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00:00:43For a long time, fables are all we imagined of Neanderthals, our closest genetic cousins.
00:00:51And strange ideas began to develop about who Neanderthals really were.
00:00:57The folklore is that they wore little clothing, made grunting sounds, and were feeble-minded and aggressive.
00:01:05These ideas were based on pure imagination, not fact.
00:01:10And so, Neanderthals exist as fleeting images of simple cavemen.
00:01:15Like cartoons, they resemble half-naked caricatures of our most primitive, least interesting selves.
00:01:26Dare we imagine that they were capable of building lives that also had love, craft, music, and art?
00:01:35They certainly were successful at life in Europe.
00:01:38They lived there for almost 300,000 years, something that we may not be able to match.
00:01:45And, out of these imagined and extremely simplistic images,
00:01:48we have decided that we know what they and their lives were like.
00:01:53But are these ideas correct?
00:01:56Can we really know how Neanderthals looked, dressed, and acted?
00:02:09First, there's the problem of timescale.
00:02:12Thinking about the past, we can imagine a few thousand years back.
00:02:16But the beings we call Neanderthals lived hundreds of thousands of years before our most distant imagination
00:02:23and went extinct 30,000 to 40,000 years ago.
00:02:26There is no memory of this time and of these people.
00:02:29They left almost nothing except their bones, marks, and some objects.
00:02:37We are looking at the popular view of Neanderthals as cave people wearing animal skins.
00:02:42We don't know that this is how they looked.
00:02:45Recent evidence has uncovered the presence of woven strings,
00:02:49so they could have worn elaborate costumes, for example,
00:02:52none of which would have survived after eons of weather exposure.
00:02:57So, is this a real Neanderthal, or merely a modern imagination of one?
00:03:14Look closely at your screen.
00:03:17What we see here is what, until the 19th century, we knew of our distant past.
00:03:23Like a black sheet of paper, with no clues, no timeline,
00:03:27it remained that way until 1856, when the first Neanderthal fossil was found,
00:03:33the first evidence of a distinct archaic human relative.
00:03:40And then, something emerged in 1974.
00:03:43Forty percent of a skeleton of a creature that, like us, walked on two legs,
00:03:48but was much older, having lived about three million years ago.
00:03:55The skull belonged to a species of human ancestor that roamed the landscapes of South Africa,
00:04:00and is known as Australopithecus africanus.
00:04:05These beings were small.
00:04:08Their heads were about the size of a grapefruit.
00:04:10The lower half of their faces was pushed forward, as is true of present-day monkeys.
00:04:19But monkeys have brow ridges that this creature lacked.
00:04:23In that sense, it seemed more human, even millions of years ago.
00:04:29There are problems classifying primates that are non-human, like apes and chimps,
00:04:35along with species that were human-like.
00:04:38Unfortunately, science doesn't help with language,
00:04:41since these differences have names that sound almost exactly the same.
00:04:47The big category is that of hominids,
00:04:51which includes all great apes, humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans,
00:04:56as well as their ancestors.
00:05:03Under this umbrella is a smaller group, the hominins,
00:05:07which pertains only to humans and their closest extinct relatives.
00:05:13But the difference between hominids and hominins can be subtle.
00:05:20A chimpanzee's skull shows a small brain case
00:05:23and a very large jaw for eating and chewing.
00:05:29But the Australopithecus afarensis, perhaps the first hominin to walk upright,
00:05:34has a smaller eyebrow ridge and larger eyes.
00:05:38The teeth are almost human-like.
00:05:41Modern humans' jaws are much smaller in proportion to their brain size,
00:05:46which now takes up the largest area in the skull.
00:05:51From these small differences,
00:05:53we can begin to understand human evolution
00:05:55from fossils and bones back in time.
00:06:00In fact, even though Australopithecus afarensis lived 3 million years ago,
00:06:04it wasn't the oldest pre-human.
00:06:06It's just one in a long line of beings
00:06:09who walked upright millions of years ago.
00:06:12And they are all connected to ourselves.
00:06:17This is what the ancestors to humans
00:06:20were thought to look like in the 1700s
00:06:22because no other upright species
00:06:24was discovered before the mid-1800s.
00:06:29Neanderthals, which evolved 400,000 years ago,
00:06:32looked nothing like this.
00:06:33Our evolutionary lineage is a much more interesting story.
00:06:39Admittedly, our ancient past is a jigsaw puzzle
00:06:42with many missing pieces.
00:06:44To organize the clues, we turn to paleoanthropology,
00:06:49the field that studies the origins and evolution of humans
00:06:52and their ancestors through fossils, artifacts, and other evidence.
00:06:58This can bring Neanderthal questions to life.
00:07:03We have learned of our ancestors
00:07:05from relatively few skulls, skeletons, and stones.
00:07:08And so, our account, like their history,
00:07:12is incomplete and fragmentary.
00:07:14But it's a start.
00:07:24First, we need a timeline.
00:07:26Not in centuries, but in millions of years.
00:07:29In order to allow us to understand
00:07:31the succession of these ancestral species
00:07:34that led to the evolution of ourselves
00:07:36as the latest version of upright beings on this planet.
00:07:43As our timeline reaches into the past,
00:07:46we turn back the clock on Earth
00:07:48one, two, three million years ago, and more,
00:07:51until we arrive at the earliest known time
00:07:53at which upright beings appear on Earth
00:07:55just about seven million years ago.
00:08:02The prevailing view is that it all began here,
00:08:06in the north-central part of what is today
00:08:08the African continent.
00:08:09It was here that the first hominin emerged
00:08:12on two legs, making tools,
00:08:15living distinct to other apes and monkeys.
00:08:19This is Sahelanthropus chadensis,
00:08:22the first of many species on the genetic road
00:08:25to us modern humans.
00:08:27We know that despite a small brain
00:08:30and highly protruding brow ridge like some apes have,
00:08:33he walked upright and made his life on the ground
00:08:36rather than up in the trees.
00:08:38The discovery of this species
00:08:39was followed by another significant find,
00:08:43Australopithecus anamensis,
00:08:45who lived two million years later,
00:08:47about four million years ago.
00:08:49Its fossils have been discovered
00:08:51at several sites in Kenya and Ethiopia.
00:08:54It had a large protruding face
00:08:56with a robust jaw and a brain size
00:08:59similar to that of modern chimpanzees.
00:09:02And with smaller canine teeth compared to apes,
00:09:05he probably lived on a diet of harder,
00:09:07tougher foods like nuts and seeds.
00:09:12Living in a similar region of Africa,
00:09:15but a million years later still,
00:09:17appears Australopithecus afarensis,
00:09:19who lived about three to four million years ago.
00:09:24Afarensis could be a direct ancestor
00:09:26to the family that includes us, Homo sapiens.
00:09:30Its footprints were recorded in wet volcanic ash
00:09:33three and a half million years ago,
00:09:35and so we know how it walked.
00:09:36It is also the precursor of Australopithecus africanus.
00:09:42Africanus was a kind of bridge
00:09:44between earlier and later human species.
00:09:48He had some primitive traits,
00:09:50a small brain, long arms, and curved fingers
00:09:52that suggest he could climb trees,
00:09:55but he also had more advanced features,
00:09:58like a rounder skull and a flatter face,
00:10:00making him look more human.
00:10:02His brain was bigger than that of Afarensis,
00:10:05the species before him,
00:10:07showing a step forward in intelligence.
00:10:10His hips and legs show that he could walk upright,
00:10:13but he probably still spent time in the trees.
00:10:16We don't know exactly where he lived,
00:10:19but he gives us early clues
00:10:20about the shift from ape-like ancestors
00:10:23to early humans.
00:10:33Not every lineage led successfully to us,
00:10:36Homo sapiens.
00:10:37Consider Paranthropus aethiopicus,
00:10:40which lived with Africanus,
00:10:41but which showed none of his more human-like qualities.
00:10:46It's a fact of evolution
00:10:47that several subspecies can follow parallel,
00:10:51but unrelated, genetic branches.
00:10:56Almost a million years later,
00:10:58came Sadeba in southern Africa.
00:11:00Where its predecessor had massive jaws and molars,
00:11:04Sadeba had smaller teeth and jaws,
00:11:06which strongly indicates it was living on a broader diet.
00:11:12Sadeba's pelvis and hands also looked more human-like.
00:11:15It seems to have become capable of fine motor skills
00:11:18and possibly tool use.
00:11:22Having a broader diet
00:11:23also seems to have helped its evolution,
00:11:26as it probably became interested in eating other animals.
00:11:31In all of this,
00:11:32there is a change in the way Sadeba sees the world.
00:11:35It starts to seem more and more human
00:11:37than ape in nature.
00:11:45About a half-million years later,
00:11:47in East Africa,
00:11:48a new species appeared,
00:11:50Homo rudolfensis.
00:11:52Its brain was 60% larger,
00:11:55a tremendous leap in just half a million years.
00:11:58Perhaps it came from other subspecies
00:12:00that have not yet been found.
00:12:04Rudolfensis was also fully adapted
00:12:06for walking and running
00:12:08with human-like body proportions.
00:12:11And so,
00:12:12it came down to the ground to eat,
00:12:15developed a terrestrial life,
00:12:16and abandoned its home in the trees,
00:12:19unlike its ancestors.
00:12:24Rudolfensis came from the Australopithecus genus,
00:12:27a line that died out,
00:12:28but not before it gave rise
00:12:30to the lineage that became us humans.
00:12:33And that happened
00:12:35with someone we've seen before.
00:12:38Australopithecus afarensis,
00:12:39who walked upright like us,
00:12:41but still had a small brain
00:12:42and long arms for climbing.
00:12:45Over time,
00:12:46their upright posture
00:12:47and tool-use instincts
00:12:48paved the way
00:12:49for the first human-like beings.
00:12:53And so,
00:12:54starting about
00:12:55two and a half million years ago,
00:12:57the Homo line begins to show
00:12:59smaller teeth
00:13:00a flatter face,
00:13:01and underneath
00:13:02the still-evident
00:13:03receding forehead,
00:13:05there is nevertheless
00:13:05an enormous increase
00:13:07in brain capacity,
00:13:08which grows quickly
00:13:09with each successive subspecies.
00:13:13In this genetic line,
00:13:15Homo habilis
00:13:16became the earliest known species
00:13:18in the genus.
00:13:19Habilis is special
00:13:21in evolutionary history.
00:13:23He had a significantly larger brain,
00:13:25about twice the size
00:13:26of its predecessors.
00:13:28As the first
00:13:29to make tools
00:13:30for cutting,
00:13:31scraping,
00:13:32and processing meat and plants,
00:13:34he earned the name
00:13:35Handyman.
00:13:36And these clever advancements
00:13:38were passed down
00:13:39to future hominins.
00:13:41Such as,
00:13:42Homo erectus,
00:13:43one of the longest-lived
00:13:44and most successful
00:13:45hominin species.
00:13:47This being was even more special,
00:13:49marking many milestones
00:13:50in human evolution.
00:13:52It represents
00:13:53the first hominin
00:13:54to exhibit
00:13:55truly modern,
00:13:57human-like body proportions,
00:13:59to expand
00:14:00widely beyond Africa,
00:14:01and to show
00:14:02advanced technological
00:14:03and social traits.
00:14:05With a tall,
00:14:06lean body
00:14:07made for long-distance
00:14:08walking and running
00:14:09like that of modern humans,
00:14:10he leaves Africa,
00:14:12and never returning,
00:14:13traveled not only to Europe,
00:14:15but as far as Asia,
00:14:16and even Indonesia.
00:14:18Evidence from sites
00:14:20in China
00:14:20and South Africa
00:14:21suggests
00:14:22that he may have
00:14:23controlled fire
00:14:24for warmth,
00:14:25protection,
00:14:25and the ability
00:14:26to cook food.
00:14:28He lived
00:14:29from approximately
00:14:301.9 million years ago
00:14:32to 110,000 years ago.
00:14:34A truly long-lasting species.
00:14:38Erectus was unique
00:14:39in every way,
00:14:40and he was likely
00:14:41smart enough
00:14:41to have reflected
00:14:42on his own abilities.
00:14:51Later,
00:14:52around 700,000 years ago,
00:14:55Homo heidelbergensis,
00:14:56a true transitional species,
00:14:58appears.
00:14:59With a brain
00:15:00reaching up to
00:15:01twice the size
00:15:02of Homo erectus,
00:15:03it was a step closer
00:15:05to modern humans.
00:15:06Its higher,
00:15:07more rounded skull
00:15:08explains the more
00:15:10advanced tools
00:15:11and weapons
00:15:11that it used,
00:15:12including wooden spears
00:15:14for hunting.
00:15:14He showed early signs
00:15:17of complex skills,
00:15:18including the use of fire
00:15:20to survive
00:15:20harsher climates.
00:15:23It is from this
00:15:25ancestral group
00:15:26that two primary lineages
00:15:27may have emerged.
00:15:29One stayed in Africa
00:15:31and evolved into
00:15:32modern humans
00:15:33as Homo sapiens.
00:15:34The other left Africa
00:15:36700,000 years ago
00:15:37and evolved into
00:15:38Neanderthals
00:15:39in Europe
00:15:40and Western Asia.
00:15:42This is why
00:15:43Neanderthals
00:15:44and modern humans
00:15:44resemble each other
00:15:45so closely.
00:15:52We know that
00:15:53Heidelbergensis
00:15:54was found
00:15:54across a vast range
00:15:55of land
00:15:56and at some point
00:15:57the evolutionary pace
00:15:58seems to accelerate.
00:16:04Once outside Africa,
00:16:06the population
00:16:07that became
00:16:07Neanderthals
00:16:08adapted to the
00:16:09colder climates
00:16:10of Europe
00:16:10and Western Asia.
00:16:12Over hundreds
00:16:13of thousands of years
00:16:14they developed
00:16:14distinct physical
00:16:16and cultural traits
00:16:17suited to their environment.
00:16:20Meanwhile,
00:16:22the population
00:16:22that remained in Africa
00:16:23evolved into
00:16:24Homo sapiens,
00:16:25characterized by
00:16:27increasing brain size
00:16:28and technological
00:16:29advancements.
00:16:33While Neanderthals
00:16:34evolved in Europe
00:16:35and modern humans
00:16:36evolved in Africa,
00:16:37they re-encountered
00:16:38one another
00:16:39much later
00:16:39during the migrations
00:16:40of modern humans
00:16:41out of Africa
00:16:42around 80,000 years ago.
00:16:46These interactions
00:16:47included interbreeding,
00:16:49leaving genetic traces
00:16:50of Neanderthals
00:16:51in modern human populations
00:16:53outside Africa.
00:16:56two species,
00:16:57two stories,
00:16:59that of modern humans
00:17:00and that of Neanderthals,
00:17:02which remain a mystery.
00:17:05We know what their bones
00:17:06look like,
00:17:07but not how they dressed,
00:17:09how they spoke,
00:17:10how they lived,
00:17:11or how they died.
00:17:12Yet science
00:17:13has recently revealed
00:17:14much about Neanderthals
00:17:15and it is
00:17:16entirely surprising.
00:17:18What we have learned
00:17:20about this species
00:17:21has shattered
00:17:21the ideas we had
00:17:22about them
00:17:23as dumb
00:17:23and primitive
00:17:24cave people.
00:17:26Like ourselves,
00:17:27they were far from that.
00:17:29And like ourselves,
00:17:31Neanderthals come
00:17:32at the end
00:17:32of a long line
00:17:33of hominins.
00:17:34We have met
00:17:35only a few of them.
00:17:41Both ourselves
00:17:42and Neanderthals
00:17:43enjoyed the genetic
00:17:44and physical advantages
00:17:45of this evolutionary process.
00:17:48We both coexisted
00:17:49for thousands of years
00:17:50in Europe.
00:17:50It is tempting
00:17:52to imagine
00:17:52that maybe
00:17:53they could have
00:17:53taken our place
00:17:54in modernity.
00:17:55We just don't know
00:17:56why they didn't
00:17:57continue to prevail
00:17:58throughout Europe
00:17:59and Asia
00:18:00whereas we did.
00:18:03Perhaps, however,
00:18:04it is because
00:18:05out of all
00:18:05our evolutionary ancestors,
00:18:07we are the only
00:18:08subspecies
00:18:09that can change
00:18:10our environment
00:18:10rather than merely
00:18:12adapt to it.
00:18:19yet perhaps
00:18:20we will never know
00:18:22the mysteries
00:18:22of our ancestors,
00:18:24how they emerged,
00:18:25what they thought,
00:18:26how they evolved.
00:18:28It seems
00:18:29this is our destiny
00:18:30in the great circle
00:18:31of life.
00:18:34Perhaps the technology
00:18:35that has allowed us
00:18:36to outlive
00:18:37the Neanderthals
00:18:38and thrive
00:18:38until the present day
00:18:39will be
00:18:40what threatens
00:18:41our very existence
00:18:42tomorrow.
00:18:46Will we too
00:18:47disappear in time?
00:19:181856.
00:19:19A summer day
00:19:20in a beautiful
00:19:21valley in Germany
00:19:22where workers
00:19:23digging out minerals
00:19:24from a quarry
00:19:25on a hillside
00:19:26discover a cave
00:19:27with what appeared
00:19:28to be parts
00:19:29of a human skeleton.
00:19:33The bones
00:19:34were at first
00:19:35confused
00:19:36with those
00:19:37of a modern human.
00:19:38No one had seen
00:19:39a Neanderthal before
00:19:41and since
00:19:42the importance
00:19:43of this discovery
00:19:43was not understood
00:19:44quarry work
00:19:46continued
00:19:46until by 1900
00:19:48the hill
00:19:49that had held
00:19:50this Neanderthal's body
00:19:51for 40,000 years
00:19:52disappeared entirely.
00:19:59This is a drawing
00:20:00of what it looked like
00:20:01made in the 19th century.
00:20:03This quarry
00:20:04is now gone.
00:20:06So by way
00:20:06of introduction
00:20:07it is ironic
00:20:08that the site
00:20:09where the first
00:20:10Neanderthal
00:20:10was discovered
00:20:11is itself lost.
00:20:16At the base
00:20:17of the hill
00:20:17is the Dussel River
00:20:18which during
00:20:19any of the ice ages
00:20:20that passed
00:20:21when Neanderthals lived
00:20:22must have been higher
00:20:23near the mouth
00:20:24of this cavern.
00:20:26Today the cavern
00:20:27lies 60 feet
00:20:28above the river
00:20:28and 100 feet
00:20:29below the countryside.
00:20:37Although the cavern
00:20:38went unnoticed
00:20:39for thousands of years
00:20:40it wasn't hidden
00:20:41and could easily
00:20:43have been explored.
00:20:47One can only guess
00:20:49how easily
00:20:49it could have been found
00:20:50but also how likely
00:20:52it is
00:20:52that this great site
00:20:53might have been missed
00:20:55entirely
00:20:55as the workers
00:20:56in the quarry
00:20:57stripped down
00:20:57the side of the hill
00:20:58layer by layer
00:21:00without thinking
00:21:01of what lay behind
00:21:02and beneath
00:21:03their tools.
00:21:04In fact
00:21:05the Feldhofer site
00:21:06set off a chain
00:21:07of successive discoveries
00:21:09of Neanderthal bones
00:21:10and artifacts
00:21:10cave after cave
00:21:12from Western Europe
00:21:13all the way
00:21:14to Central Asia.
00:21:20But the body
00:21:22in the cave
00:21:22would not likely
00:21:23have been remarkable.
00:21:25The important fact
00:21:26is that Neanderthals
00:21:27we later learned
00:21:28lived in caves
00:21:29although not
00:21:30exclusively within them.
00:21:33It seems
00:21:34they preferred
00:21:34the comfort
00:21:35perhaps even
00:21:36the secrecy
00:21:36of this most natural
00:21:38of nature's wombs.
00:21:40Among the bones
00:21:41and other fragments
00:21:42the Feldhofer discovery
00:21:43included a partial skull cap.
00:21:47It had unusual features
00:21:48that at first
00:21:50as in two other
00:21:51Neanderthal sites
00:21:52went completely
00:21:53unrecognized.
00:21:54An amateur scholar
00:21:56examined this cranial fragment
00:21:57and noticed
00:21:58some odd features
00:21:59not found
00:22:00in the physiology
00:22:01of modern humans.
00:22:04The first of these
00:22:05was an unusual
00:22:06set of brow ridges
00:22:07which were thick
00:22:08and stuck out
00:22:09a little too prominently.
00:22:20Also unusual
00:22:21for a normal human skull
00:22:23was the forehead
00:22:23which was sharply
00:22:25sloped backward
00:22:25over a low
00:22:27elongated brain case.
00:22:37And even more unusual
00:22:39was the proportion
00:22:40of the very large
00:22:41eye sockets
00:22:42for the skull
00:22:43and must have held
00:22:44eyeballs
00:22:44that seemed abnormally large.
00:22:47Altogether
00:22:48this was not the skull
00:22:49of a normal human.
00:22:50suspicion
00:22:51began to grow
00:22:52that this was
00:22:53a different species
00:22:54entirely.
00:22:57The remains
00:22:58were not
00:22:59of an anatomically
00:23:00modern human
00:23:01but rather
00:23:02of an adult male
00:23:03estimated to have lived
00:23:04approximately
00:23:0540 to 60 thousand
00:23:06years earlier.
00:23:10Antiquity
00:23:11was the watchword
00:23:12a hundred years ago
00:23:13as new discoveries
00:23:14revealed
00:23:15a distant past
00:23:16beyond what
00:23:17anyone had imagined.
00:23:21books with the title
00:23:22abounded
00:23:23including this one
00:23:24by Arthur Keith
00:23:24a British
00:23:25anthropologist
00:23:26who studied
00:23:27ancient humans
00:23:28by focusing
00:23:29on their anatomy.
00:23:32Or this one
00:23:33by British geologist
00:23:35Charles Lyell
00:23:36who in the 1860s
00:23:37was the first
00:23:38to focus
00:23:39on Neanderthals.
00:23:41In analyzing
00:23:42the anatomy
00:23:43of extinct hominins
00:23:45Lyell and Keith
00:23:46went beyond
00:23:47Charles Darwin
00:23:48whose classic book
00:23:49The Origin of Species
00:23:51had only guessed
00:23:52that we humans
00:23:53evolved from
00:23:54earlier hominins.
00:23:55Here now
00:23:56was actual evidence
00:23:57of Darwin's theory.
00:24:01When Neanderthals
00:24:02were found
00:24:03it was instantly
00:24:04obvious that
00:24:04this was a more
00:24:05powerful
00:24:06more muscular
00:24:06kind of human
00:24:07with differences
00:24:08in the neck
00:24:09the forehead
00:24:10the jaws
00:24:10the eyes
00:24:11and the back
00:24:12of the skull.
00:24:13But this drawing
00:24:14from Keith's book
00:24:15was wrong
00:24:15regarding the actual
00:24:16size proportion
00:24:17between these two beings.
00:24:19At first glance
00:24:20the skulls of Neanderthals
00:24:22and Homo sapiens
00:24:23seem similar in size
00:24:24but look closer
00:24:26and key differences
00:24:27emerge.
00:24:29The Neanderthal skull
00:24:30robust and elongated
00:24:32is nearly 16%
00:24:34larger in volume
00:24:35than our own.
00:24:36A modern human skull
00:24:38can almost fit
00:24:39inside it.
00:24:41The contrasts
00:24:42can be dramatic.
00:24:43Here is Keith's drawing
00:24:45of a Neanderthal skull
00:24:47next to a modern skull.
00:24:49He measured the back
00:24:51of the Neanderthal skull
00:24:52to the bridge
00:24:52of its nose
00:24:53and found it was
00:24:54roughly 200 millimeters
00:24:55in length.
00:24:58It would seem
00:24:59similar in size
00:25:00to the head
00:25:01of a Homo sapiens
00:25:02a modern human
00:25:03but in fact
00:25:04the modern skull
00:25:05would be smaller.
00:25:07It is only
00:25:08170 millimeters long
00:25:10and the Neanderthal skull
00:25:12was also 15% taller
00:25:14than a modern skull.
00:25:21Superimposing
00:25:22one skull
00:25:22upon the other
00:25:23it was surprising
00:25:24to find
00:25:24that Neanderthals' brains
00:25:26were actually
00:25:26larger than our own
00:25:28but these differences
00:25:29weren't just cosmetic.
00:25:31Homo sapiens
00:25:32developed a more
00:25:33compact design
00:25:34for endurance
00:25:34and adaptability
00:25:35and Neanderthals
00:25:36evolved for power.
00:25:39Their skulls
00:25:40housed heavier
00:25:41jaw muscles
00:25:42and larger brains.
00:25:44What we don't know
00:25:45is how different
00:25:46these brains were
00:25:47from ours.
00:25:48Did they see the world
00:25:49as we do?
00:25:50Did they think
00:25:51like we do?
00:25:52Did they speak
00:25:52like we do?
00:25:54After the passing
00:25:55of tens of thousands
00:25:56of years
00:25:57too little
00:25:58about Neanderthal life
00:25:59and ways is known.
00:26:01But the best
00:26:02information we have
00:26:03about Neanderthals
00:26:04came from somewhere
00:26:05unexpected
00:26:06right inside
00:26:07their own
00:26:08DNA.
00:26:30Our story
00:26:31goes from Africa
00:26:32to the vast
00:26:34expanses of Europe
00:26:35and Asia
00:26:35where Neanderthals
00:26:36made their home.
00:26:41The earliest
00:26:42Europeans
00:26:42come from waves
00:26:43of ancient wanderers
00:26:45from Africa
00:26:45where the first
00:26:47humans emerged
00:26:47and branched out.
00:26:50Homo erectus
00:26:51ventured across
00:26:52eastern Asia.
00:26:54Later
00:26:55Homo heidelbergensis
00:26:56migrated north
00:26:57and west
00:26:57and 400,000 years
00:26:59ago became
00:27:00Neanderthals
00:27:01adapted to the
00:27:02cold and harsh
00:27:03landscapes
00:27:03of Ice Age
00:27:04Europe.
00:27:06And so
00:27:07the Neanderthal
00:27:08story begins
00:27:09with settlements
00:27:09of a new
00:27:10genetic strand
00:27:11of upright
00:27:12humans
00:27:12in the northwest
00:27:13of Europe
00:27:14400,000 years
00:27:15ago.
00:27:17From areas
00:27:18of what is
00:27:19today Portugal
00:27:20they went
00:27:21to the western
00:27:22edge of Asia
00:27:22130,000 years
00:27:24ago
00:27:24and for an
00:27:25amazingly long
00:27:26time the entire
00:27:27European continent
00:27:28was their land
00:27:29and home.
00:27:30Meanwhile
00:27:31our own species
00:27:32Homo sapiens
00:27:33born in Africa
00:27:34some 300,000 years
00:27:35ago began a
00:27:36journey of
00:27:37astonishing ambition
00:27:38one that would
00:27:39ultimately span
00:27:40the entire globe.
00:27:43They left
00:27:44Africa by heading
00:27:45north to Europe
00:27:46around 45,000
00:27:47to 50,000 years
00:27:48ago where they
00:27:49encountered
00:27:50Neanderthals
00:27:50who had been
00:27:51living there
00:27:51for more than
00:27:52300,000 years.
00:27:56And but a few
00:27:57thousand years
00:27:58later Neanderthals
00:27:59disappeared.
00:28:01That's how their
00:28:02story ends.
00:28:03But what must
00:28:04their first
00:28:04encounter with
00:28:05Homo sapiens
00:28:06have been like?
00:28:06Perhaps it was
00:28:07a sunny summer
00:28:08morning or a
00:28:09blustery fall
00:28:10day but at
00:28:11some point a
00:28:12fateful gaze
00:28:13took place.
00:28:14It would have
00:28:15marked the first
00:28:16time that a
00:28:17Neanderthal and
00:28:18a Homo sapiens
00:28:19would in
00:28:20astonishment have
00:28:21gazed upon each
00:28:22other.
00:28:23When two species
00:28:24first encounter
00:28:25each other at
00:28:26least one of them
00:28:26can feel threatened.
00:28:28This first moment
00:28:29must have resulted
00:28:30in a chase and
00:28:31between the
00:28:31stronger fearless
00:28:33Neanderthal and
00:28:34the weaker but
00:28:35faster Homo sapiens
00:28:36we can be sure of
00:28:37who ran away from
00:28:38whom.
00:28:39But however that
00:28:40first meeting turned
00:28:41out it proved that
00:28:42extinction begins
00:28:43with a look.
00:28:49We don't know why
00:28:50Neanderthals died away
00:28:51so suddenly but we
00:28:53do know that before
00:28:54their demise they
00:28:55mated with Homo
00:28:56sapiens and seem to
00:28:57have formed mixed
00:28:58groups and families
00:28:59composed of hybrids
00:29:01of both species.
00:29:06In fact Homo sapiens
00:29:08and Neanderthals
00:29:08mated and had
00:29:10children for many
00:29:10generations primarily
00:29:1247,000 years ago
00:29:13and we know that
00:29:14because their DNA
00:29:16is inside ours.
00:29:21Our DNA is a
00:29:23complex structure
00:29:24containing detailed
00:29:25information of our
00:29:26physiology and even
00:29:27as elements evolve
00:29:29and change through
00:29:30mutations information
00:29:31can be preserved in
00:29:33our bones long after
00:29:34our death.
00:29:36Our DNA also preserves
00:29:38information from our
00:29:39ancestors and so even
00:29:41though Neanderthals
00:29:42disappeared 40,000
00:29:43years ago they are
00:29:44still among us.
00:29:46The planet today has
00:29:488 billion inhabitants
00:29:50almost all of whom
00:29:51have DNA from Neanderthal
00:29:53precursors.
00:29:55Astonishingly this is
00:29:56more people than the
00:29:57total number of
00:29:58Neanderthals in their
00:29:59360,000 year history.
00:30:02Neanderthal life centered
00:30:04on small communities or
00:30:05enclaves that lived
00:30:06nomadically.
00:30:07They built no cities,
00:30:08roadways or large scale
00:30:10systems but instead kept
00:30:11moving and adapting to
00:30:13many different kinds of
00:30:14environments across the
00:30:15continents of Europe and
00:30:16Asia.
00:30:19Today our living conditions
00:30:21have changed.
00:30:22We rely on modern
00:30:23societies to control
00:30:25disease, environmental
00:30:26extremes and limit our
00:30:28risk in finding food and
00:30:30sustenance.
00:30:31But we still carry genetic
00:30:33traits from a different
00:30:34world and we have
00:30:35recently learned much
00:30:36more about this link to
00:30:38our past.
00:30:43In 2010 the Neanderthal
00:30:45Genome Project at the
00:30:46Max Planck Institute for
00:30:47Evolutionary Anthropology in
00:30:49Germany successfully
00:30:50sequenced all 3 billion
00:30:52bases that make up the
00:30:54complete genome of a
00:30:55Neanderthal making it
00:30:56possible to understand
00:30:57much more about
00:30:58Neanderthal biology and
00:31:00physiology and the
00:31:01similarities with modern
00:31:02humans.
00:31:06The research revealed that
00:31:08Neanderthals and modern
00:31:09humans had a common
00:31:11ancestor who lived around
00:31:12600,000 years ago.
00:31:16Non-African humans today
00:31:18inherited 1 to 2 percent
00:31:19of their DNA from
00:31:20Neanderthals including
00:31:22genes for several
00:31:23health-related
00:31:24conditions.
00:31:27For this pioneering
00:31:28physiological research
00:31:30Dr. Svante Pabo, the
00:31:32project's principal
00:31:32investigator, was awarded
00:31:34the Nobel Prize in 2022.
00:31:41Neanderthal DNA is 99.7%
00:31:44identical to modern human
00:31:46DNA.
00:31:47There are only a few
00:31:48small physical and
00:31:50cognitive distinctions
00:31:51between us and them.
00:31:52Looking at how Neanderthal
00:31:54genetics differ from our
00:31:56own, we find several genes
00:31:57in human DNA that tell an
00:31:59intriguing story.
00:32:01Genetics research found that
00:32:03certain Neanderthal genes
00:32:04persist in modern humans
00:32:06today and influence our
00:32:07immune responses, skin, hair,
00:32:10and metabolic traits.
00:32:13Some Neanderthal-derived
00:32:14genes are linked to
00:32:15health issues such as
00:32:16autoimmune diseases, type 2
00:32:18diabetes, and even
00:32:19nicotine addiction.
00:32:21It appears diabetes could be
00:32:23an adaptation to survive
00:32:24starvation.
00:32:25But how does genetic
00:32:27information become
00:32:28preserved and shared?
00:32:32This is a strand of DNA
00:32:34coiled into a tight spiral
00:32:36called a chromosome.
00:32:37It acts like an instruction
00:32:39manual for making proteins
00:32:41and controlling how our
00:32:42bodies grow, heal, and
00:32:44function.
00:32:45The X chromosome carries
00:32:46information about how we
00:32:48develop and reproduce.
00:32:53Humans inherit 23
00:32:55chromosomes from each parent
00:32:57for a total of 46
00:32:58chromosomes or 23 pairs.
00:33:01Only one of the 23 pairs
00:33:03is a sex chromosome.
00:33:05Every person gets one
00:33:06chromosome from their
00:33:07mother and one from their
00:33:08father in each pair.
00:33:11This is why we inherit
00:33:13traits from both parents.
00:33:16DNA in chromosomes is
00:33:18inside every cell and
00:33:20growth happens when
00:33:21cells divide.
00:33:22But cell division is
00:33:24slightly different each
00:33:25time.
00:33:26DNA of the father and
00:33:27the mother are selectively
00:33:28joined into a new strand
00:33:30that inherits only some
00:33:32features from each parent
00:33:33rather than all features
00:33:34from both.
00:33:38The 23 chromosomes of
00:33:39human DNA live as loose
00:33:41strings within each cell
00:33:43but when the time comes
00:33:45for the cell to divide
00:33:46the 23 chromosomes begin to
00:33:48arrange themselves along the
00:33:50middle of the cell.
00:33:54At a certain moment the
00:33:55chromosomes are arranged such
00:33:57that when the cell divides
00:33:58in two each newly formed
00:34:00cell retains a complete copy
00:34:02of all 23 chromosomes.
00:34:11As the cell divides the DNA
00:34:13strands break apart never to
00:34:15meet again and now both cells
00:34:17have the same genetic information
00:34:19to multiply and to continue
00:34:21life.
00:34:23Of course this is how Neanderthals
00:34:26reproduced as well but for this
00:34:28cellular reproduction to take
00:34:30place every position of every
00:34:32chromosome must be copied
00:34:34with exact accuracy.
00:34:36In the human genome
00:34:376.4 billion base pairs will be
00:34:40copied to every cell each time
00:34:43a cell divides.
00:34:44So over time changes are
00:34:46introduced into the DNA sequence
00:34:47which then multiplies with them.
00:34:51These changes called mutations
00:34:52often affect our similarity to
00:34:55and difference from our
00:34:56closest genetic relatives.
00:34:59Some mutations that help the
00:35:01organism survive in its
00:35:02environment are passed down to
00:35:04future generations but many can
00:35:07work against survival for the
00:35:09host and are eliminated when the
00:35:11species becomes extinct.
00:35:14Much of what we know about
00:35:15Neanderthals comes from DNA
00:35:17extracted from their bones that
00:35:19were found in caves where their
00:35:20last moments of life were spent.
00:35:26And although we don't know what
00:35:27Neanderthals looked like, we don't
00:35:29even know their skin color, we can
00:35:31look into their DNA for hints about
00:35:33how different they were from us.
00:35:40Neanderthals evolved from the same
00:35:42direct ancestor as we did and so in
00:35:45most respects, they were similar to us.
00:35:49But there were also major differences
00:35:52and these seem to have helped them
00:35:53survive in the harshest of climates
00:35:55with little food.
00:35:58Recent discoveries of genetic
00:36:00mutations in Neanderthal DNA show
00:36:03curious differences from the DNA of us
00:36:05modern humans.
00:36:07Let's look at four of these differences.
00:36:14One such difference between us and
00:36:16Neanderthals was found in a gene that
00:36:18influences language use.
00:36:20Technically called FOXP2, this gene has
00:36:24a complex template and is known as the
00:36:26speech gene.
00:36:28How did it alter Neanderthal behavior?
00:36:33Using an online tool that predicts the
00:36:353D structure of proteins from gene
00:36:37sequences, we can now see the shape of
00:36:39the FOXP2 gene.
00:36:42Recent research found that in Neanderthals
00:36:45this gene might have been expressed
00:36:47differently.
00:36:50FOXP2 could be indirectly connected to
00:36:52writing skills, which it appears
00:36:54Neanderthals did not have, as well as
00:36:57reduced speech.
00:37:00It is likely that their language behavior
00:37:03might have been different than ours,
00:37:05since this gene affects vocal
00:37:07communication and motor control.
00:37:09We have not found any writings made by
00:37:12Neanderthals, although objects, including
00:37:14cave walls, have markings and designs
00:37:16that no earlier ancestor of humans
00:37:18made.
00:37:20But how far the Neanderthal ability to
00:37:23think abstractly and express ideas went,
00:37:25beyond mere sounds, we just don't know.
00:37:35Another gene called OXTR plays a significant
00:37:38role affecting empathy, trust, and social
00:37:41bonding.
00:37:43But it is also linked to a series of
00:37:45psychiatric conditions.
00:37:48Studies between modern human and Neanderthal
00:37:51DNA found variations in the OXTR gene that may
00:37:54indicate different behavior patterns between us and them.
00:38:05Oxytocin is produced by the hypothalamus,
00:38:08the brain's control center for important
00:38:10behaviors such as eating, sleeping,
00:38:12reproduction, stress responses, and emotional reactions.
00:38:18It coordinates activity between the nervous and endocrine systems,
00:38:23ensuring survival and proper physiological functioning.
00:38:28The hypothalamus contains a high density of these important OXTR
00:38:33oxytocin receptors.
00:38:35While balanced, socially adaptive behavior depends on them.
00:38:39Oxytocin is so important that many studies show that when it is out of
00:38:43balance in the body, many psychiatric problems occur.
00:38:47These studies involve hundreds of subjects with Asian and also European
00:38:51lineage, both male and female and across many age groups.
00:38:58The most consistent research findings indicate a connection between oxytocin and empathy,
00:39:04or depression.
00:39:06And again, this was most often found in Caucasians and other non-Africans,
00:39:11which is to say persons with Neanderthal lineage.
00:39:15Perhaps they carry the Neanderthal version of the OXTR gene.
00:39:19Does oxytocin help create a kind of Neanderthal personality in people with European genetic lineage?
00:39:27It has helped shape how Neanderthals and modern humans formed relationships.
00:39:33Three sites in the OXTR gene show similar evolution in modern humans and bonobos,
00:39:39an ape species known for high levels of social tolerance and empathy.
00:39:44But this human-specific variation is missing in Neanderthal DNA, pointing to differences in their social behavior.
00:39:53Neanderthals likely preferred small, tight-knit units focused on the group itself rather than on individuals.
00:39:59While modern humans use the cooperation to manage stress and resolve conflicts,
00:40:05Neanderthals would feel greater reactions to threats, sometimes preferring conflict over compromise.
00:40:13This genetic difference is probably responsible for the way that Neanderthals related to one another,
00:40:18and conflict as much as cooperation may have been seen as an adequate way to solve problems.
00:40:26But of course, we will never know for sure.
00:40:29With this genetic variation, it seems even more unbelievable that Neanderthals and humans were ever able to get along.
00:40:39We now know that they had generations of hybrid children together, part human and part Neanderthal.
00:40:45But what this family dynamic looked like, we can only guess.
00:41:22It's dark.
00:41:23The surroundings are unknown.
00:41:26You are out on a night hunt.
00:41:30As a modern-day human relying on natural moonlight, this is what you see.
00:41:35Colors are mostly reduced to a single shade of blue.
00:41:39This is how human eyes work in the dark.
00:41:44In this light, and with our vision, things can hide out there.
00:41:48Humans can survive in this environment, but they cannot thrive.
00:41:53We invented lights, roadways and tools to adapt the environment to our limitations.
00:41:59We had to.
00:42:03Many nocturnal creatures can see better in the dark than we can,
00:42:07but their eyes are too sensitive to work well during sunlight hours.
00:42:13But a Neanderthal's eyes are bigger and he has a genetic advantage.
00:42:21He can see more in less light.
00:42:24He doesn't change the environment because of his inabilities, because frankly, he doesn't have to.
00:42:30After hundreds of thousands of years, Neanderthal eyes can see better at night than we ever will.
00:42:36But how?
00:42:40Neanderthals had larger eyes than we did, which would allow more light to enter.
00:42:45Larger eyes mean better low-light vision for cold winters and longer nights.
00:42:52But they also carried a genetic variation related to color vision, especially with dark light that appears blue.
00:43:01The back of the eye has many tiny cells called photoreceptors.
00:43:05They capture and magnify light signals all through the retina in the rear of the eyeball.
00:43:12Neanderthal eyes saw less color than our eyes do, but they magnified blue light
00:43:17and could thus see better in low-light conditions without losing daylight vision.
00:43:25In the shadows where we saw darkness, Neanderthals saw detail.
00:43:30Nature's own night vision, a valuable advantage for a species that survived for more than 300,000 years.
00:43:47And finally, the fourth major genetic variation between us and Neanderthals, our closest genetic cousins.
00:43:59In the human body, sensations are felt through electrochemical signals carried inside elongated cells called neurons.
00:44:12Neurons connect to other cells at synapses, gaps between two cells where signals are transmitted.
00:44:22And, as the body sends a signal, it must pass through the neuron's membrane by means of ions,
00:44:28groups of atoms that have an electric charge.
00:44:33The cell has gatekeepers called ion channels that open to allow certain molecules to enter.
00:44:41Ions that enter can have different functions including triggering sensations of pleasure or pain.
00:44:48How much of cells ion channels open or close depends on genetic instructions from our DNA.
00:44:56When ion channels allow few ions into the cell, the body feels less sensation.
00:45:04And, when the ion channels allow many more ions into the cell, the body receives more sensation signals.
00:45:16One of the key ion channels for nerves in the human body is called NAV 1.7,
00:45:21and it regulates the intensity of sensitivity in neurons, particularly in relation to the sensation of pain.
00:45:32This protein sits at the tip of our nerve endings and initiates a sense of pain when we hurt ourselves.
00:45:40In fact, there is a class of drugs called NAV 1.7 inhibitors for the treatment of chronic pain.
00:45:47They work by reducing the signals that pass through this ion channel in cells.
00:45:55Hugo Zeberg, a Swedish physician, studied ion channels in Neanderthal DNA and found three genetic variants unique to Neanderthals.
00:46:06These were in nerve endings and signaled pain sensation based on how long the channels remained open.
00:46:14Zeberg compared how signals flowed through ion channels in modern humans versus how they behave in cells that have Neanderthal
00:46:22DNA and its genetic variation.
00:46:26A brief electrical stimulus was applied to cells with human DNA to test how many sodium channels remained open, allowing
00:46:35signals to pass.
00:46:36This is a measure of nerve sensitivity.
00:46:40Zeberg's team then carried out the same test on a version of a cell carrying the Neanderthals gene variations.
00:46:49The Neanderthal variants, shown in the red response lines, allowed more ions into the cell,
00:46:55which means that the same stimulus would register more pain and for a longer time in the Neanderthal body than
00:47:03modern humans would normally feel.
00:47:05To determine the effect of this mutation in modern humans, the team looked at the genetic data of people who
00:47:12volunteered medical information to the UK Biobank,
00:47:15a massive database which contains health statistics for 500,000 British residents.
00:47:23This genetic Neanderthal pain variant was found in a little less than 1% of this population,
00:47:29which had filled out a questionnaire that asked about many different kinds of experience and sensation with pain in many
00:47:35parts of the body.
00:47:43The answers provided by each person were then ranked on an intensity scale from less likely to report pain to
00:47:51more likely to report it.
00:47:57This scale included responses from persons who had the Neanderthal genetic variation for pain sensitivity,
00:48:03as well as other persons who did not have the Neanderthal mutation.
00:48:09The 1,327 men and women who had inherited the Neanderthal mutations had reported significantly more pain than individuals without
00:48:20the Neanderthal mutations.
00:48:26It was evident that even after hundreds of thousands of years,
00:48:30Neanderthal pain sensitivity had been passed down to modern humans,
00:48:34and the study found that carriers of the Neanderthal genetic variant experienced the same level of pain
00:48:40to that of someone 8 years older than themselves.
00:48:49This contradicts popular ideas of Neanderthals as an insensitive species.
00:48:54If they felt more pain than we might, one can only wonder what life must have been like for them,
00:48:59living as they did through not one, but four ice ages, where the global temperature fluctuated more than 12 degrees
00:49:06each time.
00:49:08But what possible advantage could come with heightened sensitivity to pain?
00:49:15A heightened pain response might have allowed Neanderthals to recognize injuries or illnesses quickly,
00:49:21and help them avoid worsening injuries by resting or seeking protection sooner, increasing their chances of survival.
00:49:33This could encourage more cautious behavior, reducing the risk of severe injuries from hunting large animals,
00:49:40using tools, or navigating dangerous landscapes.
00:49:46Acute pain might serve as a clear signal to others of physical vulnerability,
00:49:51reducing expectations for injured individuals to contribute to tasks like hunting or gathering until they've recovered.
00:50:00This would help group survival by shifting responsibilities and allowing for better recovery.
00:50:07While greater pain sensitivity might seem like a disadvantage,
00:50:11for Neanderthals it could have been a critical survival mechanism, promoting caution,
00:50:16fostering social bonds, and ensuring swift responses to injuries or other hazards.
00:50:23But this, despite what science has told us about them, and ourselves, is something that we can only guess.
00:50:40At last, we come to the final question of our investigation.
00:50:44Did Neanderthals make art and music?
00:50:49Did they practice crafts?
00:50:51Did they believe in an afterlife?
00:50:55Everywhere Neanderthals lived, something creative was left behind.
00:51:00But was it art?
00:51:03Perhaps we shouldn't ask whether they made art, but rather what we expect art to look like in the first
00:51:10place.
00:51:10In the first place, their ideas might have differed from ours.
00:51:15What is visual art?
00:51:19Traditionally, art has been determined by figurative rules,
00:51:23which say that anything drawn, painted, or sculptured,
00:51:26must resemble something that we are already familiar with and should recognize.
00:51:38Since much of what has been put on cave walls and other objects by Neanderthals is not figurative,
00:51:43some have argued that these marks are not art, because they are not figurative.
00:51:48They do not depict anything we recognize as familiar as we are used to seeing in our world.
00:51:56For a long time, for many centuries, and all over the globe,
00:52:01art was defined by images of stylized but recognizable figures.
00:52:06Until, that is, abstract art came along in the 20th century.
00:52:12Then everything changed.
00:52:17Of course, in modern times, artists have gone beyond figurative art in favor of expression
00:52:22that is completely abstract, bearing no resemblance to the familiar world.
00:52:26The fact that marks, lines, dots, and patterns are part of abstract art today
00:52:31does not mean that artists have stopped making art.
00:52:35Instead, they are showing us that an expanded view of art is possible,
00:52:39and that figurative creations are not the only kind of art.
00:52:46With abstraction, the question of what a modern work of art means loses value.
00:52:50It makes no sense.
00:52:56Without an answer about what something is depicting,
00:52:59we are left only with the fact that the artist intended to make something,
00:53:03and the existence of the work is what matters.
00:53:07It is separated from the world.
00:53:10It has no context.
00:53:12And while it is obvious that Neanderthals intended to show something,
00:53:16figurative pictures were not interesting to them.
00:53:21So, Neanderthal art was abstract, but unlike modern art, it is not separated from its world.
00:53:27It has a context.
00:53:30It meant something to them, which is not for us to know.
00:53:41Actually, understanding the context of Neanderthal art requires a vision of at least some of the places where it happened.
00:53:49This is Google Earth taking us into one such site known as La Cueva del Castillo in the north of
00:53:56Spain,
00:53:57a region where numerous ancient caves have been found.
00:54:01A simple map does not convey the kind of land where Neanderthals made their home.
00:54:07We again see, as we did in Feldhofer cave in Germany, where the first Neanderthal was found,
00:54:13a cave entrance high above ground, accessible only with some effort.
00:54:19There were no roads or cars to get there.
00:54:22Our ancestors would have to have almost crawled uphill.
00:54:29There is, of course, another perspective approaching from the north.
00:54:32We descend into a seashore whose face has been unchanged for hundreds of millennia.
00:54:39Even today, it is obvious that almost immediately, as the water ends, elevation begins.
00:54:52And in one of these hills, there is a cave with strange art on its walls.
00:54:58It has red dots that were dated back to the time of Neanderthals.
00:55:05But it also has other designs, and we don't know when they were made.
00:55:13Perhaps they were made after Neanderthals left.
00:55:16All the designs appear to fit together.
00:55:19Were they made at the same time?
00:55:22We cannot know, but I think they could all have been made by Neanderthals.
00:55:27But science cannot tell us, and so we will need to go down, look, and decide for ourselves.
00:55:35Far below the surface, a world of marvel and mystery awaits.
00:55:43The geological formation of the space seems tailor-made from one of the weirdest dreams possible.
00:55:51And here, Neanderthals set out to make enigmatic art.
00:55:58One kind of drawing that comes into view in this gallery is long and enclosed,
00:56:02almost taking the form of a ship or boat or some other kind of container.
00:56:09It is painted repeatedly throughout this cave.
00:56:14It would almost always consist of three sections or chambers.
00:56:19And in even the simplest versions of these forms,
00:56:23the sections were cut in half on the horizontal from right to left,
00:56:27carving out six enclosed spaces inside the shape, which is always curved.
00:56:34In this other instance, the rightmost of the three segments appears to be double-lined,
00:56:39almost as if intended to be reinforced.
00:56:43And, as is typical of other caves, Neanderthals often repeated patterns and shapes
00:56:48as if these had a familiar meaning to them.
00:56:51They are abstract to us, but not to them.
00:56:56Here we again see three chambers.
00:57:02And below these, a kind of reinforcement or second line with many very small chambers underneath.
00:57:14What this entire image signified is a mystery, but it clearly shows a special arrangement of some kind.
00:57:21Something was being organized within or around whatever this shape is.
00:57:28The unusual shape of the cave and its irregular walls didn't prevent Neanderthals from thinking about order,
00:57:35for elsewhere again, this same shape reappears.
00:57:40And, again, we see it divided into the same three sections along its width.
00:57:50As with the previous image, this one also has a kind of reinforced double line along the chambers,
00:57:57away from the center.
00:58:02Yet, the middle section was drawn without that double line on either top or bottom.
00:58:11And, to add to the symmetry and the mystery, the same double lines at the lower side of the image
00:58:18are divided into nine small sections on each side.
00:58:30The final enigma is the appearance of a parade of dots near and around these kinds of shapes
00:58:36that we shall soon encounter.
00:58:41But, by now, the pattern of these shapes can be easily seen.
00:58:45Here is another with the same three sections that the other shapes contained.
00:58:55Also familiar is the horizontal line crossing the chambers from left to right.
00:59:07And, again, nine hard-to-paint small boxes or enclosures are marked out on each side of the shape.
00:59:20Turning our perspective, we can more clearly see the dots that were painted around the subject.
00:59:29Is this an image of a boat over dots representing water?
00:59:36Or is this an enclosure for people, symbolized by four rows of dots traveling around a structure of some kind?
00:59:45And, if so, could this be a gate for entry and exit?
01:00:08And, what about this?
01:00:10And, what about this?
01:00:10Again, four rows of dots tracing the hint of an enclosed shape, but this time without lines.
01:00:18The figure bulges out in opposite directions, expanding toward the bottom as we see it.
01:00:23Why does it bulge out?
01:00:28And the dots follow wavy lines around those bulges.
01:00:34Almost as if the bulge were visibly pushing them out from the center.
01:00:41Is this shape intended to suggest the importance of the vital center?
01:00:46Like a nucleus?
01:00:50We should remember that no axis or perspective is necessarily the right one for reading these images.
01:00:56These shapes don't provide reading instructions of any kind, and can be interpreted from any direction or axis.
01:01:10Is this the orientation that Neanderthals intended for viewing this creation?
01:01:18Or perhaps this one instead?
01:01:20The irregularity of the shape seems to suggest that it is describing something in motion,
01:01:26and from this angle, it appears to be approaching.
01:01:35But when it is oriented in this way again, it looks like a container, perhaps a ship.
01:01:42And this is almost exactly the pattern outlined by the front of the previous image we had imagined as a
01:01:48ship as well.
01:01:54Here they are, superimposed upon one another.
01:02:10The earlier image appears different in size and orientation.
01:02:17And here is how both images were drawn on the cave wall.
01:02:22Each is near the other, but in their existing angles they seem unrelated.
01:02:27Until we rotate one image and place it atop the other.
01:02:33Clearly, both images share the same unusual shape.
01:02:41But are we any closer to identifying what the objects painted here are depicting?
01:02:47And just when it seems it couldn't get any harder to figure out the meaning of these shapes, another angle
01:02:52emerges.
01:02:54For here, we encounter the biggest question mark of all.
01:02:57And it comes in the form of two shapes that have been interposed together.
01:03:02Each an obvious copy of that ship-like object that we have been seeing until now.
01:03:10The most logical idea is that this is an encampment, perhaps the structure for people living together in spaces.
01:03:17But why is there an internal wall that would prevent passage inside the structure?
01:03:22And on the opposite side, three walls.
01:03:28We also know that Neanderthals made their sleeping quarters deep inside their encampments, not near outer walls.
01:03:34So these small areas would not make sense as a map of sleeping chambers.
01:03:42The mystery of one shape is deep enough.
01:03:45But when two versions of the same image are placed at cross angles over each other,
01:03:49our intrigue over the meaning here is heightened even more.
01:03:55But we will leave this rabbit hole for the moment.
01:03:59Another creative mystery awaits.
01:04:09After the Neanderthal art on those walls,
01:04:11we might think that the only place for more evidence of Neanderthal art is in other caves.
01:04:18Perhaps, but it seems Neanderthals were doing more than painting.
01:04:22It appears they also made music.
01:04:32In 1995, a small object was discovered in a Slovenian cave.
01:04:40It had been made from the bone of a young bear and had four holes arranged perfectly along a straight
01:04:46line.
01:04:48When air was blown through it, it produced musical sounds.
01:04:55It became known as the Divier-Babe Flute.
01:04:58It was found near where its owners had kept a fire.
01:05:02It was dated to the Middle Paleolithic between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago.
01:05:08So this flute would have been played by Neanderthals.
01:05:15This is Slovenian flautis Katinka Dimarovska,
01:05:19who has been playing the Divier-Babe almost since it was found not far from her own home.
01:05:29At first sight, it doesn't look like much,
01:05:31and some believe that it's just a bone that happened to have suffered random tooth marks
01:05:36made by some scavenging animal.
01:05:46This view is in line with the belief that Neanderthals were too primitive to have made
01:05:51or used even this simple musical instrument.
01:05:55But as we can hear,
01:05:57its simplicity belies the remarkable range of expression that can be produced with it.
01:06:04Clearly, these sounds could have been used as a call,
01:06:07or to mimic an animal in order to attract it,
01:06:11or, dare we imagine, for Neanderthals' own enjoyment.
01:06:27So, the controversy over whether these holes are tooth marks or not is worth considering.
01:06:45After all, many predators were around 50,000 years ago,
01:06:51a tooth bearing down onto bone is certain to make a violent entry.
01:06:57But that is not the story that these holes tell.
01:07:01Close examination of the perimeter of the holes shows something unusual.
01:07:07Evidence of careful cutting.
01:07:10A cut made with a sharp instrument marks a smooth but decisive line around the holes
01:07:16in an outward angle, as if to accommodate a fingertip.
01:07:28And this cut can be seen in other holes.
01:07:31Sharpness and smoothness, rather than the rough impact of a tooth, is what this contour reveals.
01:07:41And the chance of three holes being smoothly cut round by a set of bite marks is almost impossible to
01:07:48accept.
01:07:53There can be no doubt that these holes were carefully cut with an intentional distance
01:07:57and alignment to each other.
01:08:06How this must have resonated in caves and valleys is probably exactly why it was shaped the way it was.
01:08:20Even though the ancient flutes are the way it was.
01:08:21Experts have stumbled on many other ancient flutes that are accepted as valid musical instruments,
01:08:26dating back thousands of years.
01:08:30Although not made by Neanderthals, they share a similar design and function.
01:08:38For example, this one, discovered during the excavation of a site in southern Germany.
01:08:43The dig-retrieved material dated between 33,500 and 37,000 years old,
01:08:50and some deep layers dating back to as much as 43,000 years.
01:08:58But, as with the Divie-Babe flute, this flute has holes that are perfectly aligned along its length,
01:09:04and gradually filed in so that a fingertip can cover them comfortably.
01:09:09It was used by early Homo sapiens and is tied to the first waves of modern humans in Europe.
01:09:15There is no controversy here.
01:09:17But the Neanderthal flute is disputed.
01:09:21Still, we know so little about Neanderthals that we imagine they walked around with pelts
01:09:26scarcely covering their bodies.
01:09:28An extreme time of multiple ice ages.
01:09:36They couldn't have survived freezing temperatures with limbs exposed.
01:09:40Something is missing in that picture.
01:09:44Perhaps they had something that's right in front of us, and we never imagined it.
01:09:48What if they wove their clothing?
01:09:52The challenge is finding something as delicate as thread.
01:09:56Almost no organic material, except for bone, will survive exposed more than 500 years.
01:10:02So, 1,000 years later, there would be no trace of thread.
01:10:06It would have decomposed and been absorbed back into the Earth.
01:10:11The Neanderthal timescale goes back more than 40,000 years.
01:10:15It is only by a miracle that any trace of such material could have survived.
01:10:24And yet, this emerged.
01:10:29In 2020, at Herbry du Marat, a site where Neanderthal tools and artifacts were uncovered,
01:10:36researchers found what appeared to be remnants of handmade cord or string.
01:10:43A close look revealed fibers twisting around each other.
01:10:47Of course, this is not necessarily unique.
01:10:50In nature, vines have strands that weave around each other for greater tensile strength.
01:10:57More unusual, though, was the presence of a single thicker base strand or stem
01:11:02that extends in a straight line with thinner strands weaving around it.
01:11:09And the way in which the strands are arranged appears as if they were mounted on top of one another,
01:11:15deliberately rather than having grown together.
01:11:21But this wasn't the entire story.
01:11:24The discovery came with another twist.
01:11:31Bruce Hardy and his team from Kenyon College showed direct evidence of Neanderthal construction
01:11:37and use of fibers, a skill that was previously thought impossible for this species.
01:11:45The story uncovered by this account is remarkable.
01:11:51The discovery took place in the Ardèche Valley of southeastern France,
01:11:56where, nestled along the banks of a tributary of the Rhone River,
01:11:59lies Abri du Marat, a Paleolithic rock shelter.
01:12:06As with the Feldhoffer Cave, where the first Neanderthal bones were found,
01:12:10or Cueva del Castillo, where we saw the cave art,
01:12:14this site is slightly elevated along a sloping hill.
01:12:24At that site, here is what Hardy and his team found.
01:12:31This unassuming stone flake, a typical tool used by Neanderthals,
01:12:36was found three meters below the surface.
01:12:39But it carried a secret.
01:12:42Attached to its underside, still embedded in sediment, was a fragment of ancient string.
01:12:50Meticulously twisted from plant fibers and indisputably crafted by Neanderthal hands.
01:13:02Magnified under advanced microscopes, the fragment tells its story.
01:13:07Three strands, each S-twisted spun clockwise from the fibers of conifer bark,
01:13:13are then tied together with a Z-twist counter-clockwise.
01:13:30This level of complexity reveals not only technical knowledge,
01:13:33but conceptual understanding of tension and torque and counting sequences.
01:13:39This is not instinct. This is design.
01:13:49And so, closer still, we see the chord's anatomy.
01:13:53Layers moving in one direction, with each fiber strand maintaining a uniform twist.
01:14:07But suddenly, a new strand appears above the others.
01:14:11This one is seen wrapping in the opposite direction to keep the entire chord from unraveling.
01:14:17This is not a pattern found in nature.
01:14:26And on another flake, found within the same layer, we see untwisted fibers, perhaps remnants in mid-process.
01:14:35Here, the task was interrupted. The threads were not yet spun.
01:14:41It is as if time itself paused, leaving behind a still life of Neanderthal craftsmanship partway through.
01:14:50This is evidence that the twisted cord is not natural.
01:14:54Why would natural strands be lying loosely without a central stem?
01:15:01But nearby, here's the pattern again.
01:15:04Coils in unison around the central strand.
01:15:07This is workable string in the making.
01:15:10And the presence of multiple examples found at this site shows that this was not a rare occurrence.
01:15:17Neanderthals didn't just wear animal pelts.
01:15:20They sewed their clothing, like we do today.
01:15:26But could nature have made this?
01:15:29Three twists exist in nature.
01:15:32The vine of the liana, the wisteria, and the coiled banana leaf.
01:15:37All are simple, one-directional twists.
01:15:41But the Neanderthal string, with its counter-twist on the outside, particularly when loose strands were found nearby, is unique.
01:15:49It can only be a constructed object with one possible purpose.
01:16:03Sadly, no textiles would have survived 100,000 years, or even 50,000, or even 5,000.
01:16:10But, if Neanderthals had only worn animal skins, they would not have done well in the extreme cold and hot
01:16:19temperatures of their age.
01:16:21And this, like the discovered flute, gives us a special vantage into the lives of a species whose brain size
01:16:29was actually larger than ours.
01:16:44And so, we come full circle, back to our point of departure, here at the Neander Valley, where the first
01:16:50Neanderthal was recognized as a separate species from ourselves.
01:16:55But our journey isn't finished just yet.
01:16:59There's time for one more reflection, one more question, one more discovery.
01:17:06Not concerning Neanderthal life, but rather death, and what they may have known about their place in the universe.
01:17:17Our final discovery happens in another cave, this one at La Ferracie in southwest France.
01:17:28And on another piece of evidence marked by Neanderthal hands.
01:17:36This time, the marks that Neanderthals made appear on a large stone.
01:17:42It is a limestone slab that was arranged over the resting place of a Neanderthal child who died more than
01:17:4960,000 years ago.
01:17:53This is a sketch of that stone slab, so that certain marks scooped out of the stone become clearer to
01:18:00us.
01:18:00The marks were made by Neanderthal parents or someone in the child's clan.
01:18:09It hardly appears like something meaningful or fitting for what was clearly the unexpected death of a young member of
01:18:16the group.
01:18:20The only remarkable thing about this slab are the notched marks on it.
01:18:26They seem arranged in some intentional way.
01:18:30It brings up the question of what humans think about in the death of someone.
01:18:35In many cultures, it is a sense that their spirit will return to some place beyond Earth.
01:18:41Perhaps up to the sky.
01:18:45Could the Neanderthals, too, have looked up and felt this connection?
01:18:52The Hubble Space Telescope
01:18:53Through the Hubble Space Telescope, this is the sharpest image we have of the Pleiades,
01:18:59a prominent star cluster located in the constellation Taurus about 440 light-years from Earth.
01:19:06It is visible in the northern hemisphere where Neanderthals lived.
01:19:11In the sky of thousands of years ago, it would have been this clear to anyone looking up and reflecting
01:19:17on its points of light.
01:19:21From any perspective, it could be turned depending on the observer's axis.
01:19:27But here we rotated 23.45 degrees, which is the axial rotation of the Earth around the Sun.
01:19:35Neanderthal eyes would have looked up upon the sky as we do, and theirs would have been an infinitely clearer
01:19:42one.
01:19:43Did they feel a connection to the heavens like we often do?
01:19:47After a time, its brightest stars could be remembered and marked on stone.
01:19:53Perhaps as the place where a young soul is meant to go after its brief life on our planet comes
01:19:59to an end?
01:20:02To the question of whether the marks had some meaning, it is helpful to know that they faced not upward
01:20:07for the visitor,
01:20:08but down toward the body itself, seemingly so that as its soul awoke, it would face the map that shows
01:20:17it where to go next.
01:20:21Was it a guide for his spirit?
01:20:27And so,
01:20:30beyond a few remnants and bones, what do we really know about Neanderthal life?
01:20:37Is it a guide for life and death?
01:20:40Is it a guide for life and death?
01:21:07Is it a guide for life and death?
01:21:17At the southernmost point in Spain, facing the Mediterranean Sea, lies Gibraltar,
01:21:23a large rocky formation that rises steadily until it drops dramatically into the sea.
01:21:36As far as we know, this is the last known address for Neanderthals.
01:21:42What remained of the race came to live in a hiding point behind the rock of Gibraltar.
01:21:48It seems they were pushed out of Europe, the domain they once dominated, year after year, millennium after millennium,
01:21:56probably by Homo sapiens, until they huddled in a cave almost hidden from view.
01:22:09Quietly, they remained here until 40,000 years ago.
01:22:13They would have used a stretch of land that extended for some distance in front of the cave,
01:22:19but it seems they knew their time was over and retreated here in a final, quiet act.
01:22:30This is it.
01:22:32Gorham's Cave.
01:22:33That's the name it has today.
01:22:35Surely, they called it something else.
01:22:39But this is the last gasp, the final moment, the end of the line for a powerful race of beings
01:22:46who disappeared after taking up residence among these caves, and were never to be seen again.
01:22:59Except, of course, as ancient echoes, somewhere, genetically, within us.
01:23:35Due to the death of beings under the ground, try to have no doom.
01:23:38Oh, oh, oh, oh.
01:24:08Oh, oh, oh.
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