Original subtitles

Narrator: DEEP IN THE WASTELAND OF THE SAHARA DESERT,

A DINOSAUR HUNTER SEARCHING FOR FOSSILS

STUMBLES UPON SOMETHING ASTOUNDING...

THOUSANDS OF BONES SCATTERED ACROSS THE SAND...

NOT THE BONES OF DINOSAURS--

THE BONES OF HUMANS.

Man: WE WERE DUMBFOUNDED.

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST PREHISTORIC BURIAL GROUNDS

EVER FOUND IN THE SAHARA.

Man: PAUL KNEW IT WAS A BIG DEAL RIGHT AWAY.

Narrator: AND IT TELLS THE STORY OF TWO CULTURES

THAT WERE ALMOST LOST FOREVER.

BUT WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE DOING HERE...

HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM THE NEAREST WATER?

HOW DID THEY LIVE?

AND HOW DID THEY DIE?

AS A DINOSAUR HUNTER CONFRONTS HIS OWN SPECIES...

Man: I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO

WITH THIS THING, THIS PLACE, THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: ...A VANISHED WORLD COMES BACK TO LIFE.

Man: WE FOUND FLOWERS ABOVE THE GRAVE

AND BELOW THE GRAVE.

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE REALLY LOVED THEM.

Narrator: IT'S A RACE AGAINST THE SANDS OF TIME...

TO SAVE THE SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM WAS PROVIDED BY...

THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

Narrator: IT IS ONE OF THE MOST FORBIDDING PLACES ON THE PLANET:

THE SAHARA DESERT.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS DAUNTED.

Paul Sereno: HEY, GABE, LAUREN, DIDIER--

DECAL TIME. [LAUGHS]

Narrator: PALEONTOLOGIST PAUL SERENO AND HIS TEAM

PREPARE TO SET OUT ON A FIVE-WEEK EXPEDITION.

Sereno: OK, HERE WE GO.

WHOO!

WHOO!

Driver: TRES BIEN, TRES BIEN.

Sereno: THIS IS SORT OF THE ANOINTING

OF THE EXPEDITION, THE VEHICLES.

YOU PUT THAT DECAL ON, AND THIS IS OFFICIAL NOW.

WE'RE ON OUR WAY.

Narrator: THIS WILL BE SERENO'S EIGHTH JOURNEY INTO THE SAHARA.

HIS TEAM'S MISSION IS TO TRY TO SOLVE A MYSTERY

ABOUT A LOST CIVILIZATION

TWICE AS OLD AS THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS.

A TWO-DAY TREK FROM THE TOWN OF AGADEZ IN CENTRAL NIGER

WILL TAKE THEM 300 MILES INTO THE WORLD'S LARGEST DESERT.

Sereno: ONCE YOU LEAVE AGADEZ, YOU'RE IN THE OPEN DESERT.

AND YOU CAN GO A THOUSAND MILES AND NOT SEE ANYBODY.

OR YOU CAN GO SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES

AND RUN INTO PEOPLE THAT YOU NEVER EXPECTED TO FIND.

Narrator: THEY'RE HEADED TOWARDS A PREHISTORIC SITE

CALLED "GOBERO."

SERENO'S GOING TO GOBERO TO CONTINUE WORK HE BEGAN

MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO...

WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED UPON A VIRTUAL TIME CAPSULE,

10,000 YEARS OLD...

CONTAINING MESSAGES FROM HUMANS NO ONE KNEW EXISTED.

PAUL SERENO IS A WORLD FAMOUS DINOSAUR MAN...

KNOWN FOR ALWAYS GOING THE EXTRA MILE...

PUSHING TO EXPLORE ONE MORE HILL...

ONE MORE DUNE ON THE HORIZON.

IN HIS FIELD, FINDING ONE NEW KIND OF EXTINCT SPECIES

CAN MAKE A CAREER FOREVER.

Sereno: WOW. THIS IS GREAT, DAVE.

Man: THAT'S A BIG-ASS CLAW!

Narrator: SERENO HAS DISCOVERED DOZENS

OF UNKNOWN DINOSAURS AND ANCIENT CROCODILES

IN OVER 20 YEARS CRISS-CROSSING THE DESERT.

BUT THE DISCOVERY OF GOBERO

WAS ONE OF HIS MOST ASTOUNDING FINDS--

AND ONE THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED.

ONE DAY IN 2000, DANGEROUSLY FAR FROM CAMP,

SERENO'S TEAM STOPPED IN THIS SPOT

TO PROSPECT FOR DINOSAUR BONES.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE HETTWER

WAS WITH THE EXPEDITION

AND REMEMBERS THE DAY GOBERO WAS DISCOVERED.

Mike Hettwer: SO ORIGINALLY WE ARRIVED HERE

WITH OUR LAND ROVERS

AND WE SPREAD OUT TO PROSPECT THIS, AH,

THIS PART OF THE SAHARA DESERT.

EVERYBODY WANTS TO FIND THE COOLEST THING.

AND, YOU KNOW, FOR ME PERSONALLY

I HADN'T FOUND ANY BIG DINOSAUR BONES THIS TRIP

AND I WAS LOOKING TO FIND SOMETHING AND SO...

I WAS LOOKING AT THE GROUND

AND I WAS FOLLOWING A TRAIL OF BONES,

AND I'M JUST TAKING PICTURES.

Narrator: BUT THE BONES HETTWER WAS FOLLOWING

WERE NOT DINOSAUR BONES.

THESE BONES WERE HUMAN.

Hettwer: AND THEN I STARTED WALKING TOWARD THESE HILLS

AND THEN I STARTED SEEING LIKE, YOU KNOW,

A LEG BONE CONNECTED, YOU KNOW, TO A HIP. RIGHT?

OR A COUPLE OF ARM BONES.

AND THEN I STARTED SEEING SKELETONS

WITH THE HEADS SHEARED IN HALF BY THE WIND. RIGHT?

THEY ALMOST LOOKED LIKE TEACUPS, BUT THEY WERE HUMAN SKULLS

THAT HAD BEEN CUT IN HALF BY THE SAND AND THE WIND.

AND THEN THOSE HALF SKULLS WERE ATTACHED TO VERTEBRAE,

AND YOU STARTED SEEING FULL SKELETONS.

AND THEN, AS I WALKED FURTHER,

I STARTED SEEING REALLY WELL-PRESERVED SKELETONS.

SO WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU COME BACK

AND EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY BRINGS BONES.

AND THEY PLACE THEM ON TOP OF ONE OF OUR LAND ROVERS.

AND I SHOWED THEM ALL OF THESE SKELETONS.

PAUL KNEW IT WAS A BIG DEAL RIGHT AWAY.

Narrator: AND IT WAS AN EVEN BIGGER MYSTERY.

SO MANY SKELETONS LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT...

HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM THE NEAREST WATER...

WHAT WERE THEY DOING HERE?

Sereno: WE WERE DUMBFOUNDED.

I MEAN, YOU SEE A HUMAN SKELETON LOOKING ACROSS THE DESERT

AND YOU'RE WONDERING HOW OLD IS THIS?

WHAT WORLD DID THIS PERSON SEE?

WHY IS HE HERE?

I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO WITH THIS THING,

THIS PLACE, THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: FROM THE LOOK OF THE SKULLS,

THE PEOPLE APPEARED TO BE PREHISTORIC HUMANS.

TOOLS FOUND ON THE SITE ALSO POINTED TO A STONE-AGE CULTURE.

SUDDENLY, SERENO FACED A TERRIBLE DILEMMA.

HIS STUNNING DISCOVERY HAD COME AT THE END OF A LONG DAY.

THE TEAM NEEDED TO GET BACK TO CAMP BEFORE DARK.

Sereno: AND WE HAD NO TIME.

WE SPENT, WE COUNTED, I DON'T KNOW, A DOZEN SKELETONS.

AND WE GOT BACK IN THE CAR-- WE HAD TO, FOR OUR OWN SAFETY--

AND WE DROVE BACK TO CAMP AND WE MARKED IT IN OUR GPS

AND WE SAID SOMEDAY WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK.

WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK AND SEE WHAT THAT PLACE IS.

Narrator: THE HUMAN BONES WOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEIR RESCUE...

AND FOR THEIR LIFE STORY TO BE TOLD.

BUT ALL THE WHILE,

THE BLOWING SAHARA SAND WAS WEARING THEM AWAY.

Sereno: I SENSED IT WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT

THAT I REALLY NEEDED TO GET BACK TO.

I JUST FELT I COULDN'T JUST LET IT ERODE INTO NOTHING.

Narrator: SERENO WOULD RETURN TO GOBERO FOUR TIMES

IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.

EACH EXPEDITION UNCOVERED MORE SKELETONS.

Sereno: THERE WAS SOMETHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS BURIAL.

Narrator: AND EACH TIME HE WOULD BRING SAMPLES

BACK TO HIS LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

FOR CLOSER STUDY.

EVEN AS HE LEARNED MORE,

THE MYSTERY OF WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE ONLY DEEPENED.

Sereno: WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS A 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL,

AND SHE'S BURIED ON HER SIDE.

YOU CAN SEE THE SKULL COCKED AT AN ANGLE.

HERE COMES ONE ARM, THE RIGHT ARM,

HERE'S THE SHOULDER, THE LEFT ARM,

HERE'S THE LEFT LEG, THE RIGHT LEG JUST UNDERNEATH

FLEXED BACK TO THE FEET OVER HERE.

THERE'S SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE,

AS WE EXCAVATED DOWN,

AN EDGE CAME UP THAT I DID NOT RECOGNIZE AS SKELETAL.

IT WASN'T BONE.

AND I THOUGHT, "WHAT IS THAT?"

Narrator: IT TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING NO ONE HAD SEEN BEFORE.

ENCIRCLING THE UPPER ARM OF THIS TEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL...

A BRACELET, MADE FROM THE TOOTH OF A HIPPO.

Hettwer: AND YOU CAN SEE THIS BRACELET ON HER ARM.

WHEN YOU'RE BRUSHING THIS STUFF BACK

AND YOU'RE EXPOSING THIS

AND YOU SEE SOME PIECE OF JEWELRY OR SOMETHING

THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ORNAMENTATION

THAT SHOWED YOU WHO THE PERSON WAS,

THOSE ARE THE GREAT MOMENTS, RIGHT?

AND THE COMPLETE SURPRISES.

Narrator: WHAT WAS EMERGING WERE HINTS THAT THESE PEOPLE

HAD A WELL-DEVELOPED CULTURE WITH RITUALIZED BURIAL.

CLEARLY, THIS PLACE WAS NOT JUST A DUMPING GROUND FOR BONES.

GOBERO WAS AN ENORMOUS CEMETERY--

ONE OF THE LARGEST AND OLDEST EVER FOUND IN THE SAHARA.

BUT WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

HOW DID THEY LIVE HERE?

SERENO VOWED TO RETURN YET AGAIN IN SEARCH OF MORE ANSWERS.

BUT POLITICAL UNREST IN THE SAHARA BLOCKED HIS WAY.

FIVE YEARS OF REVOLUTIONS, TERRORIST ATTACKS,

AND CIVIL WARS

MADE A HOT LAND TOO HOT FOR TRAVEL.

THIS FIVE-YEAR GAP HAS BEEN SERENO'S LONGEST SEPARATION

FROM THE SITE SINCE FINDING IT.

NOW, A BRIEF WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

IS LETTING HIM COME BACK TO GOBERO...

ALONG WITH AN ARMED ESCORT OF 40 TROOPS FROM THE NIGER ARMY.

Sereno: IF IT'S NOT NIGER THAT'S HAVING A REVOLUTION

OR CHANGING A GOVERNMENT,

IT'S LIBYA OR SOME OTHER PLACE.

THE DESERT NEVER SEEMS LIKE IT QUIETS DOWN.

Narrator: HE'S ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT'S LEFT OF THE SKELETONS

AND TO PROVE HIS SKEPTICS WRONG.

Sereno: THEY SAID YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO GET BACK TO GOBERO;

IT'S GOING TO BLOW AWAY INTO THE SANDS OF TIME.

ANYTHING YOU'VE GOT IS ALL YOU'RE GOING TO GET,

BECAUSE YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK,

AND NOW WE'RE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR.

WE'RE ABOUT 30 MILES AWAY; WE'RE CLOSING IN.

OK, WE'RE ON THE SITE.

WE'RE ACTUALLY ON OUR CAMPSITE HERE.

OK, LET'S GO.

OH, MY GOD.

IT IS JUST AMAZING.

IT IS JUST AMAZING TO BE BACK HERE.

FINISH THE STORY.

Narrator: SERENO'S TEAM OF RESEARCHERS, BONE SPECIALISTS, AND GEOLOGISTS

QUICKLY SET UP CAMP...

EAGER TO CONTINUE THE HUNT

FOR CLUES ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ONCE LIVED HERE.

THEY'LL BE SPREADING OUT OVER NEARLY 70 ACRES

TO THREE DIFFERENT BURIAL SITES.

EACH SITE HAS A NAME:

FROM G1 ON THE EASTERN EDGE TO G3 ON THE WEST.

THE PEOPLE LAID TO REST HERE

MAKE THESE HILLS HALLOWED GROUND.

Sereno: I'LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST TIME I DID IT.

I WAS SITTING AT GOBERO AND I WAS JUST BRUSHING OFF,

YOU KNOW, A HUMAN SKELETON.

AND THEN IT JUST, IT DAWNED ON ME, YOU KNOW,

THIS IS, THIS IS MY SPECIES.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TEETH ARE, ARE FAIRLY WORN,

BUT NOT TERRIBLY WORN.

I'D SAY IT'S A YOUNG ADULT PROBABLY.

IN THE DINOSAUR WORK,

THERE WAS SUCH AN OTHERNESS TO EVERYTHING I HAD DUG UP.

IT WAS BIG, IT WAS WEIRD, THE MORE BIZARRE THE BETTER.

BUT HERE, IT IS MY OWN SPECIES.

I'M LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF MY OWN SPECIES.

AND THE HAIR ROSE ON MY BACK.

Narrator: AS MORE AND MORE SKELETONS WERE RECOVERED FROM THE SAND,

SOMETHING SURPRISING BECAME CLEAR.

THESE HILLS WERE NOT JUST SACRED GROUND TO ONE CULTURE...

THEY HOLD THE BONES OF AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF HUMANS.

A TIMELINE BASED ON CARBON DATING

OF OVER 70 GOBERO SKELETONS

INDICATES THAT AN EARLY PEOPLE SETTLED IN GOBERO

AROUND 10,000 YEARS AGO,

LONG BEFORE THE FIRST PYRAMIDS IN THE NILE VALLEY.

AFTER BURYING THEIR DEAD HERE FOR 1,500 YEARS,

THIS POPULATION DISAPPEARED.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER,

ANOTHER PEOPLE ARRIVED, STILL PRE-EGYPTIAN:

THEY LASTED 2,500 YEARS.

THE EARLY GOBERO SKELETONS ARE FOSSILIZED A DARK COLOR--

THEIR BONES SIGNALING A LARGE, STRONG PEOPLE.

THEIR SKULLS ARE LONG AND OVAL-SHAPED,

WITH ENORMOUS EYE SOCKETS.

THE MORE RECENT BONES ARE UNSTAINED.

THEIR SKULLS ARE HIGHER, NARROWER, WITH SMALLER EYES...

THEIR SKELETONS MORE DELICATE.

TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF HUMANS, SEPARATED BY THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

BURIED IN THE SAME SAND.

Sereno: THAT WAS THE STAGGERING THING--

THAT THERE WERE SKELETONS,

ONE SITTING HERE, ONE SITTING THERE,

THAT WERE 5,000 YEARS APART.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMING TO THIS SPOT, SOMEHOW,

FOR 5,000 YEARS,

AND ALL OF THEM WERE OLDER THAN THE EGYPTIAN MUMMIES,

BUT THIS WAS SOME KIND OF A SPOT.

Narrator: BUT WHAT KIND OF A SPOT WAS IT?

HOW COULD HUMANS HAVE SURVIVED THE DESERT FOR SO LONG?

SCATTERED ACROSS THE SAND WERE OTHER BONES

EVEN MORE UNLIKELY TO FIND HERE THAN HUMANS.

AND THEY PROVIDED A CLUE.

Sereno: AND IT'S JUST RIDDLED WITH ALL SORTS OF THINGS,

I MEAN, HERE'S A LITTLE FISH BONE,

HERE'S ANOTHER LITTLE BONE, COULD BE A TURTLE BONE.

HERE'S ANOTHER BONE OF A MAMMAL.

Narrator: FISH BONES, TURTLE SHELLS,

AND SOMETHING EVEN MORE SURPRISING.

Sereno: THIS IS THE ANKLE BONE OF A HIPPO.

THIS IS A WATER-LOVING ANIMAL. NEEDS PERMANENT WATER.

THE ANKLE BONE OF A HIPPO JUST LAYING OUT ON THE SITE.

Narrator: WHAT WERE THEY DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

COULD IT BE THAT THE SAHARA

WAS ONCE MORE THAN JUST SAND AND ROCKS?

THE ANSWER HAS TO DO WITH HOW THE EARTH MOVES AROUND THE SUN.

12,000 YEARS AGO, THE EARTH'S ELLIPTICAL ORBIT

BROUGHT IT CLOSER TO THE SUN,

AND ITS TILT CAUSED MORE RADIATION

TO STRIKE THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

WARMER CONDITIONS PRODUCED MORE MOISTURE

AND PUSHED THE MONSOON RAIN CLOUDS FURTHER NORTH,

BRINGING PRECIOUS WATER ACROSS NORTH AFRICA.

A SERIES OF LAKES AND WATERWAYS FED GRASSLANDS AND TREES.

IT WAS A TIME KNOWN AS THE "GREEN SAHARA,"

AND IT LASTED 5,000 YEARS.

FISH SUCH AS SIX-FOOT NILE PERCH

AND LARGE ANIMALS LIKE HIPPOS AND GIRAFFES THRIVED.

SCIENTISTS LONG BELIEVED THAT HUMANS SETTLED HERE, TOO,

BUT UNTIL GOBERO, THERE WAS ALMOST NO SIGN

OF WHERE THEY LIVED OR WHO THEY WERE.

Sereno: SCIENTIFICALLY THIS IS, THIS IS HUGE.

BECAUSE THE GREEN SAHARA AND THE DRYING OF THE SAHARA

IS THE GREATEST CLIMATIC SHIFT SINCE THE ICE MELTED.

IN THE LAST 10,000 YEARS, THIS IS THE BIGGEST--

I MEAN, LOOK AT, LOOK AT WHAT'S BEHIND ME.

THIS WAS A PARADISE OF LINKED OASES AT ONE POINT,

WITH ALL THE ANIMALS YOU KNOW FROM AFRICA

COMING IN TO DRINK AT THE WATER HOLES--

ELEPHANTS, HIPPOS, WATER-LOVING CROCODILES,

SIX-FOOT FISH.

WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND GOBERO

AS BEST AS WE CAN,

AND WE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANY DETAIL BEHIND.

YEAH, THAT'S A HAND UP HERE. THERE'S A HAND...

Didier Dutheil: THERE IS NO SUTURE...

Narrator: DIDIER DUTHEIL ACCOMPANIES SERENO

ON ALL OF HIS EXPEDITIONS TO GOBERO.

AN EXPERT IN FISH AND OTHER AQUATIC ANIMALS,

HE LIKES TO QUOTE A LOCAL SAYING

TO EXPLAIN HOW GOBERO CAME TO BE:

Dutheil: "AMAN/IMAN"-- THE WATER IS LIFE.

GOBERO IS REALLY LIFE.

BUT THEY HAD LIFE BECAUSE THEY HAD WATER.

AND THEY HAD A HUGE LAKE.

AND IN THIS LAKE, OF COURSE, THEY HAD SOME FISHES,

THEY HAD SOME FROGS, THERE ARE A LOT OF TURTLES,

ELEPHANT, THEY HAD A BIG BIODIVERSITY.

AND OF COURSE THIS KIND OF BIODIVERSITY ATTRACT HUMANS.

AND A LOT OF HUMANS, YOU KNOW,

MADE A SETTLEMENT AROUND THIS LAKE,

AND GOBERO IS ONE OF THOSE SETTLEMENTS.

Narrator: TODAY THE SAHARA IS FAR FROM BEING GREEN.

AS THE TEAM HUNTS FOR EVIDENCE

OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE NEAR THE ANCIENT LAKE,

A 30-MILE-AN-HOUR WIND BLOWS CONTINUALLY ACROSS THE DESERT.

THE WIND IS A BLESSING AND A CURSE.

WITHOUT IT, THE GRAVES WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN EXPOSED--

BUT ONCE THE BONES DO EMERGE,

THE BLOWING SAND WILL PULVERIZE THEM.

SO THIS IS A RACE TO RECOVER WHAT THEY CAN

BEFORE THE WIND STEALS THE REMAINING CLUES.

THE TEAM'S OBJECTIVE IS TO COLLECT MATERIAL

FROM THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HUMAN BURIALS FOUND HERE

IN HOPES OF ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THEY LIVED.

THE MORE ANCIENT HUMANS HAVE BONES

THAT ARE STAINED A DARK COLOR.

THESE ARE BELIEVED TO BE FROM PEOPLE OF THE KIFFIAN CULTURE.

BEFORE GOBERO,

NO ONE HAD ACTUALLY SEEN A KIFFIAN SKULL OR SKELETON.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS KNEW OF THEM MAINLY THROUGH POTTERY SHARDS

THAT SURVIVED WITH A DISTINCTIVE PATTERN.

WITH THESE BURIAL REMAINS, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO BEGIN FILLING

AN ENORMOUS VOID IN THE HUMAN RECORD.

BUT HOW MUCH CAN BONES THIS ANCIENT

REALLY TELL US ABOUT HOW PEOPLE LIVED?

PLENTY, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO READ THEM.

CHRIS STOJANOWSKI IS A BIO-ARCHAEOLOGIST

FROM ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.

OVER HALF THE BONES RECOVERED AT GOBERO

FIND THEIR WAY TO HIS LAB IN TEMPE.

STOJANOWSKI USES PLASTIC BOXES--

THE KIND MOST PEOPLE USE TO STORE WINTER CLOTHES--

TO HOLD THE BONES OF ANCIENT MEN AND WOMEN.

Chris Stojanowski: NOW I'M LAYING OUT THE TOES,

STARTING WITH THE FIRST TOE, THE BIG TOE.

Narrator: FROM THESE, HE CAN PUT TOGETHER THE HUMAN PUZZLE...

Stojanowski: THESE ARE THE BONES OF THE ANKLE.

Narrator: ...PIECE BY PIECE.

Stojanowski: THOSE ARE THE TWO FEET.

OK, SO THIS IS THE FIBULA...

AND THE TIBIA.

Narrator: EACH PIECE OF THE PUZZLE REVEALS SOMETHING

ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND THE BONES.

Stojanowski: IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THE PLACES ON THE BONE,

THESE ROUGHENED AREAS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER,

THAT TELLS YOU THOSE ARE WHERE MUSCLES WOULD ATTACH,

AND HOW WELL DEVELOPED THESE DIFFERENT AREAS ARE

IS GOING TO TELL YOU HOW STRONG THAT PERSON WAS.

AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS THIS ELEVATED RIDGE,

WHICH WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE INDIVIDUAL LIVED

A FAIRLY ACTIVE LIFESTYLE.

AND THE RIGHT FEMUR, OR THE THIGHBONE.

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE BEST WAY TO ESTIMATE HOW TALL SOMEONE WAS,

BY LOOKING AT THE FEMUR,

'CAUSE IT'S THE LONGEST BONE IN THE BODY.

YEAH, IT'S PRETTY LONG.

AND IT'S ALSO VERY BOWED.

PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY WERE DOING QUITE A BIT

WITH THEIR LEG MUSCLES.

IMAGINE IF YOU WERE LIVING IN AFRICA 10,000 YEARS AGO,

IN WHAT'S NOW THE SAHARA DESERT,

AROUND THE MARGINS, PRESUMABLY AROUND THE MARGINS OF THIS LAKE.

AND YOUR PRIMARY PROTEIN WAS COMING EITHER FROM HUNTING,

WHICH WOULD HAVE YOU MOVING QUITE A BIT,

OR FROM FISHING THESE FISH THAT WERE ALMOST AS BIG AS YOU,

FROM BOATS, WITH HARPOONS THAT YOU HAND-MADE.

AND ALL OF THE WORK THAT WOULD COME IN TO PLAY

FROM YOU JUST SORT OF GETTING YOUR DAILY FOOD REQUIREMENTS.

SO THAT KIND OF ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

OVER THE COURSE OF ONE'S LIFE RESULTS IN THINGS LIKE THIS.

Narrator: SOMETIMES STOJANOWSKI'S BEST CLUES

COME FROM THINGS HE DOESN'T SEE--

FROM THE ARM BONES, EVIDENCE OF A PEACEFUL PEOPLE.

Stojanowski: THE ULNA AND THE RADIUS.

IF YOU WERE TO BE STRUCK WITH SOMETHING AND DEFEND YOURSELF,

YOU WOULD PUT YOUR ARM UP LIKE THIS.

WHATEVER WAS HITTING YOU WOULD AFFECT THIS BONE HERE,

AND IT'S VERY COMMON TO SEE PEOPLE WITH FRACTURES

IN THE LOWER PART OF THESE BONES.

WE DON'T SEE THAT WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL

NOR DO WE SEE THIS WITH ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM GOBERO.

IT'S A BIT OF A CLUE, RIGHT, RIGHT.

SO APPARENTLY DEFENSIVE THINGS WERE NOT PART OF THEIR PROBLEM.

Narrator: THE BONES REVEAL THAT KIFFIANS

WERE ROBUST AND POWERFUL

AND LED AN ACTIVE BUT PEACEFUL LIFESTYLE.

THEY WERE ALSO VERY LARGE PEOPLE.

MANY OF THE SKELETONS MEASURE WELL OVER SIX FEET TALL...

MAKING THE WAY THEY WERE BURIED ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE.

THEY'RE BUNDLED UP LIKE STACKS OF FIREWOOD.

Stojanowski: THE EARLIER BURIALS AT GOBERO ARE TIGHTLY FLEXED

IN THAT THE ARMS ARE SORT OF BROUGHT CLOSE TO THE BODY,

WITH THE HANDS UP TO THE FACE.

THE LEGS ARE PULLED UP IN MANY CASES

ALL THE WAY UP TO THE FACE.

SO THE PERSON WOULD FORM THIS LITTLE BIT OF A BUNDLE.

Narrator: FULLY EXCAVATED, THE SKELETONS RAISE MORE QUESTIONS.

Sereno: THESE WERE ROBUST PEOPLE,

YET THEY WERE FOLDED SO TIGHTLY IN THEIR BURIALS;

LIKE, HERE YOU HAVE THE KNEES ALMOST AT THE JAWS

AND THE FEET CROSSED.

IN FACT, THIS ENTIRE SKELETON OF A MAN

CAN FIT INSIDE A 10-INCH TUBE.

AND THAT IS THE BURIAL STYLE THAT WAS COMMON

ABOUT 10,000 YEARS AGO AT GOBERO.

Narrator: WHY WERE THEY BURIED THIS WAY?

SOMEONE POSITIONED THIS MAN'S BODY IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH...

BEFORE RIGOR MORTIS SET IN.

SOMEONE CROSSED HIS FEET...

AND CAREFULLY PLACED HIS HANDS ACROSS HIS MOUTH.

EACH GESTURE SEEMS SYMBOLIC OF SOMETHING,

BUT WITHOUT WRITTEN CLUES, THE MESSAGE REMAINS MYSTERIOUS.

THE KIFFIAN GRAVESITES ARE SEEN HERE IN DARK BROWN.

THEIR PLOTS ARE ORGANIZED--

MUCH LIKE THOSE IN A MODERN-DAY CEMETERY.

THE OLDEST DATES TO 10,000 YEARS AGO.

THE MORE RECENT BURIALS, SEEN HERE IN LIGHT BROWN,

SEEM MORE HAPHAZARD, WITH NO CLEAR ORDER.

THESE ARE THE BONES OF A PEOPLE KNOWN AS "TENERIANS."

THEIR SKELETONS ARE SHORTER IN STATURE,

THEIR BONES MORE SLENDER.

THEY WERE BURIED LYING ON THEIR SIDES,

ALMOST AS THOUGH THEY WERE SLEEPING.

AND, THEIR GRAVES, UNLIKE THE KIFFIANS,

ARE LADEN WITH CLUES ABOUT THEIR CULTURE.

THE 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH THE HIPPO TOOTH BRACELET

WAS FROM THIS POPULATION.

AND THERE WERE OTHER CURIOUS FINDS.

Hettwer: IT'S LIKE ONE IS JUST MORE INTERESTING THAN THE NEXT.

I MEAN, THIS IS A GUY WITH HIS, YOU KNOW,

HE'S GOT HIS MIDDLE FINGER IN HIS MOUTH.

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY HE WAS BURIED

WITH A MIDDLE FINGER IN HIS MOUTH.

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BEST-PRESERVED SKELETONS

WAS THIS WHERE THERE IS A VERY LARGE POT

THAT WAS AROUND THE HEAD OF THIS PERSON.

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY. YOU KNOW?

Narrator: A FEW BURIALS COMBINE ELEMENTS

OF BOTH GOBERO CULTURES.

THIS MAN LIVED IN TENERIAN TIMES.

BUT IN DEATH HE WAS BENT IN HALF,

HIS KNEES PULLED UP TO HIS HEAD.

AND HE WAS BURIED WITH THE SHELL OF A LARGE TURTLE

COVERING HIS BACKSIDE.

THESE CLUES FROM THE GRAVE

INDICATE DEATH STEEPED IN RITUAL.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR DAILY LIVES?

WAS ANYTHING LEFT BEHIND?

SERENO'S TEAM SCOURS THE TERRAIN

FOR EVIDENCE OF A GOBERO CIVILIZATION.

THEY SIFT THROUGH PILES OF SAND...

IN SEARCH OF EVEN THE SMALLEST CLUE.

Woman: WE CALL THIS DEBITAGE, AND IT COMES FROM MAKING TOOLS.

Sereno: A PLACE AS DETAILED AS GOBERO,

WITH AS MANY CLUES AS, AS WE HAVE HERE,

THAT'S YOUR CHANCE.

THAT'S YOUR CHANCE TO ADD SOME PAGES TO HUMAN HISTORY.

Narrator: PREHISTORIC GARBAGE PILES, CALLED MIDDENS,

PROVIDE HUNDREDS OF EVERYDAY ITEMS

AND HELP FORM A PORTRAIT

OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED OFF THE LAKE...

WHEN THE SAHARA WAS GREEN...

AND PEOPLE FOLLOWED THE ANIMALS THAT FOLLOWED THE WATER...

THEY HUNTED WILD GAME WITH SHARPENED STONES.

THEY FISHED WITH BARBED HARPOONS AND WELL-CRAFTED HOOKS.

THEY DECORATED THEIR POTS AND MADE BEADS FROM STONE AND IVORY.

Sereno: BOTH PEOPLE, AS BEST AS WE CAN TELL,

WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS.

THE KIFFIANS SEEM TO HAVE DEPENDED MORE

ON THE AQUATIC RESOURCES

BECAUSE WE FIND JUST AN ABUNDANCE OF HARPOONS

FOR THEIR HUNTING,

VERSUS THE ARROW, BOW AND ARROW HUNTING

THAT SEEMINGLY, FROM THE ARTIFACTS THAT WE FIND,

DOMINATED THE TENERIAN CULTURE.

THIS STUFF WAS PRETTY MUCH COLLECTED ALL TODAY.

THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING.

Narrator: WE CAN HOLD IN OUR HANDS

THE VERY TOOLS USED BY THESE PREHISTORIC PEOPLE.

BUT UNDERSTANDING THE LAND THEY LIVED ON IS TRICKIER.

HOW MUCH CAN WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THEIR WORLD?

SERENO IS USING NEW TOOLS

TO TRY AND PHYSICALLY REIMAGINE GOBERO AS IT WAS.

Sereno: IN THE END WE WANT A MASTER MAP,

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF BURIALS AND A LOT OF ARTIFACTS TO TRACK.

Narrator: IT STARTS WITH MAPPING THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE

AS IT EXISTS NOW.

Sereno: AT GOBERO, YOU CAN SEE YESTERDAY TODAY.

WHY NOT MAP IT IN A SPECIAL WAY?

SO ACCURATELY THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY FILL THAT LAKE BACK UP

AND IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE 5,000 YEARS AGO

WHEN PEOPLE WERE LIVING THERE.

Narrator: FIELD ENGINEER NELS PETERSON IS DOING JUST THAT.

BUT HOW DO YOU MAP A LANDSCAPE SO SEEMINGLY EMPTY?

Nels Peterson: YOU KNOW, THE SIMPLEST WAY

TO KEEP TRACK OF THIS INFORMATION

IS TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS

WITH TAPE MEASURES AND RULERS AND COMPASSES

ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE ALIGNED.

WE ALSO DRAW PICTURES OF THE SKELETONS.

THOSE ARE THE SIMPLEST AND SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES.

Sereno: I THINK IF YOU TAKE FOUR PICTURES

THEN WE GET THE WHOLE GRID.

Peterson: YOU CAN ASSOCIATE THE GRIDS THAT WE PUT UP,

WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THESE METER SPACING

THAT WE USE TO MAP AND SORT OF NAVIGATE AROUND THE SITES.

THAT'S ONE THING.

Narrator: BUT ON THIS TRIP, NELS IS GOING TO GO A STEP FURTHER.

HE'S SCANNING THE LANDSCAPE USING LASER BEAMS

THAT BOUNCE OFF EACH RISE AND DIP IN THE DUNE.

Peterson: IT SENDS A BEAM OF LIGHT FROM THE CENTER OF IT,

A VERY SHORT BEAM, AND IT FIRES IT OFF

AND IT HAS A STOPWATCH INSIDE

AND IT MEASURES HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES FOR THAT BEAM OF LIGHT

TO GO OUT TO THE END AND COME BACK.

AND IT DOES THIS THOUSANDS OF TIMES PER SECOND.

Narrator: NELS COMBINES THE LASER IMAGES

WITH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

AND DATA COLLECTED BY SOIL SCIENTISTS.

THEN HE CREATES A 3D MAP OF THE GOBERO LANDSCAPE...

ABLE TO FILL IN WHAT WAS ONCE THERE.

Peterson: IN ORDER TO RECREATE THIS LOCATION,

YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.

YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY HOW EVERYTHING WAS LAID OUT.

AND THIS IS GOING TO PROVIDE THE MATERIAL TO DO THAT.

Narrator: THE RESULTING IMAGE REVEALS HOW THE BURIALS SURVIVED

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

EACH OF THE GRAVES SITS ON A DUNE.

BUT UNLIKE OTHER DUNES IN THIS DESERT,

THESE BARELY MOVE.

THE REASON?

THEY'RE ANCHORED BY ROCKS FORMED FROM LAKE SEDIMENTS.

IF NOT FOR THIS, THE DUNES WOULD HAVE DRIFTED...

AND THE BONES WOULD HAVE GONE WITH THEM.

BASED ON THE TEAM'S PRELIMINARY DATA,

THEY CAN SEE FOR THE FIRST TIME

THE CONTOURS OF THE ANCIENT LAKE.

THE WATER AT GOBERO MAY HAVE BEEN BETWEEN THE DUNES

AND AS DEEP AS TEN FEET.

AND THEIR ANALYSIS REVEALS ANOTHER CURIOUS DETAIL:

THAT THE WATER LEVEL CHANGED OVER TIME.

AROUND 8,500 YEARS AGO, THE LAKE ROSE.

JUST HOW HIGH THE WATER CAME UP IS STILL UNKNOWN.

BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT CLUE

IN ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN THE TWO KINDS OF SKELETONS.

THE KIFFIAN BONES ARE MORE DARKLY COLORED,

BECAUSE FOR A TIME-- PERHAPS CENTURIES--

THEY WERE UNDER WATER.

Stojanowski: AT A CERTAIN POINT, THE LAKE GOT SO HIGH

THAT THE WATER COVERED THE TOP OF THE DUNE.

PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY COULDN'T BE BURIED THERE ANYMORE.

Narrator: IN ORDER TO FOSSILIZE,

THEIR GRAVES MUST HAVE BEEN UNDERWATER FOR YEARS.

WATER PASSING THROUGH THE SKELETONS

FLUSHED OUT THE MINERALS THAT WERE NATURALLY THERE

AND REPLACED THEM WITH MINERALS FROM THE EARTH.

Stojanowski: SO THE FACT THAT THEY WERE COVERED WITH WATER

IS WHY THEY'RE FOSSILIZED,

AND IT'S ALSO WHY THEY ARE STAINED.

Narrator: THEN HUNDREDS OF YEARS AFTER THE FIRST BURIAL HERE,

A SEVERE DROUGHT SHRANK THE LAKE,

FORCING THE KIFFIANS TO MIGRATE FROM THE AREA

AND DISAPPEAR FROM HISTORY.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, THE WATER RETURNED TO GOBERO--

AND THE TENERIANS MOVED IN.

LAB WORKER ERIN FITZGERALD

IS WORKING ON ONE OF THOSE TENERIAN GRAVES...

WHEN A NEW STORY BEGINS TO UNFOLD.

Erin Fitzgerald: SO I WAS WORKING IN THE JAW AREA

FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND...

WORKING THIS WAY DOWN THE HUMERUS...

Narrator: IN THE GRAVE IS THE SKULL OF AN ADULT,

HALF-SHEARED BY THE WIND.

AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE...

JUST BELOW THE SAND, PLACED NEAR THE ABDOMEN OF THE ADULT--

A SECOND SKULL.

THIS ONE IS SMALLER, AND TOO FRAGILE TO TOUCH.

Man: OH, WOW, THIS LOOKS INCREDIBLE.

Erin: WHEN WE UNCOVERED THE BONE FROM THE SAND

IT WAS AS THIN AS AN EGGSHELL.

IT WAS SO DELICATE THAT YOU BLEW ON IT,

YOU WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BLOWN A HOLE THROUGH IT,

IT WAS SO, SO, IT WAS SO, SO DELICATE.

AND SO WE, WE COVERED IT UP IMMEDIATELY

AND JUST LEFT ENOUGH THAT WE COULD SHOW PAUL WHEN HE CAME IN.

Sereno: WHEN DID YOU FIND THIS? TODAY?

Man: LAST NIGHT. Erin: YESTERDAY.

Man: YESTERDAY.

I WAS FOLLOWING THE ELBOW

AND BRUSHING BACK A LITTLE BIT MORE AND, YOU KNOW,

IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT IT STARTED TO LOOK

LIKE A, LIKE A SKULL.

Erin: SO UNLESS IT WAS BURIED RIGHT AFTER

OR RIGHT NEXT TO HER,

BUT IT DEFINITELY LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE A SK...

A BABY SKULL.

Narrator: THE SKULL APPEARS TO BE SO SMALL AND SO THIN,

THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT IS THAT IT MAY HAVE BELONGED TO AN INFANT.

Sereno: THERE IS A LITTLE SKULL IN THERE; IT LOOKS INTACT.

I DON'T WANT TO BRUSH ANYTHING BACK

WITHOUT TAKING THE SAMPLE OF THE SAND.

Narrator: A WORKING HYPOTHESIS EMERGES:

Sereno: THAT WOULD BE MY WILD GUESS,

THAT WE HAVE, MAYBE, A WOMAN THAT DIED IN CHILDBIRTH

AND THE BABY PLACED WITH HER WHO ALSO DIED.

AND, UH, IT'S NOW OUR RESPONSIBILITY

NOT TO LEAVE ANY CLUES BEHIND.

THIS IS GREAT.

Erin: AND THEY MUST HAVE COME IN THIS WAY,

AND CAME ACROSS THIS.

WE KNEW THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO TOUCH

ANY MORE OF THE YOUNG CHILD

BECAUSE THE BONES AT THAT AGE ARE VERY, VERY TINY,

AND IF WE START DIGGING FOR THE SKELETON

WE MAY LOSE SOMETHING, WE MAY NOT SEE SOMETHING,

AND THAT'S WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE IN THE LAB.

WE WANTED TO WAIT FOR ALL THAT FINE PREPARATION FOR THE LAB.

Narrator: BUT FIRST, THE TEAM HAS TO FIGURE OUT

HOW TO MOVE THE BURIAL, INTACT, TO A LAB OVER 6,000 MILES AWAY.

Sereno: IT IS A TOUGH SEDIMENT TO WORK IN.

IT'S LOOSE SAND, SO EVERY ONE IS BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL.

YOU BRUSH IT AWAY, IT CAVES IN.

SO YOU REALLY KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF THINGS

AND EVERYBODY, PALEONTOLOGIST OR ARCHAEOLOGIST,

IS REALLY UP AGAINST TRYING TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN PLACE

AND KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING IS.

Narrator: TO ENSURE THAT HAPPENS,

THE TEAM SQUIRTS A LIQUID GLUE AROUND THE BONES,

HELPING HOLD THE SEDIMENT TOGETHER,

KEEPING THE BURIAL JUST AS IT WAS FOUND.

THIS METHOD OF PREPARATION IS SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS

WOULD MOVE THE HUMAN SKELETON PIECE BY PIECE

AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER IN THE LAB.

BUT SERENO TAKES THE SAME APPROACH TO RECOVERING HUMANS

THAT HE DOES WITH DINOSAURS.

Sereno: YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND KEEP IT INTACT

AND LEAVE WHATEVER CLEANING JOB

AND WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO WITH THE SPECIMEN

FOR DECISIONS BACK IN THE LABORATORY

MOSTLY UNDER A MICROSCOPE.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD, BUT IT'S STILL VERY DELICATE.

WE COULD NEVER LIFT IT...

Narrator: ONCE THE GLUE SETS,

SERENO AND ERIN WRAP THE REMAINS WITH TIN FOIL.

AND THEY ALSO APPLY WET PLASTER--

THE KIND USED TO WRAP A BROKEN LEG OR ARM.

Sereno: AND WHEN WE APPLY IT,

IT'S GOING TO BE AN INDESTRUCTIBLE COVER

THAT WILL TAKE THIS SKELETON, SAFELY, AROUND THE WORLD.

THE MAIN AIM IS WE WANT TO KNOW THE STORY OF HOW THIS PERSON

WAS PUT TO REST THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO IN INTIMATE DETAIL,

THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCOVER IN THE LAB,

'CAUSE IT'S INSIDE AND IT'S NOT GONNA MOVE,

UNTIL WE OPEN IT UP BACK IN CHICAGO.

Narrator: NEARLY A YEAR LATER,

AT ANOTHER SETTLEMENT ON A LAKE...

THE CONTAINER HOLDING THE GOBERO SKELETONS AND ARTIFACTS

LEAVES A WAREHOUSE WEST OF CHICAGO.

TRUCK DRIVER BILL LOUIS

HAS HAULED A LOT OF FREIGHT IN HIS DAY.

Bill Louis: YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAUL.

IT COULD BE DOG FOOD, IT COULD BE TOYS.

IT COULD BE REALLY ANYTHING THAT'LL FIT IN A CONTAINER.

Narrator: BUT THIS LOAD OF 6,000-YEAR-OLD BONES

IS A FIRST FOR BILL.

Bill: IT MAKES YOU A LITTLE NERVOUS, YOU KNOW?

I'M DEFINITELY GONNA REMEMBER HAULING THIS LOAD, I KNOW THAT.

Narrator: WHEN THE TRUCK ARRIVES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO...

PAUL SERENO AND HIS LAB TEAM ARE READY.

Sereno: I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LONG IT'S BEEN

SINCE WE SAW THIS CONTAINER.

Narrator: THEY'VE BEEN WAITING MONTHS FOR THE CHANCE

TO FINALLY GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DOUBLE BURIAL

AND TO STUDY OTHER CLUES FROM THE SITE.

Sereno: GOT IT?

1, 2...

Narrator: THE SHIPMENT INCLUDES

NEARLY A THOUSAND POUNDS OF ARTIFACTS.

AND 30 FULL SKELETONS PACKED IN THEIR PLASTER JACKETS.

CHICAGO MAY BE 6,000 MILES AND 5,000 YEARS FROM GOBERO.

BUT IN PAUL SERENO'S FOSSIL LAB,

THE SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA WILL HAVE PLENTY OF COMPANY.

SPECIMENS FROM OTHER PROJECTS

CROWD THE SHELVES AND COVER THE TABLETOPS.

THE FOCUS HERE IS ON DINOSAURS--

BIZARRE BEASTS FROM HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE PAST.

FOR SERENO'S HAND-PICKED STAFF,

SOLVING HUMAN MYSTERIES PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES.

Bob Masek: WHEN PAUL GAVE ME THE FIRST HUMAN TO WORK ON,

IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW,

YOU SORT OF HAD TO GET USED TO WORKING ON A,

ON ANOTHER HUMAN, ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.

THE FIRST ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT UNEASY AT THE FIRST.

Sereno: ALL RIGHT? READY?

IT'S ABOUT 200 POUNDS.

Narrator: NOW IT'S THEIR JOB

TO MOVE THEIR BELOVED DINOSAURS ASIDE

TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW DELIVERY...

Sereno: YOU GOT IT?

Narrator: ...FROM THE GOBERO BURIAL GROUNDS.

[TOOL WHIRRING]

TYLER KEILLOR ALSO FEELS STRANGE WORKING WITH THE FAMILIAR.

Tyler Keillor: THERE'S NO MISTAKING A HUMAN SKULL

WHEN YOU FIND IT.

THE SHAPE OF THE EYES, THE TEETH, THE NOSE,

SO, THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW, AS WE CLEAN THEM OFF,

AND THEY WERE REALLY INTERESTING,

AND ALL VERY DIFFERENT, VERY UNIQUE, TOO.

YOU CAN REALLY SEE THE INDIVIDUALITY

OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON.

Narrator: ERIN HAS BEEN WAITING NEARLY A YEAR

FOR HER REUNION WITH THE BURIAL SHE UNCOVERED IN GOBERO--

THE ONE CONTAINING TWO SKULLS--

POSSIBLY OF A MOTHER AND A STILLBORN CHILD.

Erin: I FELT LIKE I WAS BACK IN NIGER AGAIN.

IT'S HARD TO THINK THAT A YEAR HAS GONE BY

AND JUST LOOKING AT THE JACKET AGAIN

WAS LIKE I WAS THERE YESTERDAY.

IT'S GREAT TO BE REUNITED WITH IT AGAIN.

Masek: SO ARE WE GONNA GO STRAIGHT UP, THEN?

Erin: YEAH.

Narrator: INSIDE, THE BURIAL, JUST AS THEY'D DISCOVERED IT--

BUT WITHOUT THE WIND AND BLOWING SAND

TO HINDER THEIR INVESTIGATION.

HERE IS WHERE THE REAL STORY WILL BE REVEALED.

Sereno: IT'S A CHANCE REALLY TO SEE

UNDER MUCH MORE CONTROLLED CIRCUMSTANCES NOW,

WHAT THIS BURIAL'S GONNA TELL US

ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED 6,000 YEARS AGO.

NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS.

Narrator: PEOPLE WHO PREPARE FOSSILS ARE A SPECIAL BREED...

COMBINING THE FOCUS OF SCIENTISTS

WITH THE SKILLS OF ARTISTS.

EVERY BIT OF EVIDENCE

IS GATHERED, NUMBERED, AND CATALOGUED.

TINY FRAGMENTS OFTEN HOLD THE KEY TO ANCIENT PUZZLES.

ON THE DOUBLE BURIAL, SOMETHING UNEXPECTED BEGINS TO EMERGE.

Erin: IT SEEMS TO BE A LOT BIGGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.

Narrator: THE SKULL ONCE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO A BABY

IS MUCH LARGER THAN IT APPEARED TO BE IN GOBERO.

THIS IS ONE OF MANY SURPRISES TO EMERGE

ONCE THE SKELETONS ARE IN THE LAB.

Sereno: WOW!

THAT IS A BIGGER SKULL THAN WE THOUGHT. WOW.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

LOOKS LIKE PART OF THE SKULL

HAS MOVED UP THIS WAY, YOU THINK?

Erin: YEAH, WE HAVE ANOTHER MILK TOOTH HERE.

Sereno: OH, YEAH, AND YOU FOUND ONE UP THERE LOOSE. YEAH.

Narrator: NOT ONLY IS THE SECOND SKULL

MUCH LARGER THAN A BABY'S...

Erin: YEAH, WE ALSO FOUND THIS MILK TOOTH...

Sereno: AH-HAH.

Narrator: ...TEETH SCATTERED AROUND THE SITE

PROVIDE ANOTHER CLUE.

Sereno: THIS IS AN ERUPTING SIX-YEAR MOLAR, IT'S GOT TO BE,

BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE MILK MOLARS COMING OFF THE TOP.

SO I THINK WE HAVE, YEAH, AN OLDER CHILD,

THE CHILD IS MAYBE FIVE YEARS OLD,

FIVE AND A HALF YEARS OLD, YEAH.

Erin: MAKES SENSE.

Narrator: A DOUBLE DEATH DURING CHILDBIRTH,

THOUGH SAD, MAKES SENSE...

BUT THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Sereno: VERY MUCH OF A MYSTERY.

TO TRY AND EXPLAIN EXACTLY HOW YOU'D HAVE A BURIAL

OF AN ADULT WOMAN AND A FIVE- OR SIX-YEAR-OLD

THAT WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE DIED ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY

TO BE POSED LIKE THIS IS, AGAIN, IT'S JUST A REAL MYSTERY,

AND WE NEED EVERY BONE TO FIGURE IT OUT.

Narrator: BUT AS ERIN DIGS DEEPER, SHE FINDS NO NEW EVIDENCE

TO HELP HER SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF A CHILD BURIED WITH AN ADULT.

Erin: I WONDER IF THE FACE HAS BEEN PRETTY BROKEN UP, YEAH.

Narrator: THE DESERT HAS CLAIMED TOO MUCH OF THE SKELETONS--

AND THE DOUBLE BURIAL WILL REMAIN AN OPEN CASE.

Sereno: THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.

BUT THIS IS REALLY WHAT SCIENCE IS ABOUT.

IT'S ABOUT CONJECTURE AND REFUTATION.

IT'S ABOUT HYPOTHESIS AND TEST.

AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN TO NEW INFORMATION.

IT COULD BE PARTS OF THE JUVENILE SKULL MOVED.

AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN TO A DIFFERENT CONCLUSION,

SOMETHING YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING.

READY? OK. LET'S PUT THIS ONE IN FIRST.

Narrator: BUT FOR EVERY DEAD END THEY RUN INTO

WITH THE GOBERO BONES,

THERE ARE OTHER PATHS THAT HELP GET SERENO AND HIS TEAM

CLOSER TO KNOWING WHAT THE PEOPLE BY THE LAKE

WERE REALLY LIKE.

AND THEY USE EVERY MODERN TOOL TO GET THERE.

ON THIS MORNING,

SERENO IS TAKING THE SPECIMEN NICKNAMED "ACCORDION MAN"

ON A SHORT TRIP.

Sereno: WE'LL JUST SLIDE IT RIGHT IN THERE.

Narrator: HE'S GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO HOSPITAL

FOR AN IMPORTANT TEST.

Sereno: LAUREN, THERE IS NO PLACE TO PARK.

I'VE GONE AROUND THE FRONT...

Narrator: BUT YOU CAN BE 10,000 YEARS OLD

AND STILL NOT GET A BREAK ON PARKING.

Sereno: I DON'T KNOW WHERE...I...

Man: RIGHT AROUND THIS CORNER, RIGHT AROUND THIS TRUCK HERE...

Sereno: FOR THE CT MACHINE?

Man: YEAH, YOU CAN DROP OFF RIGHT IN FRONT.

YOU GOT A WHEELCHAIR FOR HIM?

Narrator: SERENO'S TECHNIQUE OF LEAVING BODIES INTACT--

JUST AS THEY ARE FOUND IN THE GROUND--

MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO FULLY STUDY THEIR BONES.

Sereno: HAVE YOU HAD ANY PATIENT OLDER THAN THIS?

Doctor: I DON'T THINK SO.

Sereno: EVEN YOUR MUMMY IS YOUNGER.

[LAUGHS]

Narrator: AND SO MANY OF THE BURIALS GET A FULL CT SCAN.

THIS WILL GIVE PAUL A CLEARER PICTURE

OF THE BONES' SIZE AND DENSITY...

AND HELP HIM DIGITALLY UNRAVEL ACCORDION MAN.

Machine: BREATHE IN AND HOLD YOUR BREATH.

Sereno: I'M LOOKING AT THIS THING HERE

AND I'M WONDERING WHAT THAT IS, BECAUSE...

Man: THAT'S THE SPINE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT?

Sereno: AH, OK.

Man: PELVIS?

Sereno: YEAH.

Machine: BREATHE.

Narrator: THE DATA FROM THE CT SCAN

ENABLES ONE OF SERENO'S GRADUATE STUDENTS

TO DEVELOP AN ANIMATION...

LETTING THIS KIFFIAN MAN

STAND UP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY 10,000 YEARS.

ANOTHER SET OF CT SCANS GIVES US DATA

FOR OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF A TENERIAN MAN

LAST SEEN OVER 5,000 YEARS AGO.

THE RECORD LEFT BEHIND AT GOBERO

IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE WE HAVE OF THESE PEOPLE.

THEIR BONES AND ARTIFACTS FILL A HUGE VOID IN HUMAN HISTORY.

AND WHILE WE CAN SEE THEM STAND...

EVEN LOOK A MODEL IN THE EYE...

THEIR SOULS REMAIN ELUSIVE.

BUT ONE BURIAL IN PARTICULAR PROVIDES STUNNING INSIGHT

INTO THE KIND OF PEOPLE THEY MAY HAVE BEEN.

IT WAS UNCOVERED IN 2006.

Sereno: SO WHEN I FOUND IT IN THE FIELD,

YOU SEE THIS SEMICIRCULAR SHAPE.

WHEN YOU SEE A SEMICIRCLE LIKE THAT,

YOU KNOW IT'S A HUMAN SKULL.

Narrator: WITHIN A SINGLE GRAVE,

THE TENERIANS HAD BURIED THREE PEOPLE:

AN ADULT AND TWO CHILDREN.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE?

Sereno: THIS IS HER LEFT LEG, THIS IS HER RIGHT LEG.

Narrator: IN THE LAB, CERTAIN DETAILS BECAME CLEAR.

Sereno: AND WE DIDN'T EVEN SEE SOME OF THE COMPLEXITY

UNTIL, OF COURSE, WE HAD PREPARED THIS IN THE LAB,

BECAUSE IT WASN'T THIS WELL EXPOSED,

BUT THE WOMAN IS CLEARLY REACHING UP

RIGHT NEAR THE FOREHEAD OF THIS FIRST CHILD.

AND IT LOOKED AS THOUGH HER HANDS

WERE SORT OF GRASPING LIKE THIS,

BUT WE LATER CAME TO UNDERSTAND

THAT THEY POSED HER HANDS VERY SPECIFICALLY

IN A CROSS LIKE THIS--

SHE'S REACHING AND HER HANDS ARE ACTUALLY CROSSED.

ONE COMES FROM THE DOWNSIDE TO BE THE TOP HAND.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WE DON'T KNOW.

BUT SOMEONE HAD TO DO THAT VERY SPECIFICALLY.

Narrator: IN ORDER TO DISPLAY THE BURIAL CLEARLY,

SERENO HAD HIS TEAM CAST A MODEL OF THE THREE SKELETONS...

AND MOUNT THEM ON A LIFE-SIZED PANEL.

ONE SIDE SHOWS THE AREA THAT WAS EXPOSED TO THE SUN AND WIND.

SOME THINGS-- LIKE TWO OF THE SKULLS--

WERE RECONSTRUCTED USING OTHER BONES FROM GOBERO.

THE FLIP SIDE OF THE PANEL

REVEALS WHAT REMAINED PRESERVED BENEATH THE SAND.

FROM THE POSITION OF THE LIMBS,

IT'S CLEAR THAT THE ADULT WOMAN, ON THE RIGHT, WAS BURIED FIRST.

THE CHILD IN THE MIDDLE HAS ITS KNEE CROSSED OVER HER LEG.

AND THEN THE SECOND CHILD WAS PLACED WITH ITS ARM EXTENDED

OVER THE NECK OF THE FIRST.

AND THE HANDS WERE INTERTWINED.

FROM POLLEN SAMPLES, SERENO LEARNED THAT THE BODIES

HAD BEEN LAID ON A BED OF FLOWERS.

FOUR UNSHOT ARROWHEADS WERE ALSO FOUND BENEATH THE BONES.

MIKE HETTWER WAS AT THE SCENE WHEN IT WAS FIRST UNCOVERED.

Hettwer: I MEAN, YOU JUST SO RARELY SEE THIS

WHERE YOU SEE BEHAVIOR AND CARING AND EMOTION

IN A, IN A BURIAL.

I BET I SHOT 5,000 PICTURES OF THIS.

ALL DIFFERENT ANGLES, SUN.

I WOULD COME OUT HERE SOMETIMES DURING THE NIGHT AND SHOOT IT.

LIGHT IT WITH FLASHLIGHT, LIGHT IT WITH FLASH.

THE AMAZING THING HERE

WAS THAT YOU NEVER SEE THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR.

YOU KNOW, WE FOUND FLOWERS ABOVE THE GRAVE AND BELOW THE GRAVE

AND THAT SOMEBODY MUST HAVE REALLY LOVED THEM.

AND IT'S LIKE, THERE WERE A FEW TEARS SHED

BY SOME OF THE TEAM MEMBERS

AS THEY WERE, AS THEY WERE DIGGING THIS BACK.

BUT AS YOU'RE BRUSHING IT BACK

AND YOU START TO SEE ALL THESE BONES TOGETHER,

YOU START TO WONDER WHAT THEY ARE.

AND THEN YOU START TO, YOU KNOW, TO SEE THE ARM BONES

AND YOU REALIZE THAT PEOPLE ARE HOLDING HANDS,

AND SOMEONE POSED THEM IN DEATH.

Narrator: TO BE POSED IN THIS WAY

MEANS THEY DIED WITHIN HOURS OF EACH OTHER--

BEFORE RIGOR MORTIS STIFFENED THEIR LIMBS.

Stojanowski: THE OBVIOUS QUESTION PEOPLE HAVE IS:

YOU KNOW, HOW DID THESE THREE PEOPLE

COME TO DIE AND BE BURIED TOGETHER?

Narrator: TO HELP ANSWER THAT QUESTION,

CHRIS STOJANOWSKI AT ARIZONA STATE

HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE BEST EVIDENCE

AVAILABLE TO PALEO-BIOLOGISTS: THE TEETH.

Stojanowski: SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

IS A REALLY ACCURATE ESTIMATE OF AGE AT DEATH.

AND WITH THIS CHILD FROM THE TRIPLE BURIAL

WE ACTUALLY HAVE THAT.

Narrator: HUMAN TEETH BEGIN GROWING IN THE WOMB

AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE LATE TEENS.

EVERY DAY A NEW LAYER OF ENAMEL COATS THE OUTSIDE OF THE TOOTH.

BUT A BODY UNDERGOING STRESS-- TYPICALLY DISEASE OR FAMINE--

INTERRUPTS ENAMEL PRODUCTION UNTIL THE STRESS PASSES.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE,

THESE STRESS EVENTS SHOW UP AS DARK DIAGONAL LINES.

THE ONE STRESS EVENT ALL HUMANS SHARE IS BIRTH.

Stojanowski: THE NEO-NATAL LINE IS HERE.

Narrator: THE NEO-NATAL LINE GIVES SCIENTISTS

THE STARTING POINT OF A HUMAN'S LIFE.

LIKE THE RINGS OF A TREE,

COUNTING THE ENAMEL LAYERS ON THE TEETH REVEAL ITS AGE.

BUT NOT IN YEARS-- IN DAYS.

STOJANOWSKI ANALYZED THE YOUNGER CHILD'S TEETH

AND CAME UP WITH ITS AGE.

Stojanowski: BY COUNTING THESE DAILY GROWTH INCREMENTS,

WE SEE THAT DEATH OCCURRED AROUND 1,806 DAYS AFTER BIRTH.

Narrator: THAT PUTS THE SMALLER CHILD,

THE ONE ON THE LEFT, AT ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD.

THE OLDER CHILD WAS EIGHT.

BUT HOW DID THEY DIE?

STOJANOWSKI SEES NO SIGNS OF STRESS

IN THE CHILDREN'S FINAL MONTHS;

NO CLEAR INDICATION OF DISEASE OR FAMINE

AS POSSIBLE CAUSES OF DEATH.

Sereno: IF WE SAW IN THOSE TEETH A PATTERN THAT MATCHED,

SOMETHING THAT THEY EXPERIENCED IN THEIR LIFE, SOME STRESS,

ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE END.

WE DIDN'T SEE THAT AT ALL.

Narrator: SERENO HAS A THEORY THAT POINTS TO THE VERY WATER

WHICH KEPT GOBERO ALIVE.

Sereno: SOMEHOW THEY MET THEIR DEATH.

THERE'S NO BROKEN BONES, THERE'S NO SIGN OF DISEASE,

THERE'S A HUGE AGE RANGE.

THAT INDICATES THEY DIED PROBABLY TOGETHER

AND DIED SUDDENLY.

AND THE ONLY WAY I CAN THINK THAT THAT HAPPENED--

THE MOST REASONABLE WAY--

IS THAT THEY DROWNED IN THE NEARBY LAKE.

Narrator: UP UNTIL 5,000 YEARS AGO,

IT WAS STILL POSSIBLE TO DROWN IN THIS SPOT.

THEN, AROUND THE TIME OF THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS,

THE MONSOON RAINS MOVED SOUTH AGAIN

AND THE GOBERO WATER DRIED UP COMPLETELY.

THE SAHARA BECAME THE DESERT WE KNOW TODAY...

AND A WAY OF LIFE THAT HAD LASTED 5,000 YEARS

CAME TO AN END.

ALL EVIDENCE OF THAT WORLD MAY HAVE VANISHED FOREVER

IF IT WEREN'T FOR AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY

BY A SCIENTIST CHASING DINOSAURS.

Erin: AND WE ENDED UP STARTING AROUND HERE,

COMING BACK THROUGH HERE.

Sereno: DISCOVERY ISN'T REALLY FINDING SOMETHING

YOU'RE EXPECTING.

IT'S BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED. THERE'S NO QUESTION.

IT'S FINDING SOMETHING THAT YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY DREAM OF...

AND THIS WAS ONE INCH AWAY, MAYBE TWO OR THREE YEARS AWAY,

FROM BEING WEATHERED AWAY.

...BUT REALIZING THAT IT'S IMPORTANT.

THAT'S REALLY THE HEART OF DISCOVERY.

AND IT WOULD PROBABLY GO

TO ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT FINDS THAT I'VE MADE

AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC FINDS OF OUR CENTURY.

YOU CAN MAKE IMPORTANT FINDS AND SORT OF EXPECT THEM.

BUT THE BIG THINGS ARE THE UNEXPECTED...

AND GOBERO TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THOSE.

Announcer: TURN TO PBS

FOR STORIES THAT DEFINE THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...

Man: ALL OF THIS STUFF WAS JUST ERUPTING.

Announcer: REVEALING OUR STRENGTHS...

Man: YOU CREATE A NEW FUTURE.

Announcer: OUR STRUGGLES.

Woman: IT'S VERY AMERICAN TO SAY, "THIS IS NOT RIGHT."

Announcer: THESE ARE OUR STORIES.

Man: WE WERE SO INNOCENT, AND ODDLY ENOUGH,

WE WERE SO AMERICAN.

Announcer: OUR AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...

ONLY ON PBS.

FOR MORE ON SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA,

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SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

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THANK YOU.