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- [Francisco] For a long time,

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fables are all we imagined of Neanderthals,

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our closest genetic cousins.

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And strange ideas began to develop

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about who Neanderthals really were.

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The folklore is that they wore little clothing,

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made grunting sounds, and were
feeble-minded and aggressive.

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These ideas were based on pure imagination, not fact.

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And so, Neanderthals exist

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as fleeting images of simple cavemen.

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Like cartoons, they resemble
half naked caricatures

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of our most primitive, least interesting selves.

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(gentle music)

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Dare we imagine that they were capable

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of building lives that also
had love, craft, music, and art?

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They certainly were successful at life in Europe.

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They lived there for almost 300,000 years,

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something that we may not be able to match.

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And out of these imagined

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and extremely simplistic images,

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we have decided that we know

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what they and their lives were like.

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But are these ideas correct?

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Can we really know how Neanderthals looked,

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dressed, and acted?

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(gentle music)

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(gentle upbeat music)

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First, there's the problem of time scale.

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Thinking about the past,

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we can imagine a few thousand years back.

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But the beings we call Neanderthals

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lived hundreds of thousands of years

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before our most distant imagination,

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and went extinct 30 to 40,000 years ago.

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There is no memory of this time

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and of these people.

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They left almost nothing, except their bones,

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marks, and some objects.

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(gentle upbeat music)

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We are looking at the popular view of Neanderthals

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as cave people wearing animal skins.

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We don't know that this is how they looked.

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Recent evidence has uncovered

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the presence of woven strings,

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so they could have worn elaborate costumes,

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for example, none of which would have survived

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after eons of weather exposure.

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So is this a real Neanderthal,

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or a merely a modern imagination of one?

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(upbeat music)

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(gentle upbeat music)

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Look closely at your screen.

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What we see here is what, until the 19th century,

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we knew of our distant past.

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Like a black sheet of paper with no clues,

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no timeline, it remained that way until 1856,

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when the first Neanderthal fossil was found,

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the first evidence of a
distinct, archaic human relative.

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And then, something emerged in 1974,

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40% of a skeleton of a creature that,

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like us, walked on two legs,

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but was much older, having
lived about 3 million years ago.

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The skull belonged to a species of human ancestor

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that roamed the landscapes of South Africa,

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and is known as Australopithecus africanus.

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These beings were small,

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their heads were about the size of a grapefruit.

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The lower half of their faces was pushed forward,

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as is true of present day monkeys.

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(gentle upbeat music)

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But monkeys have brow
ridges that this creature lacked.

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In that sense, it seemed more human,

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even millions of years ago.

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There are problems classifying primates

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that are non-human, like apes and chimps,

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along with species that were human-like.

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Unfortunately, science doesn't help with language,

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since these differences have names

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that sound almost exactly the same.

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The big category is that of hominids,

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which includes all great apes,

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humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans,

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as well as their ancestors.

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(gentle music)

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Under this umbrella is a smaller group,

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the hominins, which pertains only to humans

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and their closest extinct relatives.

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But the difference between hominids

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and hominins can be subtle.

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A chimpanzee's skull shows a small brain case

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and a very large jaw for eating and chewing.

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But the Australopithecus afarensis,

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perhaps the first hominin to walk upright,

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has a smaller eyebrow ridge and larger eyes.

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The teeth are also human-like.

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Modern humans' jaws are much smaller

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in proportion to their brain size,

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which now takes up the largest area in the skull.

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From these small differences,

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we can begin to understand human evolution

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from fossils and bones back in time.

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In fact, even though Australopithecus afarensis

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lived 3 million years ago, it
wasn't the oldest pre-human.

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It's just one in a long line of beings

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who walked upright millions of years ago,

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and they are all connected to ourselves.

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This is what the ancestors to humans

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were thought to look like in the 1700s

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because no other upright species

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was discovered before the mid 1800s.

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Neanderthals, which evolved 400,000 years ago,

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looked nothing like this.

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Our evolutionary lineage is a
much more interesting story.

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Admittedly, our ancient past is a jigsaw puzzle

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with many missing pieces.

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To organize the clues, we turn to paleoanthropology,

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the field that studies the origins

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and evolution of humans and their ancestors

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through fossils, artifacts, and other evidence.

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This can bring Neanderthal questions to life.

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We have learned of our ancestors

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from relatively few skulls, skeletons, and stones,

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and so our account, like their history,

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is incomplete and fragmentary.

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But it's a start.

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First, we need a timeline, not in centuries,

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but in millions of years, in order to allow us

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to understand the succession
of these ancestral species

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that led to the evolution of ourselves

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as the latest version of
upright beings on this planet.

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As our timeline reaches into the past,

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we turn back the clock on earth

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one, two, three million years ago, and more,

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until we arrive at the earliest known time

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at which upright beings appear on earth,

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just about seven million years ago.

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(gentle upbeat music)

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The prevailing view is that it all began here,

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in a north central part of what is today

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the African continent.

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It was here that the first hominin emerged,

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on two legs, making tools,

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living distinct to other apes and monkeys.

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This is Sahelanthropus tchadensis,

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the first of many species on the genetic road

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to us modern humans.

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We know that despite a small brain

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and highly protruding brow
ridge like some apes have,

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he walked upright and made his life on the ground,

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rather than up in the trees.

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The discovery of this species was followed

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by another significant find,

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Australopithecus anamensis,

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who lived two million years later,

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about four million years ago.

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Its fossils have been discovered

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at several sites in Kenya and Ethiopia.

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It had a large, protruding face with a robust jaw

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and a brain size similar to
that of modern chimpanzees.

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And with smaller canine teeth compared to apes,

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he probably lived on a diet of harder,

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tougher foods like nuts and seeds.

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Living in a similar region of Africa

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but a million years later still

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appears Australopithecus afarensis,

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who lived about 3 to 4 million years ago.

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Afarensis could be a direct ancestor

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to the family that includes us, Homo sapiens.

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Its footprints were recorded

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in wet volcanic ash three
and a half million years ago,

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and so we know how it walked.

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It is also the precursor of
Australopithecus africanus.

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Africanus was a kind of bridge

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between earlier and later human species.

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He had some primitive traits:

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a small brain, long arms,

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and curved fingers that
suggest he could climb trees.

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But he also had more advanced features,

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like a rounder skull and a flatter face,

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making him look more human.

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His brain was bigger than that of afarensis,

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the species before him,

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showing a step forward in intelligence.

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His hips and legs show that he could walk upright,

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but he probably still spent time in the trees.

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We don't know exactly where he lived,

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but he gives us early clues about the shift

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from ape-like ancestors to early humans.

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(gentle music)

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Not every lineage led
successfully to us, Homo sapiens.

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Consider Paranthropus aethiopicus,

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which lived with africanus,

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but which showed none of
his more human like qualities.

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It's a fact of evolution that several subspecies

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can follow parallel but
unrelated genetic branches.

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(gentle music)

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Almost a million years later
came sediba in Southern Africa.

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Where its predecessor had massive jaws and molars,

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sediba has smaller teeth and jaws,

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which strongly indicates it
was living on a broader diet.

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Sediba's pelvis and hands
also looked more human-like.

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It seems to have become capable

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of fine motor skills and possibly tool use.

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Having a broader diet

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also seems to have helped its evolution,

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as it probably became
interested in eating other animals.

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In all of this, there is a change

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in the way sediba sees the world.

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It starts to seem more and
more human than ape in nature.

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(gentle music)

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About a half million years later, in East Africa,

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a new species appeared, Homo rudolfensis.

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Its brain was 60% larger,

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a tremendous leap in just half a million years.

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Perhaps it came from other subspecies

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that have not yet been found.

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Rudolfensis was also fully adapted

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for walking and running, with
human-like body proportions.

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And so, it came down to the ground to eat,

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developed a terrestrial
life and abandoned its home

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in the trees, unlike its ancestors.

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Rudolfensis came from the Australopithecus genus,

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a line that died out, but not before it gave rise

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to the lineage that became us humans.

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And that happened with someone we've seen before:

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Australopithecus afarensis,
who walked upright like us

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but still had a small brain
and long arms for climbing.

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Over time, their upright posture

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and tool-use instincts paved the way

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for the first human-like beings.

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And so, starting about two
and a half million years ago,

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the Homo line begins to show
smaller teeth, a flatter face

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and underneath the
still-evident receding forehead,

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there is nevertheless an enormous increase

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in brain capacity, which grows quickly

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with each successive subspecies.

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In this genetic line, Homo habilis became

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the earliest known species in the genus.

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Habilis is special in evolutionary history.

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He had a significantly larger brain,

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about twice the size of its predecessors.

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As the first to make tools for cutting,

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scraping, and processing meat and plants,

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he earned the name "handy man."

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And these clever advancements

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were passed down to future hominins,

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such as Homo erectus, one of the longest-lived

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and most successful hominin species.

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This being was even more special,

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marking many milestones in human evolution.

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It represents the first hominin to exhibit

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truly modern human-like body proportions,

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to expand widely beyond Africa,

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and to show advanced
technological and social traits.

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With a tall, lean body made for long-distance walking

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and running, like that of modern humans,

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00:14:10,809 --> 00:14:13,561
he leaves Africa and, never returning,

264
00:14:13,603 --> 00:14:16,398
traveled not only to Europe but as far as Asia,

265
00:14:16,439 --> 00:14:18,233
and even Indonesia.

266
00:14:19,109 --> 00:14:21,695
Evidence from sites in China and South Africa

267
00:14:21,736 --> 00:14:25,115
suggests that he may have
controlled fire for warmth,

268
00:14:25,156 --> 00:14:28,868
protection, and the ability to cook food.

269
00:14:28,910 --> 00:14:30,495
He lived from approximately

270
00:14:30,537 --> 00:14:35,083
1.9 million to 110,000 years ago,

271
00:14:35,125 --> 00:14:38,128
a truly long-lasting species.

272
00:14:38,169 --> 00:14:40,380
Erectus was unique in every way,

273
00:14:40,422 --> 00:14:41,798
and he was likely smart enough

274
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,427
to have reflected on his own abilities.

275
00:14:45,468 --> 00:14:48,054
(gentle music)

276
00:14:52,225 --> 00:14:54,728
Later, around 700,000 years ago,

277
00:14:54,769 --> 00:14:58,898
Homo heidelbergensis, a true
transitional species, appears.

278
00:15:00,316 --> 00:15:03,611
With a brain reaching up to
twice the size of Homo erectus,

279
00:15:03,653 --> 00:15:06,614
it was a step closer to modern humans.

280
00:15:06,656 --> 00:15:09,993
Its higher, more rounded skull explains

281
00:15:10,035 --> 00:15:12,912
the more advanced tools and weapons that it used,

282
00:15:12,954 --> 00:15:15,999
including wooden spears for hunting.

283
00:15:16,041 --> 00:15:18,877
He showed early signs of complex skills,

284
00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:22,088
including the use of fire
to survive harsher climates.

285
00:15:24,132 --> 00:15:26,176
It is from this ancestral group

286
00:15:26,217 --> 00:15:30,388
that two primary lineages may have emerged.

287
00:15:30,430 --> 00:15:33,224
One stayed in Africa and evolved into modern humans,

288
00:15:33,266 --> 00:15:35,060
as Homo sapiens.

289
00:15:35,101 --> 00:15:37,896
The other left Africa 700,000 years ago

290
00:15:37,937 --> 00:15:41,399
and evolved into Neanderthals
in Europe and Western Asia.

291
00:15:42,650 --> 00:15:44,986
This is why Neanderthals and modern humans

292
00:15:45,028 --> 00:15:46,613
resemble each other so closely.

293
00:15:47,781 --> 00:15:50,950
(gentle upbeat music)

294
00:15:52,619 --> 00:15:54,537
We know that heidelbergensis was found

295
00:15:54,579 --> 00:15:57,165
across a vast range of land, and at some point,

296
00:15:57,207 --> 00:15:59,959
the evolutionary pace seems to accelerate.

297
00:16:01,044 --> 00:16:04,506
(gentle upbeat music)

298
00:16:04,547 --> 00:16:06,966
Once outside Africa, the population

299
00:16:07,008 --> 00:16:08,885
that became Neanderthals adapted

300
00:16:08,968 --> 00:16:11,638
to the colder climates of Europe and Western Asia.

301
00:16:12,597 --> 00:16:14,224
Over hundreds of thousands of years,

302
00:16:14,265 --> 00:16:16,101
they developed distinct physical

303
00:16:16,142 --> 00:16:19,270
and cultural traits suited to their environment.

304
00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:23,942
Meanwhile, the population that remained in Africa

305
00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:26,027
evolved into Homo sapiens,

306
00:16:26,069 --> 00:16:28,530
characterized by increasing brain size

307
00:16:28,571 --> 00:16:30,824
and technological advancements.

308
00:16:33,576 --> 00:16:35,537
While Neanderthals evolved in Europe

309
00:16:35,578 --> 00:16:37,789
and modern humans evolved in Africa,

310
00:16:37,831 --> 00:16:39,916
they re-encountered one another much later,

311
00:16:39,958 --> 00:16:41,793
during the migrations of modern humans

312
00:16:41,835 --> 00:16:44,546
out of Africa around 80,000 years ago.

313
00:16:46,631 --> 00:16:49,259
These interactions included interbreeding,

314
00:16:49,300 --> 00:16:51,636
leaving genetic traces of Neanderthals

315
00:16:51,678 --> 00:16:54,806
in modern human populations outside Africa.

316
00:16:56,808 --> 00:17:00,854
Two species, two stories, that of modern humans

317
00:17:00,895 --> 00:17:03,815
and that of Neanderthals, which remain a mystery.

318
00:17:05,859 --> 00:17:07,819
We know what their bones looked like,

319
00:17:07,861 --> 00:17:10,071
but not how they dressed, how they spoke,

320
00:17:10,113 --> 00:17:12,824
how they lived, or how they died.

321
00:17:12,866 --> 00:17:14,492
Yet science has recently revealed

322
00:17:14,534 --> 00:17:17,871
much about Neanderthals,
and it is entirely surprising.

323
00:17:19,289 --> 00:17:21,124
What we have learned about this species

324
00:17:21,166 --> 00:17:23,293
has shattered the ideas that we had about them

325
00:17:23,335 --> 00:17:25,545
as dumb and primitive cave people.

326
00:17:26,796 --> 00:17:29,674
Like ourselves, they were far from that.

327
00:17:29,716 --> 00:17:32,719
And like ourselves, Neanderthals come at the end

328
00:17:32,761 --> 00:17:37,515
of a long line of hominins, we
have met only a few of them.

329
00:17:37,557 --> 00:17:41,436
(gentle upbeat music)

330
00:17:41,478 --> 00:17:44,564
Both ourselves and
Neanderthals enjoyed the genetic

331
00:17:44,606 --> 00:17:48,526
and physical advantages
of this evolutionary process.

332
00:17:48,568 --> 00:17:51,363
We both coexisted for thousands of years in Europe.

333
00:17:51,404 --> 00:17:52,572
It is tempting to imagine

334
00:17:52,614 --> 00:17:55,950
that maybe they could have
taken our place in modernity.

335
00:17:55,992 --> 00:17:58,119
We just don't know why they didn't continue

336
00:17:58,161 --> 00:18:01,623
to prevail throughout Europe,
and Asia, whereas we did.

337
00:18:03,333 --> 00:18:05,168
Perhaps, however, it is because,

338
00:18:05,210 --> 00:18:07,629
out of all our evolutionary ancestors,

339
00:18:07,671 --> 00:18:10,173
we are the only subspecies that can change

340
00:18:10,215 --> 00:18:13,468
our environment rather than merely adapt to it.

341
00:18:14,386 --> 00:18:17,555
(gentle upbeat music)

342
00:18:19,891 --> 00:18:23,019
Yet, perhaps we will never know the mysteries

343
00:18:23,061 --> 00:18:25,689
of our ancestors, how they emerged,

344
00:18:25,730 --> 00:18:28,942
what they thought, how they evolved.

345
00:18:28,983 --> 00:18:32,529
It seems this is our destiny
in the great circle of life.

346
00:18:34,406 --> 00:18:36,616
Perhaps the technology that has has allowed us

347
00:18:36,658 --> 00:18:38,785
to outlive the Neanderthals and thrive

348
00:18:38,827 --> 00:18:40,704
until the present day will be

349
00:18:40,745 --> 00:18:43,373
what threatens our very existence tomorrow.

350
00:18:46,668 --> 00:18:49,212
Will we too disappear in time?

351
00:18:49,254 --> 00:18:52,424
(gentle upbeat music)

352
00:18:57,345 --> 00:19:00,015
(wind blowing)

353
00:19:18,074 --> 00:19:21,703
1856, a summer day in a beautiful valley

354
00:19:21,745 --> 00:19:24,539
in Germany where workers digging out minerals

355
00:19:24,581 --> 00:19:27,834
from a quarry on a hillside discover a cave

356
00:19:27,876 --> 00:19:30,837
with what appear to be parts of a human skeleton.

357
00:19:34,299 --> 00:19:36,468
The bones were at first confused

358
00:19:36,509 --> 00:19:38,928
with those of a modern human.

359
00:19:38,970 --> 00:19:41,890
No one had ever seen a Neanderthal before.

360
00:19:41,931 --> 00:19:43,058
And since the importance

361
00:19:43,099 --> 00:19:45,352
of this discovery was not understood,

362
00:19:45,393 --> 00:19:48,855
quarry work continued until by 1900,

363
00:19:48,897 --> 00:19:51,441
the hill that had held this Neanderthal's body

364
00:19:51,483 --> 00:19:54,819
for 40,000 years disappeared entirely.

365
00:19:54,861 --> 00:19:57,447
(gentle music)

366
00:19:59,699 --> 00:20:01,451
This is a drawing of what what it looked like,

367
00:20:01,493 --> 00:20:03,370
made in the 19th century.

368
00:20:03,411 --> 00:20:06,164
This quarry is now gone.

369
00:20:06,206 --> 00:20:09,459
So by way of introduction, it is ironic that the site

370
00:20:09,501 --> 00:20:13,213
where the first Neanderthal
was discovered is itself lost.

371
00:20:16,591 --> 00:20:18,968
At the base of the hill is the Dussel River,

372
00:20:19,010 --> 00:20:21,179
which during any of the Ice Ages that passed

373
00:20:21,221 --> 00:20:24,015
when Neanderthals lived, must have been higher,

374
00:20:24,057 --> 00:20:26,393
near the mouth of this cavern.

375
00:20:26,434 --> 00:20:29,020
Today the cavern lies 60 feet above the river

376
00:20:29,062 --> 00:20:31,231
and 100 feet below the countryside.

377
00:20:32,232 --> 00:20:34,818
(gentle music)

378
00:20:38,154 --> 00:20:39,739
Although the cavern went unnoticed

379
00:20:39,781 --> 00:20:42,200
for thousands of years, it wasn't hidden,

380
00:20:42,242 --> 00:20:44,160
and could easily have been explored.

381
00:20:48,289 --> 00:20:51,042
One can only guess how
easily it could have been found,

382
00:20:51,084 --> 00:20:54,295
but also, how likely it is that this great site

383
00:20:54,337 --> 00:20:56,047
might have been missed entirely,

384
00:20:56,089 --> 00:20:57,799
as the workers in the quarry stripped down

385
00:20:57,841 --> 00:21:00,343
the side of the hill layer by layer

386
00:21:00,385 --> 00:21:02,262
without thinking of what lay behind

387
00:21:02,303 --> 00:21:04,723
and beneath their tools.

388
00:21:04,764 --> 00:21:06,766
In fact, the Feldhofer site

389
00:21:06,808 --> 00:21:09,144
set off a chain of successive discoveries

390
00:21:09,185 --> 00:21:11,187
of Neanderthal bones and artifacts,

391
00:21:11,229 --> 00:21:13,523
cave after cave from Western Europe

392
00:21:13,565 --> 00:21:16,067
all the way to Central Asia.

393
00:21:16,109 --> 00:21:18,653
(gentle music)

394
00:21:21,322 --> 00:21:22,866
But the body in the cave

395
00:21:22,907 --> 00:21:25,493
would not likely have been remarkable.

396
00:21:25,535 --> 00:21:27,704
The important fact is that Neanderthals,

397
00:21:27,746 --> 00:21:29,831
we later learned, lived in caves,

398
00:21:29,873 --> 00:21:32,667
although not exclusively within them.

399
00:21:33,585 --> 00:21:35,378
It seems they preferred the comfort,

400
00:21:35,420 --> 00:21:37,005
perhaps even the secrecy

401
00:21:37,047 --> 00:21:40,550
of this most natural of nature's wombs.

402
00:21:40,592 --> 00:21:42,385
Among bones and other fragments,

403
00:21:42,427 --> 00:21:45,764
the Feldhofer discovery
included a partial skullcap.

404
00:21:47,557 --> 00:21:50,143
It had unusual features that at first,

405
00:21:50,185 --> 00:21:52,520
as in two other Neanderthal sites,

406
00:21:52,562 --> 00:21:55,065
went completely unrecognized.

407
00:21:55,106 --> 00:21:57,817
An amateur scholar examined this cranial fragment

408
00:21:57,859 --> 00:21:59,778
and noticed some odd features

409
00:21:59,819 --> 00:22:02,572
not found in the physiology of modern humans.

410
00:22:05,241 --> 00:22:07,994
The first of these was an unusual set of brow ridges,

411
00:22:08,036 --> 00:22:11,289
which were thick and stuck
out a little too prominently.

412
00:22:12,874 --> 00:22:15,460
(gentle music)

413
00:22:20,757 --> 00:22:22,967
Also unusual for a normal human skull

414
00:22:23,009 --> 00:22:26,221
was the forehead, which was sharply sloped backward

415
00:22:26,262 --> 00:22:29,182
over a low, elongated braincase.

416
00:22:29,224 --> 00:22:31,810
(gentle music)

417
00:22:38,316 --> 00:22:40,777
And even more unusual was the proportion

418
00:22:40,819 --> 00:22:43,488
of the very large eye sockets for the skull,

419
00:22:43,530 --> 00:22:47,575
and must have held eyeballs
that seemed abnormally large.

420
00:22:47,617 --> 00:22:51,246
Altogether this was not the skull of a normal human.

421
00:22:51,287 --> 00:22:52,664
Suspicion began to grow

422
00:22:52,706 --> 00:22:55,166
that this was a different species entirely.

423
00:22:58,211 --> 00:23:01,840
The remains were not of an
anatomically modern human,

424
00:23:01,881 --> 00:23:04,718
but rather of an adult male, estimated to have lived

425
00:23:04,759 --> 00:23:07,595
approximately 40 to 60,000 years earlier.

426
00:23:10,849 --> 00:23:13,727
Antiquity was the watchword 100 years ago,

427
00:23:13,768 --> 00:23:16,396
as new discoveries revealed a distant past

428
00:23:16,438 --> 00:23:18,481
beyond what anyone had imagined.

429
00:23:21,609 --> 00:23:23,194
Books with the title abounded,

430
00:23:23,236 --> 00:23:25,030
including this one by Arthur Keith,

431
00:23:25,071 --> 00:23:28,366
a British anthropologist
who studied ancient humans

432
00:23:28,408 --> 00:23:30,577
by focusing on their anatomy.

433
00:23:33,079 --> 00:23:36,041
Or this one by British geologist Charles Lyell,

434
00:23:36,082 --> 00:23:40,920
who in the 1860s was the
first to focus on Neanderthals.

435
00:23:42,172 --> 00:23:45,425
In analyzing the anatomy of extinct hominins,

436
00:23:45,467 --> 00:23:48,303
Lyell and Keith went beyond Charles Darwin,

437
00:23:48,345 --> 00:23:51,222
whose classic book, "The Origin of Species,"

438
00:23:51,264 --> 00:23:54,309
had only guessed that we humans evolved

439
00:23:54,351 --> 00:23:56,102
from earlier hominins.

440
00:23:56,144 --> 00:23:59,105
Here now was actual evidence of Darwin's theory.

441
00:24:01,733 --> 00:24:03,526
When Neanderthals were found,

442
00:24:03,568 --> 00:24:06,071
it was instantly obvious
that this was a more powerful,

443
00:24:06,112 --> 00:24:08,531
more muscular kind of human with differences

444
00:24:08,573 --> 00:24:11,117
in the neck, the forehead, the jaw,

445
00:24:11,159 --> 00:24:13,787
the eyes, and the back of the skull.

446
00:24:13,828 --> 00:24:15,163
But this drawing from Keith's book

447
00:24:15,205 --> 00:24:17,707
was wrong regarding the actual size proportion

448
00:24:17,749 --> 00:24:19,959
between these two beings.

449
00:24:20,001 --> 00:24:22,087
At first glance, the skulls of Neanderthals

450
00:24:22,128 --> 00:24:25,382
and Homo sapiens seem similar in size.

451
00:24:25,423 --> 00:24:28,551
But look closer, and key differences emerge.

452
00:24:29,386 --> 00:24:32,597
The Neanderthal skull, robust and elongated,

453
00:24:32,639 --> 00:24:36,267
is nearly 16% larger in volume than our own.

454
00:24:37,143 --> 00:24:40,522
A modern human skull can almost fit inside it.

455
00:24:41,690 --> 00:24:43,983
The contrasts can be dramatic.

456
00:24:44,025 --> 00:24:47,237
Here is Keith's drawing of a Neanderthal skull

457
00:24:47,278 --> 00:24:49,280
next to a modern skull.

458
00:24:50,281 --> 00:24:52,325
He measured the back of the Neanderthal skull

459
00:24:52,367 --> 00:24:53,410
to the bridge of its nose

460
00:24:53,451 --> 00:24:56,871
and found it was roughly 200 millimeters in length.

461
00:24:58,873 --> 00:25:01,042
It would seem similar in size

462
00:25:01,084 --> 00:25:03,962
to the head of Homo sapiens, a modern human.

463
00:25:04,004 --> 00:25:07,507
But in fact, the modern skull would be smaller.

464
00:25:07,549 --> 00:25:11,052
It is is only 170 millimeters long,

465
00:25:11,094 --> 00:25:14,472
and the Neanderthal skull was also 15% taller

466
00:25:14,514 --> 00:25:16,349
than a modern skull.

467
00:25:16,391 --> 00:25:18,977
(gentle music)

468
00:25:21,396 --> 00:25:23,356
Superimposing one skull upon the other,

469
00:25:23,398 --> 00:25:26,026
it was surprising to find that Neanderthals' brains

470
00:25:26,067 --> 00:25:28,611
were actually larger than our own.

471
00:25:28,653 --> 00:25:31,656
But these differences weren't just cosmetic.

472
00:25:31,698 --> 00:25:34,034
Homo sapiens developed a more compact design

473
00:25:34,075 --> 00:25:35,952
for endurance and adaptability,

474
00:25:35,994 --> 00:25:38,288
and Neanderthals evolved for power.

475
00:25:39,664 --> 00:25:44,461
Their skulls housed heavier
jaw muscles and larger brains.

476
00:25:44,502 --> 00:25:46,379
What we don't know is how different

477
00:25:46,421 --> 00:25:48,673
these brains were from ours.

478
00:25:48,715 --> 00:25:50,633
Did they see the world as we do?

479
00:25:50,675 --> 00:25:52,302
Did they think like we do?

480
00:25:52,344 --> 00:25:53,762
Did they speak like we do?

481
00:25:54,888 --> 00:25:57,640
After the passing of tens of thousands of years,

482
00:25:57,682 --> 00:26:00,769
too little about Neanderthal life and ways is known.

483
00:26:01,936 --> 00:26:04,689
But the best information
we have about Neanderthals

484
00:26:04,731 --> 00:26:09,361
came from somewhere unexpected,
right inside their own DNA.

485
00:26:10,737 --> 00:26:13,323
(wind blowing)

486
00:26:31,132 --> 00:26:33,218
Our story goes from Africa

487
00:26:33,259 --> 00:26:35,637
to the vast expanses of Europe and Asia,

488
00:26:35,679 --> 00:26:37,639
where Neanderthals made their home.

489
00:26:38,890 --> 00:26:41,559
(gentle upbeat music)

490
00:26:41,601 --> 00:26:43,937
The earliest Europeans come from waves

491
00:26:43,978 --> 00:26:46,314
of ancient wanderers from Africa,

492
00:26:46,356 --> 00:26:49,401
where the first humans emerged and branched out.

493
00:26:50,568 --> 00:26:53,279
Homo erectus ventured across Eastern Asia.

494
00:26:54,739 --> 00:26:58,284
Later, Homo heidelbergensis
migrated north and west,

495
00:26:58,326 --> 00:27:01,287
and 400,000 years ago became Neanderthals

496
00:27:01,329 --> 00:27:05,333
adapted to the cold, harsh
landscapes of Ice Age Europe.

497
00:27:07,085 --> 00:27:09,838
And so, the Neanderthal
story begins with settlements

498
00:27:09,879 --> 00:27:12,674
of a new genetic strand of upright humans

499
00:27:12,716 --> 00:27:16,428
in the northwest of Europe 400,000 years ago.

500
00:27:17,971 --> 00:27:20,557
From areas of what is today Portugal,

501
00:27:20,598 --> 00:27:25,061
they went to the western
edge of Asia 130,000 years ago,

502
00:27:25,103 --> 00:27:26,771
and for an amazingly long time,

503
00:27:26,813 --> 00:27:30,859
the entire European continent
was their land and home.

504
00:27:30,900 --> 00:27:33,486
Meanwhile, our own species, Homo sapiens,

505
00:27:33,528 --> 00:27:36,281
born in Africa some 300,000 years ago,

506
00:27:36,322 --> 00:27:38,867
began a journey of astonishing ambition,

507
00:27:38,908 --> 00:27:41,870
one that would ultimately span the entire globe.

508
00:27:43,496 --> 00:27:46,207
They left Africa by heading north to Europe,

509
00:27:46,249 --> 00:27:49,085
around 45 to 50,000 years ago,

510
00:27:49,127 --> 00:27:50,879
where they encountered Neanderthals,

511
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,965
who had been living there for more than 300,000 years.

512
00:27:56,593 --> 00:27:58,678
And but a few thousand years later,

513
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,388
Neanderthals disappeared.

514
00:28:01,514 --> 00:28:03,308
That's how their story ends,

515
00:28:03,350 --> 00:28:05,018
but what must their first encounter

516
00:28:05,060 --> 00:28:07,062
with Homo sapiens have been like?

517
00:28:07,103 --> 00:28:09,272
Perhaps it was a sunny summer morning,

518
00:28:09,314 --> 00:28:12,108
or a blustery fall day, but at some point,

519
00:28:12,150 --> 00:28:14,194
a fateful gaze took place.

520
00:28:15,278 --> 00:28:17,113
It would have marked the first time

521
00:28:17,155 --> 00:28:20,116
that a Neanderthal and a Homo sapiens would,

522
00:28:20,158 --> 00:28:22,744
in astonishment, have gazed upon each other.

523
00:28:23,787 --> 00:28:25,997
When two species first encounter each other,

524
00:28:26,039 --> 00:28:28,249
at least one of them can feel threatened.

525
00:28:28,291 --> 00:28:31,252
This first moment must have resulted in a chase,

526
00:28:31,294 --> 00:28:34,214
and between the stronger, fearless Neanderthal

527
00:28:34,255 --> 00:28:36,383
and the weaker but faster Homo sapiens,

528
00:28:36,424 --> 00:28:39,386
we can be sure of who ran away from whom.

529
00:28:39,427 --> 00:28:41,596
But however that first meeting turned out,

530
00:28:41,638 --> 00:28:45,558
it proved that extinction begins with a look.

531
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,186
(gentle music)

532
00:28:49,688 --> 00:28:52,982
We don't know why Neanderthals died away so suddenly,

533
00:28:53,024 --> 00:28:55,026
but we know that before their demise,

534
00:28:55,068 --> 00:28:56,820
they mated with Homo sapiens,

535
00:28:56,861 --> 00:28:59,072
and seem to have formed mixed groups

536
00:28:59,114 --> 00:29:02,325
and families composed of hybrids of both species.

537
00:29:03,493 --> 00:29:06,579
(gentle music)

538
00:29:06,621 --> 00:29:09,624
In fact, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals mated

539
00:29:09,666 --> 00:29:11,626
and had children for many generations,

540
00:29:11,668 --> 00:29:14,087
primarily 47,000 years ago,

541
00:29:14,129 --> 00:29:18,550
and we know that because their DNA is inside ours.

542
00:29:18,591 --> 00:29:21,177
(gentle music)

543
00:29:22,220 --> 00:29:24,180
Our DNA is a complex structure

544
00:29:24,222 --> 00:29:27,225
containing detailed
information of our physiology,

545
00:29:27,267 --> 00:29:31,396
and even as elements evolve
and change through mutations,

546
00:29:31,438 --> 00:29:33,648
information can be preserved in our bones

547
00:29:33,690 --> 00:29:35,275
long after our death.

548
00:29:37,152 --> 00:29:40,697
Our DNA also preserves
information from our ancestors.

549
00:29:40,739 --> 00:29:42,782
And so, even though Neanderthals disappeared

550
00:29:42,824 --> 00:29:46,119
40,000 years ago, they are still among us.

551
00:29:47,412 --> 00:29:50,415
The planet today has 8 billion inhabitants,

552
00:29:50,457 --> 00:29:54,210
almost all of whom have DNA
from Neanderthal precursors.

553
00:29:55,045 --> 00:29:57,339
Astonishingly, this is more people

554
00:29:57,380 --> 00:29:59,090
than the total number of Neanderthals

555
00:29:59,132 --> 00:30:02,469
in their 360,000 year history.

556
00:30:02,510 --> 00:30:05,263
Neanderthal life centered on small communities

557
00:30:05,305 --> 00:30:07,557
or enclaves that lived nomadically.

558
00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:11,019
They built no cities, roadways,
or large scale systems,

559
00:30:11,061 --> 00:30:13,229
but instead kept moving and adapting

560
00:30:13,271 --> 00:30:14,898
to many kinds of environments

561
00:30:14,939 --> 00:30:17,442
across the continents of Europe and Asia.

562
00:30:19,986 --> 00:30:22,530
Today our living conditions have changed.

563
00:30:22,572 --> 00:30:25,742
We rely on modern societies to control disease,

564
00:30:25,784 --> 00:30:28,661
environmental extremes, and limit our risk

565
00:30:28,703 --> 00:30:31,623
in finding food and sustenance.

566
00:30:31,664 --> 00:30:33,375
But we still carry genetic traits

567
00:30:33,416 --> 00:30:34,959
from a different world,

568
00:30:35,001 --> 00:30:36,878
and we have recently learned much more

569
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,464
about this link to our past.

570
00:30:39,506 --> 00:30:42,092
(gentle music)

571
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,137
In 2010, the Neanderthal genome project

572
00:30:46,179 --> 00:30:49,057
at the Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Anthropology

573
00:30:49,099 --> 00:30:51,476
in Germany successfully sequenced

574
00:30:51,518 --> 00:30:53,853
all three billion bases that make up

575
00:30:53,895 --> 00:30:56,231
the complete genome of a Neanderthals,

576
00:30:56,272 --> 00:30:57,732
making it possible to understand

577
00:30:57,774 --> 00:31:00,902
much more about Neanderthal
biology and physiology,

578
00:31:00,944 --> 00:31:03,321
and the similarities with modern humans.

579
00:31:07,075 --> 00:31:09,369
The research revealed that Neanderthals

580
00:31:09,411 --> 00:31:11,746
and modern humans had a common ancestor

581
00:31:11,788 --> 00:31:14,290
who lived around 600,000 years ago.

582
00:31:16,459 --> 00:31:18,795
Non-African humans today inherited

583
00:31:18,837 --> 00:31:21,631
1-2% of their DNA from Neanderthals,

584
00:31:21,673 --> 00:31:25,051
including genes for several
health related conditions.

585
00:31:27,804 --> 00:31:30,557
For this pioneering physiological research,

586
00:31:30,598 --> 00:31:33,852
Dr. Svante Paabo, the
project's principal investigator,

587
00:31:33,893 --> 00:31:37,105
was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2022.

588
00:31:37,147 --> 00:31:39,733
(gentle music)

589
00:31:41,901 --> 00:31:46,906
Neanderthal DNA is 99.7%
identical to modern human DNA.

590
00:31:47,866 --> 00:31:49,868
There are only a few small physical

591
00:31:49,909 --> 00:31:52,620
and cognitive distinctions between us and them.

592
00:31:52,662 --> 00:31:56,791
Looking at how Neanderthal
genetics differ from our own,

593
00:31:56,833 --> 00:31:58,585
we find several genes in human DNA

594
00:31:58,626 --> 00:32:00,378
that tell an intriguing story.

595
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,591
Genetics research found
that certain Neanderthal genes

596
00:32:04,632 --> 00:32:06,760
persist in modern humans today

597
00:32:06,801 --> 00:32:08,887
and influence our immune responses,

598
00:32:08,928 --> 00:32:12,182
skin, hair, and metabolic traits.

599
00:32:13,183 --> 00:32:14,893
Some Neanderthal-derived genes

600
00:32:14,934 --> 00:32:18,104
are linked to health issues
such as autoimmune diseases,

601
00:32:18,146 --> 00:32:20,982
type 2 diabetes, and even nicotine addiction.

602
00:32:22,150 --> 00:32:24,319
It appears diabetes could be an adaptation

603
00:32:24,361 --> 00:32:26,321
to survive starvation.

604
00:32:26,363 --> 00:32:28,406
But how does genetic information

605
00:32:28,448 --> 00:32:30,784
become preserved and shared?

606
00:32:33,328 --> 00:32:35,413
This is a strand of DNA coiled

607
00:32:35,455 --> 00:32:38,708
into a tight spiral called a chromosome.

608
00:32:38,750 --> 00:32:40,335
It acts like an instruction manual

609
00:32:40,377 --> 00:32:42,087
for making proteins and controlling

610
00:32:42,128 --> 00:32:45,340
how our bodies grow, heal, and function.

611
00:32:45,382 --> 00:32:47,425
The X chromosome carries information

612
00:32:47,467 --> 00:32:49,678
about how we develop and reproduce.

613
00:32:50,679 --> 00:32:53,264
(gentle music)

614
00:32:54,182 --> 00:32:57,102
Humans inherit 23 chromosomes from each parent,

615
00:32:57,143 --> 00:33:00,480
for a total of 46 chromosomes, or 23 pairs.

616
00:33:01,481 --> 00:33:05,110
Only 1 of the 23 pairs is a sex chromosome.

617
00:33:05,151 --> 00:33:06,820
Every person gets one chromosome

618
00:33:06,861 --> 00:33:10,407
from their mother and one
from their father in each pair.

619
00:33:11,700 --> 00:33:15,286
This is why we inherit traits from both parents.

620
00:33:16,788 --> 00:33:19,749
DNA in chromosomes is inside every cell,

621
00:33:19,791 --> 00:33:22,585
and growth happens when cells divide.

622
00:33:22,627 --> 00:33:26,464
But cell division is slightly different each time.

623
00:33:26,506 --> 00:33:28,091
DNA of the father and the mother

624
00:33:28,133 --> 00:33:30,552
are selectively joined into a new strand

625
00:33:30,593 --> 00:33:33,513
that inherits only some features from each parent,

626
00:33:33,555 --> 00:33:35,932
rather than all features from both.

627
00:33:38,518 --> 00:33:40,395
The 23 chromosomes of human DNA

628
00:33:40,437 --> 00:33:43,815
live as loose strings within each cell.

629
00:33:43,857 --> 00:33:46,943
But when the time comes for the cell to divide,

630
00:33:46,985 --> 00:33:50,155
the 23 chromosomes begin to arrange themselves

631
00:33:50,196 --> 00:33:51,656
along the middle of the cell.

632
00:33:54,659 --> 00:33:56,745
At a certain moment, the chromosomes are arranged

633
00:33:56,786 --> 00:33:59,164
such that when the cell divides in two,

634
00:33:59,205 --> 00:34:02,542
each newly formed cell retains a complete copy

635
00:34:02,584 --> 00:34:04,627
of all 23 chromosomes.

636
00:34:04,669 --> 00:34:07,255
(gentle music)

637
00:34:11,509 --> 00:34:14,804
As the cell divides, the DNA strands break apart,

638
00:34:14,846 --> 00:34:16,598
never to meet again.

639
00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:19,392
And now both cells have
the same genetic information

640
00:34:19,434 --> 00:34:22,103
to multiply and to continue life.

641
00:34:24,105 --> 00:34:27,859
Of course, this is how
Neanderthals reproduced as well.

642
00:34:27,901 --> 00:34:31,071
But for this cellular reproduction to take place,

643
00:34:31,112 --> 00:34:33,490
every position of every chromosome

644
00:34:33,531 --> 00:34:35,575
must be copied with exact accuracy.

645
00:34:36,743 --> 00:34:40,413
In the human genome, 6.4 billion base pairs

646
00:34:40,455 --> 00:34:44,376
will be copied to every cell each time a cell divides.

647
00:34:44,459 --> 00:34:46,628
So, over time, changes are introduced

648
00:34:46,670 --> 00:34:50,006
into the DNA sequence, which
then multiplies with them.

649
00:34:51,049 --> 00:34:52,884
These changes, called mutations,

650
00:34:52,926 --> 00:34:55,178
often affect our similarity to

651
00:34:55,220 --> 00:34:58,515
and difference from our closest genetic relatives.

652
00:35:00,141 --> 00:35:02,310
Some mutations that help the organism survive

653
00:35:02,352 --> 00:35:06,147
in its environment are passed
down to future generations,

654
00:35:06,189 --> 00:35:09,401
but many can work against survival for the host

655
00:35:09,442 --> 00:35:12,946
and are eliminated when
the species becomes extinct.

656
00:35:14,739 --> 00:35:16,449
Much of what we know about Neanderthals

657
00:35:16,491 --> 00:35:18,743
comes from DNA extracted from their bones

658
00:35:18,785 --> 00:35:20,286
that were found in caves,

659
00:35:20,328 --> 00:35:23,248
where their last moments of life were spent.

660
00:35:26,292 --> 00:35:29,421
And although we don't know
what Neanderthals looked like,

661
00:35:29,462 --> 00:35:31,131
we don't even know their skin color,

662
00:35:31,172 --> 00:35:33,341
we can look into their DNA for hints

663
00:35:33,383 --> 00:35:36,678
about how different they were from us.

664
00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,264
(gentle music)

665
00:35:40,181 --> 00:35:41,474
Neanderthals evolved

666
00:35:41,516 --> 00:35:44,352
from the same direct ancestor as we did,

667
00:35:44,394 --> 00:35:48,565
and so, in most respects, they were similar to us.

668
00:35:50,275 --> 00:35:52,402
But there were also major differences,

669
00:35:52,444 --> 00:35:54,529
and these seem to have helped them survive

670
00:35:54,571 --> 00:35:57,657
in the harshest of climates with little food.

671
00:35:59,242 --> 00:36:01,453
Recent discoveries of genetic mutations

672
00:36:01,494 --> 00:36:04,330
in Neanderthal DNA show curious differences

673
00:36:04,372 --> 00:36:06,833
from the DNA of us modern humans.

674
00:36:07,792 --> 00:36:10,253
Let's look a four of these differences.

675
00:36:11,338 --> 00:36:14,591
(gentle upbeat music)

676
00:36:14,632 --> 00:36:16,176
One such difference between us

677
00:36:16,217 --> 00:36:18,136
and Neanderthals was found in a gene

678
00:36:18,178 --> 00:36:19,971
that influences language use.

679
00:36:20,889 --> 00:36:23,391
Technically called FOXP2,

680
00:36:23,433 --> 00:36:25,185
this gene has a complex template,

681
00:36:25,226 --> 00:36:27,479
and is known as the speech gene.

682
00:36:28,438 --> 00:36:30,899
How did it alter Neanderthal behavior?

683
00:36:33,485 --> 00:36:35,195
Using an online tool that predicts

684
00:36:35,236 --> 00:36:38,114
the 3D structure of proteins from gene sequences.

685
00:36:38,156 --> 00:36:41,076
We can now see the shape of the FOXP2 gene.

686
00:36:42,786 --> 00:36:45,997
Recent research found that in Neanderthals,

687
00:36:46,039 --> 00:36:48,917
this gene might have been expressed differently.

688
00:36:50,418 --> 00:36:53,963
FOXP2 could be indirectly
connected to writing skills,

689
00:36:54,005 --> 00:36:56,841
which it appears Neanderthals did not have,

690
00:36:56,883 --> 00:36:58,510
and reduced speech.

691
00:37:01,137 --> 00:37:03,264
It is likely that their language behavior

692
00:37:03,306 --> 00:37:05,684
might have been different than ours,

693
00:37:05,725 --> 00:37:07,811
since this gene affects vocal communication

694
00:37:07,852 --> 00:37:09,020
and motor control.

695
00:37:09,938 --> 00:37:12,816
We have not found any writings made by Neanderthals,

696
00:37:12,857 --> 00:37:15,026
although objects, including cave walls,

697
00:37:15,068 --> 00:37:16,653
have markings and designs

698
00:37:16,695 --> 00:37:19,239
that no earlier ancestor of humans made.

699
00:37:21,199 --> 00:37:22,867
But how far the Neanderthal ability

700
00:37:22,909 --> 00:37:25,578
to think abstractly and express ideas went,

701
00:37:25,620 --> 00:37:28,373
beyond mere sounds, we just don't know.

702
00:37:29,290 --> 00:37:32,460
(gentle upbeat music)

703
00:37:35,422 --> 00:37:37,215
Another gene called OXTR

704
00:37:37,257 --> 00:37:39,968
plays a significant role affecting empathy,

705
00:37:40,010 --> 00:37:42,762
trust, and social bonding.

706
00:37:43,888 --> 00:37:47,600
But it is also linked to a
series of psychiatric conditions.

707
00:37:48,768 --> 00:37:51,730
Studies between modern human and Neanderthal DNA

708
00:37:51,771 --> 00:37:53,773
found variations in the OXTR gene

709
00:37:53,815 --> 00:37:56,234
that may indicate different behavior patterns

710
00:37:56,276 --> 00:37:58,236
between us and them.

711
00:37:58,278 --> 00:38:00,864
(gentle music)

712
00:38:06,077 --> 00:38:08,079
Oxytocin is produced by the hypothalamus,

713
00:38:08,121 --> 00:38:10,915
the brain's control center for important behaviors

714
00:38:10,957 --> 00:38:13,835
such as eating, sleeping, reproduction,

715
00:38:13,877 --> 00:38:16,588
stress responses, and emotional reactions.

716
00:38:19,549 --> 00:38:21,801
It coordinates activity between the nervous

717
00:38:21,843 --> 00:38:24,471
and endocrine systems, ensuring survival

718
00:38:24,512 --> 00:38:27,140
and proper physiological functioning.

719
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:31,102
The hypothalamus contains a high density

720
00:38:31,144 --> 00:38:35,273
of these important OXTR oxytocin receptors.

721
00:38:35,315 --> 00:38:38,943
Well balanced, socially adaptive
behavior depends on them.

722
00:38:39,819 --> 00:38:42,822
Oxytocin is so important that many studies show

723
00:38:42,864 --> 00:38:44,949
that when it is out of balance in the body,

724
00:38:44,991 --> 00:38:47,369
many psychiatric problems occur.

725
00:38:48,286 --> 00:38:50,205
These studies involve hundreds of subjects

726
00:38:50,246 --> 00:38:52,624
with Asian and also European lineage,

727
00:38:52,665 --> 00:38:56,086
both male and female, and across many age groups.

728
00:38:59,214 --> 00:39:01,341
The most consistent research findings indicate

729
00:39:01,383 --> 00:39:05,303
a connection between oxytocin
and empathy or depression.

730
00:39:07,013 --> 00:39:09,265
And again, this was most often found

731
00:39:09,307 --> 00:39:11,434
in Caucasians and other non-Africans,

732
00:39:11,476 --> 00:39:15,313
which is to say persons with Neanderthal lineage.

733
00:39:15,355 --> 00:39:19,734
Perhaps they carry the Neanderthal
version of the OXTR gene.

734
00:39:20,819 --> 00:39:22,362
Does oxytocin help create

735
00:39:22,404 --> 00:39:25,198
a kind of Neanderthal personality in people

736
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:27,158
with European genetic lineage?

737
00:39:28,368 --> 00:39:30,495
It has helped shape how Neanderthals

738
00:39:30,537 --> 00:39:33,081
and modern humans formed relationships.

739
00:39:33,998 --> 00:39:37,127
Three sites in the OXTR gene show similar evolution

740
00:39:37,168 --> 00:39:39,004
in modern humans and bonobos,

741
00:39:39,045 --> 00:39:41,715
an ape species known for high levels

742
00:39:41,756 --> 00:39:44,592
of social tolerance and empathy.

743
00:39:44,634 --> 00:39:46,845
But this human-specific variation

744
00:39:46,886 --> 00:39:49,305
is missing in Neanderthal DNA,

745
00:39:49,347 --> 00:39:52,392
pointing to differences in their social behavior.

746
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:55,770
Neanderthals likely preferred small,

747
00:39:55,812 --> 00:39:57,981
tight-knit units focused on the group itself

748
00:39:58,023 --> 00:40:00,525
rather than on individuals.

749
00:40:00,567 --> 00:40:02,527
While modern humans used cooperation

750
00:40:02,569 --> 00:40:05,780
to manage stress and resolve conflicts,

751
00:40:05,822 --> 00:40:08,450
Neanderthals would feel
greater reactions to threats,

752
00:40:08,491 --> 00:40:11,619
sometimes preferring conflict over compromise.

753
00:40:13,621 --> 00:40:15,790
This genetic difference is probably responsible

754
00:40:15,832 --> 00:40:18,793
for the way that Neanderthals
related to one another,

755
00:40:18,835 --> 00:40:20,712
and conflict, as much as cooperation,

756
00:40:20,754 --> 00:40:25,508
may have been seen as an
adequate way to solve problems.

757
00:40:27,135 --> 00:40:30,221
But of course, we will never know for sure.

758
00:40:30,263 --> 00:40:31,723
With this genetic variation,

759
00:40:31,765 --> 00:40:34,059
it seems even more unbelievable that Neanderthals

760
00:40:34,100 --> 00:40:36,686
and humans were ever able to get along.

761
00:40:39,272 --> 00:40:41,399
We now know they had generations

762
00:40:41,441 --> 00:40:42,942
of hybrid children together,

763
00:40:42,984 --> 00:40:44,986
part human and part Neanderthal.

764
00:40:46,196 --> 00:40:50,200
But what this family dynamic
looked like, we can only guess.

765
00:40:51,368 --> 00:40:53,953
(gentle music)

766
00:41:07,926 --> 00:41:10,512
(wind blowing)

767
00:41:23,149 --> 00:41:26,820
It's dark, the surroundings are unknown.

768
00:41:26,861 --> 00:41:29,572
You are out on a night hunt.

769
00:41:30,657 --> 00:41:33,702
As a modern day human, relying on natural moonlight,

770
00:41:33,743 --> 00:41:34,869
this is what you see.

771
00:41:36,121 --> 00:41:39,582
Colors are mostly reduced to a single shade of blue.

772
00:41:39,624 --> 00:41:42,002
This is how human eyes work in the dark.

773
00:41:44,337 --> 00:41:46,214
In this light, and with our vision,

774
00:41:46,256 --> 00:41:48,675
things can hide out there.

775
00:41:48,717 --> 00:41:51,052
Humans can survive in this environment,

776
00:41:51,094 --> 00:41:52,429
but they cannot thrive.

777
00:41:53,888 --> 00:41:56,266
We invented lights, roadways and tools

778
00:41:56,307 --> 00:41:59,811
to adapt the environment to our limitations.

779
00:41:59,853 --> 00:42:00,687
We had to.

780
00:42:04,190 --> 00:42:06,484
Many nocturnal creatures can see better in the dark

781
00:42:06,526 --> 00:42:08,653
than we can, but their eyes are too sensitive

782
00:42:08,695 --> 00:42:11,031
to work well during sunlight hours.

783
00:42:14,242 --> 00:42:16,119
But a Neanderthal's eyes are bigger,

784
00:42:16,161 --> 00:42:18,913
and he has a genetic advantage.

785
00:42:18,955 --> 00:42:21,833
(upbeat music)

786
00:42:21,875 --> 00:42:24,294
He can see more in less light.

787
00:42:24,336 --> 00:42:25,795
He doesn't change the environment

788
00:42:25,837 --> 00:42:28,465
because of his inabilities, because frankly,

789
00:42:28,506 --> 00:42:29,466
he doesn't have to.

790
00:42:30,967 --> 00:42:32,677
After hundreds of thousands of years,

791
00:42:32,719 --> 00:42:36,431
Neanderthal eyes can see
better at night than we ever will.

792
00:42:36,473 --> 00:42:37,307
But how?

793
00:42:40,310 --> 00:42:42,520
Neanderthals had larger eyes than we did,

794
00:42:42,562 --> 00:42:44,856
which would allow more light to enter.

795
00:42:45,940 --> 00:42:48,318
Larger eyes mean better low-light vision

796
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,196
for cold winters and longer nights.

797
00:42:53,114 --> 00:42:55,158
But they also carried a genetic variation

798
00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:56,868
related to color vision,

799
00:42:56,910 --> 00:42:59,829
especially with dark light that appears blue.

800
00:43:01,581 --> 00:43:03,833
The back of the eye has many tiny cells

801
00:43:03,875 --> 00:43:05,418
called photoreceptors.

802
00:43:05,460 --> 00:43:07,420
They capture and magnify light signals

803
00:43:07,462 --> 00:43:10,090
all through the retina, in the rear of the eyeball.

804
00:43:12,175 --> 00:43:15,512
Neanderthal eyes saw less color than our eyes do,

805
00:43:15,553 --> 00:43:17,555
but they magnified blue light,

806
00:43:17,597 --> 00:43:19,849
and could thus see better in low light conditions

807
00:43:19,891 --> 00:43:22,519
without losing daylight vision.

808
00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,897
(upbeat music)

809
00:43:25,939 --> 00:43:28,441
In the shadows where we saw darkness,

810
00:43:28,483 --> 00:43:32,570
Neanderthals saw detail, nature's own night vision,

811
00:43:32,612 --> 00:43:34,989
a valuable advantage for a species

812
00:43:35,031 --> 00:43:38,159
that survived for more than 300,000 years.

813
00:43:43,915 --> 00:43:46,418
(tense music)

814
00:43:48,211 --> 00:43:50,880
And finally, the fourth major genetic variation

815
00:43:50,922 --> 00:43:55,927
between us and Neanderthals,
our closest genetic cousins.

816
00:43:59,556 --> 00:44:02,225
In the human body, sensations are felt

817
00:44:02,267 --> 00:44:04,227
through electrochemical signals

818
00:44:04,269 --> 00:44:08,273
carried inside elongated cells called neurons.

819
00:44:08,314 --> 00:44:10,817
(tense music)

820
00:44:12,652 --> 00:44:15,947
Neurons connect to other cells at synapses,

821
00:44:15,989 --> 00:44:19,826
gaps between two cells
where signals are transmitted.

822
00:44:22,787 --> 00:44:25,123
And as the body sends a signal,

823
00:44:25,165 --> 00:44:27,375
it must pass through the neuron's membrane

824
00:44:27,417 --> 00:44:30,045
by means of ions, groups of atoms

825
00:44:30,086 --> 00:44:31,796
that have an electric charge.

826
00:44:33,798 --> 00:44:36,801
The cell has gatekeepers called ion channels

827
00:44:36,843 --> 00:44:40,597
that open to allow certain molecules to enter.

828
00:44:41,556 --> 00:44:43,933
Ions that enter can have different functions,

829
00:44:43,975 --> 00:44:47,687
including triggering
sensations of pleasure or pain.

830
00:44:49,189 --> 00:44:53,026
How much a cell's ion channels open or close

831
00:44:53,068 --> 00:44:56,654
depends on genetic instructions from our DNA.

832
00:44:56,696 --> 00:45:00,075
When ion channels allow few ions into the cell,

833
00:45:00,116 --> 00:45:02,786
the body feels less sensation.

834
00:45:04,371 --> 00:45:06,039
And when the ion channels

835
00:45:06,081 --> 00:45:08,541
allow many more ions into the cell,

836
00:45:08,583 --> 00:45:12,128
the body receives more sensation signals.

837
00:45:12,170 --> 00:45:15,340
(gentle upbeat music)

838
00:45:16,675 --> 00:45:18,343
One of the key ion channels for nerves

839
00:45:18,385 --> 00:45:20,178
in the human body is called NaV 1.7,

840
00:45:21,805 --> 00:45:25,475
and it regulates the intensity
of sensitivity in neurons,

841
00:45:25,517 --> 00:45:28,770
particularly in relation to the sensation of pain.

842
00:45:32,607 --> 00:45:35,485
This protein sits at the tip of our nerve endings

843
00:45:35,527 --> 00:45:38,863
and initiates a sense of pain when we hurt ourselves.

844
00:45:41,324 --> 00:45:42,909
In fact, there is a class of drugs

845
00:45:42,951 --> 00:45:47,747
called Nav1.7 inhibitors for
the treatment of chronic pain.

846
00:45:47,789 --> 00:45:49,749
They work by reducing the signals

847
00:45:49,791 --> 00:45:52,877
that pass through this ion channel in cells.

848
00:45:55,588 --> 00:45:58,133
Hugo Zeberg, a Swedish physician,

849
00:45:58,174 --> 00:46:01,469
studied ion channels in Neanderthal DNA

850
00:46:01,511 --> 00:46:05,306
and found three genetic
variants unique to Neanderthals.

851
00:46:07,100 --> 00:46:10,687
These were in nerve endings
and signaled pain sensation

852
00:46:10,729 --> 00:46:13,314
based on how long the channels remained open.

853
00:46:14,441 --> 00:46:16,317
Zeberg compared how signals

854
00:46:16,359 --> 00:46:18,945
flowed through ion channels in modern humans

855
00:46:18,987 --> 00:46:20,989
versus how they behave in cells

856
00:46:21,031 --> 00:46:24,159
that have Neanderthal
DNA and its genetic variation.

857
00:46:27,120 --> 00:46:30,373
A brief electrical stimulus was applied to cells

858
00:46:30,415 --> 00:46:33,668
with human DNA to test how many sodium channels

859
00:46:33,710 --> 00:46:36,671
remained open, allowing signals to pass.

860
00:46:36,713 --> 00:46:39,174
This is a measure of nerve sensitivity.

861
00:46:40,550 --> 00:46:42,927
Zeberg's team then carried out the same test

862
00:46:42,969 --> 00:46:43,928
on a version of a cell

863
00:46:43,970 --> 00:46:47,307
carrying the Neanderthals' gene variations.

864
00:46:50,060 --> 00:46:53,229
The Neanderthal variants,
shown in the red response lines,

865
00:46:53,271 --> 00:46:55,482
allowed more ions into the cell,

866
00:46:55,523 --> 00:46:57,734
which means that the same stimulus

867
00:46:57,776 --> 00:47:01,363
would register more pain and for a longer time

868
00:47:01,404 --> 00:47:03,990
in the Neanderthal body than modern humans

869
00:47:04,032 --> 00:47:05,241
would normally feel.

870
00:47:06,326 --> 00:47:09,496
To determine the effect of
this mutation in modern humans,

871
00:47:09,537 --> 00:47:11,247
the team looked at the genetic data

872
00:47:11,289 --> 00:47:13,833
of people who volunteered medical information

873
00:47:13,875 --> 00:47:16,795
to the UK Biobank, a massive database

874
00:47:16,836 --> 00:47:18,505
which contains health statistics

875
00:47:18,546 --> 00:47:21,508
for 500,000 British residents.

876
00:47:23,843 --> 00:47:25,804
This genetic Neanderthal pain variant

877
00:47:25,845 --> 00:47:29,349
was found in a little less than 1% of this population,

878
00:47:29,391 --> 00:47:30,934
which had filled out a questionnaire

879
00:47:30,975 --> 00:47:33,645
that asked about many kinds of experience

880
00:47:33,687 --> 00:47:36,898
and sensation with pain in many parts of the body.

881
00:47:37,982 --> 00:47:41,152
(gentle upbeat music)

882
00:47:44,155 --> 00:47:46,199
The answers provided by each person

883
00:47:46,241 --> 00:47:48,535
were then ranked on an intensity scale

884
00:47:48,576 --> 00:47:53,373
from less likely to report
pain, to more like to report it.

885
00:47:57,502 --> 00:47:59,796
This scale included responses from persons

886
00:47:59,879 --> 00:48:02,173
who had the Neanderthal genetic variation

887
00:48:02,215 --> 00:48:04,801
for pain sensitivity as well as other persons

888
00:48:04,843 --> 00:48:07,512
who did not have the Neanderthal mutation.

889
00:48:10,390 --> 00:48:14,936
The 1,327 men and women who had inherited

890
00:48:14,978 --> 00:48:17,272
the Neanderthal mutations had reported

891
00:48:17,313 --> 00:48:19,691
significantly more pain than individuals

892
00:48:19,733 --> 00:48:22,652
without the Neanderthal mutations.

893
00:48:22,694 --> 00:48:25,864
(gentle upbeat music)

894
00:48:26,906 --> 00:48:27,907
It was evident that

895
00:48:27,949 --> 00:48:30,201
even after hundreds of thousands of years,

896
00:48:30,243 --> 00:48:31,870
Neanderthal pain sensitivity

897
00:48:31,911 --> 00:48:34,456
had been passed down to modern humans,

898
00:48:34,497 --> 00:48:36,583
and the study found that carriers

899
00:48:36,624 --> 00:48:38,543
of the Neanderthal genetic variant

900
00:48:38,585 --> 00:48:40,712
experience the same level of pain

901
00:48:40,754 --> 00:48:44,549
to that of someone eight
years older than themselves.

902
00:48:45,425 --> 00:48:49,095
(gentle upbeat music)

903
00:48:49,137 --> 00:48:51,222
This contradicts popular ideas

904
00:48:51,264 --> 00:48:54,726
of Neanderthals as an insensitive species.

905
00:48:54,768 --> 00:48:56,686
If they felt more pain than we might,

906
00:48:56,728 --> 00:48:59,439
one can only wonder what life must have been for them,

907
00:48:59,481 --> 00:49:03,401
living as they did through not one but four ice ages,

908
00:49:03,443 --> 00:49:05,487
where the global temperature fluctuated

909
00:49:05,528 --> 00:49:07,822
more than twelve degrees each time.

910
00:49:09,491 --> 00:49:11,409
But what possible advantage could come

911
00:49:11,451 --> 00:49:14,037
with heightened sensitivity to pain?

912
00:49:15,580 --> 00:49:17,874
A heightened pain response might have allowed

913
00:49:17,916 --> 00:49:22,003
Neanderthals to recognize
injuries or illnesses quickly,

914
00:49:22,045 --> 00:49:24,714
and help them avoid worsening injuries

915
00:49:24,756 --> 00:49:27,217
by resting or seeking protection sooner,

916
00:49:27,258 --> 00:49:29,636
increasing their chances of survival.

917
00:49:33,473 --> 00:49:36,017
This could encourage more cautious behavior,

918
00:49:36,059 --> 00:49:38,395
reducing the risk of severe injuries

919
00:49:38,436 --> 00:49:39,938
from hunting large animals,

920
00:49:39,979 --> 00:49:43,525
using tools, or navigating dangerous landscapes.

921
00:49:46,319 --> 00:49:49,364
Acute pain might serve as a clear signal

922
00:49:49,406 --> 00:49:51,616
to others of physical vulnerability,

923
00:49:51,658 --> 00:49:54,160
reducing expectations for injured individuals

924
00:49:54,202 --> 00:49:56,204
to contribute to tasks like hunting

925
00:49:56,246 --> 00:49:58,498
or gathering until they have recovered.

926
00:50:01,292 --> 00:50:03,044
This would help group survival

927
00:50:03,086 --> 00:50:07,882
by shifting responsibilities
and allowing better recovery.

928
00:50:07,924 --> 00:50:09,426
While greater pain sensitivity

929
00:50:09,467 --> 00:50:13,054
might seem like a disadvantage, for Neanderthals,

930
00:50:13,096 --> 00:50:15,557
it could have been a critical survival mechanism,

931
00:50:15,598 --> 00:50:18,810
promoting caution, fostering social bonds,

932
00:50:18,852 --> 00:50:23,106
and ensuring swift responses
to injury or other hazards.

933
00:50:24,024 --> 00:50:26,776
But this, despite what science has told us about them,

934
00:50:26,818 --> 00:50:30,905
and ourselves, is something we can only guess.

935
00:50:30,947 --> 00:50:34,117
(gentle upbeat music)

936
00:50:40,707 --> 00:50:44,252
At last we come to the final
question of our investigation:

937
00:50:45,378 --> 00:50:48,131
did Neanderthals make art and music?

938
00:50:49,966 --> 00:50:52,302
Did they practice crafts?

939
00:50:52,344 --> 00:50:54,262
Did they believe in an afterlife?

940
00:50:56,097 --> 00:50:57,974
Everywhere Neanderthals lived,

941
00:50:58,016 --> 00:51:01,770
something creative was left behind, but was it art?

942
00:51:04,189 --> 00:51:06,816
Perhaps we shouldn't ask whether they made art,

943
00:51:06,858 --> 00:51:08,777
but rather what we expect art

944
00:51:08,818 --> 00:51:10,904
to look like in the first place.

945
00:51:10,945 --> 00:51:13,823
Their ideas might have differed from ours.

946
00:51:16,284 --> 00:51:17,660
What is visual art?

947
00:51:19,162 --> 00:51:22,957
Traditionally, art has been
determined by figurative rules,

948
00:51:22,999 --> 00:51:27,003
which say that anything drawn, painted or sculpted

949
00:51:27,045 --> 00:51:28,588
must resemble something that

950
00:51:28,630 --> 00:51:31,716
we are already familiar with and should recognize.

951
00:51:32,967 --> 00:51:36,137
(gentle upbeat music)

952
00:51:38,264 --> 00:51:40,558
Since much of what has been put on cave walls

953
00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:43,937
and other objects by
Neanderthals is not figurative,

954
00:51:43,978 --> 00:51:46,606
some have argued that these marks are not art,

955
00:51:46,648 --> 00:51:48,650
because they are not figurative.

956
00:51:48,692 --> 00:51:51,945
They do not depict anything
we recognize as familiar,

957
00:51:51,986 --> 00:51:54,948
as we are used to seeing in our world.

958
00:51:57,409 --> 00:52:01,246
For a long time, for many
centuries and all over the globe,

959
00:52:01,287 --> 00:52:03,748
art was defined by images of stylized

960
00:52:03,790 --> 00:52:05,667
but recognizable figures.

961
00:52:06,918 --> 00:52:11,256
Until, that is, abstract art
came along in the 20th century.

962
00:52:12,799 --> 00:52:14,217
Then everything changed.

963
00:52:17,303 --> 00:52:18,847
Of course, in modern times,

964
00:52:18,888 --> 00:52:20,974
artists have gone beyond figurative art

965
00:52:21,016 --> 00:52:23,560
in favor of expression that is completely abstract,

966
00:52:23,601 --> 00:52:26,104
bearing no resemblance to the familiar world.

967
00:52:27,063 --> 00:52:29,524
The fact that marks, lines, dots,

968
00:52:29,566 --> 00:52:32,027
and patterns are part of abstract art today

969
00:52:32,068 --> 00:52:35,113
does not mean that artists have stopped making art.

970
00:52:35,155 --> 00:52:36,698
Instead, they are showing us

971
00:52:36,740 --> 00:52:39,784
that an expanded view of art is possible,

972
00:52:39,826 --> 00:52:43,329
and that figurative creations
are not the only kind of art.

973
00:52:46,291 --> 00:52:48,001
With abstraction, the question

974
00:52:48,043 --> 00:52:51,046
of what a modern work of art means loses value.

975
00:52:51,087 --> 00:52:52,839
It makes no sense.

976
00:52:52,881 --> 00:52:55,467
(upbeat music)

977
00:52:56,718 --> 00:52:59,679
Without an answer about
what something is depicting,

978
00:52:59,721 --> 00:53:01,806
we are left only with the fact that the artist

979
00:53:01,848 --> 00:53:03,725
intended to make something,

980
00:53:03,767 --> 00:53:06,311
and the existence of the work is what matters.

981
00:53:08,271 --> 00:53:10,690
It is separated from the world.

982
00:53:10,732 --> 00:53:12,442
It has no context.

983
00:53:12,484 --> 00:53:14,277
And while it is obvious that Neanderthals

984
00:53:14,319 --> 00:53:16,529
intended to show something,

985
00:53:16,571 --> 00:53:19,532
figurative pictures were not interesting to them.

986
00:53:21,868 --> 00:53:26,247
So, Neanderthal art was
abstract, but unlike modern art,

987
00:53:26,289 --> 00:53:28,291
but it is not separated from its world.

988
00:53:28,333 --> 00:53:30,293
It has a context.

989
00:53:30,335 --> 00:53:33,838
It meant something to them, which is not for us to know.

990
00:53:41,763 --> 00:53:43,932
Actually, understanding the context

991
00:53:43,973 --> 00:53:46,393
of Neanderthal art requires a vision

992
00:53:46,434 --> 00:53:48,895
of at least some of the places where it happened.

993
00:53:50,105 --> 00:53:53,233
This is Google Earth taking us into one such site,

994
00:53:53,274 --> 00:53:57,487
known as La Cueva del Castillo, in the north of Spain,

995
00:53:57,529 --> 00:54:00,990
a region where numerous
ancient caves have been found.

996
00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:03,910
A simple map does not convey

997
00:54:03,952 --> 00:54:07,455
the kind of land where Neanderthals made their home.

998
00:54:07,497 --> 00:54:10,000
We again see, as we did in Feldhofer Cave

999
00:54:10,041 --> 00:54:13,294
in Germany where the first Neanderthal was found,

1000
00:54:13,336 --> 00:54:15,505
a cave entrance high above ground,

1001
00:54:15,547 --> 00:54:17,424
accessible only with some effort.

1002
00:54:19,718 --> 00:54:22,345
There were no roads or cars to get there.

1003
00:54:22,387 --> 00:54:25,765
Our ancestors would have
to have almost crawled uphill.

1004
00:54:29,602 --> 00:54:31,396
There is of course another perspective,

1005
00:54:31,438 --> 00:54:32,897
approaching from the North,

1006
00:54:32,939 --> 00:54:34,816
we descend onto a seashore,

1007
00:54:34,858 --> 00:54:38,153
whose face has been unchanged
for hundreds of millennia.

1008
00:54:40,113 --> 00:54:41,865
Even today, it is obvious that

1009
00:54:41,906 --> 00:54:46,536
almost immediately as the
water ends, elevation begins.

1010
00:54:46,578 --> 00:54:49,164
(gentle music)

1011
00:54:52,375 --> 00:54:54,002
And in one of these hills,

1012
00:54:54,044 --> 00:54:57,297
there is a cave with strange art on its walls.

1013
00:54:59,007 --> 00:55:01,134
It has red dots that were dated

1014
00:55:01,176 --> 00:55:03,553
back to the time of Neanderthals.

1015
00:55:05,597 --> 00:55:07,557
But it also has other designs,

1016
00:55:07,599 --> 00:55:09,851
and we don't know when they were made.

1017
00:55:13,688 --> 00:55:17,108
Perhaps they were made after Neanderthals left.

1018
00:55:17,150 --> 00:55:19,778
All the designs appear to fit together;

1019
00:55:19,819 --> 00:55:22,405
were they made at the same time?

1020
00:55:22,447 --> 00:55:23,656
We cannot know.

1021
00:55:23,698 --> 00:55:27,494
But I think they could all have
been made by Neanderthals.

1022
00:55:27,535 --> 00:55:29,287
But science cannot tell us,

1023
00:55:29,329 --> 00:55:31,414
and so, we will need to go down,

1024
00:55:31,456 --> 00:55:34,167
look, and decide for ourselves.

1025
00:55:36,336 --> 00:55:41,007
Far below the surface, a world
of marvel and mystery awaits.

1026
00:55:43,843 --> 00:55:46,179
The geological formation of the space

1027
00:55:46,221 --> 00:55:50,225
seems tailor made from one
of the weirdest dreams possible.

1028
00:55:52,018 --> 00:55:56,398
And here, Neanderthals set out to make enigmatic art.

1029
00:55:58,733 --> 00:56:00,527
One kind of drawing that comes into view

1030
00:56:00,568 --> 00:56:02,946
in this gallery is long and enclosed,

1031
00:56:02,987 --> 00:56:05,657
almost taking the form of a ship or boat,

1032
00:56:05,699 --> 00:56:08,118
or some other kind of container.

1033
00:56:09,536 --> 00:56:12,247
It is painted repeatedly throughout this cave.

1034
00:56:14,708 --> 00:56:16,001
It would almost always consist

1035
00:56:16,042 --> 00:56:18,253
of three sections or chambers.

1036
00:56:20,213 --> 00:56:23,299
And in even the simplest versions of these forms,

1037
00:56:23,341 --> 00:56:24,884
the sections were cut in half

1038
00:56:24,926 --> 00:56:28,054
on the horizontal from right to left,

1039
00:56:28,096 --> 00:56:31,850
carving out six enclosed spaces inside the shape,

1040
00:56:31,891 --> 00:56:33,268
which is always curved.

1041
00:56:34,477 --> 00:56:36,146
In this other instance,

1042
00:56:36,187 --> 00:56:37,689
the rightmost of the three segments

1043
00:56:37,731 --> 00:56:39,315
appears to be double lined,

1044
00:56:39,357 --> 00:56:42,444
almost as if intended to be reinforced.

1045
00:56:43,737 --> 00:56:45,822
And as is typical of other caves,

1046
00:56:45,864 --> 00:56:48,616
Neanderthals often repeated patterns and shapes,

1047
00:56:48,658 --> 00:56:51,244
as if these had a familiar meaning to them.

1048
00:56:52,370 --> 00:56:55,081
They are abstract to us, but not to them.

1049
00:56:57,250 --> 00:56:59,669
Here we again see three chambers.

1050
00:57:03,006 --> 00:57:05,717
And below these, a kind of reinforcement,

1051
00:57:05,759 --> 00:57:10,430
or second line with many very
small chambers underneath.

1052
00:57:10,472 --> 00:57:13,058
(gentle music)

1053
00:57:14,684 --> 00:57:17,771
What this entire image signified is a mystery,

1054
00:57:17,812 --> 00:57:21,483
but it clearly shows a special
arrangement of some kind.

1055
00:57:21,524 --> 00:57:23,151
Something was being organized

1056
00:57:23,193 --> 00:57:25,987
within or around whatever this shape is.

1057
00:57:28,823 --> 00:57:30,575
The unusual shape of the cave

1058
00:57:30,617 --> 00:57:33,370
and its irregular walls
didn't prevent Neanderthals

1059
00:57:33,411 --> 00:57:35,747
from thinking about order.

1060
00:57:35,789 --> 00:57:39,292
For elsewhere again, this same shape reappears.

1061
00:57:40,794 --> 00:57:42,337
Again, we see it divided

1062
00:57:42,379 --> 00:57:45,006
into the same three sections along its width.

1063
00:57:46,341 --> 00:57:48,927
(gentle music)

1064
00:57:50,428 --> 00:57:52,514
As with the previous image,

1065
00:57:52,555 --> 00:57:55,809
this one also has a kind of reinforced double line

1066
00:57:55,850 --> 00:57:58,395
along the chambers away from the center.

1067
00:58:02,273 --> 00:58:04,025
Yet the middle section was drawn

1068
00:58:04,067 --> 00:58:07,320
without that double line on either top or bottom.

1069
00:58:08,363 --> 00:58:10,949
(gentle music)

1070
00:58:11,950 --> 00:58:15,120
And to add to the symmetry, and the mystery,

1071
00:58:15,161 --> 00:58:18,373
the same double lines at the lower side of the image

1072
00:58:18,415 --> 00:58:21,835
are divided into nine small sections on each side.

1073
00:58:22,836 --> 00:58:25,422
(gentle music)

1074
00:58:31,011 --> 00:58:32,971
The final enigma is the appearance

1075
00:58:33,013 --> 00:58:35,515
of a parade of dots near and around

1076
00:58:35,557 --> 00:58:39,019
these kinds of shapes that we shall soon encounter.

1077
00:58:41,521 --> 00:58:45,692
But by now, the pattern of
these shapes can be easily seen.

1078
00:58:45,734 --> 00:58:47,986
Here is another with the same three sections

1079
00:58:48,028 --> 00:58:50,530
that the other shapes contained.

1080
00:58:50,572 --> 00:58:53,158
(gentle music)

1081
00:58:55,744 --> 00:58:58,121
Also familiar is the horizontal line

1082
00:58:58,163 --> 00:59:01,041
crossing the chambers from left to right.

1083
00:59:01,875 --> 00:59:04,461
(gentle music)

1084
00:59:07,422 --> 00:59:10,425
And again, nine hard-to-paint small boxes

1085
00:59:10,467 --> 00:59:14,054
or enclosures are marked
out on each side of the shape.

1086
00:59:15,180 --> 00:59:17,766
(gentle music)

1087
00:59:21,019 --> 00:59:23,980
Turning our perspective, we
can more clearly see the dots

1088
00:59:24,022 --> 00:59:25,899
that were painted around this object.

1089
00:59:27,192 --> 00:59:30,153
(gentle music)

1090
00:59:30,195 --> 00:59:35,033
Is this an image of a boat
over dots representing water?

1091
00:59:37,285 --> 00:59:39,579
Or is this an enclosure for people,

1092
00:59:39,621 --> 00:59:42,165
symbolized by four rows of dots,

1093
00:59:42,207 --> 00:59:45,335
traveling around a structure of some kind?

1094
00:59:45,377 --> 00:59:49,714
And if so, could this be a gate for entry and exit?

1095
00:59:49,756 --> 00:59:52,342
(gentle music)

1096
01:00:08,733 --> 01:00:10,110
And what about this?

1097
01:00:10,151 --> 01:00:12,612
Again, four rows of dots, tracing the hint

1098
01:00:12,654 --> 01:00:15,824
of an enclosed shape, but this time, without lines

1099
01:00:18,618 --> 01:00:20,954
The figure bulges out in opposite directions,

1100
01:00:20,995 --> 01:00:23,707
expanding toward the bottom, as we see it.

1101
01:00:23,748 --> 01:00:25,709
Why does it bulge out?

1102
01:00:25,750 --> 01:00:28,545
(gentle music)

1103
01:00:28,586 --> 01:00:31,965
And the dots follow wavy lines around those bulges.

1104
01:00:34,801 --> 01:00:35,927
Almost as if the bulge

1105
01:00:35,969 --> 01:00:38,722
were visibly pushing them out from the center.

1106
01:00:41,725 --> 01:00:43,727
Is this shape intended to suggest

1107
01:00:43,768 --> 01:00:47,814
the importance of the vital center, like a nucleus?

1108
01:00:50,233 --> 01:00:51,985
We should remember that no axis

1109
01:00:52,027 --> 01:00:54,404
or perspective is necessarily the right one

1110
01:00:54,446 --> 01:00:56,072
for reading these images.

1111
01:00:57,073 --> 01:00:59,409
These shapes don't provide reading instructions

1112
01:00:59,451 --> 01:01:01,786
of any kind and can be interpreted

1113
01:01:01,828 --> 01:01:04,164
from any direction or axis.

1114
01:01:04,205 --> 01:01:06,791
(gentle music)

1115
01:01:11,379 --> 01:01:14,174
Is this the orientation
that Neanderthals intended

1116
01:01:14,215 --> 01:01:16,134
for viewing this creation?

1117
01:01:18,636 --> 01:01:20,889
Or perhaps this one instead?

1118
01:01:20,930 --> 01:01:22,974
The irregularity of the shape

1119
01:01:23,016 --> 01:01:25,185
seems to suggest that it is describing

1120
01:01:25,226 --> 01:01:28,271
something in motion, and from this angle,

1121
01:01:28,313 --> 01:01:30,815
it appears to be approaching.

1122
01:01:30,857 --> 01:01:33,443
(gentle music)

1123
01:01:35,362 --> 01:01:37,864
But when it is oriented in this way again,

1124
01:01:37,906 --> 01:01:40,992
it looks like a container, perhaps a ship.

1125
01:01:42,452 --> 01:01:44,579
And this is almost exactly the pattern

1126
01:01:44,621 --> 01:01:46,956
outlined by the front of the previous image

1127
01:01:46,998 --> 01:01:49,292
we had imagined as a ship as well.

1128
01:01:50,251 --> 01:01:52,837
(gentle music)

1129
01:01:54,255 --> 01:01:57,884
Here they are superimposed over one another.

1130
01:02:03,139 --> 01:02:05,016
Let's look at that again.

1131
01:02:05,058 --> 01:02:07,644
(gentle music)

1132
01:02:12,565 --> 01:02:16,820
The earlier image appears
different in size and orientation,

1133
01:02:17,904 --> 01:02:21,491
and here is how both images
were drawn on the cave wall.

1134
01:02:22,492 --> 01:02:25,870
Each is near the other, but in their existing angles,

1135
01:02:25,912 --> 01:02:28,331
they seem unrelated,

1136
01:02:28,373 --> 01:02:32,252
until we rotate one image and place it atop the other.

1137
01:02:33,753 --> 01:02:37,966
Clearly, both images share the same unusual shape.

1138
01:02:38,008 --> 01:02:40,593
(gentle music)

1139
01:02:41,553 --> 01:02:43,763
But are we any closer to identifying

1140
01:02:43,805 --> 01:02:46,182
what the objects painted here are depicting?

1141
01:02:47,892 --> 01:02:49,811
And just when it seems it couldn't get any harder

1142
01:02:49,853 --> 01:02:51,730
to figure the meaning of these shapes,

1143
01:02:51,771 --> 01:02:53,481
another angle emerges.

1144
01:02:54,357 --> 01:02:58,028
For here, we encounter the
biggest question mark of all,

1145
01:02:58,069 --> 01:03:00,280
and it comes in the form of two shapes

1146
01:03:00,321 --> 01:03:03,158
that have been interposed together,

1147
01:03:03,199 --> 01:03:05,910
each an obvious copy of that ship-like object

1148
01:03:05,952 --> 01:03:08,079
that we have been seeing until now.

1149
01:03:11,332 --> 01:03:14,377
The most logical idea is that this is an encampment,

1150
01:03:14,419 --> 01:03:18,173
perhaps the structure for
people living together in spaces.

1151
01:03:18,214 --> 01:03:19,841
But why is there an internal wall

1152
01:03:19,883 --> 01:03:22,927
that would prevent passage inside the structure?

1153
01:03:22,969 --> 01:03:25,597
And on the opposite side, three walls?

1154
01:03:28,767 --> 01:03:30,101
We also know that Neanderthals

1155
01:03:30,143 --> 01:03:31,269
made their sleeping quarters

1156
01:03:31,311 --> 01:03:34,939
deep inside their encampments, not near outer walls,

1157
01:03:34,981 --> 01:03:37,567
so these small areas would not make sense

1158
01:03:37,609 --> 01:03:39,527
as a map of sleeping chambers.

1159
01:03:43,073 --> 01:03:45,241
The mystery of one shape is deep enough,

1160
01:03:45,283 --> 01:03:47,243
but when two versions of the same image

1161
01:03:47,285 --> 01:03:49,746
are placed at cross-angles over each other,

1162
01:03:49,788 --> 01:03:53,667
our intrigue over the meaning
here is heightened even more.

1163
01:03:56,169 --> 01:03:59,589
But we will leave this rabbit hole for the moment.

1164
01:03:59,631 --> 01:04:03,051
Another creative mystery awaits.

1165
01:04:07,514 --> 01:04:09,391
(gentle flute music)

1166
01:04:09,432 --> 01:04:12,310
After the Neanderthal art on those walls,

1167
01:04:12,352 --> 01:04:13,728
we might think that the only place

1168
01:04:13,770 --> 01:04:17,315
for more evidence of
Neanderthal art is in other caves.

1169
01:04:18,233 --> 01:04:20,276
Perhaps, but it seems Neanderthals

1170
01:04:20,318 --> 01:04:21,820
were doing more than painting.

1171
01:04:22,696 --> 01:04:26,658
It appears they also made music.

1172
01:04:26,700 --> 01:04:29,786
(gentle flute music)

1173
01:04:33,248 --> 01:04:38,253
In 1995, a small object was
discovered in a Slovenian cave.

1174
01:04:38,336 --> 01:04:40,755
(gentle flute music)

1175
01:04:40,797 --> 01:04:43,133
It had been made from the bone of a young bear,

1176
01:04:43,174 --> 01:04:46,970
and had four holes arranged
perfectly along a straight line.

1177
01:04:49,139 --> 01:04:53,518
When air was blown through
it, it produced musical sounds.

1178
01:04:56,062 --> 01:04:58,690
It became known as the Divje Babe flute.

1179
01:04:58,732 --> 01:05:02,402
It was found near where its owners had kept a fire.

1180
01:05:03,319 --> 01:05:05,363
It was dated to the Middle Paleolithic,

1181
01:05:05,405 --> 01:05:08,616
between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago,

1182
01:05:08,658 --> 01:05:13,121
so this flute would have
been played by Neanderthals.

1183
01:05:13,163 --> 01:05:16,332
(gentle flute music)

1184
01:05:16,374 --> 01:05:19,169
This is Slovenian flautist Katinka Dimaroska,

1185
01:05:19,210 --> 01:05:20,962
who has been playing the Divje Babe

1186
01:05:21,004 --> 01:05:24,632
almost since it was found not far from her own home.

1187
01:05:26,509 --> 01:05:29,512
(gentle flute music)

1188
01:05:29,554 --> 01:05:32,182
At first sight, it doesn't look like much,

1189
01:05:32,223 --> 01:05:34,017
and some believe that it's just a bone

1190
01:05:34,059 --> 01:05:36,936
that happened to have suffered random tooth marks

1191
01:05:36,978 --> 01:05:39,272
made by some scavenging animal.

1192
01:05:40,732 --> 01:05:43,818
(gentle flute music)

1193
01:05:46,571 --> 01:05:48,615
This view is in line with the belief

1194
01:05:48,656 --> 01:05:50,408
that Neanderthals were too primitive

1195
01:05:50,450 --> 01:05:54,537
to have made or used even
this simple musical instrument.

1196
01:05:55,580 --> 01:05:59,250
But as we can hear, its simplicity belies

1197
01:05:59,292 --> 01:06:01,044
the remarkable range of expression

1198
01:06:01,086 --> 01:06:02,629
that can be produced with it.

1199
01:06:04,422 --> 01:06:07,592
Clearly these sounds could have been used as a call,

1200
01:06:07,634 --> 01:06:10,261
or to mimic an animal in order to attract it,

1201
01:06:11,638 --> 01:06:16,226
or, dare we imagine, for Neanderthals' own enjoyment.

1202
01:06:17,060 --> 01:06:20,146
(gentle flute music)

1203
01:06:39,791 --> 01:06:42,460
Still the controversy over whether these holes

1204
01:06:42,502 --> 01:06:45,630
are tooth marks or not is worth considering.

1205
01:06:45,672 --> 01:06:49,551
After all, many predators
were around 50,000 years ago.

1206
01:06:51,678 --> 01:06:53,555
A tooth bearing down onto bone

1207
01:06:53,596 --> 01:06:56,099
is certain to make a violent entry.

1208
01:06:58,059 --> 01:07:01,479
But that is not the story that these holes tell.

1209
01:07:01,521 --> 01:07:03,356
Close examination of the perimeter

1210
01:07:03,398 --> 01:07:05,817
of the holes shows something unusual:

1211
01:07:07,569 --> 01:07:09,654
evidence of careful cutting.

1212
01:07:10,947 --> 01:07:12,824
A cut made with a sharp instrument

1213
01:07:12,866 --> 01:07:16,578
marks a smooth but decisive line around the holes,

1214
01:07:16,619 --> 01:07:20,582
in an outward angle as if to accommodate a finger tip.

1215
01:07:21,458 --> 01:07:24,544
(gentle flute music)

1216
01:07:28,298 --> 01:07:31,509
And this cut can be seen in other holes.

1217
01:07:31,551 --> 01:07:33,428
Sharpness and smoothness,

1218
01:07:33,470 --> 01:07:34,804
rather than the rough impact

1219
01:07:34,846 --> 01:07:38,266
of a tooth is what this contour reveals.

1220
01:07:38,308 --> 01:07:41,561
(gentle flute music)

1221
01:07:41,603 --> 01:07:43,605
And the chance of three holes

1222
01:07:43,646 --> 01:07:46,983
being smoothly cut round by a set of bite marks

1223
01:07:47,025 --> 01:07:49,486
is almost impossible to accept.

1224
01:07:49,527 --> 01:07:52,614
(gentle flute music)

1225
01:07:53,531 --> 01:07:55,241
There can be no doubt that these holes

1226
01:07:55,283 --> 01:07:57,577
were carefully cut with an intentional distance

1227
01:07:57,619 --> 01:07:59,245
and alignment to each other.

1228
01:08:00,163 --> 01:08:03,249
(gentle flute music)

1229
01:08:06,836 --> 01:08:09,964
How this must have resonated in caves and valleys

1230
01:08:10,006 --> 01:08:14,010
is probably exactly why it was shaped as it was.

1231
01:08:14,052 --> 01:08:17,138
(gentle flute music)

1232
01:08:20,934 --> 01:08:23,436
Experts have stumbled on many other ancient flutes

1233
01:08:23,478 --> 01:08:26,022
that are accepted as valid musical instruments

1234
01:08:26,064 --> 01:08:28,191
dating back thousands of years.

1235
01:08:30,985 --> 01:08:32,821
Although not made by Neanderthals,

1236
01:08:32,862 --> 01:08:35,573
they share a similar design and function.

1237
01:08:36,491 --> 01:08:38,827
(gentle flute music)

1238
01:08:38,868 --> 01:08:41,663
For example, this one,
discovered during the excavation

1239
01:08:41,705 --> 01:08:44,249
of a site in southern Germany.

1240
01:08:44,290 --> 01:08:46,209
The dig retrieved material dated

1241
01:08:46,251 --> 01:08:50,588
between 33,500 and 37,000 years old,

1242
01:08:50,630 --> 01:08:55,010
and some deep layers dating
back to as much as 43,000 years.

1243
01:08:55,051 --> 01:08:56,553
Of a site in southern Germany.

1244
01:08:58,805 --> 01:09:01,057
But, as with the Divje Babe flute,

1245
01:09:01,099 --> 01:09:03,435
this flute has holes that are perfectly aligned

1246
01:09:03,476 --> 01:09:06,104
along its length, and gradually filed in

1247
01:09:06,146 --> 01:09:08,982
so that a fingertip can cover them comfortably.

1248
01:09:09,858 --> 01:09:11,943
It was used by early Homo sapiens,

1249
01:09:11,985 --> 01:09:16,031
and is tied to the first waves
of modern humans in Europe.

1250
01:09:16,072 --> 01:09:18,074
There's no controversy here.

1251
01:09:18,116 --> 01:09:20,452
But the Neanderthal flute is disputed.

1252
01:09:21,953 --> 01:09:24,289
Still, we know so little about Neanderthals

1253
01:09:24,330 --> 01:09:25,707
that we imagine they walked around

1254
01:09:25,749 --> 01:09:28,126
with pelts scarcely covering their bodies,

1255
01:09:28,960 --> 01:09:32,047
an extreme time of multiple ice ages.

1256
01:09:32,088 --> 01:09:35,175
(gentle flute music)

1257
01:09:37,010 --> 01:09:38,970
They couldn't have survived freezing temperatures

1258
01:09:39,012 --> 01:09:40,805
with limbs exposed.

1259
01:09:40,889 --> 01:09:44,351
Something is missing in that picture.

1260
01:09:44,392 --> 01:09:46,936
Perhaps they had something
that's right in front of us

1261
01:09:46,978 --> 01:09:49,064
and we never imagined it.

1262
01:09:49,105 --> 01:09:51,316
What if they wove their clothing?

1263
01:09:52,734 --> 01:09:55,612
The challenge is finding
something as delicate as thread.

1264
01:09:56,571 --> 01:09:58,114
Almost no organic material

1265
01:09:58,156 --> 01:10:02,952
except for bone will survive
exposed more than 500 years.

1266
01:10:02,994 --> 01:10:04,871
So, 1000 years later,

1267
01:10:04,913 --> 01:10:07,123
there would be no trace of thread.

1268
01:10:07,165 --> 01:10:09,376
It would have decomposed and been absorbed

1269
01:10:09,417 --> 01:10:10,502
back into the earth.

1270
01:10:12,253 --> 01:10:16,424
The Neanderthal timescale
goes back more than 40,000 years.

1271
01:10:16,466 --> 01:10:18,468
It is only by a miracle that any trace

1272
01:10:18,510 --> 01:10:21,680
of such material could have survived.

1273
01:10:21,721 --> 01:10:24,683
(gentle flute music)

1274
01:10:24,724 --> 01:10:26,726
And yet, this emerged.

1275
01:10:26,768 --> 01:10:30,230
(gentle flute music) (tense music)

1276
01:10:30,271 --> 01:10:32,649
In 2020, at Abris du Maras,

1277
01:10:32,691 --> 01:10:36,361
a site where Neanderthal tools
and artifacts were uncovered,

1278
01:10:36,403 --> 01:10:37,779
researchers found what appeared

1279
01:10:37,821 --> 01:10:41,157
to be remnants of handmade cord or string.

1280
01:10:43,660 --> 01:10:46,788
A close look revealed fibers
twisting around each other.

1281
01:10:47,872 --> 01:10:50,709
Of course, this is not necessarily unique.

1282
01:10:50,750 --> 01:10:53,086
In nature, vines have strands

1283
01:10:53,128 --> 01:10:56,047
that weave around each other
for greater tensile strength.

1284
01:10:57,716 --> 01:10:59,759
More unusual though was the presence

1285
01:10:59,801 --> 01:11:01,970
of a single thicker base strand

1286
01:11:02,012 --> 01:11:04,681
or stem that extends in a straight line

1287
01:11:04,723 --> 01:11:06,975
with thinner strands weaving around it.

1288
01:11:09,436 --> 01:11:12,105
And the way in which the strands are arranged

1289
01:11:12,147 --> 01:11:15,525
appears as if they were mounted atop of one another

1290
01:11:15,567 --> 01:11:18,528
deliberately, rather than having grown together.

1291
01:11:21,948 --> 01:11:24,617
But this wasn't the entire story.

1292
01:11:24,659 --> 01:11:28,038
The discovery came with another twist.

1293
01:11:28,079 --> 01:11:32,042
(gentle flute music) (upbeat music)

1294
01:11:32,083 --> 01:11:33,209
Bruce Hardy and his team

1295
01:11:33,251 --> 01:11:35,754
from Kenyon College showed direct evidence

1296
01:11:35,795 --> 01:11:39,049
of Neanderthal construction and use of fibers,

1297
01:11:39,090 --> 01:11:41,176
a skill that was previously thought

1298
01:11:41,217 --> 01:11:43,219
impossible for this species.

1299
01:11:45,889 --> 01:11:49,267
The story uncovered by this account is remarkable.

1300
01:11:51,811 --> 01:11:52,979
The discovery took place

1301
01:11:53,021 --> 01:11:56,024
in the Ardeche valley of southeastern France,

1302
01:11:56,066 --> 01:11:58,902
where nestled along the banks of a tributary

1303
01:11:58,943 --> 01:12:01,279
of the Rhone River lies Abri du Maras,

1304
01:12:01,321 --> 01:12:04,074
a Paleolithic rock shelter.

1305
01:12:04,115 --> 01:12:06,743
(gentle flute music) (tense music)

1306
01:12:06,785 --> 01:12:08,578
As with the Feldhofer cave

1307
01:12:08,620 --> 01:12:11,247
where the first Neanderthal bones were found,

1308
01:12:11,289 --> 01:12:14,417
or Cueva de el Castillo, where we saw the cave art,

1309
01:12:14,459 --> 01:12:18,922
this site is slightly elevated along a sloping hill.

1310
01:12:18,963 --> 01:12:23,968
(gentle flute music) (tense music)

1311
01:12:25,345 --> 01:12:29,140
At that site, here is what Hardy and his team found.

1312
01:12:31,393 --> 01:12:33,269
This unassuming stone flake,

1313
01:12:33,311 --> 01:12:36,064
a typical tool used by Neanderthals,

1314
01:12:36,106 --> 01:12:39,484
was found three meters below the surface.

1315
01:12:39,526 --> 01:12:42,946
But it carried a secret.

1316
01:12:42,987 --> 01:12:46,866
Attached to its underside,
still embedded in sediment,

1317
01:12:46,908 --> 01:12:49,285
was a fragment of ancient string,

1318
01:12:50,662 --> 01:12:53,206
meticulously twisted from plant fibers,

1319
01:12:53,248 --> 01:12:57,377
and indisputably crafted by Neanderthal hands.

1320
01:12:57,419 --> 01:13:02,382
(gentle flute music) (tense music)

1321
01:13:02,424 --> 01:13:05,135
Magnified under advanced microscopes,

1322
01:13:05,176 --> 01:13:07,804
the fragment tells its story.

1323
01:13:07,846 --> 01:13:10,390
Three strands, each s-twisted,

1324
01:13:10,432 --> 01:13:14,102
spun clockwise from the fibers of conifer bark

1325
01:13:14,144 --> 01:13:18,690
are then tied together with
a z-twist, counterclockwise.

1326
01:13:18,732 --> 01:13:23,695
(gentle flute music) (tense music)

1327
01:13:30,201 --> 01:13:32,412
This level of complexity reveals

1328
01:13:32,454 --> 01:13:35,790
not only technical knowledge
but conceptual understanding

1329
01:13:35,832 --> 01:13:39,711
of tension and torque, and counting sequences.

1330
01:13:39,753 --> 01:13:41,504
This is not instinct.

1331
01:13:41,546 --> 01:13:43,006
This is design.

1332
01:13:43,048 --> 01:13:45,592
(gentle music)

1333
01:13:49,763 --> 01:13:54,059
And so, closer still, we see the cord's anatomy:

1334
01:13:54,100 --> 01:13:56,603
layers moving in one direction,

1335
01:13:56,644 --> 01:14:01,066
with each fiber strand maintaining a uniform twist.

1336
01:14:01,107 --> 01:14:03,777
(gentle music)

1337
01:14:07,489 --> 01:14:11,534
But suddenly a new strand appears above the others.

1338
01:14:11,576 --> 01:14:14,287
This one is seen wrapping in the opposite direction

1339
01:14:14,329 --> 01:14:17,832
to keep the entire cord from unraveling.

1340
01:14:17,874 --> 01:14:21,252
This is not a pattern found in nature.

1341
01:14:21,294 --> 01:14:23,880
(gentle music)

1342
01:14:26,800 --> 01:14:30,220
And on another flake found within the same layer

1343
01:14:30,261 --> 01:14:35,141
we see untwisted fibers,
perhaps remnants in mid-process.

1344
01:14:36,059 --> 01:14:38,019
Here, the task was interrupted,

1345
01:14:38,061 --> 01:14:40,021
the threads were not yet spun.

1346
01:14:42,023 --> 01:14:44,526
It is as if time itself paused,

1347
01:14:44,567 --> 01:14:46,861
leaving behind a still-life

1348
01:14:46,903 --> 01:14:49,989
of Neanderthal craftsmanship partway through.

1349
01:14:51,116 --> 01:14:54,828
This is evidence that the
twisted cord is not natural.

1350
01:14:54,869 --> 01:14:56,413
Why would natural strands

1351
01:14:56,454 --> 01:14:59,332
be lying loosely without a central stem?

1352
01:15:01,793 --> 01:15:04,212
But nearby, here is the pattern again,

1353
01:15:04,254 --> 01:15:07,215
coils in unison around a central strand.

1354
01:15:08,216 --> 01:15:10,218
This is workable string in the making,

1355
01:15:10,260 --> 01:15:12,137
and the presence of multiple examples

1356
01:15:12,178 --> 01:15:13,847
found at this site shows

1357
01:15:13,888 --> 01:15:16,224
that this was not a rare occurrence.

1358
01:15:18,018 --> 01:15:20,687
Neanderthals didn't just wear animal pelts,

1359
01:15:20,729 --> 01:15:24,441
they sewed their clothing, like we do today.

1360
01:15:26,985 --> 01:15:29,863
But could nature have made this?

1361
01:15:29,904 --> 01:15:32,490
Three twists exist in nature,

1362
01:15:32,532 --> 01:15:35,618
the vine of the liana, the wisteria,

1363
01:15:35,660 --> 01:15:38,121
and a coiled banana leaf.

1364
01:15:38,163 --> 01:15:41,291
All are simple, one-directional twists.

1365
01:15:41,332 --> 01:15:42,917
But the Neanderthal string,

1366
01:15:42,959 --> 01:15:45,253
with its counter twist on the outside,

1367
01:15:45,295 --> 01:15:46,963
particularly when loose strands

1368
01:15:47,005 --> 01:15:49,716
were found nearby, is unique.

1369
01:15:49,758 --> 01:15:51,760
It can only be a constructed object

1370
01:15:51,801 --> 01:15:54,304
with one possible purpose.

1371
01:15:54,346 --> 01:15:57,432
(gentle flute music)

1372
01:16:03,688 --> 01:16:06,441
Sadly, no textiles would have survived

1373
01:16:06,483 --> 01:16:11,488
100,000 years, or even 50,000, or even 5,000.

1374
01:16:11,529 --> 01:16:16,034
But if Neanderthals had only worn animal skins,

1375
01:16:16,076 --> 01:16:18,828
they would not have done well in the extreme cold

1376
01:16:18,870 --> 01:16:21,956
and hot temperatures of their age.

1377
01:16:21,998 --> 01:16:24,417
And this, like the discovered flute,

1378
01:16:24,459 --> 01:16:27,379
gives us a special vantage into the lives

1379
01:16:27,420 --> 01:16:32,425
of a species whose brain size
was actually larger than ours.

1380
01:16:32,759 --> 01:16:37,764
(gentle flute music) (gentle upbeat music)

1381
01:16:44,938 --> 01:16:46,606
And so we come full circle,

1382
01:16:46,648 --> 01:16:48,400
back to our point of departure,

1383
01:16:48,441 --> 01:16:50,193
here at the Neander valley

1384
01:16:50,235 --> 01:16:52,570
where the first Neanderthal was recognized

1385
01:16:52,612 --> 01:16:55,198
as a separate species from ourselves.

1386
01:16:56,241 --> 01:16:58,535
But our journey isn't finished just yet.

1387
01:16:59,994 --> 01:17:02,539
There's time for one more reflection,

1388
01:17:02,580 --> 01:17:06,209
one more question, one more discovery,

1389
01:17:06,251 --> 01:17:08,628
not concerning Neanderthal life

1390
01:17:08,670 --> 01:17:11,548
but rather death and what they may have known

1391
01:17:11,589 --> 01:17:14,509
about their place in the universe.

1392
01:17:14,551 --> 01:17:17,345
(gentle upbeat music)

1393
01:17:17,387 --> 01:17:20,140
Our final discovery happens in another cave,

1394
01:17:20,181 --> 01:17:23,685
this one at La Ferrassie, in southwest France.

1395
01:17:28,481 --> 01:17:30,233
And on another piece of evidence

1396
01:17:30,275 --> 01:17:32,861
marked by Neanderthal hands.

1397
01:17:32,902 --> 01:17:36,781
(gentle upbeat music)

1398
01:17:36,823 --> 01:17:39,576
This time, the marks that Neanderthals made

1399
01:17:39,659 --> 01:17:41,578
appear on a large stone.

1400
01:17:42,746 --> 01:17:45,457
It is a limestone slab that was arranged

1401
01:17:45,498 --> 01:17:48,126
over the resting place of a Neanderthal child

1402
01:17:48,168 --> 01:17:50,545
who died more than 60,000 years ago.

1403
01:17:53,631 --> 01:17:55,675
This is a sketch is of that stone slab,

1404
01:17:55,717 --> 01:17:58,636
so that certain marks, scooped out of the stone,

1405
01:17:58,678 --> 01:18:00,764
become clearer to us.

1406
01:18:00,805 --> 01:18:02,974
The marks were made by Neanderthal parents,

1407
01:18:03,016 --> 01:18:05,727
or someone in the child's clan.

1408
01:18:05,769 --> 01:18:09,105
(gentle upbeat music)

1409
01:18:09,147 --> 01:18:11,858
It hardly appears like something meaningful

1410
01:18:11,900 --> 01:18:13,902
or fitting for what was clearly

1411
01:18:13,943 --> 01:18:16,821
the unexpected death of a young member of the group.

1412
01:18:21,284 --> 01:18:23,745
The only remarkable thing about this slab

1413
01:18:23,787 --> 01:18:25,372
are the notched marks on it.

1414
01:18:26,456 --> 01:18:29,918
They seem arranged in some intentional way.

1415
01:18:31,252 --> 01:18:34,047
It brings up the question of what humans think about

1416
01:18:34,089 --> 01:18:36,007
in the death of someone.

1417
01:18:36,049 --> 01:18:38,593
In many cultures, it is a sense that their spirit

1418
01:18:38,635 --> 01:18:41,638
will return to some place beyond Earth.

1419
01:18:41,680 --> 01:18:43,765
Perhaps up to the sky.

1420
01:18:45,433 --> 01:18:47,143
Could the Neanderthals too

1421
01:18:47,185 --> 01:18:49,854
have looked up and felt this connection?

1422
01:18:53,316 --> 01:18:55,610
Through the Hubble Space Telescope,

1423
01:18:55,652 --> 01:18:58,988
this is the sharpest image we have of the Pleiades,

1424
01:18:59,030 --> 01:19:00,990
a prominent star cluster located

1425
01:19:01,032 --> 01:19:02,409
in the constellation Taurus,

1426
01:19:02,450 --> 01:19:05,036
about 440 light-years away from Earth.

1427
01:19:06,746 --> 01:19:08,873
It is visible in the Northern Hemisphere,

1428
01:19:08,915 --> 01:19:10,583
where Neanderthals lived.

1429
01:19:12,168 --> 01:19:14,379
In the sky of thousands of years ago,

1430
01:19:14,421 --> 01:19:16,548
it would have been this clear to anyone looking up

1431
01:19:16,589 --> 01:19:18,717
and reflecting on its points of light.

1432
01:19:22,429 --> 01:19:24,806
From any perspective, it could be turned

1433
01:19:24,848 --> 01:19:27,642
depending on the observer's axis.

1434
01:19:27,684 --> 01:19:31,062
But here, we rotate it 23.45 degrees,

1435
01:19:31,104 --> 01:19:34,441
which is the axial rotation
of the earth around the sun.

1436
01:19:35,692 --> 01:19:39,821
Neanderthal eyes would have
looked upon the sky as we do,

1437
01:19:39,863 --> 01:19:42,532
and theirs would have been infinitely clearer one.

1438
01:19:43,408 --> 01:19:48,038
Did they feel a connection to
the heavens, like we often do?

1439
01:19:48,079 --> 01:19:50,165
After a time, its brightest stars

1440
01:19:50,206 --> 01:19:53,460
could be remembered and marked on stone,

1441
01:19:53,501 --> 01:19:55,837
perhaps as the place where a lost young soul

1442
01:19:55,879 --> 01:19:58,131
is meant to go after its brief life

1443
01:19:58,173 --> 01:20:02,344
on our planet comes to its end.

1444
01:20:02,385 --> 01:20:04,888
To the question of whether
the marks had some meaning,

1445
01:20:04,929 --> 01:20:06,765
it is helpful to know that they faced

1446
01:20:06,806 --> 01:20:08,933
not upward for the visitor,

1447
01:20:08,975 --> 01:20:11,353
but down toward the body itself,

1448
01:20:11,394 --> 01:20:15,565
seemingly so that as its soul awoke,

1449
01:20:15,607 --> 01:20:18,610
it would face the map that shows it where to go next.

1450
01:20:21,863 --> 01:20:24,199
Was it a guide for his spirit?

1451
01:20:24,240 --> 01:20:28,078
(gentle upbeat music)

1452
01:20:28,119 --> 01:20:33,124
And so, beyond a few remnants and bones,

1453
01:20:34,167 --> 01:20:38,922
what do we really know about
Neanderthal life and death?

1454
01:20:38,963 --> 01:20:42,133
(gentle upbeat music)

1455
01:21:01,403 --> 01:21:03,988
(upbeat music)

1456
01:21:13,081 --> 01:21:16,001
(vocalist singing)

1457
01:21:17,544 --> 01:21:19,921
At the southernmost point of Spain,

1458
01:21:19,963 --> 01:21:24,009
facing the Mediterranean Sea lies Gibraltar,

1459
01:21:24,050 --> 01:21:27,804
a large rocky formation that rises steadily

1460
01:21:27,846 --> 01:21:31,182
until it drops dramatically into the sea.

1461
01:21:31,224 --> 01:21:33,810
(upbeat music)

1462
01:21:36,980 --> 01:21:40,442
As far as we know, this is the last known address

1463
01:21:40,483 --> 01:21:42,485
for Neanderthals.

1464
01:21:42,527 --> 01:21:44,571
What remained of the race came to live

1465
01:21:44,612 --> 01:21:47,365
in a hiding point behind the Rock of Gibraltar.

1466
01:21:48,450 --> 01:21:50,744
It seems they were pushed out of Europe,

1467
01:21:50,785 --> 01:21:52,662
the domain they once dominated,

1468
01:21:52,704 --> 01:21:55,874
year after year, millennium after millennium,

1469
01:21:55,915 --> 01:21:58,084
probably by Homo sapiens,

1470
01:21:58,126 --> 01:22:01,379
until they huddled in a cave almost hidden from view.

1471
01:22:03,298 --> 01:22:08,303
(vocalist singing) (upbeat music)

1472
01:22:09,679 --> 01:22:14,225
Quietly they remained here until 40,000 years ago.

1473
01:22:14,267 --> 01:22:16,269
They would have used a stretch of land

1474
01:22:16,311 --> 01:22:19,481
that extended for some distance in front of the cave.

1475
01:22:20,315 --> 01:22:23,026
But it seems they knew their time was over,

1476
01:22:23,068 --> 01:22:26,696
and retreated here in a final, quiet act.

1477
01:22:26,738 --> 01:22:29,324
(upbeat music)

1478
01:22:30,867 --> 01:22:35,705
This is it, Gorham's Cave, that's the name it has today.

1479
01:22:35,747 --> 01:22:38,291
Surely they called it something else.

1480
01:22:40,085 --> 01:22:43,421
But this is the last gasp, the final moment,

1481
01:22:43,463 --> 01:22:46,091
the end of the line for a powerful race of beings

1482
01:22:46,132 --> 01:22:49,594
who disappeared after taking
up residence among these caves,

1483
01:22:50,428 --> 01:22:53,056
and were never to be seen again.

1484
01:22:53,098 --> 01:22:55,684
(upbeat music)

1485
01:23:00,271 --> 01:23:03,900
Except of course, as ancient echoes,

1486
01:23:03,942 --> 01:23:06,861
somewhere, genetically, within us.

1487
01:23:06,903 --> 01:23:09,489
(upbeat music)

1488
01:23:26,798 --> 01:23:31,803
(vocalist singing) (upbeat music continues)

1489
01:23:55,994 --> 01:24:00,957
(vocalist singing continues)
(upbeat music continues)