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00:00Es un capítulo de nuestra historia
00:05que empieza en uno de los tiempos y más peligrosos momentos
00:09que los humanos nunca conocen.
00:30ElPEC
00:35El LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:36El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:38El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:39El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:40y el PIERRE
00:42El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:44El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:46El PANES DE LA INDEPRESENTAL
00:48At the height of the last ice age,
00:51a time when sea levels were lower than today,
00:55people were spreading from East Asia
00:58En un lugar que no existe nunca.
01:04Un gran abrigo llamado Beringia.
01:11Y en este norte deslizados,
01:13pequeños grupos de viajes dispararon siempre hacia el norte
01:18y se quedaron en una nueva tierra.
01:28Un gran abrigo llamado Beringia.
01:33Un gran abrigo llamado Beringia
01:35y用 traacakt influyenta en la ciudad entretenentes 500K.
01:40en otras Visita y Spra.
01:45D Butter Beringia Mär shear Estla
01:52No sabemos exactamente
02:21when humans first arrived
02:22in North America.
02:25But many archaeologists
02:27believe it was sometime
02:28around 20,000 years ago,
02:31a time when this would have been
02:33a challenging place to live.
02:40They were here at one of the
02:42coldest moments Homo sapiens
02:44had ever known.
02:48And the landscape would have
02:49looked so different.
02:50There would have been
02:51very few trees.
02:53And as far as the eye could see,
02:56there would have been
02:57barren, icy rock.
03:03They knew how to survive
03:05in the barren lands of Beringia
03:07that they'd come from.
03:09But their new environment
03:11was different in a few
03:13crucial ways.
03:15The northern half of this continent
03:18was covered in a vast,
03:21towering ice sheet.
03:24From here in the northwest,
03:27this wall of ice blocked roots
03:29into the deep interior,
03:32largely confining people
03:35to the ice-free land nearer the coast.
03:39All that's left from their time here
03:56are footprints, stone tools,
03:58and animal bones.
04:00Now, we know that they sometimes
04:01would have hunted seal,
04:02they would have eaten fish,
04:04they would have eaten seabirds
04:06if they could catch them.
04:11Only tiny fragments of evidence remain
04:14that hint at how they survived.
04:19And whilst this northwest coast
04:31offered them steady but limited sustenance,
04:34the strip of land between the shore
04:37and the ice sheets
04:38promised new opportunities
04:40to find food.
04:42but also hid
04:47unexpected new dangers.
05:02This is a now extinct predator
05:05and it would have roamed these parts
05:08in the northwest
05:08when the first people arrived
05:10in the Americas.
05:11And they actually call it
05:12the short-faced bear.
05:15And there is nothing short
05:17about this bear.
05:18When it stood on its hind legs,
05:19it would have been about 11,
05:2212 feet tall.
05:23That's about four meters.
05:25And so it would have made
05:25the grizzly bear look
05:27actually somewhat manageable.
05:28And then look at these teeth.
05:32Look at these canines.
05:34The stuff that nightmares
05:35are made of.
05:36And when it bumped into humans,
05:38it must have been
05:41absolutely terrifying.
05:43And just like those humans,
05:46these bears too
05:47would have been hungry.
05:48But the early people
05:56of the northwest
05:57did not run
05:59from the monsters
06:00that roamed this land.
06:07Instead, it seems,
06:08they went on the offensive.
06:10Signs of their bravery
06:31remain in caves
06:32along the Canadian coast.
06:34Here, archaeologists
06:50sift through
06:51the muddy layers of time
06:53to find out more
06:57about the risks
06:58these early people took
07:00to survive.
07:04You know when people
07:07talk about archaeology?
07:09Yes.
07:10At the back of a cave
07:11digging mud is...
07:13This is the hard stuff.
07:15One thing that has been found
07:17in a number of caves
07:18on the northwest coast
07:20is spear points
07:23in association
07:23with bare bones.
07:24And these date
07:25as far back
07:26as 13,000 years.
07:29So is this
07:29one of these spear points?
07:31This is a fragment
07:32of a spear point
07:33that was found
07:34in a cave
07:35not too far from here.
07:36Yeah.
07:39We have uncovered
07:40a bone
07:41in the wall
07:42of this unit
07:43and it's 20 centimetres
07:45below the surface.
07:47And so I'm going to
07:49pull it
07:50and we'll see
07:50if it moves.
07:51All right.
07:52And we don't know
07:53what species it is
07:55or what bit of bone it is.
07:56There's not enough here
07:57to know for sure
07:58but it is a pretty big
08:00mammal
08:01for certain.
08:03Oh, it's not ending.
08:07Just make sure
08:08it slides out.
08:11It's a rib, isn't it?
08:13It looks like a rib.
08:14Yeah.
08:14Yeah.
08:15So that could be
08:17a bare rib.
08:19It's probably most likely
08:21what it is
08:21because it's quite robust.
08:23Oh, amazing.
08:25What age do you think it is?
08:27Well, we have
08:29some other samples
08:30from above
08:31where this bone is
08:33and they're coming back
08:34around 14,000 years old.
08:37Okay, so it's old.
08:38So it could be
08:38the same age
08:39or older.
08:40Yeah.
08:40You know,
08:42one of the most
08:42wonderful things
08:44about archaeology
08:44is that
08:45sometimes you uncover
08:47something that hasn't
08:48seen the light of day
08:49in thousands of years
08:51and in this case
08:52maybe 14,000 years.
08:54Well, we're interested
08:55in where bears
08:57were hunted
08:57in the past
08:58and in the winter
09:00when there's
09:01not as many resources
09:02around
09:03and people are
09:04feeling a bit hungry
09:05knowing where
09:06there is a bear den
09:07is quite a valuable thing
09:09because you can
09:10come up there
09:12and dispatch the bear
09:14you'll have
09:15a load of meat
09:17fur
09:18as well as bones.
09:22One theory
09:23of how they hunted bears
09:24would have meant
09:26getting perilously close
09:28essentially a hunter
09:32would go with a party
09:34to a cave
09:35smoke the bear
09:36out of the cave
09:37and entice that bear
09:40to attack
09:42a single hunter
09:43and that hunter
09:45would be armed
09:46with a bracing spear
09:47and a bear
09:49would come
09:49to take
09:50the hunter
09:52up in a bear hug
09:53which is a common
09:54thing that they do
09:55and the idea
09:56is a bear
09:57would take that
09:58hunter
09:58essentially give them
10:00a good crushing
10:01the hunter
10:03at the same time
10:04would brace the spear
10:05on the ground
10:05and aim it at the bear's heart
10:07and so essentially
10:08the bear would take
10:09the hunter
10:10and the spear
10:11into the bear hug
10:12thereby spearing itself
10:14through the heart
10:15a successful bear hunt
10:31could have meant food
10:32through the winter
10:33but not every hunter
10:42survived
10:43this is the bone cast
10:58of the oldest adult
11:00who have been found
11:01along this coast
11:02they were born
11:0210,000 years ago
11:04and this individual
11:05has been given a name
11:06shook a car
11:07and there's so much
11:08we don't know
11:09about this person
11:10we don't know
11:11about their family life
11:12we don't know
11:13if they had children
11:13but the amazing thing
11:16about bones
11:16is that they
11:17can tell a story
11:18if you know how
11:19to read them
11:20we know that this individual
11:21was a male
11:23we can tell that
11:24from various features
11:25like the squareness here
11:27of the chin
11:27like the back
11:30of the mandible
11:31like the angle
11:33here on the pelvis
11:34on a female
11:35you would typically
11:36expect that angle
11:37to be much wider
11:38and it's kind of sad
11:41because you can also
11:43tell quite a tragic story
11:44on the bones as well
11:46if you notice here
11:48that is a puncture wound
11:51and it fits quite well
11:54with the canine of a bear
11:56and so we think
11:57that this individual
11:58possibly met their demise
12:00because they were hunting
12:01for bears
12:02the dangers
12:09early humans faced down
12:10in order to survive
12:12are hard to imagine now
12:14but their precarious
12:17relationship
12:17with this unforgiving land
12:19had begun to shift
12:21thanks partly
12:25to a surprising form
12:27of help
12:32by hunting in packs
12:42wolves can bring down prey
12:43far larger than themselves
12:46a person
12:48especially on their own
12:50would be highly vulnerable
12:52good girl
13:00yeah
13:01it's unusual
13:02to have the mildest around
13:04here
13:04come on
13:06let's go
13:07wolves are
13:12and always have been
13:13wild animals
13:15Shelley
13:19am I able to come
13:20a bit closer
13:20yep
13:21I think the question
13:27is how close
13:28it's funny
13:32I can feel it
13:33in my shoulders
13:34my shoulders
13:35are a little bit tense
13:36but given time
13:47wolves are able
13:49to habituate
13:50to humans
13:51hello
13:54hello
13:56from around
14:0440,000 years ago
14:06probably in Siberia
14:08before humans
14:09had even reached
14:10North America
14:11the threat
14:12they faced
14:13from wolves
14:14began to transform
14:15into something different
14:17now we're not
14:22exactly sure
14:23of the details
14:23but it might have
14:24gone something like this
14:25wolves would gather
14:27around human campsites
14:28now at first
14:29maybe humans
14:30were terrified
14:31maybe they thought
14:32that they wanted
14:33to eat them
14:34but actually
14:35some of those wolves
14:36weren't interested
14:37in that at all
14:38they were looking
14:39for scraps
14:41and as they were
14:42doing that
14:43maybe they started
14:44fending off
14:45other predators
14:46and protecting
14:47our combined
14:48territory
14:49and because of this
14:51humans started
14:52tolerating
14:53some of the least
14:54aggressive
14:54some of the most
14:55docile of these
14:56maybe they even
14:57started feeding them
14:58we were reshaping wolves
15:03into dogs
15:04and began to use them
15:09to guard our camps
15:12hunt prey
15:17and pull sleds
15:20generation after generation
15:25we selected the most
15:27docile animals
15:28and reared their pups
15:30driving the evolution
15:35of a cooperative behavior
15:36that suited our needs
15:38this marked a turning point
15:43for the human species
15:45living with dogs
15:49helped us hunt
15:49for food
15:50and survive
15:51it gave us this
15:52much needed
15:53edge over hunger
15:55but it also marked
15:57this profound
15:58and completely
15:59unprecedented shift
16:01in our relationship
16:02with nature
16:03because never before
16:04had any living thing
16:05whether plant
16:06or animal
16:07been domesticated
16:08this was a complete first
16:11unbeknownst to us
16:21we were becoming
16:22curators of nature
16:24and gaining more control
16:26over our own fate
16:28but powerful forces
16:32far beyond
16:33the control
16:34of any human
16:35were about to open
16:36new gateways
16:37into the north
16:38american continent
16:39and as people answered
16:44the call
16:45of the interior
16:46far beyond
16:48the mountains
16:49and glaciers
16:50they would be forced
16:52to find
16:53entirely new ways
16:55to survive
17:09a fresh wave
17:11of human innovation
17:12would be triggered
17:13around 15,000 years ago
17:16when the climate
17:17began to warm
17:18the ice sheets
17:27and glaciers
17:28started to retreat
17:29and as they did
17:44the last major barrier
17:46blocking routes
17:47into the continent
17:48fell
17:49the first people
18:13to enter into the americas
18:15were coastal people
18:16in the northwest
18:17but it's likely
18:18that they eventually
18:19traveled incredibly
18:21rapidly down south
18:23all the way
18:24to central america
18:25and then carried on
18:27all the way
18:28to the tip
18:29of south america
18:30because remember
18:31they were coastal people
18:33it's likely
18:34that they were using
18:35some kind of seafaring
18:36method
18:37so very early on
18:40some humans
18:41would have started
18:42to enter the continent
18:43from along this sea route
18:44but when the ice sheets
18:49eventually started
18:50to retreat
18:51many new routes
18:53would have opened up
18:54more people
18:58started traveling
18:59into the interior
19:01of the country
19:02and finding
19:04these completely
19:05new landscapes
19:06some of the first humans
19:14to reach the interior
19:15left traces
19:16here in new mexico
19:18fossilized footprints
19:24left in the muddy shore
19:28of an ancient lake
19:30the people who made them
19:41may have been part
19:42of one of the very
19:43earliest waves
19:45of what was to become
19:4610,000 years
19:48of human migration inland
19:50where there is now desert
19:56they saw rich grasslands
19:58the fossilized footprints
20:04of these continental pioneers
20:06reveal
20:07what kind of a world
20:09they'd stepped into
20:11these are the footprints
20:14of an actual human being
20:16who stood
20:16basically where I'm standing
20:18and we think
20:20she was a female
20:21and if you look closely
20:24at those footprints
20:24what you see is that
20:25at times the footprints
20:26they get broader
20:28and they slip a little
20:29in the mud
20:29and that's because
20:43she was carrying
20:44a child
20:45sometimes on this hip
20:47and sometimes on this hip
20:48then at other times
21:03she stopped
21:04and put the child down
21:05and you end up
21:06with two sets
21:08of footprints
21:08and she walked
21:18for at least
21:19a kilometre north
21:20and then heads back south
21:23and I just can't think
21:25of anything more
21:26more human
21:27than a mother
21:28and a child
21:29walking together
21:30and a mother
21:32carrying her child
21:33and it's interesting
21:35because this whole journey
21:36has been us
21:38tracing the footprints
21:38of our ancient ancestors
21:41and in a moment like this
21:44that's actually literal
21:45Archaeologists are finding
22:00more of these footprints
22:02left by a female
22:04or possibly an adolescent male
22:06carrying a child
22:07hidden beneath
22:08with the hard
22:09packed sand
22:10it's allowing us
22:13to piece together
22:14an ever more detailed
22:15snapshot
22:16of what happened
22:17in the moments
22:19captured here
22:20let's see if we can
22:23define the footprint
22:23a little bit
22:24yeah
22:24it's always scary
22:26when you start
22:27these things
22:28you've got to
22:30take them out
22:32there's a subtle difference
22:33between the soil
22:34in the print
22:35it's looser
22:36it's a little damp
22:37so it's going to smear
22:38a bit today
22:39but it will come out
22:41you see it so clearly
22:49so you've just traced
22:51along the
22:52I've just
22:53I've literally
22:54just broken the surface
22:57with the dental pick
22:59yeah
23:00and then
23:00this particular example
23:02just brushes out
23:03with a little bit
23:04of encouragement
23:04you can see the
23:06contrast between
23:08the white
23:09yeah
23:09and the fill in there
23:11I'm removing the
23:12the sediment
23:14that's blown
23:14into the footprint
23:15so we think she was
23:18walking quite quickly
23:19then
23:19yeah
23:19she's walking
23:20at about 1.6
23:22something like
23:23metres per second
23:23and a comfortable
23:25normal sort of walk
23:26is about 1.3
23:28to 1.5
23:29so she's moving
23:30and this surface
23:30is wet
23:31it's slippy
23:32we do know
23:33that this was
23:34a mission
23:35they were on a mission
23:36they were moving
23:37quickly
23:38at speed
23:39for whatever reason
23:39and the footprint
23:41tells our story
23:43why that person
23:49was hurrying
23:50might be explained
23:51by evidence
23:52nearby
23:53other footprints
24:02each one
24:03around 2 feet
24:05in diameter
24:05left by mammoths
24:11and crisscrossing
24:17the footprints
24:18of the mother
24:19and child
24:20are the tracks
24:21of a giant
24:22ground sloth
24:23out in the open
24:29with dangerous
24:30animals close by
24:31the mother
24:32was perhaps
24:33seeking safety
24:34for herself
24:35and her child
24:37this landscape
24:41would have been
24:41filled with mammoth
24:43and mastodont
24:43and saber-toothed
24:45cats
24:45just huge animals
24:47they would have
24:48dwarfed us
24:49the mammoth
24:50alone
24:51would stand
24:51at about
24:524 metres high
24:53that's about
24:5413 feet
24:54at the shoulders
24:55and the mastodont
24:57were only
24:57slightly smaller
24:58for the humans
25:01here
25:01this was
25:03their new world
25:04the early people
25:07of the plains
25:08would have given
25:09these prehistoric mammals
25:11a wide birth
25:14but they must have
25:27realised
25:27that those animals
25:28also represented
25:29opportunity
25:30that these
25:35grazing giants
25:36could provide them
25:37with food
25:39if
25:43they could find
25:44a way
25:44to bring them down
25:45we know
25:50they eventually
25:51found a way
25:51to do this
25:52because they left
25:53a massive clue
25:54skeletons
26:01of this
26:02megafauna
26:02some
26:06clearly killed
26:07by humans
26:09humans
26:12would have
26:12exploited
26:12some
26:13megafauna
26:14some large land
26:15animals
26:15on the coast
26:16but it was
26:17once they
26:18hit the interior
26:19that they
26:20saw them
26:20on a scale
26:21like something
26:22else
26:22in terms of
26:23their sheer numbers
26:25in terms
26:25of their diversity
26:26but how on earth
26:33could people
26:33hunt these giants
26:35one animal
26:49still exists
26:50which gives us
26:51a sense
26:51of just how
26:52difficult
26:53that would have
26:53been
26:54this beast
27:15can sprint
27:16at up to
27:1740 miles
27:18per hour
27:19the male's
27:21horns
27:21are over
27:22two feet
27:22long
27:23and 14,000
27:25years ago
27:26these bison
27:27had an even
27:29bigger
27:29prehistoric
27:30relative
27:31roaming
27:32these parts
27:33absolutely
27:37absolutely
27:37incredible
27:38but they're also
27:39so big
27:42they're about
27:43one ton
27:44in size
27:45and
27:46the giant
27:48bison
27:48the one
27:49that's now
27:50extinct
27:50but would have
27:51been around
27:51back then
27:52was up to
27:5250
27:5350%
27:54bigger
27:55it's one
28:00it's one of
28:00those things
28:01I think
28:01today
28:01you can
28:02romanticize
28:03the idea
28:04of these
28:04hunts
28:05and you
28:05think about
28:05them as
28:06some kind
28:07of you know
28:08adrenaline
28:08filled
28:09adventure
28:10but it's
28:11harder to
28:11grasp
28:12that actually
28:13back then
28:14it would have
28:15been filled
28:15with fear
28:16and risk
28:18only a
28:23powerful
28:24spear thrust
28:25could penetrate
28:25the giant's
28:26hides
28:27so hunters
28:37needed to
28:38get close
28:48many hunts
29:02ended in
29:04failure
29:04they needed
29:11a technology
29:12upgrade
29:12up until
29:16this time
29:16the way
29:17spear points
29:18were attached
29:19to their
29:19shafts
29:20was a
29:20serious
29:21weakness
29:22spear points
29:27frequently
29:28broke
29:28on impact
29:29until
29:33the design
29:34was altered
29:35a subtle
29:38shift
29:39at first
29:40glance
29:40but one
29:41that would
29:42change
29:42everything
29:43this is
29:46special
29:46so it's
29:47it's about
29:4818 centimeters
29:49long
29:50it's pretty
29:52sharp
29:52if we look
29:54at the shape
29:54it's long
29:55and narrow
29:56with the
29:57broadest point
29:57being quite
29:59low down
29:59notice also
30:01this thinning
30:03here compared
30:03to the middle
30:04it's thought
30:05that the shape
30:05might help
30:06with the
30:06penetration
30:07of hides
30:07and it's
30:08thought that
30:09this might
30:10help
30:10with reducing
30:12shattering
30:12on impact
30:13we call
30:15it a
30:15clovis point
30:16because it
30:17was found
30:18near clovis
30:19in New
30:19Mexico
30:20the narrow
30:23base of the
30:24clovis points
30:25allowed them
30:26to be slotted
30:27firmly into
30:28the spear
30:28shaft
30:29better absorbing
30:31the force
30:32of impact
30:33from archaeological
30:41finds
30:42we know
30:42this new
30:43design
30:44rapidly spread
30:45across the
30:46continent
30:47and the
30:54technology
30:55continued
30:56to develop
30:57within
31:01500 years
31:02these points
31:03had evolved
31:04into more
31:05slender
31:05and sharper
31:06forms
31:06able to
31:10penetrate
31:10deeper
31:11into prey
31:12and archaeologists
31:24think
31:25these
31:25spear points
31:26were delivered
31:27with such
31:27lethal force
31:29because of
31:30another piece
31:31of technology
31:32whose use
31:35was exploding
31:36so this
31:52is a
31:53replica
31:54spearhead
31:55and it's
31:55been hafted
31:56or attached
31:57on
31:57to a
31:58wooden
31:59shaft
31:59so this
32:00would have
32:01been
32:01quite an
32:03effective
32:03weapon
32:03but this
32:05is where
32:05technology
32:05gets
32:06really
32:06interesting
32:06because
32:07it's
32:07thought
32:07that
32:07one
32:08of
32:08the
32:08ways
32:08that
32:09they
32:09threw
32:10these
32:10spears
32:11is
32:11with
32:11a
32:12spear
32:12thrower
32:13so you'd
32:13attach
32:13it
32:13to
32:14the
32:14top
32:14here
32:15and
32:15then
32:16you
32:16would
32:16effectively
32:16use
32:17it
32:18to
32:18propel
32:20the
32:20spear
32:20forward
32:36at
32:45at
32:45at
32:45that
32:45velocity
32:46you're
32:47more
32:47likely
32:48to
32:48pierce
32:48the
32:49hide
32:49of
32:50an
32:50animal
32:50and
32:52to
32:52me
32:52it's
32:53it's
32:54especially
32:55interesting
32:55because
32:56what you
32:57get
32:57with
32:57this
32:58is
32:59the
32:59ability
33:00for
33:00female
33:01hunters
33:01to be
33:03more
33:03effective
33:04because
33:04suddenly
33:05it's
33:05not
33:05just
33:05about
33:07strength
33:08it's
33:08also
33:09about
33:10skill
33:10the
33:20new
33:20hunting
33:21technologies
33:21allowed
33:22people
33:22to
33:23take
33:23down
33:23the
33:24largest
33:25animals
33:25in
33:26their
33:26world
33:27humans
33:38had
33:39become
33:39the apex
33:40predator
33:41of the
33:41plains
33:42and
33:43now
33:43feasted
33:44on
33:44a
33:45glut
33:45of
33:45meat
33:46our
33:53hunting
33:53prowess
33:54was
33:55shaping
33:55society
33:56here
33:57this
34:06is
34:06absolutely
34:07stunning
34:07it's
34:08one
34:08of
34:08the
34:08most
34:08striking
34:09spearheads
34:10I've
34:10ever
34:10seen
34:11it's
34:11so
34:12well
34:13crafted
34:13and
34:14it
34:14shines
34:14and
34:15it
34:15looks
34:15like
34:16it
34:16was
34:16made
34:16of
34:17glass
34:17but
34:18actually
34:18it's
34:18made
34:18of
34:19quartz
34:19so
34:19it's
34:19incredibly
34:19strong
34:20and
34:20it's
34:21sharp
34:21and yet
34:22it
34:23doesn't
34:23have
34:23any
34:24signs
34:24that
34:24it
34:24was
34:25actually
34:25ever
34:25used
34:26and
34:27that
34:27along
34:27with
34:28the
34:28fact
34:28that
34:28it's
34:28so
34:29beautiful
34:29suggests
34:30that
34:30it
34:30was
34:30ceremonial
34:31now
34:32when
34:32you've
34:32got
34:32an
34:33everyday
34:33object
34:34and
34:34it's
34:34made
34:39implies
34:40that
34:40it
34:40had
34:41become
34:41a
34:41symbol
34:42we're
34:42not
34:42sure
34:43of
34:43what
34:43perhaps
34:43of
34:44how
34:44important
34:44hunting
34:44was
34:45but
34:45perhaps
34:46of
34:46a
34:46cultural
34:47identity
34:47perhaps
34:48of
34:48who
34:48they
34:48were
34:49are
34:49not
34:50the
34:51the
34:51the
34:52the
34:53the
34:54the
34:55the
34:56the
34:57the
34:59the
35:00the
35:01the
35:01feasts
35:02began to
35:03bring
35:03different
35:04communities
35:04together
35:05and
35:08cement
35:08social
35:09ties
35:10sharing
35:14meat
35:15fostered
35:15cooperation
35:16food
35:21was
35:22fueling
35:22a
35:22culture
35:23in
35:27the
35:28midst
35:28of
35:28this
35:28abundance
35:29it
35:30must
35:30have
35:30felt
35:31as if
35:32it
35:32would
35:32go
35:32on
35:33forever
35:33but
35:43their
35:43world
35:44was
35:45changing
35:45the
35:54end
35:54of
35:55the
35:55ice
35:55age
35:55that
35:55had
35:56gifted
35:56them
35:57this
35:57warm
35:57world
35:58of
35:58plenty
35:59was
36:00now
36:00beginning
36:00to
36:01have
36:01an
36:01effect
36:02they
36:02could
36:03not
36:03have
36:03foreseen
36:04it's
36:13thought
36:13that
36:13melting
36:13ice
36:14at
36:14the
36:14poles
36:15disrupted
36:15ocean
36:16currents
36:17temperatures
36:18in the
36:19northern
36:19hemisphere
36:20rapidly
36:21cooled
36:22by
36:22several
36:23degrees
36:23across
36:28north
36:28america
36:28the
36:29vegetation
36:30had
36:30begun
36:31to
36:31alter
36:31in
36:32unpredictable
36:33ways
36:33in
36:36some
36:37areas
36:37trees
36:38and shrubs
36:39began to
36:39replace
36:40grassland
36:41and tundra
36:42woolly mammoths
36:46could not
36:46effectively chew
36:47or digest
36:48these woodier
36:49plants
36:50and as
36:54their environment
36:55transformed
36:56the
36:59giant
36:59herbivores
37:00dwindled
37:01over
37:07the
37:07space
37:08of
37:08just
37:09a few
37:09hundred
37:10years
37:10three
37:12quarters
37:12of
37:13the
37:13large
37:13animal
37:14species
37:14in
37:15north
37:15america
37:15became
37:17extinct
37:17vanishing
37:19forever
37:20i
37:23imagine
37:23it
37:23must
37:24have
37:24been
37:24a
37:25shock
37:26for
37:27the
37:27early
37:27people
37:27here
37:28to
37:29witness
37:30the
37:31megafauna
37:31disappearing
37:33because
37:33that's
37:34what they
37:34would have
37:35seen
37:35and
37:36they're
37:36such
37:36a
37:36part
37:37of
37:37your
37:37culture
37:38and
37:38your
37:38diet
37:38and
37:39your
37:39lifestyle
37:39and
37:40suddenly
37:40they're
37:41not
37:41that
37:43that
37:44must
37:45have
37:45been
37:45quite
37:45difficult
37:46to
37:46comprehend
37:47now
37:51the main
37:52cause
37:52of the
37:53giant
37:53megafauna
37:53extinction
37:54is
37:54climate
37:54change
37:55but
37:56it's
37:56likely
37:56that
37:57human
37:57hunting
37:58played
37:59a role
37:59that
37:59it
37:59was
38:00this
38:00final
38:01nail
38:01in
38:01the
38:01coffin
38:02and
38:02so
38:02perhaps
38:03unknowingly
38:04we
38:04humans
38:05tip
38:05the
38:06balance
38:06of
38:06nature
38:07the
38:14once
38:14bountiful
38:15land
38:15of
38:16giants
38:16had
38:18become
38:18a
38:19pile
38:19of
38:19bones
38:20all
38:23the
38:23hunting
38:23technology
38:24in
38:24the
38:24world
38:25could
38:25do
38:26nothing
38:26to
38:27reverse
38:27this
38:28catastrophe
38:28the
38:37people
38:38here
38:38were
38:38plunged
38:38back
38:39to
38:40a
38:40time
38:40before
38:41the
38:41feasts
38:42were
38:49these
38:49animals
38:50gone
38:50how would
38:51they now
38:52find
38:52enough
38:53food
38:53a clue
38:57lies
38:58in ancient
38:59holes carved
39:00in the rock
39:01people
39:05needed to
39:05branch out
39:06and exploit
39:07every part
39:08of the
39:08food chain
39:09all the way
39:10through to
39:10something
39:11you probably
39:12don't think of
39:12as food
39:13and that's
39:14acorns
39:14now these
39:15are incredibly
39:16bitter
39:17because they're
39:17full of
39:18tannic acid
39:19and to get rid
39:20of some of that
39:20what they would
39:21do
39:21is they would
39:22firstly
39:23get rid of
39:23the shells
39:24and then
39:26they would
39:27grind
39:27the nuts
39:28up
39:29with
39:30water
39:31in the
39:33hopes of
39:33getting rid
39:34of some
39:34of that
39:35bitterness
39:35and
39:36honestly
39:39acorns
39:41sound
39:41disgusting
39:41and they
39:42taste
39:42disgusting
39:43they're
39:43still
39:44incredibly
39:44bitter
39:45and yet
39:46it's
39:46likely
39:47that
39:47the flour
39:48from these
39:49and the
39:49paste
39:50from these
39:50were some
39:50of the
39:51earliest
39:51processed
39:52plant
39:52food
39:52we actually
39:53have
39:54some of
39:54the
39:54grinding
39:55stones
39:55preserved
39:56in the
39:56archaeological
39:57record
39:57and if
39:58you look
39:59at all
39:59this
39:59it seems
40:00so clever
40:00it seems
40:01so inventive
40:02and yet
40:03it's a lot
40:04of effort
40:05to go to
40:05for what
40:06are essentially
40:07some really
40:08unpleasant
40:08calories
40:09if you were
40:12starving
40:13no question
40:14you'd do
40:14this
40:14and with
40:17the loss
40:17of the
40:17megafauna
40:18people's
40:19survival
40:19now hinged
40:21on smaller
40:21game
40:22and foraging
40:23for plants
40:24but there
40:27had to
40:27be
40:27another
40:28way
40:29the solution
40:47people came
40:48up with
40:48in the
40:48Americas
40:49would be
40:51found in
40:52tropical
40:52forests
40:53to the
40:53south
40:54this place
41:24it has
41:25it has
41:26real
41:27challenges
41:28there are
41:29plants
41:30so many of
41:31them look
41:31edible
41:31and yet
41:32some of
41:32them are
41:33definitely
41:34poisonous
41:34it requires
41:36a process
41:37of trial
41:37and error
41:38to find
41:39the actual
41:39food
41:40it was
41:46it was
41:46it was in
41:46a forest
41:46archaeologists
41:48think
41:48in present
41:49day
41:49Mexico
41:50that a
41:52momentous
41:52change
41:53took place
41:54and it
41:55began
41:55with the
41:56simplest
41:57of actions
41:58every so
42:01often
42:02someone
42:03would have
42:03come across
42:04a plant
42:05that was
42:05safe
42:06to eat
42:06and would
42:08have
42:08sought
42:08out
42:09more
42:09of it
42:10an
42:14example
42:14of this
42:15is
42:15this
42:16grass
42:17called
42:17Tiosinti
42:18now
42:19the seeds
42:19are
42:20incredibly
42:21small
42:21and hard
42:22but they
42:23can be
42:23ground up
42:24into
42:24an edible
42:25flower
42:25so that
42:26same
42:26ingenuity
42:27that humans
42:28brought
42:28to acorns
42:29they were
42:30now bringing
42:31to this
42:31grass
42:32where
42:37people
42:38found
42:38Tiosinti
42:39growing
42:39they
42:40encouraged
42:41it
42:41by
42:41weeding
42:42out
42:42other
42:43plants
42:43and
42:45collected
42:46seeds
42:46for
42:47food
42:47this
42:49may
42:49have
42:49continued
42:50for
42:50centuries
42:51until
42:54one
42:55individual
42:55would
42:57have
42:57become
42:57the
42:58first
42:58person
42:59in
42:59the
42:59Americas
43:00to do
43:01something
43:01completely
43:02original
43:03with a
43:04Tiosinti
43:04seed
43:05there
43:26is
43:26something
43:27so
43:27magical
43:29about
43:29planting
43:30a seed
43:30watering
43:31it
43:32and
43:33hoping
43:34that
43:34it
43:34sprouts
43:35and
43:35becomes
43:36a
43:36tiny
43:37little
43:37delicate
43:38green
43:39shoot
43:39and
43:46there
43:46would have
43:47been
43:47somebody
43:48who
43:49planted
43:49the
43:50very
43:50very
43:50first
43:51seed
43:51and
43:53and
43:53they
43:53would have
43:53known
43:54that it
43:55would
43:55require
43:56effort
43:57and care
43:58and protection
43:59from herbivores
44:00if it was
44:00to ever
44:01become something
44:02big enough
44:02to feed
44:03their families
44:03with
44:04and anybody
44:06who's ever
44:07had an
44:08allotment
44:09or a garden
44:10or a balcony
44:12knows how much
44:13care and commitment
44:15goes into it
44:16this was an idea
44:26whose time
44:28had come
44:29because humans
44:36all over the planet
44:38started to plant seeds
44:40and grow them for food
44:41and it was an experiment
44:45that began
44:46to pay off
44:47because across
44:49the world
44:50the people
44:51who did this
44:51were creating
44:52a more
44:53dependable way
44:55of feeding
44:56their families
44:57and so
44:58triggered
44:59a pivotal
45:00moment
45:00for our species
45:02in different
45:07places
45:07all over the
45:09earth
45:09humans
45:10were inventing
45:11farming
45:12probably first
45:16around 10,000
45:17years ago
45:18in the fertile
45:19crescent
45:20of the Middle East
45:20where we
45:22domesticated
45:22wheat
45:23then rice
45:27in China
45:27sugar cane
45:31in present day
45:32New Guinea
45:32farming emerged
45:37independently
45:38in separate
45:39locations
45:40across the globe
45:41central and south
45:44America
45:45among the first
45:47here people created
45:53what would become
45:55one of the three
45:56most important
45:57staple crops
45:58for feeding the world
46:01because as the early farmers
46:06planted and harvested
46:08teosinti
46:08they began to shape it
46:12into a new
46:13kind of plant
46:14every so often
46:19a genetic mutation
46:20would arise
46:21in teosinti
46:22that would actually be
46:23quite beneficial
46:25for humans
46:26that would give rise
46:27to say
46:27larger seeds
46:28or more seeds
46:30or more seeds
46:30or sweeter seeds
46:31and perhaps most important
46:33of all
46:33would get rid of the hard
46:35seed covering
46:35and humans started
46:37selecting for these
46:38better varieties
46:39and over thousands
46:41of years
46:42they created
46:43something new
46:44that looked
46:45very different
46:46from teosinti
46:48because they created
46:49maize
46:51it was no longer
46:54a wild plant
46:55it was now
46:56a domesticated crop
46:59the invention of farming
47:08was to set in motion
47:10a change
47:10that would go far beyond
47:12how we fed ourselves
47:14the clue
47:19is in that word
47:21plant
47:22to be put down
47:23in one place
47:25and just like
47:26the plants
47:27that they grew
47:28those early farmers
47:30would have had
47:31to have adopted
47:32a very similar lifestyle
47:34because you couldn't
47:36exactly
47:37keep moving
47:37if you had to
47:38tend
47:39to your crops
47:40and so
47:41for the very first time
47:43since the birth
47:44of homo sapiens
47:45we were no longer
47:47a completely nomadic species
47:49more and more of us
47:51were quite literally
47:53putting down roots
47:55farming supercharged
48:03our capacity
48:03to fuel
48:04human activity
48:06and what emerged
48:09was extraordinary
48:10here in South America
48:20there's a place
48:21where they began
48:22a new way
48:23of living
48:24on an unprecedented scale
48:26the stepped pyramids
48:43of Corral
48:43were once lost
48:45under the desert sand
48:46archaeologists
48:54are now uncovering
48:55a vast complex
48:57of structures
48:58and what made it possible
49:11to build these
49:12extraordinary edifices
49:14were the fields
49:18of crops
49:18that surrounded them
49:20Corral became
49:27an immense hub
49:29for trading food
49:30it represented
49:35a new path
49:37humans could take
49:39towards permanence
49:40and stability
49:41but for our species
49:47to choose that path
49:49was not
49:50a foregone conclusion
49:52I just can't help
50:07but think
50:07what would it have been like
50:09for people visiting it
50:11for the first time
50:12back then
50:13because they would have
50:15never seen a city before
50:17it must have been
50:18so alien to them
50:19it must have looked like
50:20a place from a different world
50:22this was a commitment
50:28to a static way of life
50:30and yet we don't consider
50:33how tumultuous
50:34the process might have been
50:36how much social upheaval
50:38might have been involved
50:40because for those
50:41who chose
50:42to lead this life
50:44it must have come
50:46with a huge cultural shift
50:48because humans
50:50were becoming
50:51an urban species
50:52for the very first time
50:54humans across the planet
51:04stood at a fork in the road
51:07for almost 300,000 years
51:11we had survived
51:13as nomadic hunter-gatherers
51:15but settled lives
51:19as farmers
51:19promised a more reliable way
51:22to feed ourselves
51:23and plan for the future
51:25the choice most of our species took
51:41would bring dilemmas
51:43and dangers
51:44we could never
51:45have imagined
51:47next time
51:51in the final chapter
51:55of our human story
51:56we begin to live together
51:59in ever larger numbers
52:01but open a Pandora's box
52:05of death and chaos
52:09as we seek ways
52:12to harness human knowledge
52:14on our path
52:16to the modern world
52:18in this episode
52:31we filmed at a place
52:33I'd long dreamt
52:34of visiting
52:35white sands
52:38in New Mexico
52:39underneath the surface
52:45of the desert
52:46a set of fossilized footprints
52:48that become the subject
52:54of some of the most groundbreaking
52:56but also most hotly debated
52:59research in archaeology
53:02in 2018
53:09the discovery
53:10of the double footprints
53:11possibly a mother and child
53:14revealed vivid details
53:16about who the early people
53:18here were
53:19and what animals
53:22roamed alongside them
53:23when we first started
53:28seeing the human prints
53:29walking alongside
53:30a mammoth print
53:31when I first seen them
53:32I was like
53:33that's not possible
53:34but it takes a while
53:35to understand what you see
53:37and then you go back
53:38and you start to understand them
53:39but the prints themselves
53:42were just the start
53:44because in 2021
53:46new research
53:47on their age
53:48sent shockwaves
53:50through the scientific world
53:52there's been a lot of ideas
53:55when people got to the Americas
53:56some of the main theories
53:58is there's a large ice sheet
54:00and people were really able
54:01to enter this area
54:02until about 14,000 years ago
54:04until that ice sheet melted
54:06when humans first arrived
54:09in North America
54:10an ice sheet covered
54:11the northern half
54:13of the continent
54:14if no humans
54:16had been able to penetrate
54:18the interior
54:19until it had melted
54:20then the oldest
54:23the footprints could possibly be
54:25is around 14,000 years
54:27but the dating
54:29of the footprints
54:30seemed to overturn
54:31that conventional view
54:33we put in a trench
54:36at the edge
54:37of the lake shore
54:37and we're finding prints
54:39that were dated
54:40above and below the prints
54:41so we can see
54:42the soil chronology
54:43the footprints themselves
54:46can't be carbon dated
54:49but fossilized plant seeds
54:52trapped in the mud
54:53near the footprints
54:54can be
54:55and carbon dating
54:57of seeds
54:58in the layers above
54:59and below
55:00so these footprints
55:01were explosive
55:03so we don't know
55:06exactly how old they are
55:07but we're looking
55:07at the lake sediments
55:09and what we see
55:10is there's at least
55:1111 different layers
55:13right now
55:13and those range
55:15from the top
55:15of the sediment
55:16to the bottom
55:17from 21 to 23,000 years old
55:19the dating research
55:23suggested the footprints
55:25went as far back
55:26as 23,000 years ago
55:30if true
55:33it would mean
55:34humans had set foot
55:35in North America
55:37thousands of years earlier
55:40than many scientists
55:42had long believed
55:44so at White Sands
55:48we see that people
55:49were here
55:49before the last glacier maximum
55:51before there was
55:52these last ice sheets
55:53people were already here
55:54the very early dates
55:57are controversial
55:58further research
56:00will be needed
56:00to confirm
56:01how old
56:02the White Sands footprints
56:03truly are
56:05if they date
56:07to before the melting
56:08of the ice sheets
56:10did those pioneers
56:12travel around the ice
56:14despite the debate
56:16the footprints remain
56:17one of the most
56:19important
56:19archaeological finds
56:21of recent history
56:23with huge significance
56:25for the entire question
56:27of when humans
56:29first set foot
56:31in the Americas
56:32the sea
56:40is
56:44the
56:46the
56:48the
56:50the
56:59the
57:01Gracias por ver el video.
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