
00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:15,633
(water dripping, echoing)

671
00:43:19,833 --> 00:43:24,866
♪ ♪

672
00:43:27,766 --> 00:43:29,700
It is wonderful to imagine

673
00:43:29,700 --> 00:43:32,733
what this place was like
before all of this.

674
00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:37,066
Thousands of years
before our ancestors,

675
00:43:37,066 --> 00:43:41,233
you had these miniature
elephant-like creatures

676
00:43:41,233 --> 00:43:43,733
who wandered open grasslands.

677
00:43:43,733 --> 00:43:46,766
You had actual dragons,

678
00:43:46,766 --> 00:43:50,000
the Komodo dragons,
who still exist.

679
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,800
And then giant marabou storks,
storks, they're all carnivorous,

680
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,833
that were my height
or taller and could fly.

681
00:43:57,833 --> 00:44:01,466
It was like a fantasy island,
and amongst all of it,

682
00:44:01,466 --> 00:44:04,966
there were these humans
who were tiny,

683
00:44:04,966 --> 00:44:06,866
who came up to about my hip.

684
00:44:09,966 --> 00:44:13,366
And those Hobbits lived here
on this island

685
00:44:13,366 --> 00:44:16,100
for a staggering length of time,

686
00:44:16,100 --> 00:44:19,633
potentially for
more than 700,000 years,

687
00:44:19,633 --> 00:44:23,466
that's longer than
our species has existed at all.

688
00:44:24,766 --> 00:44:28,400
And yet, there is this twist
because so far,

689
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:32,366
we have found no evidence
of them past these shores.

690
00:44:32,366 --> 00:44:37,133
Their whole story plays out
only on this island of Flores.

691
00:44:41,433 --> 00:44:45,566
Our own species,
in just a fraction of that time,

692
00:44:45,566 --> 00:44:49,666
was able to spread across
a huge portion of the globe.

693
00:44:49,666 --> 00:44:54,700
♪ ♪

694
00:44:59,233 --> 00:45:02,366
Around 50,000 years ago,
the climate here

695
00:45:02,366 --> 00:45:06,833
became warmer and drier,
changing the environment.

696
00:45:09,100 --> 00:45:14,000
At the same time, those violent
volcanic eruptions also struck.

697
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,133
Whatever the reason,
it meant that Homo floresiensis

698
00:45:26,133 --> 00:45:28,600
faced not just change,

699
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:30,566
but rapid change.

700
00:45:30,566 --> 00:45:32,700
That meant
that their physiology,

701
00:45:32,700 --> 00:45:35,966
their physical
adaptations that for so long

702
00:45:35,966 --> 00:45:39,433
had been a benefit,
were now a trap.

703
00:45:39,433 --> 00:45:41,733
They were being left behind
because it's actually

704
00:45:41,733 --> 00:45:45,466
incredibly difficult
to rapidly evolve your way out

705
00:45:45,466 --> 00:45:47,633
of a sudden crisis.

706
00:45:47,633 --> 00:45:51,900
And they couldn't behaviorally
adapt to this change either,

707
00:45:51,900 --> 00:45:55,400
nor could they, say, escape
and move to another island.

708
00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:58,333
And so,
these wonderful, fantastic

709
00:45:58,333 --> 00:46:01,700
relatives of ours
vanished forever.

710
00:46:01,700 --> 00:46:04,933
And in their place,
Homo sapiens appeared,

711
00:46:04,933 --> 00:46:09,800
making this island,
like so many places, their home.

712
00:46:18,133 --> 00:46:20,266
So far, we've found no evidence

713
00:46:20,266 --> 00:46:22,466
that our two species overlapped.

714
00:46:24,766 --> 00:46:26,333
(leaves rustling)

715
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:32,700
But many anthropologists
suspect that the final factor

716
00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:37,366
in the Hobbits' extinction
was likely our sudden arrival.

717
00:46:41,233 --> 00:46:43,000
The Hobbits
simply couldn't compete

718
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:45,900
with this highly adaptable
newcomer.

719
00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:52,433
A species able to change its
behavior to suit almost

720
00:46:52,433 --> 00:46:54,966
any environment and condition.

721
00:46:58,533 --> 00:47:01,133
The very characteristics driving

722
00:47:01,133 --> 00:47:04,100
our continuing
spread across the globe.

723
00:47:06,566 --> 00:47:10,300
♪ ♪

724
00:47:12,700 --> 00:47:16,066
As we spread further
and further away from Africa,

725
00:47:16,066 --> 00:47:18,133
entering into brand new
environments

726
00:47:18,133 --> 00:47:20,566
that we had never experienced
before...

727
00:47:22,033 --> 00:47:24,633
...we're not just surviving
in these places,

728
00:47:24,633 --> 00:47:27,800
we're actually
setting down roots

729
00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:31,766
and roots that would last us
till this very day.

730
00:47:31,766 --> 00:47:34,466
(waves crashing)

731
00:47:38,733 --> 00:47:41,800
There was one
last part of this journey to go.

732
00:47:49,033 --> 00:47:53,200
We set out on a path no other
human species had traveled.

733
00:47:55,733 --> 00:47:58,433
Perhaps following
tantalizing hints

734
00:47:58,433 --> 00:48:01,066
that there was more land
to explore.

735
00:48:04,033 --> 00:48:07,233
Clouds on the horizon...

736
00:48:07,233 --> 00:48:09,600
...returning flights of birds...

737
00:48:10,966 --> 00:48:14,766
...or maybe something
much more instinctive.

738
00:48:14,766 --> 00:48:19,766
That inspired,
we think, dozens of families...

739
00:48:21,133 --> 00:48:24,533
...to strike out on a voyage
that would carry them

740
00:48:24,533 --> 00:48:26,400
to a new continent...

741
00:48:27,933 --> 00:48:29,933
...Australia.

742
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:36,966
Now, these were people

743
00:48:36,966 --> 00:48:38,833
who were comfortable
on the water.

744
00:48:38,833 --> 00:48:41,966
They were going
from island to island,

745
00:48:41,966 --> 00:48:44,033
but Australia
was something different.

746
00:48:44,033 --> 00:48:46,366
We're talking about a journey
that was

747
00:48:46,366 --> 00:48:50,033
up to a hundred kilometers,
60 miles.

748
00:48:50,033 --> 00:48:53,933
That's days and nights
on the open ocean,

749
00:48:53,933 --> 00:48:58,633
probably in something
as basic as a raft that was

750
00:48:58,633 --> 00:49:02,466
perhaps being propelled
and steered with just paddles.

751
00:49:02,466 --> 00:49:05,133
♪ ♪

752
00:49:05,133 --> 00:49:09,700
Launching out into that
hostile and expansive ocean...

753
00:49:10,933 --> 00:49:14,000
...that would be
an expedition today,

754
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,066
let alone back then.

755
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:19,366
When I think about

756
00:49:19,366 --> 00:49:21,133
the risk involved,

757
00:49:21,133 --> 00:49:24,300
when I think about
the emptiness,

758
00:49:24,300 --> 00:49:27,166
it is just
absolutely astonishing.

759
00:49:43,333 --> 00:49:45,400
The islands of Indonesia

760
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:48,966
were another waypoint
in our ongoing journey.

761
00:49:53,900 --> 00:49:55,700
Our unique adaptability

762
00:49:55,700 --> 00:49:59,733
that helped us cross
the harsh desert

763
00:49:59,733 --> 00:50:02,766
and break through
the barrier of the rainforest...

764
00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:11,033
...now carried us
across the sea...

765
00:50:13,466 --> 00:50:16,000
...to Australia,

766
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:19,366
nearly 9,000 miles
from where we began.

767
00:50:21,300 --> 00:50:25,600
Leaving the question,
what kept driving us on?

768
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:29,933
Ultimately inspiring us to
take on the dangers

769
00:50:29,933 --> 00:50:31,933
of the open ocean.

770
00:50:34,466 --> 00:50:37,800
It's true that there will often
have been a push,

771
00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:42,066
the simple need
to find new resources

772
00:50:42,066 --> 00:50:44,533
for our expanding population.

773
00:50:47,133 --> 00:50:48,200
But I would argue

774
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:51,366
that that is not
the full explanation.

775
00:50:51,366 --> 00:50:55,200
But this is the most
intangible part of the story.

776
00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:58,300
See, these people, in
my opinion, were just like us,

777
00:50:58,300 --> 00:51:01,233
so they had the same fears
and hopes for their families.

778
00:51:03,800 --> 00:51:05,866
We are clearly
the explorer species.

779
00:51:05,866 --> 00:51:08,066
I think that is beyond a doubt.

780
00:51:09,733 --> 00:51:12,966
And as a result, we've been able
to take on things

781
00:51:12,966 --> 00:51:16,133
that seem absolutely impossible.

782
00:51:18,066 --> 00:51:21,533
In that desire to understand
what was out there,

783
00:51:21,533 --> 00:51:25,133
in the thrill and excitement
of understanding the unknown

784
00:51:25,133 --> 00:51:27,200
and the willingness
to take risk,

785
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:31,733
to know it,
see, wanderlust, creativity,

786
00:51:31,733 --> 00:51:35,000
and the imagination
required to put yourself

787
00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:38,300
in a different place,
into a different future

788
00:51:38,300 --> 00:51:42,566
and world, I think
that is fundamentally us.

789
00:51:42,566 --> 00:51:45,566
♪ ♪

790
00:52:26,233 --> 00:52:29,100
♪ ♪

791
00:52:30,033 --> 00:52:37,566
♪ ♪

792
00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:48,933
♪ ♪

793
00:52:52,766 --> 00:53:00,366
♪ ♪

794
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:09,533
♪ ♪

795
00:53:11,166 --> 00:53:18,700
♪ ♪