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[dramatic music]

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[dramatic music continues]

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[dramatic music]

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[dramatic music continues]

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[tranquil music]

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- [Narrator] Researchers in
Turkey are about to embark

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on an excavation at the
ancient site of Karahan Tepe,

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and they believe it's much
older than Gobekli Tepe,

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the famous zero point
of world history.

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If you were to ask any
professor of history

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or even a self-respecting
armchair archeologist

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to name the oldest
monument ever discovered,

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they would've all
said Gobekli Tepe,

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but now that answer
might be Karahan Tepe,

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and this is creating
a lot of excitement

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in archeological circles.

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Karahan Tepe is said to be
much older than Gobekli Tepe.

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Archeologists have been working
at the Karahan Tepe site,

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which is often called
the sister site

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of Gobekli Tepe since 1997.

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The site is located
near Yagmurlu,

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and roughly 35 kilometers east

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of the 12,000-year-old
Gobekli Tepe site.

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[dramatic music]

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Over the years, archeologists
have made a series

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of amazing discoveries
at the Karahan Tepe site.

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In particular, tons of
buried T-shaped obelisks

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similar to the ones car with
wild animals at Gobekli Tepe

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have led researchers to conclude

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that Karahan Tepe is much older

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than its younger
sister Gobekli Tepe.

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Head of excavations that
Karahan Tepe, Dr. Necmi Karul,

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said that 12 spots estimated
to be in the same period

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as Gobekli Tepe are now
known in the region,

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one of which is
the Karahan Tepe.

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Speaking at the 10th
International Resort
Tourism Congress,

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culture and tourism
minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy

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said that an intensive

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and rapid excavation program
continues in Karahan Tepe,

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which to date has
yielded 250 obelisks

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featuring animal figures.

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Ersoy claims that
planned excavations

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will prove the settlement
at Karahan Tepe

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will be much older than the
12,000 year old Gobekli Tepe.

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A 2016 "National
Geographic" article

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recounted the fascinating story

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of the discovery and
preservation of Gobekli Tepe.

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Professor Klaus Schmidt,

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a German archeologist who
led excavations at the site,

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argued before he died in 2014

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that a vast labor force needed
to build the enclosures,

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and that this construction
project pushed people

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to develop agriculture

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as a way of providing
predictable food,

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and perhaps drink for workers.

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At the 2015 World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland,

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Turkey's DOGUS GROUP announced

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that they plan to spend
15 million dollars

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over the next 20
years in partnership

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with the National
Geographic Society

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on the Gobekli Tepe site,

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and DOGUS GROUP
chairman, Ferit Sahenk,

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said in a press release

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that the reason so much cash
was being spent on Gobekli Tepe

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was because this
prehistoric temple

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was the zero point in time.

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Karahan Tepe may well be
Gobekli Tepe's older sister.

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While Gobekli Tepe
holds the world record

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in media headlines and elsewhere

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as the earliest temple of
its type ever discovered,

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there are several
other contenders for
this crown in Turkey.

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According to Jens Notroff,

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an archeologist at the German
Archeological Institute

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who is working on
Gobekli Tepe site,

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smaller versions of
the pillars, symbols,

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and architecture carved
into stone Gobekli Tepe

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have been found in settlements
up to 125 miles away,

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including Karahan Tepe.

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Professor Notroff told
"National Geographic"

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that Gobekli Tepe
probably served the
region as a cathedral,

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and therefore the
surrounding sacred sites

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were like parish churches.

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The scientist also thinks

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hunter gatherers traveled
long distances to meet,

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worship and help build
new monumental structures

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through vast community projects

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that included grand
feasts to display wealth.

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Returning to Karahan Tepe,

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according to a report
in "Daily Sabah,"

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many more years of
excavations and research

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must be conducted to determine
what exactly it was used for.

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However, while it does happen,

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scientists seldom make
big claims without
equally big proof,

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and in this instance,
the researchers think

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that when they ultimately get

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to Karahan Tepe's
excavation center,

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it will be much older
than 12,000 years.

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The archeologists at Karahan
Tepe are also convinced

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that they have a new zero
point in world history.

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The mayor says the site
will become a priority

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in place of Gobekli Tepe,

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and it will become a new focus
of national archeological

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and tourist attention.

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Karahan Tepe is the sister
to the enigmatic Gobekli Tepe

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that sits around 23 miles
Southeast of Gobekli,

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upon an elevated
limestone ridge.

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It has many striking
similarities to Gobekli.

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Firstly, it consists
of T-shaped pillars,

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266 of them, that mostly
form parallel rows.

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The pillars have
relief carvings,

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and the sight of
appears, like Gobekli,

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to be deliberately buried
under a great artificial mound.

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Although this could be natural,

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as after 10,500 years
of accumulation of dirt

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combined with high winds
could have covered it back up.

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The comparisons
do not end there.

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It also has serpent
relief carvings,

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strange rock indentations,
large cut marks,

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porthole stones, and an
unfinished T-shaped pillar

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still in the quarry, the
focus of this article.

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[tranquil music]

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[upbeat music]

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Karahan Tepe was first
discovered in 1997,

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and was surveyed in
2000, and again in 2011.

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Like Gobekli Tepe,

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it's located within the
boundaries of Sanliurfa,

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ancient Edessa, the
birthplace of Abraham

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around 30 miles from the city.

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It's not an officially
recognized tourist site,

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so they had to plan
their trip carefully,

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as it was on private land
upon the Tektek Mountains.

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Fortunately, a well-placed,
probably modern standing stone,

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marked the entrance to the track

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that led to the farm
that is located behind.

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When Andrew Collins
visited there in 2004,

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the person who showed him around

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was warned he
would get a beating

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if they found anyone
had visited there.

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10 years later,

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and the owners welcome
the occasional visitor

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with tea and information,
no beatings entailed,

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just sweet, hot beverages
and conversation

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after the morning visit.

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The dating of the
site is impressive,

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as it's dated to 8500 BC,

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contemporary with the
now submerged Neval1 Cori

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and the latest stages
of Gobekli Tepe.

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There are obvious
similarities to these

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and other sites in the vicinity,

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but we've heard that
there was a quarry on site

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where an unfinished
T-shaped pillar

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still sits within the bedrock.

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Kevin Fish diligently searched
for it with only one clue,

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that it was directly to the
west of the main enclosure,

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as mentioned in the 2011 report.

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Kevin eventually converged
at the impressive monolith.

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It lies on a rock face
sloping 30 degrees

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towards the setting sun.

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At 18 feet long,

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it would have probably
been the largest monolith

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at the site.

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The site is not excavated yet,

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so this can't be confirmed,

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and weighs in at
around 30 to 40 tons.

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It's downward angle on the slope

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on natural, exposed rock face

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may have been why this was a
preferred spot to quarry from.

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As archeologist
Bahattin Celik explains,

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this is quite a
practical technique

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with roughly chiseling
on the side of the rock

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to produce a T shape

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whilst carving the other
side 40-centimeters wide

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and one-meter deep.

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The solid pillar
separated from the bedrock

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with this technique, and can
be removed from the quarry

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with the help of a slope.

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Andrew Collins
decided to measure it,

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and discovered it was, indeed,

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18 feet, 5.5 meters in length,

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with a maximum
width of 6.6 feet,

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two meters across
its T-shaped head.

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This is similar in size
to the twin monoliths

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at the center of Gobekli's
enclosure C and D.

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The weathering was very bad,

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much like the exposed parts of
the pillars on the main hill.

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However, what lies underneath

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could be as well
preserved as Gobekli Tepe.

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Altogether, Karahan Tepe
is a fascinating site

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that begs excavation,

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as the significance of
the nearby Gobekli Tepe

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has now hit the headlines.

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After leaving the site,

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the visitor wondered
if the location

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of the choice of
rock was significant.

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Was the direction of the
quarry from the main temple

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an indication of a
tradition that existed

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as far back as 10,500 years ago?

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Andrew Collins discussed
the possibility

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that, indeed, it could be case,

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as bringing quarry stone
from the west to the east

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may represent bringing it
into the light, sunrise,

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from darkness, the sunset.

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However, the remaining
14-foot pillar

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still on the Eastern
slope had further avenues

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slightly further east of it,

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so again, it showed a possible
west-to-east movement.

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Alternatively, it
could also represent

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an east-to-west direction
from the smaller quarry

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to the main enclosure.

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After searching through
some masonic texts,

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a reference was
found to a ceremony

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where the initiate had to
move in that direction,

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east to west.

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Why this is perhaps
could represent facing
one's own death,

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as initiation
rites such as these

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are often about facing
deep rooted fears.

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Whether this was on the minds

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of the builders of Karahan
Tepe, we'll never know,

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unless, of course, the
site gets excavated

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and evidence emerges.

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For now, we can only speculate.

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Another aspect that
grabbed Andrew's attention

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was the fact that
the parallel rows

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appear to be serpent like,

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weaving up or down
the main hill,

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or from the main enclosure.

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In his initial report, Andrew
stated it's even possible

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that these zigzagging
pairs of stones

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making up the stone avenues,

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located on the Northern
Eastern sides of the Tepe,

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signify the path of snakes,

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which are seen to descend
light-living energy

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into the valley below.

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This idea is given
credence through the fact

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that carving on the stones
seems directed up the hill,

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as if the direction of
movement is downwards

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through the various
sets of gateways.

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After coming to this conclusion,
Andrew dreamt of snakes,

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their tails tied together,

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each one trying to break
free of its bondage,

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all of them writhing
about in the process.

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With this dream
came the impression

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that the snakes represented
the containment, flow,

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and energy of the stones'
avenues at Karahan Tepe.

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An interesting concept,
if nothing else.

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Earth energy springs to mind,

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as it has been found in
Avery, Brittany, and Cornwall

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that stone avenues mark the path

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of telluric earth
energy currents,

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00:13:21,007 --> 00:13:24,182
with a crossing point often
at the center of the complex,

251
00:13:24,217 --> 00:13:27,185
which would naturally
congregate on a hilltop.

252
00:13:27,220 --> 00:13:29,015
More research needs
to be carried out

253
00:13:29,049 --> 00:13:31,189
to confirm this hypothesis,

254
00:13:31,224 --> 00:13:34,779
but with the serpent symbolism
at such a remote site,

255
00:13:34,814 --> 00:13:37,402
it could even reveal
the origins of geomancy

256
00:13:37,437 --> 00:13:39,611
and earth energy science.

257
00:13:39,646 --> 00:13:41,303
When they go back in September,

258
00:13:41,337 --> 00:13:43,546
they will have some
equipment to take readings,

259
00:13:43,581 --> 00:13:47,757
and dousing rods, to find
out if this is the case.

260
00:13:47,792 --> 00:13:50,553
[dramatic music]

261
00:13:52,555 --> 00:13:55,558
[suspenseful music]

262
00:14:13,887 --> 00:14:15,820
Archeologists are
preparing to launch

263
00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:18,927
the third major excavation
of an important site

264
00:14:18,961 --> 00:14:21,964
on the Jiroft plane
in the Halil River

265
00:14:21,999 --> 00:14:24,035
of Southeastern Iran.

266
00:14:24,070 --> 00:14:29,075
The Konar Sandal remains were
exposed after flooding in 2001

267
00:14:29,834 --> 00:14:31,249
near Jiroft in Iran.

268
00:14:31,284 --> 00:14:34,632
Sheltering by towering rugged
mountains on three sides,

269
00:14:34,666 --> 00:14:37,117
this hidden jewel was
revealed to be a sprawling,

270
00:14:37,152 --> 00:14:41,121
Bronze Age urban settlement
built by a magnificent kingdom

271
00:14:41,156 --> 00:14:43,883
whose existence had
been previously excluded

272
00:14:43,917 --> 00:14:45,919
from the annals of history.

273
00:14:45,954 --> 00:14:49,129
The discovery led some
experts to hypothesize

274
00:14:49,164 --> 00:14:51,407
that the long-lost
year of culture

275
00:14:51,442 --> 00:14:53,616
was actually the
cradle of civilization

276
00:14:53,651 --> 00:14:57,448
before the emergence of
Sumer or Mesopotamia.

277
00:14:57,482 --> 00:15:00,692
The excavated area in
Iran's Kerman province

278
00:15:00,727 --> 00:15:03,281
has been named Konar Sandal.

279
00:15:03,316 --> 00:15:04,869
Its central feature is a pair

280
00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:08,010
of massive burial mounds
separated by a distance

281
00:15:08,045 --> 00:15:11,565
of approximately one
mile, 1.6 kilometers,

282
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,673
which have been designated
as Konar Sandal A, North,

283
00:15:15,707 --> 00:15:18,227
and Konar Sandal B, South.

284
00:15:18,262 --> 00:15:22,473
The site is located near
Jiroft in Southeastern Iran.

285
00:15:22,507 --> 00:15:26,339
Beneath mound A, archeologists
found a stone structure

286
00:15:26,373 --> 00:15:29,583
they believed was used
for religious purposes.

287
00:15:29,618 --> 00:15:31,792
Under mound B, they
found the remains

288
00:15:31,827 --> 00:15:35,796
of a two-story fortified
citadel anchored to a base

289
00:15:35,831 --> 00:15:40,629
that covered more than
33 acres, 13.5 hectares.

290
00:15:40,663 --> 00:15:41,802
At the foot of the mounds,

291
00:15:41,837 --> 00:15:43,943
deeper digs have
revealed the presence

292
00:15:43,977 --> 00:15:45,737
of many smaller buildings,

293
00:15:45,772 --> 00:15:47,808
and its believe that
similar structures

294
00:15:47,843 --> 00:15:50,018
will eventually be
unearthed in the space

295
00:15:50,052 --> 00:15:52,192
between the two
mounds and elsewhere

296
00:15:52,227 --> 00:15:55,920
in the subterranean
surrounding environment.

297
00:15:55,955 --> 00:15:58,440
In addition to the
excavated structures,

298
00:15:58,474 --> 00:16:01,374
Konar Sandal has also
yielded a plentitude

299
00:16:01,408 --> 00:16:04,618
of stunningly attractive
and finely crafted artifacts

300
00:16:04,653 --> 00:16:08,381
revealing the existence of a
culturally sophisticated people

301
00:16:08,415 --> 00:16:13,420
who created and resided in an
indisputably advanced society.

302
00:16:14,594 --> 00:16:15,812
Unlike the first
two explorations,

303
00:16:15,836 --> 00:16:18,011
which were carried out
by international teams,

304
00:16:18,046 --> 00:16:21,497
this new excavation will be
strictly an Iranian affair

305
00:16:21,532 --> 00:16:24,155
sponsored by the country's
Research Institute

306
00:16:24,190 --> 00:16:26,916
of Cultural Heritage
and Tourism.

307
00:16:26,951 --> 00:16:29,057
The demarcation project is aimed

308
00:16:29,091 --> 00:16:32,922
to determine the legal
boundaries of the
prehistorical site,

309
00:16:32,957 --> 00:16:36,064
explained the Kerman
provincial tourism chief

310
00:16:36,098 --> 00:16:38,549
who referred to the
Konar Sandal site

311
00:16:38,583 --> 00:16:41,034
as one of the most
important Bronze Age cities

312
00:16:41,069 --> 00:16:42,691
in Southwest Asia.

313
00:16:42,725 --> 00:16:44,900
This is a strong contention,

314
00:16:44,934 --> 00:16:49,111
but in fact, this assessment
may be unduly modest.

315
00:16:49,146 --> 00:16:52,494
The first section of the
Jiroft plane site and acropolis

316
00:16:52,528 --> 00:16:55,048
was discovered in 2001.

317
00:16:55,083 --> 00:16:57,119
Heavy flooding of
the Halil River

318
00:16:57,154 --> 00:17:00,812
washed away tons of topsoil
that had previously covered it,

319
00:17:00,847 --> 00:17:03,712
exposing a complex
of ancient tombs

320
00:17:03,746 --> 00:17:06,508
no one had ever
expected to find.

321
00:17:06,542 --> 00:17:10,063
Impressive hauls of bronze
and age jewelry, ceramics,

322
00:17:10,098 --> 00:17:12,928
tools, drinking
cups, board games,

323
00:17:12,962 --> 00:17:15,172
and a variety of
decorative items inlaid

324
00:17:15,206 --> 00:17:16,725
with semi-precious stones

325
00:17:16,759 --> 00:17:19,383
were recovered from
the unearthed cemetery.

326
00:17:19,417 --> 00:17:22,593
Unfortunately, the initial
discoverers were looters

327
00:17:22,627 --> 00:17:24,802
and antiquities black marketers

328
00:17:24,836 --> 00:17:27,598
who stole and sold
many valuable artifacts

329
00:17:27,632 --> 00:17:30,980
before law enforcement and
the military finally arrived

330
00:17:31,015 --> 00:17:32,844
to secure the site.

331
00:17:32,879 --> 00:17:34,639
After this initial discovery,

332
00:17:34,674 --> 00:17:39,058
the first official excavation
at Jiroft began in 2003,

333
00:17:39,092 --> 00:17:42,509
under the leadership of
the Iranian archeologist,

334
00:17:42,544 --> 00:17:44,994
Dr. Yousef Majidzadeh.

335
00:17:45,029 --> 00:17:47,100
It ended in 2007,

336
00:17:47,135 --> 00:17:51,139
and he published his team's
findings shortly thereafter.

337
00:17:51,173 --> 00:17:53,279
Based on radiocarbon dating,

338
00:17:53,313 --> 00:17:56,627
the archeologist concluded that
the year after civilization

339
00:17:56,661 --> 00:17:59,112
that built the
integrated urban complex

340
00:17:59,147 --> 00:18:02,150
had reached the peak of
its power and prosperity

341
00:18:02,184 --> 00:18:05,118
at around the year 2,500 BC.

342
00:18:05,153 --> 00:18:06,844
However, signs indicated

343
00:18:06,878 --> 00:18:09,778
that initial construction on
the complex may have begun

344
00:18:09,812 --> 00:18:13,299
as long ago as the
fifth millennium BC.

345
00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:14,990
During this excavation,

346
00:18:15,024 --> 00:18:18,097
and during another that
was launched in 2014,

347
00:18:18,131 --> 00:18:21,065
archeologists continue
to find many valuable

348
00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:24,033
and intriguing artifacts
inside the mounds

349
00:18:24,068 --> 00:18:26,691
and beneath the
surrounding landscape.

350
00:18:26,726 --> 00:18:30,039
Most notably, they also
found four tablets inscribed

351
00:18:30,074 --> 00:18:31,800
in two different languages,

352
00:18:31,834 --> 00:18:35,321
one of which was composed
entirely of geometrical figures

353
00:18:35,355 --> 00:18:37,150
and could not be
compared to anything

354
00:18:37,185 --> 00:18:39,428
that had been found before.

355
00:18:39,463 --> 00:18:42,259
So just how significant
was the discovery

356
00:18:42,293 --> 00:18:44,744
of this long-lost,
literate kingdom

357
00:18:44,778 --> 00:18:48,472
in a bleak desolate
area of Iranian desert?

358
00:18:48,506 --> 00:18:50,991
Significant enough to
throw the identification

359
00:18:51,026 --> 00:18:54,754
of Mesopotamia as the cradle
of civilization into question.

360
00:18:56,721 --> 00:18:58,965
Jean Perrot, a
French archeologist

361
00:18:58,999 --> 00:19:01,968
with previous excavation
experience in Iran

362
00:19:02,002 --> 00:19:04,729
was invited to inspect
the site and its contents

363
00:19:04,764 --> 00:19:08,526
during the earliest stages
of the first excavation.

364
00:19:08,561 --> 00:19:10,425
When asked to share
his impressions,

365
00:19:10,459 --> 00:19:12,116
he stated the following,

366
00:19:12,151 --> 00:19:15,775
"An area we formerly regarded
as resided only by nomads

367
00:19:15,809 --> 00:19:17,190
and their cattle

368
00:19:17,225 --> 00:19:20,159
was the heart of an incredibly
advanced civilization.

369
00:19:20,193 --> 00:19:24,301
In this area, people lived
with a social hierarchy.

370
00:19:24,335 --> 00:19:27,442
These people had an
explicit view of the world,

371
00:19:27,476 --> 00:19:30,307
which distinguishes
them from the Sumerians.

372
00:19:30,341 --> 00:19:32,619
Henceforth, we must
consider the Jiroft

373
00:19:32,654 --> 00:19:34,966
as the origin of civilizations,

374
00:19:35,001 --> 00:19:37,176
and refer to all
other civilizations

375
00:19:37,210 --> 00:19:40,351
as pre or post-Jiroft
civilization."

376
00:19:43,285 --> 00:19:45,322
There may be a bit of
hype in this statement

377
00:19:45,356 --> 00:19:48,704
since Sumerian civilization
can be traced back

378
00:19:48,739 --> 00:19:50,913
at least as far, if not farther,

379
00:19:50,948 --> 00:19:52,743
than the Jifoft civilization,

380
00:19:52,777 --> 00:19:55,918
to the fifth and
sixth millenniums BC,

381
00:19:55,953 --> 00:19:59,922
but given that Mesopotamia and
Southern Iran are separated

382
00:19:59,957 --> 00:20:02,822
by only 600 miles,
or 1000 kilometers,

383
00:20:02,856 --> 00:20:04,582
there exists a possibility

384
00:20:04,617 --> 00:20:07,585
that the Jiroft civilization
shared a common ancestor

385
00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:10,726
with the Sumerians, and
that perhaps the two split

386
00:20:10,761 --> 00:20:14,178
following the chaos, confusion,
and destruction caused

387
00:20:14,213 --> 00:20:15,938
by the great floods
that occurred

388
00:20:15,973 --> 00:20:17,768
at the end of the last Ice Age.

389
00:20:18,907 --> 00:20:21,254
At the very least, it's
reasonable to assume

390
00:20:21,289 --> 00:20:24,361
that the peoples of Mesopotamia
would have interacted

391
00:20:24,395 --> 00:20:27,053
with their Jiroftian
neighbors to the east,

392
00:20:27,087 --> 00:20:29,331
perhaps to a significant
enough extent

393
00:20:29,366 --> 00:20:31,160
that each culture
was influencing

394
00:20:31,195 --> 00:20:32,990
the development of the other.

395
00:20:33,024 --> 00:20:36,304
In fact, many of the artifacts
discovered at Konar Sandal

396
00:20:36,338 --> 00:20:39,099
are decorated with
mythological imagery

397
00:20:39,134 --> 00:20:42,517
that seems to link its culture
with that of Mesopotamia.

398
00:20:43,518 --> 00:20:45,589
The Jiroft civilization
specialized

399
00:20:45,623 --> 00:20:47,280
in the creation of pottery

400
00:20:47,315 --> 00:20:51,042
using a semi-precious
mineral known as chlorite,

401
00:20:51,077 --> 00:20:52,561
and examples of this pottery

402
00:20:52,596 --> 00:20:56,462
containing strikingly similar
iconography have been found

403
00:20:56,496 --> 00:20:58,291
at various archeological sites

404
00:20:58,326 --> 00:21:00,120
throughout the
Middle East and Asia,

405
00:21:00,155 --> 00:21:03,676
including sites identified
with Bronze Age Mesopotamia.

406
00:21:05,022 --> 00:21:07,714
[tranquil music]

407
00:21:10,717 --> 00:21:13,617
Different interpretations
of the exact identity

408
00:21:13,651 --> 00:21:17,517
of the lost Jiroft
civilizations have been offered.

409
00:21:17,552 --> 00:21:21,038
Dr. Majidzadeh believes
that he and his colleagues

410
00:21:21,072 --> 00:21:22,488
may have discovered the site

411
00:21:22,522 --> 00:21:24,731
of the legendary land of Aratta,

412
00:21:24,766 --> 00:21:27,907
a glorious Atlantis-like
kingdom from the Bronze Age

413
00:21:27,941 --> 00:21:31,048
that mysteriously disappeared
from the pages of history

414
00:21:31,082 --> 00:21:33,119
in the far distant past.

415
00:21:33,153 --> 00:21:36,018
However, knowledge of
Aratta comes primarily

416
00:21:36,053 --> 00:21:39,608
from Sumerian poems, which
has led some to question

417
00:21:39,643 --> 00:21:43,060
whether such a place
ever existed at a all.

418
00:21:43,094 --> 00:21:45,027
An alternative theory suggests

419
00:21:45,062 --> 00:21:47,720
that the newly-discovered
Iranian civilization

420
00:21:47,754 --> 00:21:50,757
may be the ancient
kingdom of Marhasi,

421
00:21:50,792 --> 00:21:53,001
which was located
in Southern Iran,

422
00:21:53,035 --> 00:21:55,244
and is known to have been
involved in conflicts

423
00:21:55,279 --> 00:21:57,902
with the Mesopotamian
kingdom of Akkad

424
00:21:57,937 --> 00:22:00,560
in the third millennium BC.

425
00:22:00,595 --> 00:22:03,529
A final answer to the riddle
of the Jiroft civilization

426
00:22:03,563 --> 00:22:07,636
may never be found, but the
fact that it existed at all

427
00:22:07,671 --> 00:22:10,329
is forcing archeologists
and historians

428
00:22:10,363 --> 00:22:13,124
to reassess everything
they thought they knew

429
00:22:13,159 --> 00:22:15,989
about the primacy and
importance of Mesopotamia

430
00:22:16,024 --> 00:22:17,612
to world history.

431
00:22:17,646 --> 00:22:21,270
Mesopotamia has not been
diminished, but going forward,

432
00:22:21,305 --> 00:22:24,998
it may have to share the
title cradle of civilization

433
00:22:25,033 --> 00:22:26,586
with its cousin from the east.

434
00:22:28,001 --> 00:22:30,763
[dramatic music]

435
00:22:36,389 --> 00:22:39,427
Scientists have uncovered
decorated artifacts

436
00:22:39,461 --> 00:22:43,879
dating from between 40,000
and 75,000 years ago

437
00:22:43,914 --> 00:22:47,504
from Tanzania and the
southern tip of South Africa

438
00:22:47,538 --> 00:22:49,609
that show that man
developed the capacity

439
00:22:49,644 --> 00:22:54,062
for symbolic thought long
before previously believed.

440
00:22:54,096 --> 00:22:57,790
The discovery of these artifacts
could present huge problems

441
00:22:57,824 --> 00:23:01,310
to conventional thinking
about human history.

442
00:23:01,345 --> 00:23:03,968
The earliest kind of
decoration used by humans

443
00:23:04,003 --> 00:23:06,695
was probably ochre,
which we know was used

444
00:23:06,730 --> 00:23:10,043
over 200,000 years ago
in the middle Stone Age

445
00:23:10,078 --> 00:23:12,011
and middle Paleolithic.

446
00:23:12,045 --> 00:23:14,323
The earliest evidence
of its use in Africa

447
00:23:14,358 --> 00:23:17,741
dates back 285,000 years.

448
00:23:17,775 --> 00:23:19,432
Ochre is an umbrella term

449
00:23:19,467 --> 00:23:22,055
for a range of earthy,
iron-rich rocks

450
00:23:22,090 --> 00:23:25,576
composed of iron
oxides or oxyhydroxides

451
00:23:25,611 --> 00:23:28,407
such as shales, sandstones,
mudstones, and specularites.

452
00:23:30,512 --> 00:23:34,102
In Africa, ochre is still used
for protection from the sun

453
00:23:34,136 --> 00:23:36,794
and against insects,
such as mosquitoes.

454
00:23:36,829 --> 00:23:39,038
It has also been
scientifically proven

455
00:23:39,072 --> 00:23:41,799
to inhibit the effect
of UV radiation,

456
00:23:41,834 --> 00:23:44,561
and also has many other uses.

457
00:23:44,595 --> 00:23:48,461
Fascinatingly, ochre appears
in the archeological record

458
00:23:48,496 --> 00:23:51,878
around the same time as
anatomically modern humans,

459
00:23:51,913 --> 00:23:53,466
and became more frequently used

460
00:23:53,501 --> 00:23:58,471
from about 100,000 years ago
at many Middle Stone Age sites.

461
00:23:59,610 --> 00:24:01,105
One of the most often
debated questions

462
00:24:01,129 --> 00:24:03,925
in the study of early man
is when did the origins

463
00:24:03,959 --> 00:24:06,065
of modern human behavior begin?

464
00:24:07,446 --> 00:24:09,827
When and where did our
common ancestors first begin

465
00:24:09,862 --> 00:24:12,865
to behave in ways
similar to ourselves?

466
00:24:12,899 --> 00:24:14,142
Although it is well known

467
00:24:14,176 --> 00:24:16,282
that Homo sapiens were
anatomically modern

468
00:24:16,316 --> 00:24:19,250
by 200,000 years ago in Africa,

469
00:24:19,285 --> 00:24:21,770
there's an never been
evidence to support the idea

470
00:24:21,805 --> 00:24:25,464
that these humans could be
capable of modern behavior,

471
00:24:25,498 --> 00:24:28,743
but all that changed with the
discovery of the Blombos heads

472
00:24:28,777 --> 00:24:32,954
on the 24th of April, 2004,
by a team of scientists

473
00:24:32,988 --> 00:24:35,612
led by Dr. Christopher
Henshilwood,

474
00:24:35,646 --> 00:24:37,924
a South African
archeologist affiliated

475
00:24:37,959 --> 00:24:39,995
with university of
Bergen in Norway

476
00:24:40,030 --> 00:24:43,585
and the State University
of New York at Stony Brook.

477
00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:46,070
The discovery was
made Blombos Cave

478
00:24:46,105 --> 00:24:47,624
on the shore of
the Indian Ocean,

479
00:24:47,658 --> 00:24:50,281
200 miles east of Cape Town.

480
00:24:50,316 --> 00:24:52,042
Archeologists now believe

481
00:24:52,076 --> 00:24:54,320
that due to these
and other findings,

482
00:24:54,354 --> 00:24:57,944
most ancient symbolic
traditions in Africa date back

483
00:24:57,979 --> 00:25:00,533
at least 100,000 years.

484
00:25:00,568 --> 00:25:02,708
Years after these
amazing discoveries,

485
00:25:02,742 --> 00:25:05,676
new discoveries relating
to early Homo sapiens'

486
00:25:05,711 --> 00:25:10,405
cognitive abilities are still
challenging mainstream views.

487
00:25:10,439 --> 00:25:12,856
The archeological
site at Blombos Cave

488
00:25:12,890 --> 00:25:16,342
contains Middle Stone Age
archeological deposits,

489
00:25:16,376 --> 00:25:20,691
including hearts, bone,
stone, marine shells, and sand

490
00:25:20,726 --> 00:25:24,799
in discrete layers
dated to between 100,000

491
00:25:24,833 --> 00:25:26,870
and 72,000 years ago.

492
00:25:26,904 --> 00:25:28,665
This is seen by many researchers

493
00:25:28,699 --> 00:25:30,563
as probably the most
important period

494
00:25:30,598 --> 00:25:34,394
in the early development
of modern human behavior.

495
00:25:34,429 --> 00:25:37,328
Published results from
Blombos Cave indicate

496
00:25:37,363 --> 00:25:39,779
that some aspects of
modern behavior evolved

497
00:25:39,814 --> 00:25:42,299
during the early
Late Pleistocene,

498
00:25:42,333 --> 00:25:45,544
after 100,000 years
ago in Africa.

499
00:25:45,578 --> 00:25:49,133
Excavations at the cave match
recent and older findings

500
00:25:49,168 --> 00:25:51,929
from a number of African
Middle Stone Age sites

501
00:25:51,964 --> 00:25:54,311
that date to this time period.

502
00:25:54,345 --> 00:25:56,382
The discoveries at the cave show

503
00:25:56,416 --> 00:25:58,315
that people apparently
had the intention

504
00:25:58,349 --> 00:26:01,525
to make a statement about
themselves with jewelry

505
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,562
about 30,000 years earlier

506
00:26:03,596 --> 00:26:06,875
than any previously identified
personal ornaments used

507
00:26:06,910 --> 00:26:09,188
by our human ancestors.

508
00:26:09,222 --> 00:26:11,604
This was the conclusion
of the archeologist

509
00:26:11,639 --> 00:26:12,778
who discovered a collection

510
00:26:12,812 --> 00:26:15,470
of tiny shells
pierced with holes,

511
00:26:15,504 --> 00:26:17,886
as if they had been
prepared for stringing

512
00:26:17,921 --> 00:26:19,578
as primitive beads.

513
00:26:19,612 --> 00:26:22,581
The 41 pea-size shell
beads were uncovered

514
00:26:22,615 --> 00:26:25,376
in groups arranged
by sizes and shade,

515
00:26:25,411 --> 00:26:27,551
each cluster
probably representing

516
00:26:27,586 --> 00:26:29,588
a single piece of jewelry.

517
00:26:29,622 --> 00:26:30,968
According to researchers,

518
00:26:31,003 --> 00:26:33,384
the strings of bead
represent the oldest,

519
00:26:33,419 --> 00:26:37,734
well-dated examples of people
making and wearing jewelry.

520
00:26:37,768 --> 00:26:39,908
This can be interpreted
as further evidence

521
00:26:39,943 --> 00:26:42,186
that these people
possessed a language

522
00:26:42,221 --> 00:26:46,294
capable of sharing the symbolic
meanings of these objects.

523
00:26:46,328 --> 00:26:48,710
Two years before the
discovery of the beads,

524
00:26:48,745 --> 00:26:52,334
Dr. Henshilwood reported the
discovery of other evidence

525
00:26:52,369 --> 00:26:54,751
of possibly complex
symbolic thinking

526
00:26:54,785 --> 00:26:57,167
by the inhabitants
of Blombos Cave,

527
00:26:57,201 --> 00:26:59,272
including abstract engravings,

528
00:26:59,307 --> 00:27:02,828
and finely worked bone
tools and weapon points.

529
00:27:02,862 --> 00:27:04,864
The shell beads of Blombos Cave

530
00:27:04,899 --> 00:27:07,349
were from a small
snail-like mollusk,

531
00:27:07,384 --> 00:27:09,213
which must have been
brought by the group

532
00:27:09,248 --> 00:27:11,733
from rivers more
than 10 miles away.

533
00:27:11,768 --> 00:27:14,149
All the recovered
shells from Blombos Cave

534
00:27:14,184 --> 00:27:17,670
were carefully pierced
around 75,000 years ago

535
00:27:17,705 --> 00:27:21,812
using a bone tool to create
a keyhole perforation.

536
00:27:21,847 --> 00:27:25,574
These were then strung and
worn as a personal ornament.

537
00:27:25,609 --> 00:27:28,370
Archeologists discovered
signs of repeated rubbing

538
00:27:28,405 --> 00:27:30,821
on the beads, a sign
that they had been rubbed

539
00:27:30,856 --> 00:27:33,375
against one another,
and against the cord,

540
00:27:33,410 --> 00:27:37,932
resulting in discreet use-wear
surfaces on each bead.

541
00:27:37,966 --> 00:27:40,831
Such patterns of wear are
not present on the shells

542
00:27:40,866 --> 00:27:42,937
in their natural environment.

543
00:27:42,971 --> 00:27:45,698
Microscopic residues
of ochre discovered

544
00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:48,321
inside some of the
beads probably resulted

545
00:27:48,356 --> 00:27:50,876
from deliberate
coloring by the wearer,

546
00:27:50,910 --> 00:27:53,430
or perhaps by
transfer when worn.

547
00:27:54,603 --> 00:27:57,192
Henshilwood and other
researchers believe

548
00:27:57,227 --> 00:27:59,401
that this small,
but rowing record

549
00:27:59,436 --> 00:28:02,508
of very early artistic
artifacts from Africa

550
00:28:02,542 --> 00:28:05,511
are vital evidence that
modern behavioral traits,

551
00:28:05,545 --> 00:28:08,100
such as the use of
external symbols,

552
00:28:08,134 --> 00:28:11,448
developed slowly over a couple
of hundred thousand years,

553
00:28:11,482 --> 00:28:14,934
not abruptly after our
ancestors emerge from Africa,

554
00:28:14,969 --> 00:28:17,626
as some archeologists
have suggested.

555
00:28:17,661 --> 00:28:20,077
However, not all searches agreed

556
00:28:20,112 --> 00:28:22,424
with Dr. Henshilwood's
interpretation

557
00:28:22,459 --> 00:28:25,220
that these mysterious
artifacts were expressions

558
00:28:25,255 --> 00:28:27,982
of a modern type of creativity.

559
00:28:28,016 --> 00:28:30,329
Indeed, a few of them
have even questioned

560
00:28:30,363 --> 00:28:33,504
whether the shells were
actually used as beads.

561
00:28:33,539 --> 00:28:36,128
Archeologist Randall White
of New York University,

562
00:28:36,162 --> 00:28:39,303
for example, does not believe
that humans made the holes

563
00:28:39,338 --> 00:28:42,755
in this snail shell, saying
"I'm disturbed by the fact

564
00:28:42,790 --> 00:28:45,585
that there are no tool traces."

565
00:28:45,620 --> 00:28:48,140
Up until the discoveries
in Blombos Cave,

566
00:28:48,174 --> 00:28:50,245
the earliest African
personal ornaments

567
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,455
with 13 ostrich egg
shell beads from Kenya

568
00:28:53,490 --> 00:28:56,873
dated to 40 to 45,000 years ago.

569
00:28:56,907 --> 00:28:58,806
Other slightly more
recent evidence

570
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,878
includes a 43,000-year-old
perforated teeth

571
00:29:01,912 --> 00:29:06,917
from Bulgaria, and 41,000 year
old marine beads from Turkey.

572
00:29:08,022 --> 00:29:10,610
In 2000, archeologists
reported finding

573
00:29:10,645 --> 00:29:14,097
ostrich eggshell beads,
as well as ochre pencils

574
00:29:14,131 --> 00:29:15,823
and fish bones at a site

575
00:29:15,857 --> 00:29:19,033
in the Serengeti National
Park of Tanzania.

576
00:29:19,067 --> 00:29:21,035
The archeologists
were not able to date

577
00:29:21,069 --> 00:29:23,382
the two carved
donut-shaped pieces

578
00:29:23,416 --> 00:29:25,694
of ostrich shell precisely,

579
00:29:25,729 --> 00:29:28,628
but they came from the
same layer as tools

580
00:29:28,663 --> 00:29:30,838
from the African
Middle Stone Age

581
00:29:30,872 --> 00:29:35,083
between 280,000 and
45,000 years ago.

582
00:29:35,118 --> 00:29:38,259
For some reason, the mysterious
discovery was not announced

583
00:29:38,293 --> 00:29:41,745
until four years
later, in March, 2004,

584
00:29:41,780 --> 00:29:45,956
at the Paleoanthropology
Society meeting in Montreal.

585
00:29:45,991 --> 00:29:48,821
Despite the uncertainty
over their exact age,

586
00:29:48,856 --> 00:29:51,513
one of the archeologists
who discovered the beads,

587
00:29:51,548 --> 00:29:55,000
Curtis Marean from the
Institute of Human Origins

588
00:29:55,034 --> 00:29:59,038
and department of anthropology
at Arizona State University,

589
00:29:59,073 --> 00:30:02,110
stated that they were
unambiguous examples

590
00:30:02,145 --> 00:30:04,285
of symbolic behavior.

591
00:30:04,319 --> 00:30:06,287
But why do decorated beads mean

592
00:30:06,321 --> 00:30:08,668
that we may have discovered
the earliest examples

593
00:30:08,703 --> 00:30:10,601
of modern human thinking?

594
00:30:10,636 --> 00:30:14,191
Research has shown that symbols
cannot exist in isolation,

595
00:30:14,226 --> 00:30:17,885
but generally form a part
of interlinked systems.

596
00:30:17,919 --> 00:30:21,164
Modern human behavior is
usually defined as behavior

597
00:30:21,198 --> 00:30:24,132
that is caused by socially
constructed patterns

598
00:30:24,167 --> 00:30:27,998
of symbolic thinking,
actions, and communication.

599
00:30:28,033 --> 00:30:30,414
The capacity for
symbolic thought

600
00:30:30,449 --> 00:30:34,280
is not the main defining factor
for modern human behavior,

601
00:30:34,315 --> 00:30:37,766
but rather it is the use of
symbolism to organize behavior

602
00:30:37,801 --> 00:30:39,182
that defines us.

603
00:30:39,216 --> 00:30:42,702
So early humans were
first behaviorally modern

604
00:30:42,737 --> 00:30:46,534
when symbols became an inherent
part of their daily lives.

605
00:30:46,568 --> 00:30:47,776
In basic terms,

606
00:30:47,811 --> 00:30:49,951
this means that people
were using the artifacts

607
00:30:49,986 --> 00:30:52,678
that they made to organize
their social world

608
00:30:52,712 --> 00:30:55,129
in a similar way as we do today.

609
00:30:55,163 --> 00:30:56,889
Within each group of people,

610
00:30:56,924 --> 00:30:59,374
such as those at
the Blombos Caves,

611
00:30:59,409 --> 00:31:01,445
artifacts may have had meanings

612
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,139
that could be understood only
by members of that group.

613
00:31:05,173 --> 00:31:06,726
A good example is the design

614
00:31:06,761 --> 00:31:09,488
of the bead necklace
discovered in the cave,

615
00:31:09,522 --> 00:31:11,697
which may have carried
a significant meaning

616
00:31:11,731 --> 00:31:14,976
that was not understood by
people outside the group.

617
00:31:15,011 --> 00:31:17,910
The findings from Blombos
Cave and from Tanzania,

618
00:31:17,945 --> 00:31:20,740
and the subsequent
reanalysis and excavation

619
00:31:20,775 --> 00:31:23,985
of other relevant sites have
resulted in a clear change

620
00:31:24,020 --> 00:31:26,815
in our understanding of
the timing and location

621
00:31:26,850 --> 00:31:29,922
of the development of
modern human behavior.

622
00:31:29,957 --> 00:31:32,269
Archeologists believe
that these discoveries

623
00:31:32,304 --> 00:31:34,582
undoubtedly reflect
the acquisition

624
00:31:34,616 --> 00:31:37,067
of completely modern
cognitive abilities

625
00:31:37,102 --> 00:31:39,276
by Southern African populations

626
00:31:39,311 --> 00:31:41,692
at least 100,000 years ago.

627
00:31:41,727 --> 00:31:43,004
Although scientists are aware

628
00:31:43,039 --> 00:31:45,455
that these are vastly
important discoveries,

629
00:31:45,489 --> 00:31:47,112
in terms of early man,

630
00:31:47,146 --> 00:31:49,286
they still seem to
be a little reluctant

631
00:31:49,321 --> 00:31:51,426
to believe very early dates.

632
00:31:51,461 --> 00:31:54,257
Randall White commented,
"If the dates hold up,

633
00:31:54,291 --> 00:31:57,916
we now seem to be seeing a trail
of representational objects

634
00:31:57,950 --> 00:31:59,607
that it is increasingly older

635
00:31:59,641 --> 00:32:03,231
as we move back from
Europe into Africa."

636
00:32:03,266 --> 00:32:05,958
[dramatic music]

637
00:32:08,167 --> 00:32:11,377
A mysterious small clay
figurine of a human found

638
00:32:11,412 --> 00:32:14,139
in 1889 at Nampa, Idaho,

639
00:32:14,173 --> 00:32:18,143
has remained a controversial
artifact since its discovery.

640
00:32:18,177 --> 00:32:21,008
As the figuring was found
at a depth of 300 feet

641
00:32:21,042 --> 00:32:23,217
in a geological
stratum that dates

642
00:32:23,251 --> 00:32:25,150
to around 2 million years ago,

643
00:32:25,184 --> 00:32:28,394
some researchers believe
the culture that created it

644
00:32:28,429 --> 00:32:30,949
must have flourished
at the same period,

645
00:32:30,983 --> 00:32:33,468
but according to
conventional chronology,

646
00:32:33,503 --> 00:32:35,919
this is simply not possible.

647
00:32:35,954 --> 00:32:39,440
In 1887, five gentlemen,
James A. Pinney,

648
00:32:39,474 --> 00:32:42,719
Nathan Falk, Joseph
Perrault, John Bernard,

649
00:32:42,753 --> 00:32:47,620
and M. A. Kurtz formed a
company to locate artesian water

650
00:32:47,655 --> 00:32:51,003
at the new town of
Nampa, Southwest Idaho.

651
00:32:51,038 --> 00:32:55,111
By July of 1889, their sand
pump had reached a depth

652
00:32:55,145 --> 00:32:57,113
of over 300 feet.

653
00:32:57,147 --> 00:32:59,943
According to Mr. Kurtz,
he was at the sand pump,

654
00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:01,945
checking the
contents coming out,

655
00:33:01,980 --> 00:33:05,880
when, in his own words, he
had the clay image in his hand

656
00:33:05,914 --> 00:33:07,986
and supposed it was a twig.

657
00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:11,161
"I dipped it into a barrel
of water standing near,

658
00:33:11,196 --> 00:33:14,371
washed it off, and saw
it once what it was.

659
00:33:14,406 --> 00:33:16,546
The tiny, baked-clay artifact

660
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:20,550
was about an inch-and-a-half
long in the shape of a human.

661
00:33:20,584 --> 00:33:23,863
American amateur geologist
George Frederick Wright

662
00:33:23,898 --> 00:33:26,349
later wrote about the
discovery in his book,

663
00:33:26,383 --> 00:33:28,799
"The Origin and
Antiquity of Man,"

664
00:33:28,834 --> 00:33:30,318
"The record of the well shows

665
00:33:30,353 --> 00:33:34,598
that they had penetrated
first about 50 feet of soil,

666
00:33:34,633 --> 00:33:36,911
then about 15 feet of basalt,

667
00:33:36,945 --> 00:33:39,189
and afterwards passed
through alternate beds

668
00:33:39,224 --> 00:33:43,573
of clay and quick sand, down
to the depth of 300 feet,

669
00:33:43,607 --> 00:33:47,163
when the sand pump began to
bring up numerous clay balls,

670
00:33:47,197 --> 00:33:49,786
some of them more than
two inches in diameter,

671
00:33:49,820 --> 00:33:52,030
densely coated with iron oxide

672
00:33:53,169 --> 00:33:54,963
2 million years old."

673
00:33:56,379 --> 00:33:58,967
Wright went on to describe
the mysterious figurine.

674
00:33:59,002 --> 00:34:02,626
"It was a female figure and
had the lifelike lineaments

675
00:34:02,661 --> 00:34:05,250
in the parts which were
finished that would do credit

676
00:34:05,284 --> 00:34:07,390
to the classic centers of art."

677
00:34:07,424 --> 00:34:10,324
American archeologists
at the time noticed

678
00:34:10,358 --> 00:34:13,741
that the apparent similarities
between the Nampa figurine

679
00:34:13,775 --> 00:34:16,675
and those of Upper
Paleolithic Europe,

680
00:34:16,709 --> 00:34:20,265
but how had the figure ended
up in a geological formation

681
00:34:20,299 --> 00:34:23,302
from the Pliocene-Pleistocene
transition

682
00:34:23,337 --> 00:34:26,754
dating to approximately
2 million years ago?

683
00:34:26,788 --> 00:34:29,757
The oldest known example of
a depiction of a human being

684
00:34:29,791 --> 00:34:32,587
is the Venus of Hohle
Fels from a cave

685
00:34:32,622 --> 00:34:34,865
in the Swabian Alps of Germany,

686
00:34:34,900 --> 00:34:39,594
which is date to between
40,000 and 35,000 years ago.

687
00:34:39,629 --> 00:34:42,252
Does the incredibly
ancient Nampa figurine

688
00:34:42,287 --> 00:34:45,048
challenge the
evolutionary scenario,

689
00:34:45,083 --> 00:34:48,189
as some independent
researchers have suggested?

690
00:34:48,224 --> 00:34:50,088
What mysterious culture existed

691
00:34:50,122 --> 00:34:52,814
in North America 2
million years ago

692
00:34:52,849 --> 00:34:55,162
who could have been
sophisticated enough

693
00:34:55,196 --> 00:34:57,578
to craft such an object?

694
00:34:57,612 --> 00:35:00,236
Perhaps the figure shows
that intelligent humans

695
00:35:00,270 --> 00:35:02,928
might have existed
on Earth far earlier

696
00:35:02,962 --> 00:35:06,345
than originally
believed by science.

697
00:35:06,380 --> 00:35:08,727
The Nampa figurine
has been held up

698
00:35:08,761 --> 00:35:12,420
by some as a perfect example
of an out-of-place artifact,

699
00:35:12,455 --> 00:35:15,665
objects found in context
that are way out of sync

700
00:35:15,699 --> 00:35:18,599
with the accepted
chronology of human history.

701
00:35:18,633 --> 00:35:19,876
For some researchers,

702
00:35:19,910 --> 00:35:22,603
such artifacts place
a huge question mark

703
00:35:22,637 --> 00:35:26,262
against what we think we know
of the world in its history.

704
00:35:26,296 --> 00:35:29,886
Some argue that these
discoveries offer
persuasive evidence

705
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:31,474
that in remote antiquity,

706
00:35:31,508 --> 00:35:34,062
mankind was significantly
more advanced

707
00:35:34,097 --> 00:35:35,788
than we could ever imagine.

708
00:35:35,823 --> 00:35:38,826
They insist that at very
times in prehistory,

709
00:35:38,860 --> 00:35:41,484
we have reached a high
level of civilization

710
00:35:41,518 --> 00:35:44,797
only for it to be subsequently
destroyed without a trace

711
00:35:44,832 --> 00:35:48,387
by natural or
manmade catastrophes.

712
00:35:48,422 --> 00:35:51,804
Two well-known examples of
such out-of-place artifacts

713
00:35:51,839 --> 00:35:54,704
are the supposed
fossilized human footprints

714
00:35:54,738 --> 00:35:58,466
discovered in the 1880s
at the summit of Big Hill

715
00:35:58,501 --> 00:36:02,021
in the Cumberland Mountains
in Jackson County, Kentucky,

716
00:36:02,056 --> 00:36:04,921
and an apparently man-made
object enclosed in rock,

717
00:36:04,955 --> 00:36:06,716
known as the Coso artifact,

718
00:36:06,750 --> 00:36:08,614
which to all intents
and purposes,

719
00:36:08,649 --> 00:36:11,134
resembles a modern spark plug.

720
00:36:11,169 --> 00:36:14,241
The Coso artifact was
initially believed by some

721
00:36:14,275 --> 00:36:16,760
to be more than
500,000 years old

722
00:36:16,795 --> 00:36:20,247
and belong to an unknown,
impossibly old civilization.

723
00:36:20,281 --> 00:36:22,663
However, later research
into the object

724
00:36:22,697 --> 00:36:25,562
concluded something
entirely different.

725
00:36:25,597 --> 00:36:29,221
Two researchers believing the
object to be relatively modern

726
00:36:29,256 --> 00:36:30,602
enlisted the help

727
00:36:30,636 --> 00:36:32,983
of the Spark Plug
Collectors of an America.

728
00:36:33,018 --> 00:36:36,228
They sent letters and copies
of the X-rays of the artifact

729
00:36:36,263 --> 00:36:38,920
to four different
spark plug collectors

730
00:36:38,955 --> 00:36:40,922
who had no knowledge
of the case,

731
00:36:40,957 --> 00:36:43,477
and had never seen
the pictures before.

732
00:36:43,511 --> 00:36:46,894
The collectors independently
came to the same conclusion.

733
00:36:46,928 --> 00:36:48,102
They were certain

734
00:36:48,136 --> 00:36:51,381
that it was a 1920s-era
champion spark plug,

735
00:36:51,416 --> 00:36:54,350
one that had probably
powered a Ford Model T,

736
00:36:54,384 --> 00:36:55,558
and had been modified,

737
00:36:55,592 --> 00:36:57,974
possibly to serve
the mining operations

738
00:36:58,008 --> 00:37:00,218
in the Coso mountain range.

739
00:37:00,252 --> 00:37:02,254
The amount of decay
in the artifact

740
00:37:02,289 --> 00:37:05,430
was an almost perfect match
for the rates of decay

741
00:37:05,464 --> 00:37:08,605
that would occur in a
spark plug from this era.

742
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,712
So the Coso artifact had
been lying on a mountain

743
00:37:11,746 --> 00:37:13,507
for no more than 40 years,

744
00:37:13,541 --> 00:37:15,647
and had not been
encased in rock at all,

745
00:37:15,681 --> 00:37:18,822
but in a material composed
mainly of hardened clay

746
00:37:18,857 --> 00:37:21,204
with a mixture of
organic matter.

747
00:37:22,619 --> 00:37:25,450
Understandably, members of
the scientific community

748
00:37:25,484 --> 00:37:28,901
do not support the extreme
date for the Nampa figurine.

749
00:37:28,936 --> 00:37:32,146
For example, Michael
Brass in his 2002 book,

750
00:37:32,180 --> 00:37:34,286
"The Antiquity of Man:

751
00:37:34,321 --> 00:37:37,565
Artifactual, Fossil and
Gene Records Explored"

752
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,568
notes that such a small
fragile clay figurine

753
00:37:40,603 --> 00:37:42,363
would've undoubtedly
been destroyed

754
00:37:42,398 --> 00:37:44,883
by the drilling
equipment upon retrieval,

755
00:37:44,917 --> 00:37:47,368
as it was brought
up to the surface.

756
00:37:47,403 --> 00:37:49,267
Other researchers
have pointed out

757
00:37:49,301 --> 00:37:50,716
that there are a number of ways

758
00:37:50,751 --> 00:37:53,305
by which the figurine
could have worked its way

759
00:37:53,340 --> 00:37:57,171
into the Pliocene-Pleistocene
clay through fishers,

760
00:37:57,205 --> 00:37:58,621
through mining activity,

761
00:37:58,655 --> 00:38:01,658
or even by being pushed
there by the drill.

762
00:38:01,693 --> 00:38:03,315
The presence of the clay balls

763
00:38:03,350 --> 00:38:07,457
found at the same general depth
close to the solid bedrock,

764
00:38:07,492 --> 00:38:09,873
this might suggest that
a variety of materials

765
00:38:09,908 --> 00:38:12,669
had descended fairly
rapidly through the deposit

766
00:38:12,704 --> 00:38:14,740
by a mechanism
currently unknown.

767
00:38:16,328 --> 00:38:18,882
The reliability of the work
of George Frederick Wright,

768
00:38:18,917 --> 00:38:21,229
which is so critical
for those who believe

769
00:38:21,264 --> 00:38:24,163
that the figurine is
really 2 million years old,

770
00:38:24,198 --> 00:38:26,234
has also been
called into question

771
00:38:26,269 --> 00:38:28,858
and revealed to
be highly suspect.

772
00:38:28,892 --> 00:38:31,999
Wright's contemporaries were
highly critical of his writing

773
00:38:32,033 --> 00:38:35,347
and did not take his work
seriously as science.

774
00:38:35,382 --> 00:38:37,418
D.G. Brinton wrote a book review

775
00:38:37,453 --> 00:38:39,524
of Wright's "Man and
the Glacial Period"

776
00:38:39,558 --> 00:38:42,492
in the journal
"Science" in 1892.

777
00:38:42,527 --> 00:38:44,391
In this review, he states,

778
00:38:44,425 --> 00:38:47,359
"Dr. Wright's last
example is the feeblest

779
00:38:47,394 --> 00:38:49,257
of all the Nampa image,

780
00:38:49,292 --> 00:38:52,295
a beautifully-formed
clay image of a female

781
00:38:52,330 --> 00:38:55,781
said to have been brought
up from a depth of 300 feet

782
00:38:55,816 --> 00:38:59,889
in the holding of an artesian
well at Nampa, Idaho.

783
00:38:59,923 --> 00:39:01,718
It is sad to destroy illusions,

784
00:39:01,753 --> 00:39:03,996
but when this same
image with its story

785
00:39:04,031 --> 00:39:07,206
was laid before a well-known
government geologist,

786
00:39:07,241 --> 00:39:09,726
and he at once recognized
it's a clay toy

787
00:39:09,761 --> 00:39:12,902
manufactured by the
neighboring Pocatello Indians,

788
00:39:12,936 --> 00:39:16,388
the person displaying it
replied with engaging frankness,

789
00:39:16,423 --> 00:39:18,804
'Well, now don't give me away.'

790
00:39:18,839 --> 00:39:20,427
As if that were not enough,

791
00:39:20,461 --> 00:39:22,946
the well-known government
geologist was, in fact,

792
00:39:22,981 --> 00:39:27,986
J.W. Powell, who wrote
in "Popular Science"
monthly in 1893.

793
00:39:29,401 --> 00:39:33,198
In the fall of 1889, the writer
visited Boise city in Idaho.

794
00:39:33,232 --> 00:39:34,820
While stopping at a hotel,

795
00:39:34,855 --> 00:39:37,996
some gentleman called on
him to show him a figurine,

796
00:39:38,030 --> 00:39:39,687
which they said had been found

797
00:39:39,722 --> 00:39:42,345
in sinking an artesian
well in the neighborhood

798
00:39:42,380 --> 00:39:45,003
at a depth of more
than 300 feet.

799
00:39:45,037 --> 00:39:47,281
It was claimed that this
figurine had been brought up

800
00:39:47,315 --> 00:39:49,421
from the bottom of
an artesian well

801
00:39:49,456 --> 00:39:50,974
while the men were working.

802
00:39:51,009 --> 00:39:53,874
When this story was
told, the writer, Powell,

803
00:39:53,908 --> 00:39:57,049
he simply jested with those
who claimed to have found it.

804
00:39:57,084 --> 00:39:59,466
He had known the Indians that
live in the neighborhood,

805
00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:02,365
had seen their children
play with such figurines,

806
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:04,263
and had no doubt
that the little image

807
00:40:04,298 --> 00:40:06,714
had lately belonged to
some Indian children,

808
00:40:06,749 --> 00:40:08,164
and said the same.

809
00:40:08,198 --> 00:40:09,855
While stopping at the hotel,

810
00:40:09,890 --> 00:40:11,788
different persons
spoke about it,

811
00:40:11,823 --> 00:40:14,101
and it was always
passed off as a jest,

812
00:40:14,135 --> 00:40:17,138
and various comments were made
about it by various people,

813
00:40:17,173 --> 00:40:20,659
some of them claiming it
had given them much sport."

814
00:40:20,694 --> 00:40:23,662
When Powell later read George
Frederick Wright's book,

815
00:40:23,697 --> 00:40:25,871
he was extremely
surprised to discover

816
00:40:25,906 --> 00:40:28,184
that Wright had obtained
the Nampa figurine,

817
00:40:28,218 --> 00:40:30,911
and that he had actually
published it as evidence

818
00:40:30,945 --> 00:40:32,740
of the great and
antiquity of man

819
00:40:32,775 --> 00:40:34,639
in the valley of Snake River.

820
00:40:34,673 --> 00:40:37,538
A certain Mr.McGee also
attacked the honesty

821
00:40:37,573 --> 00:40:39,160
of the supposed discoverers

822
00:40:39,195 --> 00:40:41,991
of the ancient artifact,
Kurtz and Duss.

823
00:40:42,025 --> 00:40:46,340
In the 1894 second edition of
"Man and the Glacial Period,"

824
00:40:46,374 --> 00:40:49,826
George Frederick Wright
repeats McGee's assertions.

825
00:40:49,861 --> 00:40:51,794
"It is a fact," says McGee,

826
00:40:51,828 --> 00:40:54,279
"That one of the best known
geologists of the world

827
00:40:54,313 --> 00:40:58,214
chanced to visit Nampa while
the boring was in progress,

828
00:40:58,248 --> 00:41:00,630
and the figurine and
the pretty fiction

829
00:41:00,665 --> 00:41:02,183
were laid before him.

830
00:41:02,218 --> 00:41:04,358
He recognized the
figurine as a toy,

831
00:41:04,392 --> 00:41:07,085
such as the neighboring
Indians give their children,

832
00:41:07,119 --> 00:41:08,569
and laughed at the story,

833
00:41:08,604 --> 00:41:10,502
whereupon the
owner of the object

834
00:41:10,537 --> 00:41:13,781
enjoined a secrecy pleading,
'Don't do give me away.

835
00:41:13,816 --> 00:41:15,921
I fooled a lot of
fellows already,

836
00:41:15,956 --> 00:41:18,579
and I'd like to
fool some more.'"

837
00:41:18,614 --> 00:41:20,995
What does the Nampa
figurine represent?

838
00:41:22,169 --> 00:41:23,895
In the years since
this discovery,

839
00:41:23,929 --> 00:41:25,483
a lot of research has been done

840
00:41:25,517 --> 00:41:28,624
into the culture of the Native
Americans local to the area

841
00:41:28,658 --> 00:41:30,522
where the figure was found.

842
00:41:30,557 --> 00:41:31,799
These studies have found,

843
00:41:31,834 --> 00:41:35,320
as J.W. Powell
stated 120 years ago,

844
00:41:35,354 --> 00:41:39,151
that small, fragile
clay figurines like
the ones discovered

845
00:41:39,186 --> 00:41:41,671
were common to these
Native American tribes

846
00:41:41,706 --> 00:41:45,226
in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.

847
00:41:45,261 --> 00:41:47,056
The evidence
overwhelmingly points

848
00:41:47,090 --> 00:41:49,714
to the Nampa
figurine being a hoax

849
00:41:49,748 --> 00:41:53,545
perpetrated at a time when
such stunts were popular

850
00:41:53,580 --> 00:41:55,892
and people enjoyed
their brief notoriety.

851
00:41:56,755 --> 00:41:59,517
[dramatic music]

852
00:42:02,209 --> 00:42:04,901
[dramatic music]

853
00:42:09,527 --> 00:42:12,115
A drawing recently discovered
on the wall of a cave

854
00:42:12,150 --> 00:42:13,600
in the west of France

855
00:42:13,634 --> 00:42:17,189
appears to be the oldest known
portrait of a human face.

856
00:42:17,224 --> 00:42:19,882
The portrait was drawn
with calcium carbonate,

857
00:42:19,916 --> 00:42:23,471
and used the bumps in the
wall to give form to the face.

858
00:42:23,506 --> 00:42:26,440
The cave drawing was found
alongside a human body,

859
00:42:26,474 --> 00:42:29,270
and represents the only
second time in history

860
00:42:29,305 --> 00:42:32,446
that a human body from the
Upper Paleolithic period

861
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:36,070
had been found placed in
a cave with decorations.

862
00:42:36,105 --> 00:42:38,590
It's unclear if the
portrait has any connection

863
00:42:38,625 --> 00:42:41,041
with the mysterious
Venus figurines,

864
00:42:41,075 --> 00:42:44,631
small statuettes of female
figures found throughout Europe

865
00:42:44,665 --> 00:42:46,218
and some parts of Asia,

866
00:42:46,253 --> 00:42:49,359
some of which date
back 40,000 years.

867
00:42:50,740 --> 00:42:52,777
In 2006, it was announced

868
00:42:52,811 --> 00:42:54,502
that archeologists
had discovered

869
00:42:54,537 --> 00:42:57,436
the earliest known
depiction of a human face

870
00:42:57,471 --> 00:43:00,094
in the Vilhonneur cave
system near Bordeaux,

871
00:43:00,129 --> 00:43:01,613
in Western France.

872
00:43:01,648 --> 00:43:03,926
The image, which had
originally been discovered

873
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,653
by a local pensioner,
Gerard Jourdy,

874
00:43:06,687 --> 00:43:10,208
was only made public after six
months of scientific testing

875
00:43:10,242 --> 00:43:14,074
and examination by French
scientists and archeologists

876
00:43:14,108 --> 00:43:17,733
that dated the drawings
to 27,000 years ago,

877
00:43:17,767 --> 00:43:19,700
which makes the
Vilhonneur grotto

878
00:43:19,735 --> 00:43:22,427
one of the oldest sites
of rock art in the world.

879
00:43:23,601 --> 00:43:25,810
The face is drawn with
black calcium carbonate

880
00:43:25,844 --> 00:43:28,847
on an already
face-shaped rocky mass.

881
00:43:28,882 --> 00:43:31,436
Two pieces of calcite that split

882
00:43:31,470 --> 00:43:35,095
are used form the hair with
two black horizontal strokes

883
00:43:35,129 --> 00:43:36,683
depicting the eyes.

884
00:43:36,717 --> 00:43:38,788
A vertical stroke
forms the nose,

885
00:43:38,823 --> 00:43:42,067
and another horizontal
stroke the mouth.

886
00:43:42,102 --> 00:43:44,898
The cave also featured
other wall decorations,

887
00:43:44,932 --> 00:43:47,625
including a negative
imprint of a right hand

888
00:43:47,659 --> 00:43:49,972
surrounded in black on a wall,

889
00:43:50,006 --> 00:43:52,457
made by blowing
color onto the area

890
00:43:52,491 --> 00:43:56,219
once the hand had been placed
there, according to experts.

891
00:43:56,254 --> 00:43:59,291
Also found inside the
same cave was a skeleton

892
00:43:59,326 --> 00:44:01,846
of a young man
placed on the ground.

893
00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,434
Two rib bones from these
skeleton were analyzed

894
00:44:04,469 --> 00:44:06,678
at the laboratory
in Miami, Florida,

895
00:44:06,713 --> 00:44:10,682
and dated the skeleton
two 27,000 years ago.

896
00:44:10,717 --> 00:44:14,203
Five skeletons of young hyenas
were found in nearby parts

897
00:44:14,237 --> 00:44:15,894
of the cave system.

898
00:44:15,929 --> 00:44:18,172
Just a few months after
the world found out

899
00:44:18,207 --> 00:44:20,381
about the Vilhonneur
grotto find,

900
00:44:20,416 --> 00:44:22,625
controversy arose
about the claim

901
00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:26,008
that it was the oldest
representation of a human face.

902
00:44:26,042 --> 00:44:29,011
Australian rock art experts
questioned the claim,

903
00:44:29,045 --> 00:44:32,255
pointing to the wealth of
engravings and paintings of man

904
00:44:32,290 --> 00:44:34,326
made by early Aborigines.

905
00:44:34,361 --> 00:44:35,707
Professor Mike Morwood

906
00:44:35,742 --> 00:44:37,847
of the University
of New England said

907
00:44:37,882 --> 00:44:40,263
some of the earliest
rock painting traditions

908
00:44:40,298 --> 00:44:43,473
in the Pilbara, the
Kimberley, and Arnhem Land

909
00:44:43,508 --> 00:44:46,131
date back over 30,000 years ago,

910
00:44:46,166 --> 00:44:49,790
and include depictions of human
figures as well as animals.

911
00:44:49,825 --> 00:44:51,619
So while the Vilhonneur
cave painting

912
00:44:51,654 --> 00:44:53,518
is a very significant finding,

913
00:44:53,552 --> 00:44:56,728
and may be the oldest portrait
known in Western Europe,

914
00:44:56,763 --> 00:45:00,111
it certainly is not the oldest
such artwork in the world.

915
00:45:01,077 --> 00:45:03,321
Archeologist Josephine McDonald

916
00:45:03,355 --> 00:45:05,392
of the University
of Western Australia

917
00:45:05,426 --> 00:45:08,084
is the author of an
academic work entitled

918
00:45:08,119 --> 00:45:09,948
"Archaic Faces to Headdresses:

919
00:45:09,983 --> 00:45:14,021
The Changing Role of Rock
Art Across the Arid Zone."

920
00:45:14,056 --> 00:45:16,817
She was in agreement with
professor Morwood's opinion

921
00:45:16,852 --> 00:45:18,992
that faces in a
Australian rock art

922
00:45:19,026 --> 00:45:22,478
appear to predate the
recent French discovery.

923
00:45:22,512 --> 00:45:25,205
Certainly, there's some
rock art in Australia

924
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:27,586
that is at least
30,000 years old,

925
00:45:27,621 --> 00:45:30,313
and it indicates the
depiction of faces.

926
00:45:30,348 --> 00:45:33,731
Most Australian archeologists
agree the earliest art

927
00:45:33,765 --> 00:45:37,217
in Australia was produced
before the last Ice Age,

928
00:45:37,251 --> 00:45:40,358
which gives it a
significant age.

929
00:45:40,392 --> 00:45:42,084
There are some
researchers, however,

930
00:45:42,118 --> 00:45:45,052
who believe that both the
Vilhonneur grotto portrait

931
00:45:45,087 --> 00:45:48,297
and the earliest Australian
Aboriginal portrait art

932
00:45:48,331 --> 00:45:52,819
are predated by small statuettes
known as Venus figurines.

933
00:45:54,234 --> 00:45:56,754
Venus figurines are a class
of distinctive artifacts

934
00:45:56,788 --> 00:45:59,757
dating back to the Upper
Paleolithic period,

935
00:45:59,791 --> 00:46:03,588
roughly between 40,000
and 10,000 years ago.

936
00:46:03,622 --> 00:46:06,039
Early 20th century
prehistorians,

937
00:46:06,073 --> 00:46:07,799
believing that the
figurines depicted

938
00:46:07,834 --> 00:46:09,663
an ancient model of beauty,

939
00:46:09,697 --> 00:46:11,872
named the objects
Venus figurines,

940
00:46:11,907 --> 00:46:14,910
in references to the
Roman goddess of beauty.

941
00:46:14,944 --> 00:46:17,119
The figurines were
fashioned mainly in the form

942
00:46:17,153 --> 00:46:19,742
of stylized
representations of females

943
00:46:19,777 --> 00:46:21,744
with large breasts and buttocks,

944
00:46:21,779 --> 00:46:24,126
and are found over a
vast area of Europe

945
00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:26,231
and parts of Western Asia.

946
00:46:26,266 --> 00:46:28,786
The most famous of
these Venus figurines,

947
00:46:28,820 --> 00:46:32,203
and until the discovery of the
Vilhonneur grotto portrait,

948
00:46:32,237 --> 00:46:34,032
is the Venus of Willendorf,

949
00:46:34,067 --> 00:46:37,277
found near the town of
Willendorf, Austria.

950
00:46:37,311 --> 00:46:40,176
The most notable and common
type of Venus figurines

951
00:46:40,211 --> 00:46:44,353
are small, three-dimensional
sculptures of voluptuous women,

952
00:46:44,387 --> 00:46:48,702
ranging in height from 1.2
inches to more than 15 inches,

953
00:46:48,736 --> 00:46:51,256
and carved from a wide
range of materials,

954
00:46:51,291 --> 00:46:54,708
including serpentine,
schist, limestone,

955
00:46:54,742 --> 00:46:59,747
steatite, fired clay,
ivory, bone, and antler.

956
00:47:00,610 --> 00:47:01,508
There are also carved plaques

957
00:47:01,542 --> 00:47:03,441
showing similar representations,

958
00:47:03,475 --> 00:47:07,203
and figurines that apparently
show young females.

959
00:47:07,238 --> 00:47:10,862
The sizes and proportions
of the Venus figurines vary,

960
00:47:10,897 --> 00:47:14,245
though the majority follow
certain artistic conventions:

961
00:47:14,279 --> 00:47:18,525
large breasts and stomach,
wide hips and swollen thighs,

962
00:47:18,559 --> 00:47:21,700
all probably intended
to depict pregnancy.

963
00:47:21,735 --> 00:47:25,187
Facial features are usually
absent, as are arms,

964
00:47:25,221 --> 00:47:28,880
hands and feet, and the
heads are relatively small.

965
00:47:28,915 --> 00:47:31,987
A few examples have what
appears to be braided hair,

966
00:47:32,021 --> 00:47:35,128
such as the Venus
of Brassempouy,

967
00:47:35,162 --> 00:47:37,302
and the Venus of Willendorf,

968
00:47:37,337 --> 00:47:38,579
and others have been discovered

969
00:47:38,614 --> 00:47:41,134
with traces of
red ochre on them.

970
00:47:41,168 --> 00:47:44,792
Venus figurines were
manufactured over a
vast period of time

971
00:47:44,827 --> 00:47:47,140
from around 40,000 years ago,

972
00:47:47,174 --> 00:47:50,143
and up to around
13,000 years ago.

973
00:47:50,177 --> 00:47:51,627
The figurines have
been discovered

974
00:47:51,661 --> 00:47:54,975
from the French Pyrenees
to the Siberian planes,

975
00:47:55,010 --> 00:47:58,599
mostly from cave and
rock shelter sites.

976
00:47:58,634 --> 00:48:02,396
Recently, however, a remarkable
carved ivory Venus figurine

977
00:48:02,431 --> 00:48:06,331
was discovered in Hohle Fels
in Southwestern Germany,

978
00:48:06,366 --> 00:48:08,402
which is thought to be
the oldest sculpture

979
00:48:08,437 --> 00:48:10,749
of a human figure ever found.

980
00:48:10,784 --> 00:48:13,649
In fact, it is the
oldest undisputed example

981
00:48:13,683 --> 00:48:15,133
of Upper Paleolithic art

982
00:48:15,168 --> 00:48:18,136
and figurative prehistoric
art in general.

983
00:48:18,171 --> 00:48:20,552
The 2.4-inches-tall figurines,

984
00:48:20,587 --> 00:48:24,867
dated between 35,000
and 40,000 years ago,

985
00:48:24,902 --> 00:48:27,559
belonging to the early
Aurignacian oration,

986
00:48:27,594 --> 00:48:29,596
are the very beginning
of the Upper Paleolithic,

987
00:48:29,630 --> 00:48:32,668
which is associated with the
assumed earliest presence

988
00:48:32,702 --> 00:48:34,912
of Homo sapiens in Europe.

989
00:48:34,946 --> 00:48:37,121
The sculpture was
fashioned without a head,

990
00:48:37,155 --> 00:48:39,813
like some other examples
of Venus figurines,

991
00:48:39,847 --> 00:48:42,816
but it does have a carved
ring where the head should be,

992
00:48:42,850 --> 00:48:45,198
suggesting that it
was worn as a pendant.

993
00:48:45,232 --> 00:48:47,303
In the opinion of
professor Conard,

994
00:48:47,338 --> 00:48:49,547
the various incised
lines and markings

995
00:48:49,581 --> 00:48:51,825
that cover much of the
surface of the figure

996
00:48:51,859 --> 00:48:53,827
may represent clothing.

997
00:48:53,861 --> 00:48:56,726
Excavations at the site
by Nicholas J. Conard

998
00:48:56,761 --> 00:48:58,349
from a university in Germany,

999
00:48:58,383 --> 00:49:01,524
also discovered other figurines
including a horse's head,

1000
00:49:01,559 --> 00:49:05,563
a waterbird, and a half
human, half lion figurine,

1001
00:49:05,597 --> 00:49:10,016
all dated to about 30,000
to 33,000 years ago.

1002
00:49:10,050 --> 00:49:13,433
Also found at this remarkable
site were worked flint,

1003
00:49:13,467 --> 00:49:17,989
bone, and ivory, bones of
horses, reindeer, cave bear,

1004
00:49:18,024 --> 00:49:22,511
mammoth, and ibex, as well as
a deliberately burned bone.

1005
00:49:22,545 --> 00:49:25,963
A puzzling artifact,
though, is a bird bone flute

1006
00:49:25,997 --> 00:49:27,895
with five finger holes.

1007
00:49:27,930 --> 00:49:30,726
It was also unearthed
in this incredible cave,

1008
00:49:30,760 --> 00:49:33,556
dating to about
35,000 years ago,

1009
00:49:33,591 --> 00:49:35,041
which would've made it

1010
00:49:35,075 --> 00:49:38,354
the oldest handcrafted musical
instrument ever discovered.

1011
00:49:38,389 --> 00:49:41,357
However, subsequent
examination of the artifact

1012
00:49:41,392 --> 00:49:44,015
has persuaded scientists
that it is, in fact,

1013
00:49:44,050 --> 00:49:47,743
the earliest known
instrument for making rope.

1014
00:49:47,777 --> 00:49:50,332
One intriguing possibility
which has been put forward

1015
00:49:50,366 --> 00:49:52,058
is that the Neanderthals,

1016
00:49:52,092 --> 00:49:56,027
rather than anatomically
modern humans, Homo sapiens,

1017
00:49:56,062 --> 00:49:59,065
crafted the artifacts
at the Hohle Fels site.

1018
00:49:59,099 --> 00:50:02,137
However, although Neanderthals
were still living in Europe

1019
00:50:02,171 --> 00:50:05,657
about 30,000 to
35,000 years ago,

1020
00:50:05,692 --> 00:50:09,040
and are known to her have
frequented the Hohle Fels cave,

1021
00:50:09,075 --> 00:50:11,939
the archeological layers
in which the Venus figurine

1022
00:50:11,974 --> 00:50:14,908
and other carvings were
found is characteristic

1023
00:50:14,942 --> 00:50:18,291
of modern humans rather
than Neanderthals.

1024
00:50:18,325 --> 00:50:20,707
A wide variety of
interpretations regarding

1025
00:50:20,741 --> 00:50:24,366
what Venus figurines were
meant to represent exist.

1026
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:25,953
These explanations range

1027
00:50:25,988 --> 00:50:28,163
from children's
educational material

1028
00:50:28,197 --> 00:50:31,373
to representations of
fertility goddesses.

1029
00:50:31,407 --> 00:50:34,100
The extreme accumulation
of fat around the buttocks

1030
00:50:34,134 --> 00:50:36,067
depicted on many
of the figurines

1031
00:50:36,102 --> 00:50:37,758
has led some researchers

1032
00:50:37,793 --> 00:50:40,727
such as French archeologist,
Edouard Piette,

1033
00:50:40,761 --> 00:50:42,246
to suggest that the figurines

1034
00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:44,455
are actual physical
representations

1035
00:50:44,489 --> 00:50:47,906
of members of the Ice Age
hunting tribes who made them.

1036
00:50:47,941 --> 00:50:51,531
However, the fact that many
Venus figurines depict females

1037
00:50:51,565 --> 00:50:54,568
who do not possess such
a feature would suggest

1038
00:50:54,603 --> 00:50:57,468
that this theory is
at best unproven.

1039
00:50:57,502 --> 00:50:59,780
A few decades ago, the
most popular theory

1040
00:50:59,815 --> 00:51:02,093
to explain these
strange figurines

1041
00:51:02,128 --> 00:51:03,922
was that they were
representations

1042
00:51:03,957 --> 00:51:06,615
of a worldwide
mother Goddess cult.

1043
00:51:06,649 --> 00:51:10,826
The belief, put forward by
archeologist Marija Gimbutas,

1044
00:51:10,860 --> 00:51:13,173
among others, that
Stone Age people

1045
00:51:13,208 --> 00:51:16,038
worshiped the Earth Mother
as a universal deity,

1046
00:51:16,073 --> 00:51:18,385
has been largely
discredited now,

1047
00:51:18,420 --> 00:51:21,008
though it still
has some adherence.

1048
00:51:21,043 --> 00:51:24,943
In Paleolithic pre-agricultural
hunter gatherer societies

1049
00:51:24,978 --> 00:51:27,601
who lived in harsh
Ice Age environments

1050
00:51:27,636 --> 00:51:30,432
where the population did not
have quick or easy access

1051
00:51:30,466 --> 00:51:31,847
to a food supply,

1052
00:51:31,881 --> 00:51:34,781
the Venus figurines may
have suggested a desire

1053
00:51:34,815 --> 00:51:37,508
for abundancy and security,

1054
00:51:37,542 --> 00:51:39,924
though not all
examples were rotund

1055
00:51:39,958 --> 00:51:42,582
or had exaggerated
feminine features.

1056
00:51:42,616 --> 00:51:44,618
The fact that Venus
figurines are found

1057
00:51:44,653 --> 00:51:47,621
over such a wide
geographical area indicates

1058
00:51:47,656 --> 00:51:49,520
that there was a
shared understanding

1059
00:51:49,554 --> 00:51:52,212
among the Paleolithic
hunter-gatherer tribes

1060
00:51:52,247 --> 00:51:54,145
of Europe and Western Asia

1061
00:51:54,180 --> 00:51:56,320
of a particular
aspect of womanhood

1062
00:51:56,354 --> 00:51:58,218
or a certain type of woman.

1063
00:51:58,253 --> 00:52:00,945
However, like the vast
majority of examples

1064
00:52:00,979 --> 00:52:03,361
of prehistoric art,
we can only guess

1065
00:52:03,396 --> 00:52:05,570
at the cultural meaning
and significance

1066
00:52:05,605 --> 00:52:09,643
of the Venus figurines to
our remote Ice Age ancestors.

1067
00:52:10,506 --> 00:52:13,475
[suspenseful music]

1068
00:52:15,546 --> 00:52:18,238
[dramatic music]

1069
00:52:20,309 --> 00:52:23,243
The remains of an
ancient domesticated dog

1070
00:52:23,278 --> 00:52:25,107
that spent its life with humans

1071
00:52:25,142 --> 00:52:27,937
has been unearthed
in an Italian cave.

1072
00:52:27,972 --> 00:52:29,007
Believe it or not,

1073
00:52:29,042 --> 00:52:31,009
this ancient domesticated dog

1074
00:52:31,044 --> 00:52:34,185
is now considered to be
Europe's earliest pet dog

1075
00:52:34,220 --> 00:52:37,395
and might be 20,000 years old.

1076
00:52:37,430 --> 00:52:41,606
How wolves became wolf-like,
and then our early friends?

1077
00:52:41,641 --> 00:52:44,540
The early ancestors of
gray wolves, Canis lupus,

1078
00:52:44,575 --> 00:52:47,785
were a group of carnivores
named the Creodonts,

1079
00:52:47,819 --> 00:52:49,614
that roamed the
Northern hemisphere

1080
00:52:49,649 --> 00:52:52,997
between 100 and 120
million years ago.

1081
00:52:53,031 --> 00:52:54,861
About 55 million years ago,

1082
00:52:54,895 --> 00:52:58,347
this ancient species gave
rise to the carnassials,

1083
00:52:58,382 --> 00:53:01,730
a group of wolf-like animals
that had specialized jaws

1084
00:53:01,764 --> 00:53:05,216
and razor-sharp teeth for
tearing and eating meat.

1085
00:53:05,251 --> 00:53:07,529
One member of this
family, miakis,

1086
00:53:07,563 --> 00:53:09,151
is thought to be
the common ancestor

1087
00:53:09,186 --> 00:53:11,981
of all present day
wolves, bears, raccoons,

1088
00:53:12,016 --> 00:53:14,225
weasels, and dogs.

1089
00:53:14,260 --> 00:53:16,917
Researchers hope this
incredible discovery in Italy

1090
00:53:16,952 --> 00:53:18,471
will provide new information

1091
00:53:18,505 --> 00:53:21,301
on how and when dogs
diverged from wolves

1092
00:53:21,336 --> 00:53:24,201
and became domesticated
human pets.

1093
00:53:24,235 --> 00:53:27,790
Dr. Francesco Boschin heads
the team of archeologists

1094
00:53:27,825 --> 00:53:30,137
from the University
of Sienna in Italy

1095
00:53:30,172 --> 00:53:31,622
that published the study

1096
00:53:31,656 --> 00:53:35,384
on the Italian canid and wolf
remains found in the caves.

1097
00:53:35,419 --> 00:53:38,180
According to an article
in "Scientific Reports,"

1098
00:53:38,215 --> 00:53:41,114
he stated it might be
the oldest ever remains

1099
00:53:41,148 --> 00:53:44,428
of a domesticated pet
dog found in Europe.

1100
00:53:44,462 --> 00:53:46,671
The animal remains were
expected to be somewhere

1101
00:53:46,706 --> 00:53:50,123
between 14 and 20,000 years old.

1102
00:53:50,157 --> 00:53:52,263
This was a time when
humans and canines

1103
00:53:52,298 --> 00:53:55,232
first began a mutually
beneficial relationship

1104
00:53:55,266 --> 00:53:58,304
that eventually made our
dogs our best friends,

1105
00:53:59,788 --> 00:54:03,481
solving the hows and whys of
early canine domestication.

1106
00:54:03,516 --> 00:54:05,863
For millions of years,
humans and wild wolves

1107
00:54:05,897 --> 00:54:08,314
shared the same
hunting landscapes.

1108
00:54:08,348 --> 00:54:11,593
While it's unknown exactly
when domesticated dogs,

1109
00:54:11,627 --> 00:54:14,941
Canis familiaris, evolved
from the great wolves,

1110
00:54:14,975 --> 00:54:18,185
we do have some important
scientific clues.

1111
00:54:18,220 --> 00:54:20,291
A 2009 study published

1112
00:54:20,326 --> 00:54:23,190
in the "Molecular Biology
and Evolution Journal"

1113
00:54:23,225 --> 00:54:27,540
cites an analysis of ancient
dog mitochondrial DNA

1114
00:54:27,574 --> 00:54:29,852
that suggests they
evolved alongside wolves

1115
00:54:29,887 --> 00:54:32,096
over 100,000 years ago.

1116
00:54:32,130 --> 00:54:35,306
Thus many experts believe
canines began scavenging

1117
00:54:35,341 --> 00:54:36,721
due to a lack of food,

1118
00:54:36,756 --> 00:54:39,828
and that humans slowly developed
a bond with these animals

1119
00:54:39,862 --> 00:54:41,761
that also acted as
an early warning

1120
00:54:41,795 --> 00:54:45,696
if larger creatures approach
to campsite or entered a cave.

1121
00:54:45,730 --> 00:54:47,318
Some scientists believe wolves

1122
00:54:47,353 --> 00:54:49,355
and early humans
hunted together,

1123
00:54:49,389 --> 00:54:52,530
and this is how the
relationship was formed.

1124
00:54:52,565 --> 00:54:55,292
The latest study by Dr.
Boschin and his team

1125
00:54:55,326 --> 00:54:59,330
focused on bone fragments from
ancient canines and wolves

1126
00:54:59,365 --> 00:55:02,471
found at two Paleolithic
caves in Southern Italy,

1127
00:55:02,506 --> 00:55:05,888
the Paglicci Cave and
the Romanelli Cave.

1128
00:55:05,923 --> 00:55:08,477
These ancient animals,
according to the research,

1129
00:55:08,512 --> 00:55:11,998
are the first dogs to live
alongside humans as a pet.

1130
00:55:12,032 --> 00:55:15,001
Furthermore, according to an
article in the "Daily Mail,"

1131
00:55:15,035 --> 00:55:17,210
the ancient
canine-human connection

1132
00:55:17,244 --> 00:55:20,834
offers a definitive answer
to the longstanding question

1133
00:55:20,869 --> 00:55:24,459
of how and when dogs
first became pets.

1134
00:55:24,493 --> 00:55:27,910
Anyone who has a dog or
has experience losing one

1135
00:55:27,945 --> 00:55:31,535
knows the depth of uniqueness
of that special bond,

1136
00:55:31,569 --> 00:55:33,985
but why and when in the
history of our planet

1137
00:55:34,020 --> 00:55:37,299
did this love affair between
humans and dogs begin?

1138
00:55:37,334 --> 00:55:40,647
Discover the history of
dogs and human interaction.

1139
00:55:40,682 --> 00:55:43,236
The earliest known
ancestors of gray wolves,

1140
00:55:43,270 --> 00:55:46,860
a major figure in the history
of dogs, are called Creodonts.

1141
00:55:46,895 --> 00:55:48,483
They roamed the
Northern hemisphere

1142
00:55:48,517 --> 00:55:51,934
between 100 and 120
million years ago.

1143
00:55:51,969 --> 00:55:53,833
By 55 million years ago,

1144
00:55:53,867 --> 00:55:57,906
these pack hunting carnivores
gave rise to the carnassials,

1145
00:55:57,940 --> 00:55:59,701
wolf-like animals that had jaws

1146
00:55:59,735 --> 00:56:01,910
for tearing and devouring meat.

1147
00:56:01,944 --> 00:56:04,913
One member, his family
known as my miacis existed

1148
00:56:04,947 --> 00:56:07,743
between 60 and 55
million years ago,

1149
00:56:07,778 --> 00:56:09,745
and is thought by
mainstream scientists

1150
00:56:09,780 --> 00:56:12,610
to be the common ancestor
of all present day wolves,

1151
00:56:12,645 --> 00:56:15,406
dogs, bears, and raccoons.

1152
00:56:15,441 --> 00:56:17,408
About 45 million years ago,

1153
00:56:17,443 --> 00:56:19,790
up to around 2
million years ago,

1154
00:56:19,824 --> 00:56:21,999
a massive species
known as bear dogs

1155
00:56:22,033 --> 00:56:25,761
roamed across North America,
Europe, Africa, and Asia,

1156
00:56:25,796 --> 00:56:28,592
sharing hunting planes
with Canis lupus,

1157
00:56:28,626 --> 00:56:31,767
one of the closest relatives
to the modern gray wolf.

1158
00:56:31,802 --> 00:56:33,424
Around 25 million years ago,

1159
00:56:33,459 --> 00:56:35,944
a species called Cynodictis

1160
00:56:35,978 --> 00:56:38,256
split in two
evolutionary branches

1161
00:56:38,291 --> 00:56:40,086
resulting in
African hunting dogs

1162
00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:42,433
and Eurasian wolves and dogs.

1163
00:56:42,468 --> 00:56:44,159
At this time in North America,

1164
00:56:44,193 --> 00:56:47,507
the plans were dominated
by the fearsome Tomarctus,

1165
00:56:47,542 --> 00:56:51,269
equipped with razor-sharp
claws, a powerful biting jaw,

1166
00:56:51,304 --> 00:56:55,101
and a long tail for balance
while hunting and fighting.

1167
00:56:55,135 --> 00:56:56,758
Up until 2010,

1168
00:56:56,792 --> 00:56:59,243
most experts to believed
domestication occurred

1169
00:56:59,277 --> 00:57:04,282
about 14,000 years ago, but
studies of dog mitochondrial DNA

1170
00:57:05,629 --> 00:57:07,469
strongly suggest they
evolved alongside each other

1171
00:57:07,493 --> 00:57:09,598
100,000 years ago.

1172
00:57:09,633 --> 00:57:11,324
Supporting this new paradigm,

1173
00:57:11,358 --> 00:57:15,639
in 2009, several richly buried
dog skulls were discovered

1174
00:57:15,673 --> 00:57:20,471
in a cave in the Czech Republic,
which dated to 30,000 BC.

1175
00:57:20,506 --> 00:57:24,061
Furthermore, in 2011, a
Paleolithic dog skeleton

1176
00:57:24,095 --> 00:57:29,100
dated to 30,000 BC was found
biting a large mammoth bone

1177
00:57:30,239 --> 00:57:31,033
and its brain had
been carefully removed

1178
00:57:31,068 --> 00:57:32,483
some time after death,

1179
00:57:32,518 --> 00:57:35,900
suggesting it held
ritual significance.

1180
00:57:35,935 --> 00:57:40,284
Another dog skull dated to
31,000 BC was found buried

1181
00:57:40,318 --> 00:57:43,460
with a human body in
a cave in Siberia,

1182
00:57:43,494 --> 00:57:45,185
not only telling archeologists

1183
00:57:45,220 --> 00:57:47,809
that the man had
domesticated hunting dogs,

1184
00:57:47,843 --> 00:57:49,535
but they had played
an important role

1185
00:57:49,569 --> 00:57:51,882
within his supernatural
belief system.

1186
00:57:53,297 --> 00:57:55,448
The relationship between
humans and dogs was cemented

1187
00:57:55,472 --> 00:57:58,233
at the dawn of farming
when people realized

1188
00:57:58,267 --> 00:58:01,823
just how quickly a wolf could
be domesticated with starch.

1189
00:58:01,857 --> 00:58:04,998
Having sharp teeth,
strong jaws and speed,

1190
00:58:05,033 --> 00:58:06,517
semi-tamed wolves were used

1191
00:58:06,552 --> 00:58:08,692
to protect small
hunting stations,

1192
00:58:08,726 --> 00:58:11,280
and in return were rewarded
with companionship,

1193
00:58:11,315 --> 00:58:15,008
protection, shelter, and
a reliable food source.

1194
00:58:15,043 --> 00:58:17,597
By 6,000 BC, dogs
were being trained

1195
00:58:17,632 --> 00:58:19,357
as effective farming tools,

1196
00:58:19,392 --> 00:58:22,706
and weapons used at times
of inter-tribal fighting.

1197
00:58:22,740 --> 00:58:26,226
And these inherent tension
skills are still evident today

1198
00:58:26,261 --> 00:58:27,676
in different dog breeds.

1199
00:58:27,711 --> 00:58:30,679
For example, guard dogs,
police dogs, military dogs,

1200
00:58:30,714 --> 00:58:33,302
sheep dogs, and rat catchers.

1201
00:58:33,337 --> 00:58:34,890
The rise of organized religions

1202
00:58:34,925 --> 00:58:37,134
led to the
ritualization of dogs,

1203
00:58:37,168 --> 00:58:38,825
and they were
generally associated

1204
00:58:38,860 --> 00:58:41,759
with the human soul's
journey in the afterlife.

1205
00:58:41,794 --> 00:58:45,280
Canine deities were worshiped
in ancient China, Egypt,

1206
00:58:45,314 --> 00:58:47,662
and south America,
where they were carved

1207
00:58:47,696 --> 00:58:49,353
into statues and temples,

1208
00:58:49,387 --> 00:58:52,977
and featured centrally in
mythologies and legends.

1209
00:58:53,012 --> 00:58:55,877
Evidence of the ritualization
of dogs was found

1210
00:58:55,911 --> 00:58:58,535
in the skeleton of
male Husky-like dog

1211
00:58:58,569 --> 00:59:01,399
that lived 7,000
years ago in Siberia,

1212
00:59:01,434 --> 00:59:04,541
that had worked alongside
humans throughout his lifetime,

1213
00:59:04,575 --> 00:59:07,060
ate human food, and
was richly buried

1214
00:59:07,095 --> 00:59:08,993
as though it were a human.

1215
00:59:09,028 --> 00:59:12,997
What is more, a wild wolf was
ritualistically buried nearby,

1216
00:59:13,032 --> 00:59:15,931
perhaps once perceived
as protecting human souls

1217
00:59:15,966 --> 00:59:18,624
on their journey
through the afterlife.

1218
00:59:18,658 --> 00:59:22,593
Around 2000 BC, the Iron
Age saw Romans, Egyptians,

1219
00:59:22,628 --> 00:59:26,597
Greeks, and Britons increasingly
using dogs in warfare,

1220
00:59:26,632 --> 00:59:29,462
blood sports, and
violent entertainment.

1221
00:59:29,496 --> 00:59:32,396
Larger breeds such as the
mastiff and wolf hound

1222
00:59:32,430 --> 00:59:34,640
were found to be
effective in war,

1223
00:59:34,674 --> 00:59:38,747
and the ancient Roman history
Strabo reported in 38 AD

1224
00:59:38,782 --> 00:59:41,198
of large British
dogs, which were bred

1225
00:59:41,232 --> 00:59:42,889
in the homeland of Britannia

1226
00:59:42,924 --> 00:59:45,685
to hunt dangerous
game as war dogs.

1227
00:59:45,720 --> 00:59:48,999
In 43 AD, at the Roman
conquest of Britain,

1228
00:59:49,033 --> 00:59:53,072
a procurer called Cynegii was
recorded as selecting dogs

1229
00:59:53,106 --> 00:59:56,593
for exporting to Rome to either
compete in the amphitheater

1230
00:59:56,627 --> 00:59:59,319
or to join the Roman
army as war dogs.

1231
00:59:59,354 --> 01:00:02,081
He mentioned a
wide-mouth giant dog

1232
01:00:02,115 --> 01:00:04,359
that surpassed the
Roman Molossus dog.

1233
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What does the future have
in store for dogs and us?

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Today, like in so
many aspects of life,

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dogs have become
extremely polarized,

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and we have specially
trained medical dogs

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that detect cancers

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and smell when diabetic patients
are suffering hypoglycemia,

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low blood sugars.

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This is all happening as
astronaut dogs are being trained

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in space programs,

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and search and rescue
dogs leap from helicopters

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and speedboats, not to
mention military dogs

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that can detect explosives
and locate injured bodies

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in places deem you
dangerous for soldiers.

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A highlight in research for
this article was learning

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that in 1943,
during World War II,

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the American Army began a
war dog training program,

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which parachuted
puppies into war zones

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to sniff out enemy
tunnels and bunkers.

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What on earth will dogs
be doing in the future?

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In the modern police and army,

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dogs that are trained
to bite often suffer

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from broken teeth, which
are now being replaced

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with sharp titanium fangs

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at a cost of between
$600 and $2000 a tooth.

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Is this the beginning

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of a new evolutionary
path for canines?

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Like us, will we soon
be able to sync our dogs

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with our computers
and smartphones?

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In conclusion, the
evolution of dogs

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that has spanned
nearly 45 million years

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is far from complete,

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and although we have altered
its course irreversibly

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with mass breeding over
the last 200 years,

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so far, no other animal has
evolved to live alongside humans

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as harmoniously as dogs have.

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[dramatic music]

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[dramatic music continues]

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[dramatic music continues]

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[dramatic music continues]