"Human" Last Humans Standing

1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 2 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:45,400 Around 30,000 years ago, a child was born into a new and lonely world. 3 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,399 They were the first child to be born onto a planet 4 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,320 in which we were quite alone. 5 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,359 This was the first time in history that only one species of human 6 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:07,760 walked this Earth. 7 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,360 All the others were now gone. 8 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,159 And in a tale written by the sole survivors, 9 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,479 it's actually quite easy to forget 10 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,599 that we weren't destined to be the only ones. 11 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:21,840 And yet here we are. 12 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,079 How this happened is one of the most poignant chapters 13 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:29,639 in the human story. 14 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,038 And it's one that's etched into the DNA 15 00:01:32,039 --> 00:01:34,960 of every single one of us alive today. 16 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,038 For hundreds of thousands of years, 17 00:01:53,039 --> 00:01:55,720 Homo sapiens evolved in Africa. 18 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:06,480 60,000 years ago, one group dispersed into the Middle East... 19 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,640 ..and continued onwards as far as Australia. 20 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,560 But our ancestors didn't stop there. 21 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:26,760 Another group began to make their way north into Europe... 22 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,320 ..where their story continues. 23 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,000 For thousands of years, Europe had been out of reach to Homo sapiens... 24 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,360 ..repelled by its icy climate. 25 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,719 But now a shift in conditions opened up a route 26 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:08,200 into this new realm. 27 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,280 And some of our ancestors left the familiar behind... 28 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,520 ..and stepped into the unknown. 29 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,519 We don't really know why they came. 30 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,919 Was it a romantic notion, like pure curiosity? 31 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,719 Or was it something much more practical? Say, the need for food. 32 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,039 Or perhaps it was the same forces that drive migrants today - 33 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,200 that need for shelter and safety. 34 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,439 We don't know the exact routes they took, 35 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:03,159 but by following rivers, coasts, or wandering across mountain ranges 36 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,600 like these, they found their way into this new world. 37 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,440 But not long after these migrants reached Europe... 38 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,680 ..they would have encountered something unexpected. 39 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:34,799 When they got here, 40 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,880 they would have discovered that another species had beat them to it. 41 00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:59,440 Two other human species were widespread at the time. 42 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,159 To the east, from Siberia to Southeast Asia, 43 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,999 lived the mysterious Denisovans, 44 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,639 known only to us from DNA 45 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,200 preserved in a few fossil fragments. 46 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:19,799 Across lands to the west, all the way from Russia 47 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,360 to the Atlantic coast of Europe, were the Neanderthals. 48 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:32,880 Homo sapiens were latecomers to Europe. 49 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,919 It had been home to the Neanderthals for almost 400,000 years 50 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:40,159 before we showed up. 51 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,439 Now these Homo sapiens venturing into Europe would have met 52 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,080 another sort of human. 53 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,159 People who looked a lot like us, but with obvious differences. 54 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,080 We can only imagine what our ancestors would have made of them... 55 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,640 ..when our two cultures - perhaps just two families... 56 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,600 ..encountered each other for the first time. 57 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,559 Neanderthals were close relatives of Homo sapiens, 58 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,480 but we had evolved along separate branches of the human family tree. 59 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,919 There's often this belief that we evolved from Neanderthals, 60 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:08,559 so we came from Neanderthals. 61 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:09,839 Actually, that's incorrect. 62 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,559 We shared a common ancestor with them. 63 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:13,759 And then, due to chance and the environment, 64 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,359 we went on these two really different evolutionary journeys. 65 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,919 So, we evolved - Homo sapiens - for Africa. 66 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,159 We ended up taller and leaner. 67 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,839 Now, the Neanderthals evolved for much cooler, 68 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:28,480 more wooded environments. 69 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:35,079 So they were shorter - 70 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:36,999 on average, they were about 5'5" - 71 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,320 they had bigger torsos, but shorter limbs. 72 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,000 They used a lot of brute force... 73 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,680 ..because they were close-range hunters. 74 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,719 The Neanderthals were masters of their environment - 75 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,599 they had evolved here for hundreds of thousands of years - 76 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,399 whereas we turn up and we're immigrants, 77 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,599 we are ill-equipped and unprepared. 78 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,159 If you were going to place a bet on who would be left standing, 79 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,840 you'd probably bet on the obvious choice - and it wouldn't be us. 80 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,720 The Neanderthals had found a way to thrive here for millennia. 81 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,319 Yet in the 19th century, 82 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,120 when the first Neanderthal fossils were unearthed... 83 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:40,520 ..we quickly made assumptions... 84 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,320 ..that have persisted ever since. 85 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,720 As a result, Neanderthals haven't had the best PR. 86 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:00,119 If somebody calls you a Neanderthal, it's probably not a compliment. 87 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,879 And that stereotype of Neanderthals has been with us 88 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:04,479 since the very beginning. 89 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,839 And it kind of suited us to see ourselves as the pinnacle 90 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,439 of evolution, and them as these knuckle-dragging ape men. 91 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,999 But partly, that stereotype is actually just a mistake of science. 92 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,519 Palaeoanthropology at the time was quite a new science, 93 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,479 and when they came to reconstruct this one Neanderthal called 94 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,879 La Chapelle-aux-Saints, they portrayed it as kind of really 95 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,359 hunched over and knuckle-dragging, which was just wrong. 96 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,039 This kind of brutish, hairy Neanderthal, 97 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,599 looking like it's about to attack, it's incredibly aggressive. 98 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,199 And then Hollywood pick up this stereotype. 99 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,320 Some of these images are so ridiculous. 100 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,960 Very monkey-like Neanderthals. 101 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,040 That impression of Neanderthals just solidifies. 102 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,639 I personally love Neanderthals, 103 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,439 and the more we learn about them, the more we study them, 104 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,319 the more we discover about them, 105 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,840 the more we realise that this is actually incredibly incorrect. 106 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,479 This now outdated image of the simple brutish caveman is 107 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:15,880 finally being replaced... 108 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:23,000 ..with a picture of a once vibrant, thriving culture. 109 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:32,600 There may be no Neanderthals left to tell their story... 110 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,559 ..but thanks to the traces they left behind, 111 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:41,280 we can begin to imagine people who aren't so different from us. 112 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,159 We keep finding things at Neanderthal sites 113 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:50,560 that really challenge us. 114 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,359 Things like beaded shells with pigmentation on them, 115 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,680 almost like they're being used as necklaces. 116 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,399 Eagle talons that have been polished down. 117 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,439 And then there's my actual favourite, which is 118 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,359 evidence of feathers. 119 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:09,679 But not just any feathers. 120 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:11,599 No, the Neanderthals seem to be really 121 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,879 interested in iridescent feathers from things like red kites. 122 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:17,719 And you've got to wonder, 123 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,759 why were they so interested in those particular colours? 124 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:23,759 And it's presumably because they're high value. 125 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,120 They're beautiful. 126 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,079 You kind of have an impression of them as having these incredible 127 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,960 headdresses or maybe cloaks made of these brilliant, bright feathers. 128 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:40,919 When you put this all together, 129 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,159 you paint a picture of a Neanderthal, not as this 130 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:48,799 aggressive creature standing behind a rock with a massive club, 131 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,600 but actually as these beings very interested in adorning themselves. 132 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,519 Interested in looking beautiful with necklaces 133 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:59,920 and gorgeous coloured headdresses. 134 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,839 Suddenly you're looking at beings who aren't just 135 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:11,079 interested in food and shelter - 136 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,920 they're interested in the way they are seen by the world. 137 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,720 This - all this - makes them tangibly human. 138 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,719 For generations, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived 139 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:29,920 near one another. 140 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,160 But how close were we? 141 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,799 For decades, most assumed interbreeding 142 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,320 between our two species didn't happen. 143 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,120 But in the early 2000s, this was called into question... 144 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,520 ..with the chance discovery of fossil fragments... 145 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:18,800 ..which revealed humans with a mysterious mix of features. 146 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,320 It even smells like a fossil. 147 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,639 This, I assume, is Oase 1. 148 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:31,840 This one is Oase 1. 149 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,919 And that's Oase 2. Skull. That's Oase 2. 150 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,359 This is quite special because I've read about them. 151 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,199 I've studied them. 152 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,239 They're hugely significant fossils, 153 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,439 but I've never seen the originals. 154 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,079 I've never been this close to them. It's... 155 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:50,839 We excavated for two years. 156 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,919 We unearthed, like, more than 10,000 fossil remains, 157 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,319 mostly cave bear, but also Oase 2. 158 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,599 And it looks and it is modern Homo sapiens. Yeah. 159 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:08,119 But it has some features which are more like Neanderthal. 160 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,159 Yeah. Like this one. It's quite clear. 161 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,159 It's a mandible of a modern human with this chin. 162 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:14,279 Cos there's a chin. Yeah, a chin. 163 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:15,879 Yeah. And Neanderthals don't have a chin. 164 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:17,599 Neanderthals' chin kind of recedes. 165 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,959 But then you see the size of the molars... Yeah. 166 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,679 ..which are really huge. More a Neanderthal feature. 167 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:28,159 Modern sapiens, but with Neanderthal teeth. 168 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,039 Yeah, Oase 2 has the same hybrid features. Mm-mm. 169 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:33,799 Like if you look at the face. 170 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,279 You look at that and you do think that's Homo sapiens. 171 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:42,479 And then it has these features on it, which are more Neanderthal. 172 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,239 Like this occipital bun here at the back, 173 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,399 that bulge at the back of the skull here. 174 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,319 Yeah, that's kind of strange. 175 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:53,439 It's not a Neanderthal, but it has Neanderthal features, 176 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,840 which prompt us to think about some sort of interbreeding. 177 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,679 Neanderthal, Homo sapiens interbreeding. 178 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,039 It was pretty controversial. 179 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:04,919 People thought it either didn't happen, 180 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,719 because we were too genetically distinct. 181 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,559 People were just not ready to accept that. 182 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:14,159 Interbreeding is not something uncommon in biology. 183 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:15,679 It happens with other species. 184 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,880 At that time, it was somehow taboo. 185 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,920 Around a decade later came a revolutionary breakthrough. 186 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,639 Advances in genetic analysis allowed scientists to extract 187 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,120 DNA from ancient fossils... 188 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:48,280 ..proving these two species could - and did - produce offspring. 189 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,079 How did it feel to be proven right, to be vindicated, 190 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,440 especially over something so controversial? 191 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,719 We felt relieved. Yeah. 192 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:01,760 Like, "OK. 193 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,600 "Now you know." 194 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,879 Yeah, we were happy to be right. 195 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:09,079 Yeah. 196 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,639 How many generations ago was the Neanderthal ancestor? 197 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,479 We now know that this individual had 198 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,839 a Neanderthal ancestor somewhere back four to six generations. 199 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,079 One of the great-great-grandparents, potentially, was a Neanderthal. 200 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:25,999 Something like that. 201 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,759 You know, people spend their whole lives - their WHOLE lives - 202 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,720 trying to find a fossil as significant as this, and... 203 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:37,400 Wow, it's just amazing. 204 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,759 Since the discovery of Oase 1, evidence has continued to grow, 205 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,999 proving hybrids like this were not just possible, 206 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,520 but may have been relatively common. 207 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,639 We'll never know the full story of Oase 1 and the other hybrids, 208 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,439 and to be honest, we'll never know the full circumstances 209 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,519 under which they were conceived. 210 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,639 For all we know, it could have been nonconsensual, or it could have 211 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,639 been the result of a romantic notion like love, 212 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,199 or it might have been the result of a practical decision 213 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:18,920 like as part of a trade agreement. 214 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,358 But whatever it was, 215 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:28,039 what must it have been like to have been a hybrid child, 216 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,039 to have had a parent or grandparent or great-great-grandparent, 217 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:37,000 not just from a different race, but a completely different species? 218 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:42,759 Did these children feel like they belonged, 219 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,200 or were they teased and ostracised? 220 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,719 We'll never know, but what we do know, 221 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:55,639 because I held Oase 1 in my hands, is that they existed. 222 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,279 And so somebody loved them, 223 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,359 and somebody was raising them to adulthood. 224 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:03,279 And so we tangibly know that the Neanderthals 225 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,200 and the Homo sapiens, they didn't just meet - they joined. 226 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,439 We now know that, for a time at least, Homo sapiens 227 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,760 and Neanderthals managed to live alongside one another. 228 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:32,120 But a global change would push both species to the limits of survival. 229 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:47,480 It's likely Homo sapiens arrived here during a brief thaw. 230 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,400 And by doing so, they had walked into a trap. 231 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,640 Europe was plunged into winter. 232 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:19,800 Unrecognisable to us today, it became a barren and hostile world. 233 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,960 Rainfall in some areas fell to half its modern level. 234 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,839 And much of the continent became tundra. 235 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,040 A vast, inhospitable plain. 236 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,439 All of a sudden, Homo sapiens were confronted by 237 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,320 a completely different world. 238 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,399 Frozen, relentless, 239 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,720 and utterly unexpected. 240 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,479 There's no way for them to have known it, 241 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,039 but before the first Homo sapiens arrived, 242 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,080 most of Europe would have been in the depths of winter. 243 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,919 Ice sheets like this one would have spread from here 244 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:30,600 all the way down to Britain. 245 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,239 Homo sapiens evolved in Africa, 246 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,759 so these conditions would have been completely shocking to them. 247 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,679 It's currently minus eight degrees. 248 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:49,279 I am wearing so many layers, it's actually ridiculous. 249 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,119 And yet, I am still completely miserable. 250 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,600 It is so cold, I can't feel parts of my face. 251 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,159 These families, they were here 252 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,399 and they were trying to keep young children alive. 253 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,120 These conditions would have been life-threatening. 254 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,080 But while Homo sapiens weren't adapted for the cold... 255 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:25,639 ..Neanderthals had evolved to survive brutal 256 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,160 winters for almost 400,000 years. 257 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,120 They knew where to shelter and hunt for scarce food. 258 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,200 But survival was also in their biology. 259 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:56,679 It's thought they evolved to store more brown fat than Homo sapiens. 260 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,759 This burns more calories and generates heat, 261 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,160 conserving energy in the cold. 262 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:11,560 And larger nasal passages acted like natural radiators... 263 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,720 ..warming and moistening the icy air before it reached their lungs. 264 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,520 When the going got tough, Neanderthals were built to endure. 265 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,399 Without the Neanderthals' adaptations or knowledge, 266 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,359 these early European Homo sapiens would have been doing 267 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,240 everything they could just to cling on. 268 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,600 And yet the bitter cold was just the beginning. 269 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,519 This glacier is the remnant of an ice sheet that's incrementally 270 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,880 grown and shrunk for millennia. 271 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:25,719 Deep within are clues about the world our ancestors 272 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:27,880 would have found themselves in. 273 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:38,919 We're working in mountain glaciers like Folgefonna 274 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,479 because we can use the evidence of how the glaciers have changed 275 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,999 in the past to understand how they behaved 276 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,519 in response to climate change. 277 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,639 Many of the places we live in now, where I live in Bergen, 278 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,319 would have been underneath a kilometre of ice. Yeah. 279 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,919 I mean, there were times when Britain was part of that. 280 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,239 The ice sheet came as far south as about Birmingham. 281 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,440 Birmingham, my own hometown. There we go! 282 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:05,039 So, this is where we're drilling the ice core. Yeah. 283 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,159 So, it's manual drilling? Yes, exactly. 284 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,319 And there's blades at the bottom that are cutting through the ice. 285 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,639 How tough is that? It can be quite hard work. Yeah. 286 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,600 And then we lift it out, and we bring it over here. 287 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,399 We can see... Look at that. 288 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,999 If we hold it up to the light, we can see the air bubbles. 289 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,519 So basically, this is effectively a time capsule. Yes. 290 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,120 And this is young ice from Folgefonna glacier. 291 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,199 But if this was from Greenland and it was deep, old ice core, 292 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,639 those air bubbles would tell us about what the atmosphere 293 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,120 was like in the past. 294 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,319 We can look at what we see from the ice cores in Greenland. 295 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:45,799 And this shows us how the climate 296 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,079 changed through that period in the North Atlantic region. Yeah. 297 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,279 There was a relatively cold 298 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,599 but stable climate from 70,000 to 60,000 years ago. 299 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,999 And then between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago, 300 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,959 the climate in this region jumped by eight to ten degrees warmer over 301 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:03,959 maybe one or two decades. That's quite a lot. 302 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,279 It's huge. It's huge. 303 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,039 And that cycle is repeated all through that period. 304 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,319 And then it cooled again and then jumped. 305 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:11,359 And this carried on. 306 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:13,959 And we see then a cold, but slightly more stable, 307 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,720 climate before we then warm into the present day. 308 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,719 I mean, how do you exist 309 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,679 if the climate changes like that in such an extreme fashion? 310 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:23,879 Well, it's very challenging. 311 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,399 It's maybe not even possible because everything you know 312 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,079 about how to live, how to raise children, 313 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,999 becomes in 10-20 years... Yeah. Obsolete... totally changes. 314 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,840 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally changes. 315 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,560 Entire ecosystems collapsed. 316 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,600 Forests became barren plains. 317 00:25:58,440 --> 00:25:59,680 Lakes dried up. 318 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,080 And rivers froze over. 319 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:13,520 The real enemy wasn't cold. 320 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:16,560 It was chaos. 321 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:28,240 As landscapes shifted, herds of animals disappeared. 322 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,120 And sources of food grew scarce. 323 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,119 People were driven into unfamiliar territories 324 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:47,920 and forced to compete for what little remained. 325 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,560 It was a brutal time to be alive. 326 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,679 Imagine what it would be like for our ancestors to live in this 327 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,239 world where the land of their grandparents was not 328 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,519 the land of their grandchildren. 329 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:10,559 And when that happens, intergenerational knowledge - 330 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,719 knowledge that's passed on from one generation to the next, 331 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,959 that's so important for survival in these environments - 332 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,679 suddenly that knowledge isn't actually very useful 333 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,920 because the plants, the animals, the landscape, it's all different. 334 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,200 To survive, each generation had to discover the world anew... 335 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,439 ..roaming further in search of dwindling resources 336 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:42,960 that might not be there. 337 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,719 Homo sapiens and Neanderthals would have been forced to find 338 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,000 shelter wherever they were able to... 339 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,680 ..seeking refuge in the few habitable places they could find. 340 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,039 55,000 years ago, 341 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,280 the south of France was still in the thick of the Ice Age. 342 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,439 Yet, compared to the deep freeze of the north, it was 343 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:43,520 one of the more bearable places in an otherwise hostile landscape. 344 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:52,400 And here at Grotte Mandrin... 345 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,999 ..archaeologists have spent over three decades 346 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,640 unearthing its secrets... 347 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:02,640 ..layer by layer... 348 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,359 ..revealing a place that was home to Neanderthals for more 349 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,120 than 80,000 years. 350 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,640 Shoes off. Yes. There we go. 351 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:43,680 Yeah. 352 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:53,400 Uh-huh. 353 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,079 So, what you're seeing here is phases of occupation 354 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,639 over 80,000 years. Yeah. 355 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,439 And because you've got incredible resolution, you can 356 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:06,640 really hone in on that. 357 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,880 Each layer has preserved a moment in time. 358 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,279 And from the treasures buried within, 359 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:35,200 it's possible to piece together different chapters of history. 360 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,320 For millennia, this cave was home to Neanderthals. 361 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:54,080 But one layer stood out, containing finely crafted tools. 362 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:02,880 Small and precise. 363 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,839 Techniques that suggested they were made not by Neanderthals, 364 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:10,600 but by Homo sapiens. 365 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:24,840 A suspicion confirmed when the Earth revealed another treasure. 366 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:43,679 That then is conclusive evidence that that layer with those 367 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,119 strange, unusual stone tools is definitely a Homo sapien layer? 368 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:48,160 Yes. 369 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,760 These discoveries tell us a story of one group of Homo sapiens. 370 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:04,800 Among the first to come to Europe... 371 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,400 ..they had ventured into Neanderthal territory... 372 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:19,080 ..seeking refuge in this cave in the depths of the Ice Age. 373 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,679 When we imagine the past, we often don't imagine children. 374 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,839 We imagine, well, a man, a caveman, right? Yeah. 375 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:31,599 But, actually, these were cave children. Yeah. 376 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,319 And you imagine what they were doing, were they playing? 377 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:35,639 They were playing. 378 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:39,399 But imagine to have been born, the first of your people 379 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,079 to turn up there - and we don't know, 380 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,279 they might have been born somewhere else - but... Yeah. 381 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:44,560 ..it's fascinating. 382 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:47,440 Wow. 383 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,959 Using advanced dating techniques, a team were able to uncover 384 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,840 even more precise details about the people who lived here. 385 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,959 So people were building fires... Yeah. 386 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,359 ..the fire created soot that would end up on the roof. Exactly. 387 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:24,879 And then bits of the roof would collapse 388 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,519 and end up in your archaeological layers? Yes. 389 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,480 It's literally telling you when they're using this place. Exactly. 390 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,399 By counting the microscopic layers of soot 391 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,479 deposited on the cave ceiling, 392 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,000 the team could tell how often these people came here. 393 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:56,160 But what happened to them? 394 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,678 This exceptional site tells the story of a group of Homo sapiens 395 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:22,519 pioneers who lived here in between tens of thousands 396 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,600 of years of Neanderthal occupation. 397 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,040 But then all traces of them vanished. 398 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:37,120 It's one small but very important chapter in our bigger story. 399 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,599 We don't know what happened to that particular group of Homo sapiens 400 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,399 from Grotte Mandrin, but it's likely that their story 401 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,079 reflects what was unfolding across the continent. 402 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:53,759 This wave of Homo sapiens was lured into Europe during a warmer spell. 403 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,279 They were pioneers for sure, but they were trying to 404 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:01,079 survive in a brand-new environment as best as they could, 405 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,719 as best as they knew how, really, finding temporary places to shelter 406 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:08,879 before in the blink of an eye moving on - 407 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,679 or worse, dying out completely. 408 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:15,199 Because that band of Homo sapiens from Grotte Mandrin 409 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,879 would be the last of our species found on this continent 410 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:20,560 for thousands of years. 411 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,639 Perhaps unprepared for the harsh environment they faced, 412 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:35,399 this early wave of Homo sapiens in Europe did not survive. 413 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,799 Once again, and for the next 9,000 years, 414 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,200 it became exclusively Neanderthal territory. 415 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,760 Neanderthals had survived while Homo sapiens died out in Europe. 416 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:01,840 Yet today, we're the only ones left. 417 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,960 How did our stories end so differently? 418 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:24,519 Part of the answer can be found deep 419 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,840 within the forests of northern Spain... 420 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,919 ..where evidence hints that the grip of the Ice Age was 421 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,080 taking its toll on the Neanderthals. 422 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:54,440 A struggle uncovered in a cave known as the Tunnel of Bones. 423 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:07,640 Oh, wow. 424 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,720 So this is the famous El Sidron Cave. It is, yes. 425 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:24,400 It's got more character than I was expecting, actually. Yes. 426 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,280 And how did you find them? 427 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:05,640 Wow. 428 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,960 Such a diverse group in terms of individuals... 429 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,160 ..all found in one spot. 430 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:50,679 And, you know, when you say that one of those people had red hair, 431 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:57,280 it suddenly brings what are just fossils, really, to life. 432 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,360 It's a cave that's filled with ghosts. 433 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,440 This was not a natural death. 434 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:24,520 Cracked skulls and precise cuts on the bones... 435 00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:29,000 ..suggest that this was a brutal massacre. 436 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,560 13 people killed by another Neanderthal group. 437 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:44,000 But closer analysis of their remains... 438 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:47,800 ..revealed an even darker truth. 439 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:52,600 So what do the bones actually tell us? 440 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,959 They were really eating these 13 individuals? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 441 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:09,759 So how do we know that this was cannibalism as opposed to 442 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:13,920 just straight up murder - or, for that matter, an animal coming? 443 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:28,039 So you're looking for something sharp? 444 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:30,000 And now, you have a... Yeah, that's it, let's see. 445 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:40,800 Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 446 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,119 Yeah. So, they're focusing on the areas where there's muscle, 447 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,360 where there's meat, effectively. That's it. 448 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,000 Yeah. Oh! 449 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,479 Yeah, if you're getting bone marrow... That's it, yes. 450 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,039 ..that is an indication of cannibalism, for sure. 451 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:07,640 Yes, it is, sure. Yeah. 452 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:18,599 This murder/cannibalism of 13 members of a family group 453 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:20,960 isn't the only dark thing that's happening here. 454 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:41,880 That's unusual, that's a congenital anomaly. 455 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,440 So, basically, you've got an inbred population. 456 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:19,599 It's painting a picture, isn't it? 457 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,399 Of those... those final thousands... Yes. 458 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,920 ..thousands of years before they eventually became extinct. 459 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,240 Yeah, it's a silent killer. You're right. 460 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:53,480 The El Sidron bones hint at more than the suffering of one family. 461 00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:01,039 Because this pattern of starvation, cannibalism 462 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:04,120 and violence was happening across Europe... 463 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:08,680 ..this was a species in free fall. 464 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:14,599 This is a haunting place. 465 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:17,279 It's not exactly Neanderthals in their heyday, is it? 466 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:20,999 If anything, it's kind of like the end of days for them. 467 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:24,999 They've been driven into this evolutionary cul-de-sac, 468 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:28,039 reduced to eating each other 469 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,679 and having children with their relatives. 470 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:35,079 And that inbreeding would have made them more susceptible to disease. 471 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,799 If, on the evolutionary timescale, 472 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,519 12:00 midnight represents extinction for the Neanderthals, 473 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,200 this site is past 11:30. 474 00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:53,000 This once resilient species... 475 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,960 ..was now reduced to just a few isolated groups... 476 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:01,080 ..turning on one another. 477 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:14,520 But any chance Neanderthals may have had of weathering this storm... 478 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:20,360 ..was shattered by the return of another species. 479 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:24,880 Homo sapiens. 480 00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:34,959 9,000 years after Homo sapiens had disappeared from Europe, 481 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:36,800 waves of settlers returned. 482 00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:48,320 A new generation... 483 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,360 ..who, even though the climate was as volatile as ever... 484 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:57,400 ..were undeterred. 485 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:05,400 These were survivors, and they were here to stay. 486 00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:12,399 Some archaeological finds, 487 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:15,879 their significance is immediately obvious, but others you don't 488 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:19,039 necessarily know what you're looking at until you suddenly do. 489 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,439 And this is a really good example of this. 490 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:23,359 This might not seem like a lot, 491 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,119 but actually it represents a massive step forward. 492 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,519 So what you're looking at here is 493 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,080 the imprint, in clay, of weaving. 494 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:36,559 Now we don't know if it was intentional - 495 00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:39,959 it might have just been that there was some material on the floor 496 00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:41,959 and somebody just happened to throw down some clay, 497 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:46,439 but they actually think that this may have been made with nettle. 498 00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:49,719 And you're probably thinking, "Well, nettle, really?" 499 00:45:49,720 --> 00:45:52,679 Well, that is probably a by-product of the modern world 500 00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:56,639 and all the fabrics that we use, but actually this here is made of 501 00:45:56,640 --> 00:46:01,720 nettle, and this is the woven fabric that they were able to make from it. 502 00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:07,640 If you can make this, you can suddenly make better clothing... 503 00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:17,480 ..and you're able to protect yourself so much more from the cold. 504 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:23,719 Maybe those young children in a cold spell might have survived 505 00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:26,880 a bit better if their clothing fitted better. 506 00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:33,799 But you can't just think about weaving as being about clothing, 507 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:38,239 because if you can weave, suddenly your nets, your traps, are better. 508 00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:39,519 You're able to get more food. 509 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,000 You're potentially able to make better shelter. 510 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,559 Whenever we talk about Palaeolithic technology, 511 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:52,319 you're probably thinking about spears or stone tools. 512 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,079 It's always weaponry, right? 513 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,719 Well, actually, this stuff might have really given them 514 00:46:56,720 --> 00:46:57,920 the edge, as well. 515 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:06,079 It's likely the ability to make better clothing increased 516 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:09,520 infant survival, even in the harshest months. 517 00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:18,760 Each advance, however small, added up... 518 00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:24,240 ..giving Homo sapiens the one thing Neanderthals lacked... 519 00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:27,800 ..strength in numbers. 520 00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:45,960 The Neanderthals had existed for over 400,000 years... 521 00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:50,040 ..developing a rich culture... 522 00:47:58,240 --> 00:48:01,600 ..and withstanding brutal conditions for millennia. 523 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:10,680 But the relentless climate, dwindling resources... 524 00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:18,920 ..and another species growing in strength pushed them to the brink. 525 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,120 But what delivered the final blow? 526 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:32,279 How does an entire human species disappear 527 00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:33,880 from the face of the Earth? 528 00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:41,520 Part of the answer may lie in the smallest of things... 529 00:48:43,240 --> 00:48:47,760 ..the genes we exchanged in the form of our hybrid children. 530 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:00,559 I'm going to try and do a demo to explain genetics. 531 00:49:00,560 --> 00:49:02,359 So let's see how this goes. 532 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:04,079 Let's say that these are the Neanderthals, 533 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:05,879 and these are the Homo sapiens, 534 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,200 and they interbreed. 535 00:49:08,360 --> 00:49:10,999 We don't know where the hybrid children ended up. 536 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:12,359 Did they end up with the Neanderthals, 537 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:14,999 or did they end up with the Homo sapiens? So, let's just say, 538 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:16,480 they went back 50-50. 539 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:21,080 And we see a little Homo sapiens DNA in the Neanderthal group... 540 00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:25,800 ..and a little Neanderthal DNA in the Homo sapiens group. 541 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:30,799 The Neanderthals lived in small, isolated populations, 542 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:33,479 but the Homo sapiens were probably a little bit better 543 00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:35,039 at keeping their kids alive. 544 00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:38,719 And also, importantly, they were constantly replenishing 545 00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:42,680 from source populations in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. 546 00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:48,840 Numbers made all the difference. 547 00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:56,559 As more Homo sapiens migrated into Europe, 548 00:49:56,560 --> 00:49:58,800 Neanderthals were already declining. 549 00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:03,639 So, when the two interbred, 550 00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,760 the impact on Neanderthals was far greater. 551 00:50:10,120 --> 00:50:13,599 If you're a huge population, that interbreeding doesn't have 552 00:50:13,600 --> 00:50:18,079 the same impact as it does on the much smaller Neanderthal population. 553 00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:20,359 It's already a little bit interbred. 554 00:50:20,360 --> 00:50:24,359 Perhaps they were simply absorbed into the larger Homo sapiens 555 00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:26,760 population that just kept on replenishing. 556 00:50:28,120 --> 00:50:31,239 Over time, Neanderthal DNA became increasingly 557 00:50:31,240 --> 00:50:35,760 diluted by the much larger Homo sapiens population. 558 00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:39,999 So, it doesn't actually need to be this big act of aggression. 559 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:43,039 It might just be the fact that we were there, that we 560 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:44,479 were interbreeding with them, 561 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:46,839 and that we had large population sizes. 562 00:50:46,840 --> 00:50:51,720 Perhaps that was enough to push the Neanderthals to extinction. 563 00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:02,560 It was a perfect storm for Neanderthals. 564 00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:09,560 By around 40,000 years ago, their gene pool was diminishing... 565 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:15,720 ..until only a handful of distinct Neanderthal populations remained... 566 00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:23,240 ..hanging on in just a few isolated enclaves. 567 00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:28,999 We don't know where the last Neanderthal outpost was. 568 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,799 It was likely a very remote part of Europe or Asia. 569 00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:36,719 But around 40,000 years ago, that place probably 570 00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:41,120 acted as a refuge to the very, very last of their kind. 571 00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:51,679 Archaeologists have pieced together what may be among the final 572 00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:53,960 moments of Neanderthal extinction. 573 00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:00,719 Uncovering remains of what could be 574 00:52:00,720 --> 00:52:03,480 the last surviving Neanderthal groups. 575 00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:09,479 Some of that evidence has been discovered 576 00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:12,040 in coastal caves in southern Spain. 577 00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:23,319 We don't know what truly happened in those final moments, 578 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:25,000 or who was left at the end. 579 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:30,000 But there was an ending. 580 00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:39,679 Because after that, our sister species, 581 00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:41,719 who had existed for around 582 00:52:41,720 --> 00:52:43,680 400,000 years... 583 00:52:48,040 --> 00:52:51,800 ..vanishes from the archaeological record completely. 584 00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:55,919 It feels like a moment of loss. 585 00:52:55,920 --> 00:52:57,559 We lost something. 586 00:52:57,560 --> 00:52:58,600 But also... 587 00:52:59,680 --> 00:53:01,959 ..it's part of the human story. 588 00:53:01,960 --> 00:53:03,639 It's our story. 589 00:53:03,640 --> 00:53:05,520 These were our ancestors. 590 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:16,679 On the one hand, it's hard not to be impressed with Homo sapiens. 591 00:53:16,680 --> 00:53:20,639 And if we hadn't have been so successful, if we hadn't have had 592 00:53:20,640 --> 00:53:26,720 this hunger to innovate, to explore, would you and I even be here? 593 00:53:28,640 --> 00:53:32,959 And yet, those same things that make us so remarkable 594 00:53:32,960 --> 00:53:35,280 seem to be damning to those around us. 595 00:53:42,080 --> 00:53:44,400 This is where this chain of events ends. 596 00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:52,280 A slow, unwitting war of attrition against our sister species... 597 00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:02,400 ..until they simply faded away. 598 00:54:09,360 --> 00:54:11,480 But this wasn't the only ending. 599 00:54:12,720 --> 00:54:16,279 After the last Neanderthals, the Denisovans - 600 00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:19,639 the species who once spanned much of Asia - 601 00:54:19,640 --> 00:54:23,320 may have survived for another 10,000 years... 602 00:54:24,680 --> 00:54:28,600 ..until they, too, were overwhelmed by Homo sapiens. 603 00:54:29,880 --> 00:54:34,079 This story starts with three species, but it ends with one. 604 00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:38,439 And it's part of a wider pattern that always goes the same way - 605 00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:43,040 the survival of our species leading to the demise of everyone else. 606 00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:54,240 Today, these events have faded from memory. 607 00:54:59,360 --> 00:55:01,440 But it's not quite the end of the story. 608 00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:06,400 Because we carry a piece of this history within us. 609 00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:14,399 One of the most striking revelations over the last few years 610 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:17,239 is that everybody from outside of Sub-Saharan Africa 611 00:55:17,240 --> 00:55:19,440 has about 2% Neanderthal DNA. 612 00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:25,759 And that DNA is associated with negative things 613 00:55:25,760 --> 00:55:27,279 like Crohn's disease, 614 00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:30,639 but it's also associated with all kinds of positives, 615 00:55:30,640 --> 00:55:33,160 like being better adapted to the cold. 616 00:55:36,720 --> 00:55:39,279 And now we know that Denisovan DNA 617 00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:41,919 has been found in Homo sapiens populations. 618 00:55:41,920 --> 00:55:45,199 It's as high as 6% in the Philippines. 619 00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:47,079 And it's associated with things like 620 00:55:47,080 --> 00:55:49,480 being able to survive better at high altitude. 621 00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:57,679 And if you think about it, it actually makes perfect sense. 622 00:55:57,680 --> 00:56:01,679 Because when we were leaving Africa, the Neanderthals 623 00:56:01,680 --> 00:56:06,959 and the Denisovans had already spent hundreds of thousands of years 624 00:56:06,960 --> 00:56:12,519 adapting and evolving to their local environments and pathogens. 625 00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:15,359 And so what we were doing by interbreeding with them 626 00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:17,839 was effectively a quick fix. 627 00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:22,720 We were adopting adaptations that would ultimately aid our survival. 628 00:56:28,120 --> 00:56:31,079 Depending on where you're from, you'll probably find 629 00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:34,520 traces of Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA within you... 630 00:56:37,440 --> 00:56:41,599 ..a genetic echo of the human story connecting us 631 00:56:41,600 --> 00:56:44,440 to this long line of distant ghosts. 632 00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:52,639 2% might not sound like a lot, but my 2% is different from your 2%. 633 00:56:52,640 --> 00:56:55,759 And collectively, all of that Neanderthal DNA 634 00:56:55,760 --> 00:56:58,559 that exists within humans living today 635 00:56:58,560 --> 00:57:02,279 would make up about two-thirds of the Neanderthal genome. 636 00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:05,039 And so in a very real sense, Neanderthals 637 00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:08,999 and Denisovans have been assimilated into our bodies. 638 00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:12,239 And it's just the loveliest thought, isn't it? 639 00:57:12,240 --> 00:57:15,160 That they live on and exist within us. 640 00:57:22,800 --> 00:57:26,560 Our planet was once home to many human species. 641 00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:35,040 Bit by bit, they've all disappeared, leaving only one... 642 00:57:36,920 --> 00:57:39,160 ..the inheritors of their DNA. 643 00:57:51,120 --> 00:57:54,839 ..as the Ice Age reaches greater extremes, 644 00:57:54,840 --> 00:57:58,080 we step into an unexplored continent... 645 00:57:59,720 --> 00:58:02,160 ..where new dangers lie in wait... 646 00:58:04,640 --> 00:58:06,400 ..starvation threatens... 647 00:58:08,680 --> 00:58:11,800 ..and humans have to fight to survive. 648 00:58:12,305 --> 00:59:12,426 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm