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Echoes Of The Ancients A Journey Through Neanderthal Lives
Transcript
00:00:28Transcribed by ESO, translated by —
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.
00:01:26There we imagine that they were capable of building lives that also had love, craft, music, and art.
00:01:36They 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, we have decided that we know what they and their lives
00:01:52were 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.
00:02:11Thinking 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 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.
00:03:4340% of a skeleton of a creature that, like us, walked on two legs,
00:03:48but was much older, having lived about 3 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.
00:04:06These 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,
00:04:13as 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,
00:04:33like apes and chimps, along 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,
00:04:55and orangutans, as 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
00:05:56from fossils and bones back in time.
00:06:00In fact, even though Australopithecus afarensis lived 3 million years ago,
00:06:05it wasn't the oldest pre-human.
00:06:07It'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 was 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.
00:07:09And 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
00:07:56just about seven million years ago.
00:08:03The 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
00:08:40was 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.
00:09:13Living 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.
00:10:03His 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 Homo sapiens.
00:10:37Consider Paranthropus aethiopicus,
00:10:40which lived with Africanus,
00:10:42but 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.
00:11:16It seems to have become capable of fine motor skills
00:11:18and possibly tool use.
00:11:22Having a broader diet also 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 than 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,
00:12:17and 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 with 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 and tool-use instincts
00:12:48paved the way for the first human-like beings.
00:12:53And so,
00:12:54starting about two 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 the still-evident
00:13:03receding forehead,
00:13:05there is nevertheless
00:13:05an enormous increase in brain capacity,
00:13:08which grows quickly
00:13:09with each successive subspecies.
00:13:13In this genetic line,
00:13:15Homo habilis became the earliest known species
00:13:18in the genus.
00:13:20Habilis is special in evolutionary history.
00:13:22He had a significantly larger brain,
00:13:25about twice the size of its predecessors.
00:13:28As the first to make tools for cutting,
00:13:31scraping,
00:13:32and processing meat and plants,
00:13:34he earned the name Handyman.
00:13:36And these clever advancements
00:13:38were passed down to future hominins,
00:13:41such as Homo erectus,
00:13:43one of the longest-lived
00:13:44and most successful hominin species.
00:13:47This being was even more special,
00:13:49marking many milestones in human evolution.
00:13:52It represents the first hominin
00:13:54to exhibit truly modern,
00:13:57human-like body proportions,
00:13:59to expand widely beyond Africa,
00:14:01and to show advanced technological
00:14:03and social traits.
00:14:05With a tall, lean body
00:14:07made for long-distance walking
00:14:08and running like 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 in China
00:14:20and South Africa
00:14:21suggests that he may have controlled fire
00:14:24for warmth, protection,
00:14:26and the ability to cook food.
00:14:28He lived from 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 in every way,
00:14:40and he was likely smart enough
00:14:41to have reflected
00:14:42on his own abilities.
00:14:51Later, around 700,000 years ago,
00:14:55Homo heidelbergensis,
00:14:56a true transitional species, appears.
00:15:00With a brain reaching up to
00:15:01twice the size of Homo erectus,
00:15:03it was a step closer
00:15:05to modern humans.
00:15:06Its higher, more rounded skull
00:15:08explains the more advanced tools
00:15:11and weapons that it used,
00:15:12including wooden spears for hunting.
00:15:15He showed early signs
00:15:17of complex skills,
00:15:18including the use of fire
00:15:20to survive harsher climates.
00:15:23It is from this ancestral group
00:15:26that two primary lineages
00:15:28may have emerged.
00:15:30One stayed in Africa
00:15:31and evolved into modern humans
00:15:33as Homo sapiens.
00:15:34The other left Africa
00:15:36700,000 years ago
00:15:37and evolved into Neanderthals
00:15:39in Europe and Western Asia.
00:15:42This is why Neanderthals
00:15:44and modern humans
00:15:45resemble each other so closely.
00:15:52We know that Heidelbergensis
00:15:54was found across
00:15:54a vast range of 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 that became
00:16:07Neanderthals adapted
00:16:08to the colder climates
00:16:10of Europe and Western Asia.
00:16:12Over hundreds of thousands
00:16:13of years,
00:16:14they developed distinct
00:16:15physical and cultural traits
00:16:17suited to their environment.
00:16:21Meanwhile,
00:16:22the population that remained
00:16:23in Africa evolved
00:16:24into Homo sapiens,
00:16:26characterized by increasing
00:16:27brain size
00:16:28and technological advancements.
00:16:33While Neanderthals evolved
00:16:35in Europe
00:16:35and modern humans
00:16:36evolved in Africa,
00:16:37they re-encountered
00:16:38one another much later
00:16:39during the migrations
00:16:41of 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 has recently
00:17:14revealed much about Neanderthals,
00:17:15and it is entirely surprising.
00:17:18What we have learned
00:17:20about this species
00:17:21has shattered the ideas
00:17:22we had about them
00:17:23as dumb
00:17:23and primitive cave 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.
00:17:51It is tempting to imagine
00:17:52that maybe they could have
00:17:53taken our place
00:17:54in modernity.
00:17:55We just don't know
00:17:56why they didn't continue
00:17:58to 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
00:18:21we 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 what threatens
00:18:41our very existence
00:18:42tomorrow.
00:18:46will we, too,
00:18:48disappear in time?
00:19:171856,
00:19:19A summer day
00:19:20in a beautiful valley
00:19:21in 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
00:19:35were at first
00:19:35confused
00:19:36with those
00:19:37of a modern human.
00:19:38No one had seen
00:19:40a Neanderthal before
00:19:41and since the importance
00:19:43of this discovery
00:19:44was not understood,
00:19:45quarry 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
00:19:53disappeared 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.
00:20:05So by way of introduction
00:20:07it is ironic
00:20:08that the site
00:20:09where the first Neanderthal
00:20:10was discovered
00:20:11is itself lost.
00:20:16At the base of the hill
00:20:17is the Dussel River
00:20:18which during any
00:20:19of 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
00:20:39went unnoticed
00:20:39for thousands of years
00:20:40it wasn't hidden
00:20:42and could easily
00:20:43have been explored.
00:20:48One can only guess
00:20:49how easily
00:20:49it could have been found
00:20:50but also
00:20:51how likely it 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
00:21:11cave 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
00:21:26Neanderthals
00:21:27we later learned
00:21:28lived in caves
00:21:29although
00:21:30not exclusively
00:21:31within 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
00:21:49that at first
00:21:50as in two other
00:21:51Neanderthal sites
00:21:52went completely
00:21:53unrecognized.
00:21:55An amateur scholar
00:21:56examined this cranial fragment
00:21:57and noticed
00:21:58some odd features
00:21:59not found in the physiology
00:22:01of modern humans.
00:22:04The first of these
00:22:06was an unusual set
00:22:07of brow ridges
00:22:08which 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
00:22:26over a low
00:22:27elongated brain case.
00:22:38and 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
00:22:45abnormally large.
00:22:47Altogether
00:22:48this was not the skull
00:22:49of a normal human.
00:22:51Suspicion began to grow
00:22:52that this was a
00:22:53different 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 60,000 years
00:23:07earlier.
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 anyone
00:23:17had imagined.
00:23:21Books with the title
00:23:22abounded
00:23:23including this one
00:23:24by Arthur Keith
00:23:25a 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
00:23:57evidence
00:23:57of Darwin's theory.
00:24:01When Neanderthals
00:24:02were found
00:24:03it was instantly
00:24:04obvious
00:24:04that this was
00:24:05a more powerful
00:24:06more muscular
00:24:07kind of human
00:24:07with differences
00:24:08in the neck
00:24:09the forehead
00:24:10the jaws
00:24:11the 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
00:24:18two beings.
00:24:19At first glance
00:24:20the skulls
00:24:21of Neanderthals
00:24:22and Homo sapiens
00:24:23seem similar
00:24:24in 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.
00:24:44Here is Keith's
00:24:45drawing of a Neanderthal skull
00:24:47next to a modern skull.
00:24:49He measured
00:24:50the back
00:24:51of the Neanderthal skull
00:24:52to the bridge
00:24:52of its nose
00:24:53and found it
00:24:54was roughly
00:24:54200 mm in 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 mm long
00:25:10and the Neanderthal skull
00:25:12was also 15% taller
00:25:14than a modern skull.
00:25:21Superimposing one skull
00:25:22upon the other
00:25:23it was surprising
00:25:24to find
00:25:24that Neanderthals' brains
00:25:26were actually larger
00:25:27than our own
00:25:28but these differences
00:25:29weren't just cosmetic.
00:25:31Homo sapiens developed
00:25:32a more compact design
00:25:34for endurance
00:25:34and adaptability
00:25:35and Neanderthals evolved
00:25:37for power.
00:25:39Their skulls
00:25:40housed heavier jaw 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
00:25:53like 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
00:26:00is known.
00:26:01But the best information
00:26:03we have about 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.
00:26:40The earliest Europeans
00:26:42come from waves
00:26:44of ancient wanderers
00:26:45from Africa
00:26:46where the first humans
00:26:47emerged
00:26:48and 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
00:26:58and 400,000 years ago
00:26:59became Neanderthals
00:27:01adapted to the cold
00:27:02and harsh landscapes
00:27:03of Ice Age Europe.
00:27:06And so
00:27:07the Neanderthal story
00:27:08begins with
00:27:09settlements
00:27:09of a new
00:27:10genetic strand
00:27:11of upright humans
00:27:12in the northwest
00:27:13of Europe
00:27:14400,000 years ago.
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 ago
00:27:24and for an
00:27:25amazingly long time
00:27:26the 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 ago
00:27:36began a journey
00:27:37of astonishing ambition
00:27:38one that would
00:27:39ultimately span
00:27:40the entire globe.
00:27:43They left Africa
00:27:44by heading north
00:27:45to Europe
00:27:46around 45,000
00:27:47to 50,000 years ago
00:27:48where they encountered
00:27:50Neanderthals
00:27:50who had been living there
00:27:52for more than
00:27:52300,000 years.
00:27:56And
00:27:57but a few thousand
00:27:58years later
00:27:58Neanderthals
00:27:59disappeared.
00:28:01That's how
00:28:02their story ends.
00:28:03But what must
00:28:04their first encounter
00:28:05with Homo sapiens
00:28:06have been like?
00:28:07Perhaps it was
00:28:07a sunny summer morning
00:28:09or a blustery fall day
00:28:10but at some point
00:28:11a fateful gaze
00:28:13took place.
00:28:15It would have
00:28:15marked the first time
00:28:17that a Neanderthal
00:28:18and a Homo sapiens
00:28:19would
00:28:19in astonishment
00:28:21have gazed
00:28:21upon each other.
00:28:23When two species
00:28:24first encounter
00:28:25each other
00:28:26at least one of them
00:28:26can feel threatened.
00:28:28This first moment
00:28:29must have resulted
00:28:30in a chase
00:28:30and between
00:28:31the stronger
00:28:32fearless Neanderthal
00:28:33and the weaker
00:28:34but faster
00:28:35Homo sapiens
00:28:36we can be sure
00:28:37of who ran away
00:28:38from whom.
00:28:39But however
00:28:40that first meeting
00:28:40turned out
00:28:41it proved
00:28:42that extinction
00:28:43begins
00:28:43with a look.
00:28:49We don't know
00:28:50why Neanderthals
00:28:51died away
00:28:51so suddenly
00:28:52but we do know
00:28:53that before their demise
00:28:54they mated
00:28:55with Homo sapiens
00:28:56and seemed
00:28:57to have formed
00:28:58mixed groups
00:28:59and families
00:28:59composed of
00:29:00hybrids
00:29:01of both species.
00:29:06In fact
00:29:07Homo sapiens
00:29:08and Neanderthals
00:29:08mated
00:29:09and had children
00:29:10for many generations
00:29:11primarily
00:29:1247,000 years ago
00:29:13and we know that
00:29:14because their DNA
00:29:16is inside
00:29:17ours.
00:29:21Our DNA
00:29:22is a complex structure
00:29:24containing detailed
00:29:25information
00:29:25of our physiology
00:29:26and even as
00:29:28elements evolve
00:29:29and change
00:29:30through mutations
00:29:30information can be
00:29:32preserved in our bones
00:29:33long after our death.
00:29:36Our DNA
00:29:38also preserves
00:29:38information from
00:29:39our ancestors
00:29:40and so
00:29:41even though
00:29:41Neanderthals
00:29:42disappeared
00:29:4340,000 years ago
00:29:44they are still
00:29:45among us.
00:29:47The planet today
00:29:48has 8 billion
00:29:49inhabitants
00:29:50almost all of whom
00:29:51have DNA
00:29:52from Neanderthal
00:29:53precursors.
00:29:55Astonishingly
00:29:56this is more
00:29:56people than
00:29:57the total number
00:29:58of Neanderthals
00:29:59in their
00:29:59360,000 year history.
00:30:02Neanderthal life
00:30:03centered on
00:30:04small communities
00:30:05or enclaves
00:30:06that lived
00:30:06nomadically.
00:30:07They built
00:30:08no cities
00:30:08roadways
00:30:09or large-scale
00:30:10systems
00:30:10but instead
00:30:11kept moving
00:30:12and adapting
00:30:13to many different
00:30:14kinds of
00:30:14environments
00:30:14across the
00:30:15continents of
00:30:16Europe
00:30:16and Asia.
00:30:19Today
00:30:20our living
00:30:21conditions
00:30:21have changed.
00:30:22We rely
00:30:23on modern
00:30:24societies
00:30:24to control
00:30:25disease
00:30:25environmental
00:30:26extremes
00:30:27and limit
00:30:27our risk
00:30:28in finding
00:30:29food
00:30:29and sustenance.
00:30:31But we still
00:30:32carry genetic
00:30:33traits
00:30:33from a different
00:30:34world
00:30:34and we have
00:30:35recently learned
00:30:36much more
00:30:36about this
00:30:37link
00:30:37to our
00:30:38past.
00:30:43In 2010
00:30:44the Neanderthal
00:30:45Genome Project
00:30:46at the Max Planck
00:30:47Institute for
00:30:47Evolutionary
00:30:48Anthropology
00:30:49in Germany
00:30:49successfully sequenced
00:30:51all three billion
00:30:52bases that make up
00:30:53the complete genome
00:30:54of a Neanderthal
00:30:56making it possible
00:30:57to understand
00:30:57much more
00:30:58about Neanderthal
00:30:59biology
00:30:59and physiology
00:31:00and the similarities
00:31:01with modern humans.
00:31:06The research
00:31:07revealed
00:31:08that Neanderthals
00:31:09and modern humans
00:31:10had a common
00:31:11ancestor
00:31:11who lived
00:31:12around 600,000
00:31:13years ago.
00:31:16Non-African
00:31:17humans
00:31:17today
00:31:18inherited
00:31:18one to two
00:31:19percent
00:31:19of their DNA
00:31:20from Neanderthals
00:31:21including genes
00:31:22for several
00:31:23health-related
00:31:24conditions.
00:31:27For this
00:31:28pioneering
00:31:28physiological
00:31:29research
00:31:30Dr. Svante
00:31:31Pabot
00:31:31the project's
00:31:32principal
00:31:33investigator
00:31:33was awarded
00:31:34the Nobel Prize
00:31:35in 2022.
00:31:41Neanderthal DNA
00:31:42is 99.7%
00:31:44identical
00:31:45to modern
00:31:46human DNA.
00:31:47There are only
00:31:48a few small
00:31:49physical
00:31:49and cognitive
00:31:50distinctions
00:31:51between us
00:31:51and them.
00:31:52Looking at
00:31:53how Neanderthal
00:31:54genetics
00:31:54differ
00:31:55from our own
00:31:56we find
00:31:57several genes
00:31:57in human DNA
00:31:58that tell
00:31:59an intriguing
00:31:59story.
00:32:01Genetics
00:32:02research
00:32:02found
00:32:03that certain
00:32:03Neanderthal
00:32:04genes
00:32:04persist
00:32:05in modern
00:32:06humans
00:32:06today
00:32:06and influence
00:32:07our immune
00:32:08responses
00:32:08skin
00:32:09hair
00:32:10and metabolic
00:32:11traits.
00:32:12Some
00:32:13Neanderthal
00:32:14derived genes
00:32:14are linked
00:32:15to health
00:32:16issues
00:32:16such as
00:32:16autoimmune
00:32:17diseases
00:32:17type 2
00:32:18diabetes
00:32:19and even
00:32:19nicotine
00:32:20addiction.
00:32:21It appears
00:32:22diabetes could
00:32:23be an adaptation
00:32:24to survive
00:32:25starvation.
00:32:26But how
00:32:26does genetic
00:32:27information
00:32:28become preserved
00:32:29and shared?
00:32:32this is a
00:32:34strand of DNA
00:32:34coiled into
00:32:35a tight spiral
00:32:36called a
00:32:37chromosome.
00:32:38It acts
00:32:39like an
00:32:39instruction manual
00:32:40for making
00:32:40proteins
00:32:41and controlling
00:32:42how our
00:32:42bodies grow
00:32:43heal
00:32:43and function.
00:32:45The X
00:32:45chromosome
00:32:46carries information
00:32:47about how we
00:32:48develop and
00:32:48reproduce.
00:32:53Humans
00:32:54inherit 23
00:32:55chromosomes
00:32:56from each
00:32:56parent
00:32:57for a total
00:32:57of 46
00:32:58chromosomes
00:32:59or 23
00:32:59pairs.
00:33:01Only one
00:33:02of the 23
00:33:03pairs is a
00:33:04sex chromosome.
00:33:05Every person
00:33:05gets one
00:33:06chromosome from
00:33:07their mother
00:33:07and one
00:33:08from their
00:33:08father in
00:33:09each pair.
00:33:11This is why
00:33:12we inherit
00:33:13traits from
00:33:14both parents.
00:33:16DNA in
00:33:17chromosomes is
00:33:18inside every
00:33:19cell and
00:33:20growth happens
00:33:20when cells
00:33:21divide.
00:33:22But cell
00:33:23division is
00:33:24slightly different
00:33:24each time.
00:33:26DNA of the
00:33:27father and
00:33:27the mother
00:33:28are selectively
00:33:29joined into
00:33:29a new
00:33:30strand that
00:33:30inherits only
00:33:31some features
00:33:32from each
00:33:33parent rather
00:33:33than all
00:33:34features from
00:33:35both.
00:33:38The 23
00:33:39chromosomes of
00:33:39human DNA
00:33:40live as
00:33:41loose strings
00:33:42within each
00:33:42cell.
00:33:43But when the
00:33:44time comes
00:33:45for the cell
00:33:46to divide,
00:33:47the 23
00:33:47chromosomes begin
00:33:48to arrange
00:33:49themselves along
00:33:50the middle
00:33:50of the cell.
00:33:54At a certain
00:33:55moment, the
00:33:55chromosomes are
00:33:56arranged such
00:33:57that when the
00:33:57cell divides
00:33:58in two, each
00:33:59newly formed
00:34:00cell retains a
00:34:01complete copy
00:34:02of all 23
00:34:03chromosomes.
00:34:11As the cell
00:34:12divides, the
00:34:13DNA strands
00:34:14break apart,
00:34:14never to meet
00:34:15again.
00:34:16And now, both
00:34:17cells have the
00:34:18same genetic
00:34:18information to
00:34:19multiply and
00:34:20to continue
00:34:21life.
00:34:23Of course, this
00:34:25is how
00:34:25Neanderthals
00:34:26reproduced as
00:34:27well, but for
00:34:28this cellular
00:34:29reproduction to
00:34:30take place, every
00:34:31position of every
00:34:32chromosome must be
00:34:34copied with exact
00:34:34accuracy.
00:34:36In the human
00:34:37genome, 6.4
00:34:39billion base
00:34:39pairs will be
00:34:40copied to every
00:34:42cell each time a
00:34:43cell divides.
00:34:44So over time,
00:34:45changes are
00:34:46introduced into
00:34:46the DNA sequence
00:34:47which then
00:34:48multiplies with
00:34:49them.
00:34:49These changes
00:34:51called mutations
00:34:52often affect
00:34:53our similarity
00:34:54to and
00:34:55difference from
00:34:56our closest
00:34:57genetic relatives.
00:34:59Some mutations
00:35:01that help the
00:35:01organism survive
00:35:02in its environment
00:35:03are passed down
00:35:04to future
00:35:05generations, but
00:35:06many can work
00:35:08against survival
00:35:08for the host and
00:35:09are eliminated
00:35:10when the species
00:35:11becomes extinct.
00:35:14Much of what
00:35:15we know about
00:35:15Neanderthals comes
00:35:16from DNA extracted
00:35:17from their bones
00:35:18that were found
00:35:19in caves where
00:35:20their last moments
00:35:21of life were
00:35:22spent.
00:35:26And, although
00:35:27we don't know
00:35:27what Neanderthals
00:35:28looked like,
00:35:29we don't even know
00:35:30their skin color,
00:35:31we can look into
00:35:32their DNA for hints
00:35:33about how different
00:35:34they were from
00:35:35us.
00:35:40Neanderthals evolved
00:35:41from the same
00:35:42direct ancestor
00:35:43as we did,
00:35:44and so, in most
00:35:45respects, they
00:35:46were similar to
00:35:48us.
00:35:49But there were
00:35:50also major
00:35:51differences, and
00:35:52these seem to have
00:35:53helped them survive
00:35:54in the harshest of
00:35:55climates with
00:35:56little food.
00:35:58Recent discoveries
00:36:00of genetic
00:36:00mutations in
00:36:01Neanderthal DNA
00:36:02show curious
00:36:03differences from
00:36:04the DNA of us
00:36:05modern humans.
00:36:07Let's look at
00:36:08four of these
00:36:09differences.
00:36:14One such
00:36:15difference between
00:36:15us and
00:36:16Neanderthals was
00:36:17found in a gene
00:36:18that influences
00:36:18language use.
00:36:20Technically called
00:36:21FOXP2, this gene
00:36:23has a complex
00:36:24template and is
00:36:25known as the
00:36:26speech gene.
00:36:28How did it alter
00:36:29Neanderthal behavior?
00:36:33Using an online
00:36:34tool that predicts
00:36:35the 3D structure
00:36:36of proteins from
00:36:37gene sequences,
00:36:37we can now see
00:36:39the shape of the
00:36:39FOXP2 gene.
00:36:42Recent research
00:36:43found that in
00:36:45Neanderthals, this
00:36:46gene might have been
00:36:47expressed differently.
00:36:50FOXP2 could be
00:36:51indirectly connected
00:36:52to writing skills,
00:36:53which it appears
00:36:54Neanderthals did not
00:36:56have, as well as
00:36:57reduced speech.
00:37:00It is likely that
00:37:02their language behavior
00:37:03might have been
00:37:04different than ours,
00:37:05since this gene
00:37:06affects vocal
00:37:07communication and
00:37:08motor control.
00:37:09We have not found
00:37:10any writings made
00:37:12by Neanderthals,
00:37:13although objects,
00:37:13including cave walls,
00:37:15have markings and
00:37:16designs that no
00:37:17earlier ancestor of
00:37:18humans made.
00:37:20But how far the
00:37:22Neanderthal ability to
00:37:23think abstractly and
00:37:24express ideas went,
00:37:25beyond mere sounds,
00:37:27we just don't know.
00:37:35another gene called
00:37:36OXTR plays a
00:37:37significant role
00:37:38affecting empathy,
00:37:40trust, and
00:37:41social bonding.
00:37:43But it is also
00:37:44linked to a series of
00:37:45psychiatric conditions.
00:37:48Studies between
00:37:49modern human and
00:37:50Neanderthal DNA
00:37:51found variations in
00:37:52the OXTR gene that
00:37:54may indicate
00:37:54different behavior
00:37:55patterns between
00:37:56us and them.
00:38:05OXTR is produced by
00:38:07the hypothalamus,
00:38:08the brain's control
00:38:09center for important
00:38:10behaviors such as
00:38:11eating, sleeping,
00:38:12reproduction, stress
00:38:14responses, and emotional
00:38:15reactions.
00:38:19It coordinates
00:38:20activity between
00:38:21the nervous and
00:38:22endocrine systems
00:38:23ensuring survival
00:38:24and proper
00:38:25physiological
00:38:26functioning.
00:38:28The hypothalamus
00:38:30contains a high
00:38:30density of these
00:38:31important OXTR
00:38:33oxytocin receptors.
00:38:35Well-balanced,
00:38:36socially adaptive
00:38:37behavior depends on
00:38:38them.
00:38:39Oxytocin is so
00:38:40important that many
00:38:41studies show that
00:38:43when it is out of
00:38:43balance in the body,
00:38:44many psychiatric
00:38:45problems occur.
00:38:47These studies involve
00:38:49hundreds of subjects
00:38:50with Asian and also
00:38:51European lineage,
00:38:52both male and
00:38:53female and across
00:38:54many age groups.
00:38:58The most consistent
00:39:00research findings
00:39:00indicate a connection
00:39:02between oxytocin and
00:39:03empathy or depression.
00:39:06And again, this was
00:39:08most often found in
00:39:09Caucasians and other
00:39:10non-Africans, which is
00:39:11to say, persons with
00:39:13Neanderthal lineage.
00:39:14Perhaps they carry the
00:39:17Neanderthal version of
00:39:18the OXTR gene.
00:39:20Does oxytocin help
00:39:22create a kind of
00:39:23Neanderthal personality
00:39:24in people with
00:39:25European genetic
00:39:26lineage?
00:39:27It has helped shape
00:39:29how Neanderthals and
00:39:30modern humans formed
00:39:31relationships.
00:39:33Three sites in the
00:39:35OXTR gene show
00:39:36similar evolution in
00:39:37modern humans and
00:39:38bonobos, an ape
00:39:39species known for
00:39:41high levels of social
00:39:42tolerance and empathy.
00:39:44But this human-specific
00:39:46variation is missing
00:39:47in Neanderthal DNA,
00:39:49pointing to differences
00:39:50in their social
00:39:51behavior.
00:39:53Neanderthals likely
00:39:54preferred small,
00:39:55tight-knit units
00:39:56focused on the group
00:39:57itself rather than on
00:39:58individuals.
00:39:59While modern humans
00:40:01used cooperation to
00:40:02manage stress and
00:40:03resolve conflicts,
00:40:05Neanderthals would feel
00:40:06greater reactions to
00:40:08threats, sometimes
00:40:09preferring conflict
00:40:10over compromise.
00:40:13This genetic
00:40:14difference is probably
00:40:15responsible for the
00:40:16way that Neanderthals
00:40:17related to one another,
00:40:18and conflict, as much
00:40:19as cooperation, may
00:40:21have been seen as an
00:40:22adequate way to
00:40:23solve problems.
00:40:26But, of course, we
00:40:28will never know for
00:40:29sure.
00:40:29With this genetic
00:40:31variation, it seems
00:40:32even more unbelievable
00:40:33that Neanderthals and
00:40:34humans were ever able
00:40:35to get along.
00:40:39We now know that
00:40:40they had generations
00:40:41of hybrid children
00:40:42together, part human
00:40:43and part Neanderthal.
00:40:45But what this family
00:40:47dynamic looked like,
00:40:48we can only guess.
00:41:22It's dark.
00:41:23The surroundings are
00:41:25unknown.
00:41:26You are out
00:41:28on a night hunt.
00:41:30As a modern-day human
00:41:31relying on natural
00:41:32moonlight, this is
00:41:34what you see.
00:41:35Colors are mostly
00:41:37reduced to a single
00:41:38shade of blue.
00:41:39This is how human
00:41:40eyes work in the
00:41:41dark.
00:41:44In this light, and
00:41:45with our vision,
00:41:46things can hide out
00:41:47there.
00:41:48Humans can survive in
00:41:50this environment, but
00:41:51they cannot thrive.
00:41:53We invented lights,
00:41:55roadways, and tools to
00:41:56adapt the environment
00:41:57to our limitations.
00:41:59We had to.
00:42:04Many nocturnal creatures
00:42:05can see better in the
00:42:06dark than we can,
00:42:07but their eyes are too
00:42:08sensitive to work well
00:42:09during sunlight hours.
00:42:14But a Neanderthal's eyes
00:42:15are bigger, and he has
00:42:16a genetic advantage.
00:42:21He can see more in less
00:42:23light.
00:42:24He doesn't change the
00:42:25environment because of his
00:42:26inabilities, because
00:42:27frankly, he doesn't have to.
00:42:30After hundreds of
00:42:31thousands of years,
00:42:32Neanderthal eyes can see
00:42:34better at night than we
00:42:35ever will.
00:42:36But how?
00:42:40Neanderthals had larger
00:42:41eyes than we did, which
00:42:42would allow more light
00:42:43to enter.
00:42:45Larger eyes mean better
00:42:47low-light vision for cold
00:42:49winters and longer
00:42:50nights.
00:42:52But they also carried a
00:42:54genetic variation related
00:42:55to color vision, especially
00:42:57with dark light that
00:42:58appears blue.
00:43:01The back of the eye has
00:43:02many tiny cells called
00:43:04photoreceptors.
00:43:05They capture and magnify
00:43:06light signals all through
00:43:07the retina in the rear of
00:43:09the eyeball.
00:43:12Neanderthal eyes saw less
00:43:13color than our eyes do,
00:43:15but they magnified blue
00:43:16light and could thus see
00:43:18better in low-light
00:43:19conditions without losing
00:43:20daylight vision.
00:43:25In the shadows where we
00:43:27saw darkness, Neanderthals
00:43:29saw detail.
00:43:30Nature's own night vision,
00:43:32a valuable advantage for a
00:43:34species that survived for
00:43:36more than 300,000 years.
00:43:47And finally, the fourth
00:43:49major genetic variation
00:43:50between us and Neanderthals,
00:43:53our closest genetic
00:43:54cousins.
00:43:58In the human body,
00:44:00sensations are felt through
00:44:02electrochemical signals carried
00:44:04inside elongated cells
00:44:06called neurons.
00:44:12Neurons connect to other
00:44:14cells at synapses, gaps
00:44:16between two cells where
00:44:18signals are transmitted.
00:44:22And as the body sends a
00:44:24signal, it must pass through
00:44:26the neuron's membrane by
00:44:27means of ions, groups of
00:44:29atoms that have an electric
00:44:31charge.
00:44:33The cell has gatekeepers
00:44:35called ion channels that
00:44:37open to allow certain
00:44:38molecules to enter.
00:44:41Ions that enter can have
00:44:43different functions,
00:44:44including triggering
00:44:44sensations of pleasure or
00:44:47pain.
00:44:48How much of cells' ion
00:44:50channels open or close
00:44:52depends on genetic
00:44:54instructions from our DNA.
00:44:56When ion channels allow
00:44:58few ions into the cell,
00:45:00the body feels less
00:45:01sensation.
00:45:04And when the ion channels
00:45:06allow many more ions into
00:45:07the cell, the body receives
00:45:09more sensation signals.
00:45:16One of the key ion channels
00:45:18for nerves in the human body
00:45:19is called NAV 1.7,
00:45:21and it regulates the intensity
00:45:23of sensitivity in neurons,
00:45:25particularly in relation to
00:45:27the sensation of pain.
00:45:32This protein sits at the tip of
00:45:34our nerve endings and initiates
00:45:36a sense of pain when we hurt
00:45:38ourselves.
00:45:40In fact, there is a class of
00:45:42drugs called NAV 1.7
00:45:44inhibitors for the treatment of
00:45:46chronic pain.
00:45:47They work by reducing the
00:45:49signals that pass through this
00:45:51ion channel in cells.
00:45:55Hugo Zeberg, a Swedish
00:45:57physician, studied ion channels
00:45:59in Neanderthal DNA and found
00:46:02three genetic variants unique
00:46:04to Neanderthals.
00:46:06These were in nerve endings
00:46:08and signaled pain sensation
00:46:10based on how long the channels
00:46:12remained open.
00:46:14Zeberg compared how signals
00:46:16flowed through ion channels in
00:46:18modern humans versus how they
00:46:19behave in cells that have
00:46:21Neanderthal DNA and its genetic
00:46:23variation.
00:46:27A brief electrical stimulus was
00:46:29applied to cells with human DNA
00:46:31to test how many sodium channels
00:46:33remained open, allowing signals
00:46:35to pass.
00:46:36This is a measure of nerve
00:46:38sensitivity.
00:46:40Zeberg's team then carried out
00:46:42the same test on a version of a
00:46:43cell carrying the Neanderthal's
00:46:45gene variations.
00:46:49The Neanderthal variants shown in the
00:46:52red response lines allowed more
00:46:54ions into the cell, which means
00:46:56that the same stimulus would
00:46:58register more pain and for a
00:47:00longer time in the Neanderthal body
00:47:02than modern humans would normally
00:47:04feel.
00:47:05To determine the effect of this
00:47:07mutation in modern humans, the team
00:47:10looked at the genetic data of people
00:47:11who volunteered medical information
00:47:13to the UK Biobank, a massive
00:47:16database which contains health
00:47:17statistics for 500,000 British
00:47:20residents.
00:47:23This genetic Neanderthal pain
00:47:25variant was found in a little less
00:47:27than 1% of this population, which
00:47:29had filled out a questionnaire that
00:47:31asked about many different kinds of
00:47:33experience and sensation with pain in
00:47:35many parts of the body.
00:47:43The answers provided by each person
00:47:46were then ranked on an intensity scale
00:47:48from less likely to report pain to
00:47:51more likely to report it.
00:47:57This scale included responses from
00:47:59persons who had the Neanderthal genetic
00:48:01variation for pain sensitivity, as well
00:48:04as other persons who did not have the
00:48:06Neanderthal mutation.
00:48:10The 1,327 men and women who had
00:48:14inherited the Neanderthal mutations
00:48:16had reported significantly more pain
00:48:18than individuals without the
00:48:20Neanderthal mutations.
00:48:26It was evident that even after
00:48:28hundreds of thousands of years,
00:48:30Neanderthal pain sensitivity had been
00:48:32passed down to modern humans and the
00:48:34study found that carriers of the
00:48:37Neanderthal genetic variant experienced
00:48:39the same level of pain to that of
00:48:41someone eight years older than
00:48:43themselves.
00:48:49This contradicts popular ideas of
00:48:51Neanderthals as an insensitive
00:48:53species.
00:48:54If they felt more pain than we might,
00:48:56one can only wonder what life must have
00:48:58been like for them, living as they did
00:49:00through not one, but four ice ages,
00:49:03where the global temperature fluctuated
00:49:05more than 12 degrees each time.
00:49:09But what possible advantage could come
00:49:11with heightened sensitivity to pain?
00:49:15A heightened pain response might have
00:49:17allowed Neanderthals to recognize injuries
00:49:19or illnesses quickly, and help them avoid
00:49:23worsening injuries by resting or seeking
00:49:26protection sooner, increasing their chances
00:49:28of survival.
00:49:33This could encourage more cautious behavior,
00:49:36reducing the risk of severe injuries from
00:49:38hunting large animals, using tools, or
00:49:41navigating dangerous landscapes.
00:49:46Acute pain might serve as a clear signal to
00:49:49others of physical vulnerability, reducing
00:49:52expectations for injured individuals to
00:49:54contribute to tasks like hunting or gathering
00:49:57until they've recovered.
00:50:00This would help group survival by shifting
00:50:03responsibilities and allowing for better
00:50:06recovery.
00:50:07While greater pain sensitivity might seem like
00:50:10a disadvantage, for Neanderthals, it could have been a
00:50:13critical survival mechanism, promoting caution,
00:50:17fostering social bonds, and ensuring swift
00:50:20responses to injuries or other hazards.
00:50:23But this, despite what science has told us about them,
00:50:26and ourselves, is something that we can only guess.
00:50:40At last, we come to the final question of our
00:50:43investigation.
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
00:50:59left behind.
00:51:00But was it art?
00:51:03Perhaps we shouldn't ask whether they made art, but
00:51:07rather what we expect art to look like in the first
00:51:10place.
00:51:10Their ideas might have differed from ours.
00:51:15What is visual art?
00:51:19Traditionally, art has been determined by figurative rules,
00:51:22which say that anything drawn, painted, or
00:51:26sculptured must resemble something that we are already
00:51:29familiar with and should recognize.
00:51:38Since much of what has been put on cave walls and other objects
00:51:41by Neanderthals is not figurative, some have argued that these
00:51:45marks are not art, because they are not figurative.
00:51:48They do not depict anything we recognize as familiar as we are
00:51:52used to seeing in our world.
00:51:56For a long time, for many centuries, and all over the globe, art was
00:52:01defined 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
00:52:21favor of expression that is completely abstract, bearing no resemblance to the
00:52:25familiar world.
00:52:26The fact that marks, lines, dots, and patterns are part of an abstract art
00:52:31today does not mean that artists have stopped making art.
00:52:35Instead, they are showing us that an expanded view of art is possible, and that
00:52:40figurative creations are not the only kind of art.
00:52:46With abstraction, the question of what a modern work of art means loses value.
00:52:51It makes no sense.
00:52:56Without an answer about what something is depicting, we are left only with the
00:53:00fact that the artist intended to make something, and the existence of the work
00:53:05is what matters.
00:53:07It is separated from the world.
00:53:10It has no context.
00:53:11And while it is obvious that Neanderthals intended to show something, figurative
00:53:17pictures were not interesting to them.
00:53:21So, Neanderthal art was abstract, but unlike modern art, it is not separated from its world.
00:53:28It 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
00:53:47places where it happened.
00:53:49This is Google Earth, taking us into one such site known as La Cueva del Castillo in the north
00:53:56of Spain, a 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.
00:54:31Approaching from the north, we descend into a seashore whose face has been unchanged for
00:54:36hundreds 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.
00:55:33For 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,
00:56:03almost 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.
00:56:20And, in even the simplest versions of these forms, the sections were cut in half on the horizontal from right
00:56:26to 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.
00:57:40Again, 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 away from
00:57:57the 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,
00:58:15the same double lines at the lower side of the image are 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 that we
00:58:37shall 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 this object.
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?
00:59:44And, if so, could this be a gate for entry and exit?
01:00:09The figure bulges out in opposite directions, expanding toward the bottom as we see it.
01:00:10And, again, 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, like a nucleus?
01:00:49We should remember that no axis or perspective is necessarily the right one for reading these images.
01:00:57These 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.
01:02:11The earlier image appears different in size and orientation, and here is how both images were drawn on the cave
01:02:20wall.
01:02:22Each is near the other, but in their existing angles they seem unrelated.
01:02:28Until 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,
01:03:03each an obvious copy of that ship-like object that we have been seeing until now.
01:03:11The 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.
01:03:35So these small areas would not make sense as a map of sleeping chambers.
01:03:42The mystery of one shape is deep enough, but when two versions of the same image are placed at cross
01:03:48angles 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, we might think that the only place for more evidence of Neanderthal art
01:04:15is in other caves.
01:04:17Perhaps.
01:04:19Perhaps.
01:04:19But it seems Neanderthals were doing more than painting.
01:04:22It appears they also made...
01:04:24music.
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 Diviebabe 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.
01:05:16This is Slovenian flautist Katinka Dimarovska, who has been playing the Diviebabe almost since it was found not far from
01:05:23her own home.
01:05:25music.
01:05:29At first sight, it doesn't look like much.
01:05:32And some believe that it's just a bone that happened to have suffered random tooth marks made by some scavenging
01:05:38animal.
01:05:40music.
01:05:46This view is in line with the belief that Neanderthals were too primitive to have made or used even this
01:05:52simple musical instrument.
01:05:55But as we can hear, its 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, or to mimic an animal in order to attract it.
01:06:11Or, dare we imagine, for Neanderthals' own enjoyment.
01:06:39Still, the controversy over whether these holes are tooth marks or not is worth considering.
01:06:44After 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.
01:07:00Close 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 in an outward angle,
01:07:18as 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 and 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.
01:08:20Experts have stumbled on many other ancient flutes that are accepted as valid musical instruments dating 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, and some deep layers dating back to
01:08:53as much as 43,000 years.
01:08:58But, as with the Divye-Babe flute, this flute has holes that are perfectly aligned along its length and gradually
01:09:05filed 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 scarcely 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 and use of fibers,
01:11:38a 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,
01:11:55where, nestled along the banks of a tributary of the Rhone River,
01:11:59lies Abry du Marat, a Paleolithic rock shelter.
01:12:06As with the Feldhofer Cave, where the first Neanderthal bones were found,
01:12:11or Cueva del Castillo, where we saw the cave art,
01:12:14this site is slightly elevated along a sloping hill.
01:12:25At that site, here is what Hardy and his team found.
01:12:30This unassuming stone flake, a typical tool used by Neanderthals, was 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.
01:13:29This level of complexity reveals not only technical knowledge,
01:13:34but 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 cord'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 cord 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 part way 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 is the pattern again. Coils 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.
01:15:18Neanderthals 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.
01:17:05Not concerning Neanderthal life, but rather death, and what they may have known about their place in the universe.
01:17:16Our 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?
01:18:52Through 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.
01:19:22From any perspective, it could be turned depending on the observer's axis.
01:19:27But here we rotate it 23.45 degrees, which is the axial rotation of the Earth around the Sun.
01:19:36Neanderthal 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,
01:20:15it would face the map that shows it where to go next.
01:20:21Was it a guide for his spirit?
01:20:27And so, beyond a few remnants and bones, what do we really know about Neanderthal life?
01:20:37And 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,
01:22:20but 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.
01:22:36Surely, they called it something else.
01:22:39But this is the last gasp.
01:22:41The final moment.
01:22:43The end of the line for a powerful race of beings who disappeared after taking up residence among these caves.
01:22:50And were never to be seen again.
01:23:00Except, of course, as ancient echoes, somewhere, genetically, within us.
01:23:37The Disaster of beings who disappeared after being created after being discovered before being created after being created by the
01:23:37Rock of Gibraltar,
01:23:37Oh, oh, oh, oh.
01:24:07Oh, oh, oh.
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