First Peoples (2015): Season 1, Episode 2 - Asia - full transcript

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NARRATOR:
AFRICA, OUR HOMELAND.

[WHISTLE BLOWING]

THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.

WE ARE ALL AFRICANS.

BUT WHEN OUR SPECIES EMERGED,

THERE WERE OTHER,
ANCIENT TYPES OF HUMANS

STILL LIVING IN AFRICA.

[FOREST BIRDS CALLING]

WHAT PART DID THEY PLAY
IN OUR EVOLUTION?



DID WE INTERBREED WITH THEM

AND PRODUCE HYBRID CHILDREN?

MAN: THIS SAMPLE MADE MANKIND

MUCH OLDER THAN WHAT
THE SCIENTISTS

HAD BEEN THEORIZING FOR YEARS.

WOMAN: VARIATION IS KEY
TO EVOLUTION.

IT'S WHAT EVOLUTION WORKS ON,
AND IT'S EXACTLY WHY

HYBRIDIZATION IS SUCH
A POWERFUL EVOLUTIONARY FORCE.

SECOND MAN: IT'S A STORY
OF MANY FIRST PEOPLES,

NOT JUST ONE; IT'S
A STORY ABOUT DIVERSITY.

NARRATOR: SCIENTISTS
ARE RETHINKING

THE ORIGINS OF OUR SPECIES.

WE ARE NOT THE PEOPLE
WE THOUGHT WE WERE.

NARRATOR: THIS IS THE STORY
OF OUR ANCESTORS,



AS THEY SPREAD TO EVERY
CONTINENT OF THE WORLD.

WHAT WAS THE SECRET
TO THEIR SUCCESS?

THEIR STORY IS OUR STORY.

NARRATOR: EASTERN AFRICA--
195,000 YEARS AGO.

HUNTERS ON THE SAVANNA.

THEY HAVE THE SAME
BODY SHAPE AS US,

THE SAME BRAIN.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS KNOW THIS MAN

AS OMO 1.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

NARRATOR: HE IS DESTINED TO DIE

WHILE STILL IN HIS 20s...

[GASPING]

BUT HIS DEATH WILL
RESONATE THROUGH TIME.

IT'S THE FIRST WE KNOW OF
BY A MEMBER OF OUR SPECIES.

HE IS ONE OF US.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

NARRATOR: OMO 1 LIVED HERE,

IN THE OMO VALLEY.

TODAY, IT'S BONE DRY,

BUT 195,000 YEARS AGO,

THIS WAS A LUSH WETLAND,

A GREAT HOME
FOR PREHISTORIC PEOPLE.

TWO U.S. SCIENTISTS KNOW
THIS SITE WELL--

ANTHROPOLOGIST JOHN FLEAGLE

AND ARCHAEOLOGIST JOHN SHEA.

THEY'RE BASED IN NEW YORK,

BUT FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS,

THEY'VE BEEN COMING HERE
TO FIND OUT MORE

ABOUT THE LIFE
AND TIMES OF OMO 1.

[PANTING]

THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD
FROM NEW YORK. [EXHALES]

YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH,
LIKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME,

A-- A JOURNEY TO THE ORIGIN
OF OUR SPECIES.

[DISTANT BIRD SCREECHING

NARRATOR: OMO 1 WAS
DISCOVERED IN 1967

BY AN INTERNATIONAL EXPEDITION
TO SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA.

THEY CAME LOOKING
FOR HUMAN FOSSILS

ERODING OUT OF
THE ANCIENT SEDIMENTS.

AND SURE ENOUGH,

THEY FOUND THE REMAINS
OF 3 PREHISTORIC HUMANS.

THE MOST COMPLETE SKELETON
WAS THAT OF OMO 1.

BUT IN THE 1960s,

NO ONE KNEW JUST HOW OLD HE WAS.

NARRATOR: FOR 3 DECADES,

OMO 1 WAS A FOSSIL
IN SEARCH OF A STORY.

[MEN PANT]

NARRATOR: THAT CHANGED
WHEN JOHN FLEAGLE

AND JOHN SHEA CAME
TO THE OMO VALLEY

IN THE EARLY 2000s

AND REOPENED THE SITE.

SHEA: THIS IS IT--
[SIGHS]-- THE LOST WORLD.

FLEAGLE: PRETTY SPECTACULAR.

THE BIG QUESTION WAS
HOW LONG AGO

DID MODERN HUMANS
ORIGINATE IN AFRICA?

UH, HERE WERE MODERN
HUMAN SKELETONS,

BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW
HOW OLD THEY WERE,

BUT THERE WERE HINTS
THAT THEY WERE VERY, VERY OLD.

THERE WERE PEOPLE
WHO WERE SAYING, YOU KNOW,

THIS STUFF'S PROBABLY
20,000 OR 30,000 YEARS OLD.

THERE WAS AN OLD DATE
THAT SAID IT WAS, PERHAPS,

AS MUCH AS
100,000 YEARS OLD.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT
NEEDED TO BE RESOLVED.

NARRATOR: THE BONES WERE
TOO OLD FOR CARBON-DATING.

THAT TECHNIQUE ONLY
REACHES BACK 50,000 YEARS...

BUT BY ANALYZING LEVELS
OF ARGON IN THE SEDIMENT,

IT'S NOW POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE
AN ACCURATE TIMELINE

OF THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE.

THE BONES OF OMO 1
WERE FROM A LAYER

THAT WAS 195,000 YEARS OLD.

FLEAGLE: WHEN WE GOT
THAT DATE OF 195,

WE THOUGHT, "OH, MY!"

UM, WE NEVER-- I DON'T THINK
WE EVER THOUGHT

IT WOULD QUITE BE THAT OLD.

NARRATOR: THE HUMAN FAMILY TREE

STARTS 21/2 MILLION YEARS AGO.

BEFORE THAT TIME, WE WERE
MORE APE THAN HUMAN.

EVER SINCE, THERE HAVE BEEN
INNUMERABLE BRANCHES,

TWIGS, AND SHOOTS, GIVING RISE
TO DIFFERENT SPECIES

WITH STRANGE NAMES.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS CLASSIFY THEM ALL

AS ARCHAIC HUMANS.

WHAT MAKES OMO 1 SO SPECIAL

IS THAT HE IS A MODERN HUMAN,

A MEMBER OF OUR SPECIES--

OMO 1 STOOD AS TALL
AS A MODERN-DAY AFRICAN

AND WEIGHED 160 POUNDS.

HE HUNTED GIANT HOG
AND ANTELOPE.

BUT ONE DAY, OMO 1
COULD HUNT NO MORE.

THERE'S NO EVIDENCE HIS BONES
WERE EVER MOVED OR BURIED.

FOR 195,000 YEARS,

THEY LAY WHERE HE DIED.

SHEA: THE ONE THING
WE KNOW ABOUT THIS SITE,

THE ONE IRREDUCIBLE FACT
ABOUT OMO 1,

IS THAT THIS IS THE PLACE
WHERE OMO 1 DIED.

[RASPY BREATHING]

SHEA: HE WOULD PROBABLY BE OFF
TO THE SIDE SOMEPLACE,

SURROUNDED BY MEMBERS
OF HIS FAMILY:

HIS WIFE,
HIS CHILDREN,

HIS-- HIS BEST FRIEND,
HIS BROTHER, HIS SISTER.

THEY'D BE CARING FOR HIM,
TRYING TO MAKE HIM COMFORTABLE.

[RASPY BREATHING]

SHEA: OR HE MIGHT HAVE
BEEN LEFT BEHIND,

AS OFTEN HAPPENS
AMONGST HUNTER-GATHERERS...

NOT CALLOUSLY, BUT THIS IS
JUST WHAT HAPPENS,

IS YOU CAN'T KEEP UP
WITH THE GROUP AS IT'S MOVING,

THEY GIVE YOU FOOD,
THEY MAKE PEOPLE COMFORTABLE,

AND THEY HAVE TO
LEAVE THEM BEHIND.

THAT'S, YOU KNOW, PART OF LIFE.

[GASPS]

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

NARRATOR: OVER THE YEARS,

JOHN SHEA HAS BEEN
COLLECTING EVIDENCE

ABOUT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED
AT THE OMO VALLEY.

SHEA: YOU ALWAYS LOOK
UNDERNEATH THE ACACIA BUSH.

THAT'S WHERE ALL THE GOOD STUFF
STUFF HIDES. [SIGHS]

NARRATOR: HE'S IMPRESSED
BY THEIR INGENUITY.

SHEA: IT'S A STONE TOOL.

YOU CAN TELL THIS BECAUSE
THEY HAVE FEATURES ON THEM

THAT SHOW WHERE THEY WERE
STRUCK BY A HAMMER.

NATURE DOESN'T MAKE OBJECTS
LIKE THIS BY ITSELF.

NICE.

I MEAN, THESE PEOPLE
MADE EVERYTHING,

FROM LITTLE TINY PIECES
LIKE THIS

TO GREAT, MASSIVE PIECES
LIKE THIS

AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN.

SHEA: SOMETIMES YOU'D FIND
A LOT OF TOOLS;

THAT MEANS THIS IS WHERE
THEY MADE THEM.

BUT ISOLATED LITTLE TOOLS
LIKE THIS, IT COULD BE

THEY JUST DROPPED THEM,
YOU KNOW, AND SAID, "ALL RIGHT,

"I'M-- I KNOW I'M GOING
TO BE COMING BACK HERE.

"I'LL JUST LEAVE THESE TOOLS,
SO HERE ALONG THE PATH,

IF I EVER NEED A CUTTING EDGE,
THERE'S ONE RIGHT THERE."

IT'S LIKE HAVING AN ATM MACHINE.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO CARRY
BIG WADS OF CASH WITH YOU

AROUND-- AROUND CITIES
BECAUSE YOU HAVE ATM MACHINES.

WITH THESE GUYS, THEY DON'T HAVE
TO CARRY BIG, HEAVY ROCKS

AROUND WITH THEM 'CAUSE THE
LANDSCAPE'S FULL OF STONE TOOLS.

THINK OF THESE THINGS
LIKE LITTLE-- LITTLE DEBIT CARDS

OF PRE-HISTORY.

[DISTANT ANIMALS GRUNTING]

[BIRD CHIRPS]

SHEA: THESE ARE PEOPLE LIKE US.

THEY HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR,

THE HAD SADNESS,
THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, JOY.

THERE'S NO REASON, YOU KNOW, TO
ASSUME THAT THEY ARE DIFFERENT

FROM US IN THEIR EMOTIONS,
IN THEIR INTELLECT.

NOTHING IN THEIR BODY SAYS IT,

NOTHING IN
THE ARCHAEOLOGY SAYS IT.

THE ONLY THING
THAT COMPELS US TO THINK

THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE SIMPLER
THAN US IS MYTHOLOGY, THIS IDEA

THAT EARLIER IS PRIMITIVE,
AND PRIMITIVE IS SIMPLE.

[CHOPPING SOUNDS]

THESE GUYS SURVIVED BY
THEIR WITS.

THEY-- THEY
THOUGHT, THEY PLANNED,

AND EVIDENTLY
THEY'RE PRETTY SUCCESSFUL

BECAUSE THEIR DESCENDANTS,
US, ARE STILL HERE.

NARRATOR: ANCIENT SKELETONS
SUCH AS OMO 1

SUGGEST EASTERN AFRICA WAS
THE CRADLE OF OUR SPECIES,

OUR GARDEN OF EDEN.

THE PREVAILING THEORY IS THAT
MODERN HUMANS BURST INTO LIFE

IN THIS ONE REGION
200,000 YEARS AGO,

AND FROM HERE,

WE SPREAD OUT ACROSS AFRICA

AND THEN ACROSS THE WORLD.

IT'S A THEORY BACKED UP BY DNA.

IN THE 1980s,

GENETICISTS AT BERKELEY

WORKED OUT HOW TO TRACE
HUMAN ANCESTRY,

USING MITOCHONDRIA.

THEY'RE THE ENERGY PACKS
OF A CELL

THAT SIT OUTSIDE THE NUCLEUS.

EACH OF THEM CONTAINS
A TINY COIL OF DNA,

PASSED ON FROM MOTHER
TO DAUGHTER.

WOMAN: PEOPLE WEREN'T USED
TO THINKING ABOUT DNA EVIDENCE

HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH
QUESTIONS ON HUMAN EVOLUTION

OR ANTHROPOLOGY
OR HUMAN ORIGINS.

SO THAT WAS A NEW CONCEPT, THAT
THIS COULD ACTUALLY WEIGH IN

ON THE DEBATE OF WHERE HUMANS
CAME FROM AND-- AND HOW LONG AGO,

INSTEAD OF LOOKING
AT JUST FOSSIL EVIDENCE.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

NARRATOR: AS MITOCHONDRIAL DNA
IS PASSED ON,

IT PICKS UP MUTATIONS OVER TIME.

BY COUNTING THESE MUTATIONS,

IT IS POSSIBLE TO WORK OUT
WHEN EVERY WOMAN ON EARTH

LAST SHARED A COMMON ANCESTOR.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

[LAUGHTER]

NARRATOR: THE RESEARCH POINTED
TO SOMEONE LIVING IN AFRICA

ABOUT 200,000 YEARS AGO,

THE SAME SORT OF TIME AS OMO 1.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING
AT HIGH SPEED]

NARRATOR: SHE BECAME KNOWN
AS MITOCHONDRIAL EVE.

VIGILANT: SHE'S THE MOST RECENT
COMMON ANCESTOR OF ALL OF US.

OF COURSE, SHE HAD A MOM,
WHO WOULD THEN BE

THE COMMON ANCESTOR
OF ALL OF US AS WELL,

BUT SHE WAS LIVING FURTHER BACK
IN TIME; MITOCHONDRIAL EVE IS

THE MOST RECENT
COMMON ANCESTOR OF ALL OF US.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

NARRATOR: GENETICISTS HAVE TAKEN
THE SAME APPROACH

WITH THE "Y" CHROMOSOME,

WHICH IS PASSED DOWN
THE MALE LINE

FROM FATHER TO SON.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

NARRATOR: THE MOST RECENT
COMMON ANCESTOR

OF EVERY MAN ALIVE TODAY

ALSO LIVED IN AFRICA.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING
AT HIGH SPEED]

NARRATOR: HE BECAME KNOWN

AS "Y" CHROMOSOMAL ADAM.

GENETIC ADAM AND EVE.

THEY DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER,

BUT THEY HAVE
THE SAME STORY TO TELL.

VIGILANT: THE TAKE-HOME
MESSAGE WAS THAT WE HAVE

A VERY RECENT
COMMON ORIGIN IN AFRICA,

SO THAT THE DIFFERENCES
THAT WE SEE AMONG US

THAT ARE SO EVIDENT
WITH HAIR AND SKIN COLOR

ARE PERHAPS REALLY RECENT
AND RATHER SUPERFICIAL.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

NARRATOR: IT'S BECOME A TRUISM

THAT WE ARE A YOUNG SPECIES

AND CAN ALL TRACE OUR ROOTS
BACK TO A SINGLE SOURCE.

ACCORDING TO OUR GENES
AND OUR BONES,

THAT SOURCE WAS EASTERN AFRICA

200,000 YEARS AGO.

THAT'S THE THEORY,

BUT IS IT ENTIRELY TRUE?

OUR CREATION STORY

MAY NOT BE QUITE SO SIMPLE.

THE MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE

IS ONE OF THE LEADING
CENTERS IN THE WORLD

FOR RESEARCH
INTO HUMAN EVOLUTION.

THEY CAN ANALYZE FOSSILS HERE

IN MINUTE DETAIL,

USING A CT SCANNER

TO CREATE 3D MODELS.

NARRATOR: THIS IS
AN AFRICAN SKULL

FROM A SITE KNOWN
AS JEBEL IRHOUD.

IT'S 300,000 YEARS OLD--

100,000 YEARS OLDER

THAN OMO 1.

IT BELONGS TO AN ARCHAIC HUMAN,

SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT YET
FULLY MODERN.

MAN: IT'S A VERY
ANCIENT-LOOKING SKULL

WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT
FROM THE SIDE, BUT, UH, IT HAS,

ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING ITS OLD
AGE, A VERY MODERN-LOOKING FACE.

AND BY THAT, I MEAN
IT HAS A SMALL FACE

THAT'S TUCKED UNDERNEATH
THE BRAINCASE,

YET THE BRAINCASE SHAPE
IS VERY ELONGATED,

WHICH IS WHAT WE FIND
IN ARCHAIC HUMANS

AND NOT IN MODERN HUMANS
LIVING TODAY.

[COMPUTER MOUSE CLICKS]

NARRATOR: WITH HIS MIX
OF FEATURES,

THE MAN FROM JEBEL IRHOUD
APPEARS TO BE A FORERUNNER

OF OUR SPECIES...

A MODERN HUMAN IN WAITING.

GUNZ: THE START OF A SPECIES IS
ALWAYS BLURRY AND MESSY.

THIS IS A PROCESS
THAT, UM, TAKES THOUSANDS

AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
SOMETIMES MILLIONS OF YEARS.

AND, UH, AND WE CAN SEE HERE
THAT MODERN HUMANS

EVOLVED THEIR FACES FIRST
AND THEIR BRAINCASES LATER.

NARRATOR: WHAT'S STRIKING
ABOUT THIS MAN

IS WHERE HE LIVED.

JEBEL IRHOUD IS NOT
IN ETHIOPIA,

BUT 3,000 MILES AWAY

IN MOROCCO,
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF AFRICA.

WHY WOULD A FORERUNNER
OF OUR SPECIES

HAVE LIVED SO FAR FROM
OUR SUPPOSED BIRTHPLACE?

PERHAPS THERE WASN'T
A SINGLE BIRTHPLACE,

BUT DIFFERENT HOTSPOTS,

ALL CONTRIBUTING SOMETHING
TO OUR EVOLUTION.

[COMPUTER MOUSE CLICKING]

GUNZ: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS
PARTICULAR FOSSIL FROM MOROCCO

IS THAT IT SHOWS US
THAT MODERN HUMAN ORIGINS

WAS NOT RESTRICTED
TO ONE PLACE IN EAST AFRICA,

BUT IT HAPPENED ON A CONTINENTAL
SCALE ALL OVER AFRICA.

NARRATOR: THE TRADEMARK FEATURES
OF A MODERN HUMAN

MAY HAVE EVOLVED SEPARATELY:

A ROUNDER BRAINCASE
IN ONE REGION;

A HIGHER FOREHEAD IN ANOTHER;

A SMALLER JAWBONE ELSEWHERE.

BUT HOW DID THESE FEATURES
THEN MERGE TOGETHER

INTO A SINGLE BLUEPRINT
THAT BECAME MODERN HUMANS?

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

IN THE EARLY DAYS
OF OUR SPECIES,

DIFFERENT GROUPS MUST HAVE
BEEN CONNECTED IN SOME WAY.

PERHAPS THEY MET, MATED,

AND SHARED GENES.

THAT'S WHAT ANTHROPOLOGIST
JOHN HAWKS THINKS HAPPENED.

HE BELIEVES THAT
SOCIAL NETWORKS EXISTED

ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

IT ONLY NEEDED EACH GROUP
TO EXPAND AS FAR AS THE NEXT

FOR CONTACT TO BE MAINTAINED

OVER HUGE DISTANCES.

[MEN SPEAKING ANCIENT LANGUAGE]

HAWKS: ALL OVER AFRICA,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND
SHELLS LIKE THIS.

THIS IS A NASSARIUS SHELL,

AND IT HAS A HOLE IN IT

BECAUSE THIS SHELL WAS STRUNG

ON A STRING AND WORN
AS AN ORNAMENT.

THEY'VE BEEN FOUND
IN NORTH AFRICA,

IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND IN ISRAEL:

THOUSANDS OF MILES APART,
SAME KIND OF SHELL,

THE SAME TECHNIQUE,
THE SAME INTENT.

HAWKS: ANYBODY CAN PICK UP
A SHELL AND BE INTERESTED IN IT,

BUT THINKING OF HOW
TO DRILL A HOLE AND WEAR IT

AND CREATE A SIGNAL,

THAT'S A REALLY
DISTINCTIVE IDEA.

[MEN SPEAKING ANCIENT LANGUAGE]

THAT KIND OF LONG-DISTANCE
MOVEMENT OF IDEAS

SUGGESTS THAT PEOPLE ARE MOVING
INTO EACH OTHER'S TERRITORIES.

IT'S NOT ONLY IDEAS THAT ARE
SPREADING, IT'S ALSO GENES.

THAT'S WHAT HUMANS DO
WHEN THEY'RE IN CONTACT

WITH EACH OTHER.

THEY START MATING,
THEY'RE HAVING BABIES.

HAWKS: YOU START TO SEE
POPULATIONS MERGING TOGETHER.

WHERE ONCE YOU'D HAD VERY
DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE--

REALLY DIFFERENT IN WHAT THEY
LOOK LIKE, HOW THEY ACT--

YOU START TO SEE THE BUILDING
OF A SINGLE COMMUNITY,

A COMMUNITY THAT WE CALL
MODERN HUMANS.

[ROLLING THUNDER]

NARRATOR: THE MOVEMENT
OF PREHISTORIC PEOPLE

WAS AFFECTED BY THE CLIMATE,

WHICH FLUCTUATED
OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

IN BAD TIMES, AFRICA WAS SO DRY,

THE SAHARA WAS
AN UNCROSSABLE BARRIER.

BUT IN GOOD TIMES,
WHEN THE CLIMATE WAS WET,

THE DESERT DISAPPEARED.

ANY ADAPTATION THAT EMERGED
IN ONE PART OF AFRICA

COULD SPREAD TO OTHER PARTS
OF THE CONTINENT...

JUST AS EASILY AS SHELL BEADS.

HAWKS: UNTIL RECENTLY,

MANY ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AND ANTHROPOLOGISTS WERE LOOKING

FOR A SINGLE ORIGIN
FOR MODERN HUMANS,

LIKE A "GARDEN OF EDEN" SCENARIO
THAT WOULD EXPLAIN

WHY WE'RE ALL ALIKE.

BUT WE NOW KNOW THAT THINGS
DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY.

I THINK THAT OUR ORIGINS
WERE VERY MUCH LIKE THIS...

MORE LIKE A RIVER WHERE WATER IS
FINDING ITS OWN PATH,

SOMETIMES SEPARATING
AND THEN COMING BACK TOGETHER,

BUT ALWAYS FLOWING ON.

MODERN HUMAN ORIGINS
IS LIKE THAT;

IT'S A STORY OF MANY
FIRST PEOPLES, NOT JUST ONE.

IT'S A STORY ABOUT DIVERSITY.

NARRATOR: ACCORDING TO
THIS WAY OF THINKING,

WE ARE A SPECIES BORN
OF MANY PARENTS

ACROSS AFRICA.

OUR ROOTS ARE MORE TANGLED

THAN WE EVER REALIZED.

[FILM REEL CREAKING]

NARRATOR: THE STORY HAS
JUST GOTTEN MORE INTRIGUING,

THANKS TO AMATEUR GENEALOGIST
JACQUELINE JOHNSON.

SHE'S FASCINATED BY
HER GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER,

ALBERT PERRY,

WHO APPEARS ON THE 1870 CENSUS

AS A FREED SLAVE
IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

JOHNSON: HE'S 43,

LISTED ON HERE, SO THAT MEANS
HE WAS BORN ABOUT 1827.

AND THERE'S MY
GREAT-GRANDFATHER, CLYDE,

AT THE AGE OF 3,
YOU KNOW, TODDLER.

THIS IS THE FIRST MAJOR CENSUS
THAT SLAVES WERE INCLUDED ON,

YOU KNOW, WITH THE LAST NAMES.

PRIOR TO THAT,
IT WAS MOSTLY RECOGNIZED

AS SOMEBODY'S PROPERTY.

NARRATOR: JOHNSON HAS BEEN ABLE
TO TRACE HER ROOTS BACK

5 GENERATIONS,

BUT SHE CAN'T FIND
ANY RECORDS BEFORE 1870.

THIS IS OUR FAMILY TREE.

THIS IS MYSELF,
MY MOTHER,

MY GRANDMOTHER, AND THIS IS

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER,
ALBERT PERRY.

IT'S FRUSTRATING
THAT YOU CAN'T GO BACK

ANY FURTHER THAN HIM
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW,

PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T POP UP
AND START EXISTING IN 1870.

YOU KNOW, THEY WERE ALIVE
BEFORE THEN, SO WHERE WERE THEY?

THEY WERE SOMEWHERE,
YOU KNOW.

I WANT TO GIVE A VOICE
TO THEIR STORY.

I WANT TO FIND OUT,

WHO IS ALBERT PERRY?

HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.:
I'VE ENLISTED THE HELP

OF 3 SCIENTISTS WHO USE

GENETIC ANCESTRY TRACING
IN THEIR RESEARCH...

JOHNSON: IN 2006,

I WAS WATCHING A PBS SPECIAL

CALLED "AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES,"
AND THEY WERE PRESENTING DNA.

GATES, VOICE-OVER:...SEQUENCES,
WE SUBMITTED SECOND DNA SAMPLES.

THESE SAMPLES CAN THEN BE
COMPARED TO DNA SAMPLES

TAKEN FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

JOHNSON: THEY WERE SHOWING
PEOPLE, "OK, YOU WERE CONNECTED

"TO THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE
IN LIBERIA AND THIS GROUP

OF PEOPLE IN NIGERIA,"
AND I WAS LIKE,

"OH, THAT'S THE WAY
I CAN DO IT.

"I CAN ACTUALLY TEST MY OWN DNA

AND FIND OUT WHERE
WE CONNECT IN AFRICA."

NARRATOR: TO TRACK
ALBERT PERRY'S LINEAGE,

SHE PERSUADED A MALE COUSIN
TO PROVIDE A SAMPLE

OF HIS "Y" CHROMOSOME.

IT WAS TESTED HERE,

AT FAMILY TREE DNA.

BENNETT GREENSPAN RUNS
THE COMPANY.

GREENSPAN:
WHEN I CAME INTO WORK

THE MORNING THAT THE SAMPLE HAD
BEEN SCORED THE NIGHT BEFORE,

THE TECHNICIANS WERE ACTUALLY
VERY EXCITED BECAUSE THEY SAID,

"WE'VE SEEN SOMETHING,
AND WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING

LIKE THIS BEFORE."

TYPICALLY, YOU MIGHT FIND
ONE OR TWO

OR THREE NOVEL MUTATIONS,

BUT IN THIS SAMPLE, WE FOUND

BETWEEN 40 AND 50
NOVEL MUTATIONS,

WHICH MEANS IT DEFINES

AN ENTIRELY NEW SUBSECTION
OF THE TREE OF MANKIND.

NARRATOR: THE "Y" CHROMOSOME

FROM JACQUELINE JOHNSON'S COUSIN

WAS SO UNUSUAL,

IT WAS GIVEN ITS OWN NAME--

A00.

GENETICISTS CHECKED THOUSANDS
OF OTHER SAMPLES

IN THEIR DATASETS,
BUT FOUND NO ONE ELSE

WITH THE SAME SIGNAL...

UNTIL THEY LOOKED
IN WESTERN AFRICA.

[DRUMS BEATING,
DISTANT PEOPLE CHANTING]

NARRATOR: THE TRAIL LEADS

7,000 MILES FROM HOUSTON

TO MBETTA VILLAGE

IN WESTERN CAMEROON.

[WHISTLE BLOWING]

IN 2001, THERE WAS A PROGRAM

TO SAMPLE DNA HERE.

WHEN THE SAMPLES WERE
REVIEWED IN 2012,

11 OF THE MEN WERE
A MATCH FOR A00.

NO ONE KNOWS WHO THEY ARE

BECAUSE THE TESTS WERE
ANONYMOUS,

BUT THEY'RE THE ONLY
OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

KNOWN TO HAVE THE SAME
"Y" CHROMOSOME

AS JACQUELINE JOHNSON'S
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER,

ALBERT PERRY.

HE MUST HAVE LIVED IN MBETTA

BEFORE BEING
TRANSPORTED AS A SLAVE

TO THE UNITED STATES,

CARRYING WITH HIM

THE A00 "Y" CHROMOSOME.

[WHISTLING AND CHANTING FADE]

WHAT'S SO REMARKABLE
ABOUT THIS CHROMOSOME

IS ITS AGE.

BY COUNTING THE NUMBER
OF MUTATIONS, IT'S BEEN DATED

AT 338,000 YEARS OLD,

WHICH MEANS IT ENTERED
THE MODERN HUMAN GENE POOL

BEFORE MODERN HUMANS WERE
EVEN THOUGHT TO EXIST.

GREENSPAN: THIS SAMPLE WAS
KIND OF HISTORY-SHATTERING.

IT WAS OLDER THAN ANYTHING

THAT SCIENCE HAD EVER SEEN

IN A MALE-INHERITED
"Y" CHROMOSOME.

GREENSPAN: AND THAT'S WHAT MADE
THIS DISCOVERY SO INTERESTING

BECAUSE THIS MADE MANKIND
ACTUALLY MUCH OLDER

THAN WHAT THE SCIENTISTS HAD
BEEN THEORIZING FOR YEARS.

NARRATOR: UNTIL RECENTLY,

THE TIMELINE OF
OUR SPECIES SEEMED CLEAR.

EVERY MAN ON EARTH
COULD TRACE HIS ANCESTRY

BACK TO GENETIC ADAM,

EVERY WOMAN BACK TO GENETIC EVE.

THE EARLIEST
FOSSIL EVIDENCE GOES BACK

195,000 YEARS

TO OMO 1.

300,000 YEARS AGO LIVED

A FORERUNNER OF OUR SPECIES,

IN JEBEL IRHOUD.

BUT THIS "Y" CHROMOSOME

WAS OLDER THAN ALL OF THEM,

A PIECE OF MODERN HUMAN DNA

THAT WAS 338,000 YEARS OLD,

POTENTIALLY A NEW START DATE

FOR OUR SPECIES.

JOHNSON: WHEN THE RESULTS CAME,
I WAS EXCITED.

NOW HIS NAME IS
IN A BOOK. HA HA!

CAN YOU-- YOU IMAGINE,
FROM A SLAVE,

UNKNOWN, KIND OF LIKE
SOMEBODY'S PROPERTY,

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,
IT'S KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: TO UNDERSTAND MORE
ABOUT THE A00 "Y" CHROMOSOME,

GENETICISTS NEED MORE SAMPLES.

MATTHEW FOMINE FORKA

IS THE LOCAL RESEARCHER WHO DID
THE INITIAL SAMPLING

IN MBETTA VILLAGE.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

FORKA: TODAY, WE ARE CONTINUING
THE DNA COLLECTION

THAT I STARTED IN 2001.

I AM GOING TO SWAB YOUR MOUTH
WITH A STERILE COTTON.

NARRATOR: UNFORTUNATELY,
THE CLIMATE OF CAMEROON

IS TOO WET TO PRESERVE
ANCIENT HUMAN FOSSILS.

SO DNA IS THE ONLY WAY
TO FIND OUT

IF OUR SPECIES
REALLY DID EMERGE HERE.

BUT THERE IS
ANOTHER POSSIBILITY,

ANOTHER REASON FOR THE AGE

OF THE A00 "Y" CHROMOSOME.

PERHAPS WE INHERITED IT

FROM A DIFFERENT SPECIES
OF HUMAN.

ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOW
THE ONLY HUMANS ON THE PLANET,

IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THIS WAY.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

[POUNDING ROCK]

NARRATOR: FOR TENS
OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

THE FORESTS OF AFRICA
WOULD HAVE BEEN SHARED...

BETWEEN MODERN HUMANS
AND ARCHAIC HUMANS.

[DISTANT ANIMAL CALLING]

IT'S BEEN ASSUMED
THERE WAS LITTLE,

IF ANY, CONTACT BETWEEN THEM.

BUT WHAT IF THAT ASSUMPTION
IS WRONG?

WHAT IF DNA PASSED

FROM ONE SPECIES
OF HUMAN TO ANOTHER?

MAN: THERE MAY HAVE BEEN
ARCHAIC FORMS OF HUMANS

THAT LIVED IN WESTERN AFRICA

THAT HAPPENED
UPON MODERN POPULATIONS,

AND THIS "Y" CHROMOSOME
WAS INTRODUCED

INTO THE MODERN POPULATION
THROUGH INTERBREEDING.

NARRATOR: ALTHOUGH MODERN HUMANS
WERE A DISTINCT SPECIES,

THEY SEEM TO HAVE MATED
WITH OTHER,

OLDER SPECIES OF HUMAN

AND PICKED UP PARTS
OF THEIR DNA.

[MAN SHOUTS]

HAMMER: THAT WOULD HELP
TO EXPLAIN WHY WE FOUND

A 338,000-YEAR-OLD
"Y" CHROMOSOME

IN A VERY SMALL POCKET
OF HUMANITY IN WESTERN CAMEROON.

HAMMER: FOR THE LAST
HUNDRED YEARS OR SO,

IT'S BEEN VERY CONVENIENT
TO THINK THAT HUMANS ORIGINATED

IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY
IN A GARDEN OF EDEN.

BUT NOW WE KNOW,
FROM THE DNA ITSELF,

THAT MATINGS BETWEEN
DIFFERENT FORMS--

ARCHAIC FORMS, MODERN FORMS--
HAVE BEEN GOING ON

WHO KNOWS HOW LONG
THAT'S GOING BACK IN TIME,

WHICH, IN FACT, MAKES US A LOT
MORE LIKE THE REST OF NATURE.

NARRATOR: SOMETHING SIMILAR HAS
SHOWN UP IN SOUTHERN CAMEROON.

[FOREST BIRDS CALLING]

THESE RAINFORESTS ARE HOME
TO THE PYGMIES.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

NARRATOR: THEY ARE SOME
OF THE LAST TRADITIONAL

HUNTER-GATHERERS ON EARTH,

LIVING IN MUCH
THE SAME WAY AS THEY HAVE

FOR 100,000 YEARS,

FINDING FOOD WHEREVER THEY CAN.

[ALL SHOUTING EXCITEDLY]

[DOG BARKS]

[SHOUTS]

NARRATOR: GENETICALLY,
THE PYGMIES ARE AS CLOSE

AS ANYONE TO AFRICA'S
FIRST MODERN HUMANS.

AND THEIR DNA IS VERY REVEALING.

RATHER THAN LOOKING ONLY
AT THE "Y" CHROMOSOME,

OR MITOCHONDRIA,

GENETICISTS CAN NOW ANALYZE

6 BILLION FRAGMENTS

ACROSS THE ENTIRE
PYGMY GENOME...

[FOREST BIRDS CALLING]

AND THEY'RE FINDING REGIONS
THAT ARE SO ANCIENT AND UNUSUAL,

THEY LOOK MORE ARCHAIC
THAN MODERN.

AGAIN, THEY SEEM
TO BE THE RESULT

OF INTERBREEDING.

BUT HOW CAN THIS BE?

ACCORDING TO
THE HUMAN FAMILY TREE,

ARCHAIC HUMANS ARE
DIFFERENT SPECIES

TO US MODERN HUMANS,
AND DIFFERENT SPECIES

ARE MEANT TO BE INCAPABLE

OF INTERBREEDING.

BUT IN REALITY,

IT ALL DEPENDS
HOW CLOSELY RELATED

THEY ARE,

WHEN THEY LAST SHARED
A COMMON ANCESTOR.

[ORCHESTRAL THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

[MONKEYS SCREECHING]

NARRATOR: MATING ACROSS
THE SPECIES BARRIER

WAS FIRST STUDIED
MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO.

[ROARS]

IN ETHIOPIA'S AWASH VALLEY,

THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT
SPECIES OF BABOONS

LIVING SIDE-BY-SIDE--
[ROARS]

HAMADRYAS
AND OLIVE BABOONS--

AND BETWEEN THEM IS
A HYBRID ZONE

WHERE THEY MATE, INTERBREED,

AND HYBRIDIZE.

DOCUMENTARY NARRATOR: THIS ADULT
MALE HAS PINK BUTTOCKS,

SIMILAR TO THE HAMADRYAS,

WHILE THIS HYBRID MALE HAS

THE GRAY BUTTOCKS
OF AN OLIVE BABOON.

THIS VARIABILITY INDICATES

THAT EXTENSIVE INTERBREEDING
HAS OCCURRED.

[SCREECHING]

NARRATOR: THE RESEARCH CONCLUDED
THAT ANY TWO SPECIES OF PRIMATES

CAN INTERBREED, AS LONG
AS THEY SHARE A COMMON ANCESTOR

WITHIN THE LAST
TWO MILLION YEARS.

IT'S A RULE THAT APPLIES
TO ALL PRIMATES...

INCLUDING HUMANS.

NARRATOR: DESPITE BEING
DIFFERENT SPECIES,

MODERN AND ARCHAIC HUMANS

SHARED ANCESTORS

WELL WITHIN THE LAST
TWO MILLION YEARS,

SO THERE WAS NOTHING
TO STOP THEM

FROM INTERBREEDING.

[SCREECHES]

NARRATOR: BUT WHEN
THE ORIGINAL RESEARCH WAS DONE,

FEW PEOPLE SAW A CONNECTION

BETWEEN HYBRID BABOONS
AND HUMANS,

AND ITS CONCLUSIONS
WERE IGNORED.

TODAY, THE IDEA
OF HYBRIDIZATION

IS BEING RECONSIDERED.

REBECCA ACKERMANN IS
TRYING TO WORK OUT

WHAT A HUMAN HYBRID
WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE

BY STUDYING HYBRID MICE.

ACKERMANN: I KNOW USING MICE
SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT STRANGE,

BUT OBVIOUSLY
YOU CAN'T HYBRIDIZE PEOPLE

OR HYBRIDIZE, UM, PRIMATES
IN ORDER TO ANSWER

THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS.

THESE HYBRID MICE ARE
QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT

FROM THE PARENT SPECIES,
AND THEY DIFFER IN TERMS

OF THEIR, UM, BODY SIZE,
THEY'RE-- THEY'RE BIGGER;

UH, IN TERMS
OF THEIR COAT COLOR;

IN TERMS OF WHAT
THEIR FACES LOOK LIKE.

AND EVEN MORE THAN THAT,
THEY'RE INCREDIBLY VARIABLE,

AND VARIATION IS THE--
IT'S THE KEY TO EVOLUTION.

IT'S WHAT EVOLUTION WORKS ON,
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY

HYBRIDIZATION IS SUCH
A POWERFUL EVOLUTIONARY FORCE.

NARRATOR: THE AIM OF THE PROJECT
IS TO STUDY EVERY ASPECT

OF THE HYBRIDIZATION PROCESS,

BY DISSECTING THE MUSCLES
AND SOFT TISSUE OF THE BODY...

AND EXAMINING THE SKELETONS

IN A MINIATURE CT SCANNER.

[SCANNER EQUIPMENT HUMMING]

ACKERMANN: THE MOST
INTERESTING THING IS

TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE
SKELETONS LOOK LIKE,

AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S
THE SKELETON THAT'S GOING

TO ALLOW US TO LINK THIS BACK
TO THE HUMAN FOSSIL RECORD

BECAUSE, OF COURSE, FOSSILS
ARE FOSSILIZED SKELETONS.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
WE'RE SEEING IN MICE IS THAT

THE HYBRIDS HAVE MUCH BIGGER
FACES THAN THEIR PARENTS DO.

IN OTHER WORDS, HYBRIDIZATION
IS, UM, UNLEASHING VARIATION,

IF YOU WILL, AND-- AND
CAUSING FACES TO CHANGE.

IF YOU TRY AND LINK THAT BACK
TO THE HUMAN FOSSIL RECORD,

WE SEE THAT FACES ARE ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT DO CHANGE OVER TIME.

AND SO THERE IS THAT POSSIBILITY
THAT IT'S HYBRIDIZATION ITSELF

THAT'S ACTUALLY
DRIVING THAT CHANGE.

NARRATOR: AS THE POPULATION
OF MODERN HUMANS GREW,

SOME OF THEM MOVED
OUT OF AFRICA,

PERHAPS 100,000 YEARS AGO.

BUT THEY WERE NOT THE FIRST
TO MAKE THIS MOVE.

ARCHAIC HUMANS HAD BEEN
LEAVING AFRICA

FOR AT LEAST
11/2 MILLION YEARS.

SOME HAD SPENT SO LONG
IN EUROPE AND ASIA,

THEY HAD EVOLVED
INTO DIFFERENT SPECIES.

THE BEST-KNOWN
OF THESE ARCHAIC HUMANS

ARE THE NEANDERTHALS.

WHEN THEY WERE DISCOVERED
IN THE 19th CENTURY,

THE GULF BETWEEN THEM AND US

WAS THOUGHT TO BE VAST.

THEY WERE APE-LIKE BRUTES,

INFERIOR IN EVERY WAY.

BUT OVER TIME, THE NEANDERTHALS
HAVE BEEN REHABILITATED.

THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THEY WERE MORE SIMILAR TO US

THAN WE EVER GUESSED...

OUR EVOLUTIONARY COUSINS.

IF SO,

MIGHT WE HAVE INTERBRED
WITH THEM AS WELL?

NARRATOR: IN 2010, GENETICISTS

AT THE MAX PLANCK
INSTITUTE MANAGED

TO CRACK THE GENETIC CODE

OF A NEANDERTHAL.

[ELECTRIC SAW BUZZING]

THEY FOUND A SAMPLE
OF SHIN BONE

WHICH STILL CONTAINED
READABLE DNA

AFTER 38,000 YEARS IN A CAVE.

THEN THEY HAD
TO SEQUENCE THE DNA,

AND THAT WAS A COLOSSAL TASK.

AS DNA AGES,
IT BREAKS DOWN

INTO BILLIONS OF FRAGMENTS

THAT ARE MIXED UP
AND CONTAMINATED

WITH THE DNA OF INSECTS
AND BACTERIA.

THE CHALLENGE FOR A GENETICIST

IS TO IDENTIFY
THE NEANDERTHAL FRAGMENTS,

ISOLATE THEM,

AND REASSEMBLE THEM ALL...

IN THE CORRECT ORDER.

IT TOOK THE SEQUENCING
MACHINES 21/2 YEARS

TO PRODUCE THE FIRST GENOME

OF AN EXTINCT HUMAN.

MAN: ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS
WE WERE INTERESTED IN WAS

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MODERN HUMANS

CAME OUT OF AFRICA
AND MET NEANDERTHALS.

DID ONE MIX WITH THEM OR NOT?

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

NARRATOR: THEY COMPARED
THE NEANDERTHAL GENOME

WITH THAT
OF MODERN-DAY AFRICANS.

THEY FOUND NO EVIDENCE
OF INTERBREEDING.

THAT WAS TO BE EXPECTED;

NEANDERTHALS LIVED IN EUROPE,

NOT AFRICA.

THEN THEY RAN
THE SAME COMPARISON

ON MODERN-DAY EUROPEANS

AND GOT VERY DIFFERENT RESULTS.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING
AT HIGH SPEED]

PAABO: WE FOUND,
TO MY BIG SURPRISE,

THERE WAS SLIGHTLY MORE
SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE GENOMES

OF PEOPLE IN EUROPE
TO THE NEANDERTHAL GENOME

THAN BETWEEN PEOPLE IN AFRICA
AND THE NEANDERTHAL GENOME.

AND EVEN MORE SURPRISING
AT THAT TIME WAS

THAT WE ACTUALLY FOUND THE SAME
SORT OF EXCESS SIMILARITY

WHEN WE LOOKED
AT PEOPLE IN ASIA.

NARRATOR: WHEREVER THEY LOOKED,

THEY KEPT SEEING
THE SAME AMOUNT OF OVERLAP.

OUTSIDE AFRICA,

IT SEEMS THAT EVERYONE
IN THE WORLD

HAS INHERITED BETWEEN
1% AND 3% OF THEIR DNA

FROM NEANDERTHALS.

I WAS REALLY BIASED WHEN WE
STARTED LOOKING AT THIS,

THINKING THERE WOULD BE
NO CONTRIBUTION.

BUT THE DATA SORT OF
FORCED US TO SEE

THAT WE WERE WRONG
IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE,

AND IT WAS QUITE OBVIOUS
THAT THE NEANDERTHALS LIVE ON

IN MANY PEOPLE TODAY
AROUND THE PLANET.

NARRATOR: THERE'S ONLY
ONE EXPLANATION FOR THIS--

INTERBREEDING MUST HAVE HAPPENED
SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE AFRICA,

BUT ONLY JUST OUTSIDE,
BEFORE WE HAD SPREAD

AROUND THE WORLD,

SOMEWHERE LIKE THE MIDDLE EAST.

ISRAEL IS A NATURAL CROSSROADS

BETWEEN AFRICA,
ARABIA, AND ASIA--

A MEETING PLACE,

A MELTING POT OF DIVERSITY.

IT IS TODAY

AND WAS THE SAME
IN PREHISTORIC TIMES.

THE HILLS OF GALILEE ARE RICH
IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES.

THE LATEST IS KNOWN AS MANOT.

IT WAS DISCOVERED
BY ACCIDENT IN 2008,

WHEN A BULLDOZER WAS DIGGING
A NEW SEWER LINE

FOR THE LOCAL VILLAGE.

MAN: THE BULLDOZER WAS
COMING THROUGH THIS WAY.

YOU CAN STILL SEE
THE CUTS ON THE ROCKS.

THE BULLDOZER REACHED
THIS POINT,

EXACTLY WHERE I'M STANDING NOW.

NOW IMAGINE TO YOURSELF
THE SCENE,

THAT THE BULLDOZER IS CUTTING
THROUGH THOSE HUGE ROCKS,

AND BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

AND SUDDENLY THERE WAS
A HOLE THERE.

HERSHKOVITZ:
OK, I'M GETTING DOWN.

MAN: BE ABLE
TO GET DOWN NOW.

NARRATOR: ANTHROPOLOGIST
ISRAEL HERSHKOVITZ

WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE
INTO THE CAVE.

HERSHKOVITZ: VERY NICE.

NARRATOR: A FORMER COLONEL
IN THE PARATROOPERS,

HE RAPPELLED IN THROUGH
THE HOLE CUT BY THE BULLDOZER.

HERSHKOVITZ: ONCE WE WENT IN,
IT WAS TOTALLY DARK.

WE COULDN'T SEE
FOR A METER IN FRONT OF US.

SO WHEN WE CAME DOWN,
WE DIDN'T REALIZE THE--

THE-- THE SIZE OF THE CAVE
AND HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS.

AND WHEN YOU LOOKED DOWN
WITH A TORCH, IT WAS ONE

OF THE MOST AMAZING PLACES
I'VE BEEN TO MY WHOLE LIFE.

IT'S REALLY AN AMAZING CAVE.

NARRATOR: SINCE THEN,

MANOT HAS BECOME
A MAJOR EXCAVATION SITE.

[MAN SHOUTS]

NARRATOR: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
HAVE FOUND A MASS OF TOOLS,

BONES, AND ORNAMENTS.

THIS COOL, WET CAVE
WAS CLEARLY A PLACE

FOR PREHISTORIC PEOPLE
TO MAKE A HOME.

BUT THE STAR FIND WAS
DISCOVERED AWAY FROM THE REST,

IN A SIDE CHAMBER OF THE CAVE.

HERSHKOVITZ: IMAGINE
TO YOURSELF GOING DOWN

IN THE DARK WITH JUST
A VERY SMALL TORCH.

IT LOOKS EMPTY,
THE WHOLE ROOM LOOKS EMPTY,

AND THEN SUDDENLY, YOU TURN
YOUR HEAD TO THE RIGHT.

JUST ON THAT SHELF OVER THERE,

THERE WAS A SKULL, JUST A SKULL,

SITTING ON THE SHELF
OVER THERE.

JUST COVERING WITH
A THIN LAYER OF MUD.

THAT'S IT.

THERE ARE NO TOOLS,
THERE ARE NO ANIMAL BONES,

THERE ARE NOTHING;
JUST A SKULL SITTING THERE

ON THE SHELF FOR 55,000 YEARS,

WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED.

NARRATOR: IT WAS
A HUMAN BRAINCASE,

BUT IT LOOKED UNUSUAL,

LIKE A MIX

BETWEEN A MODERN
AND ARCHAIC HUMAN.

HERSHKOVITZ: THE SKULL
IN ITS GENERAL SHAPE IS MODERN,

BUT IT STILL HAS
SOME ARCHAIC TRAIT.

ONE OF THEM IS THAT
THE WHOLE AREA HERE,

AT THE BACK OF THE SKULL,
HAS A CUP-SHAPED APPEARANCE.

IT-- IT IS PROTRUDING BACKWARDS

LIKE-- LIKE HAVING SOME KIND
OF A BUMP OVER HERE,

AT THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD.

NOW, IF WE TURN THE SKULL
UPSIDE DOWN, WE CAN SEE

THE-- THE MARKS THAT WAS LEFT

BY THE SINUSES OF THE BRAIN.

THE PATTERN THAT WE SEE HERE,
IT'S NOT A MODERN PATTERN.

AND ONE OF THE WAY TO EXPLAIN
THOSE MIXTURE OF CHARACTERISTICS

IN ONE SINGLE SKULL IS
TO ASSUME THAT THIS SPECIMEN

REPRESENTS SOME KIND
OF INTERBREEDING

BETWEEN MODERN HUMANS
AND NEANDERTHALS.

NARRATOR: 55,000 YEARS AGO,

MODERN HUMANS WERE MIGRATING
INTO THE MIDDLE EAST.

AT THE SAME TIME,
A COLD SPELL IN EUROPE

HAD PUSHED NEANDERTHALS
FURTHER SOUTH.

THE TWO SPECIES WERE
DESTINED TO MEET.

[SPEAKS
ANCIENT LANGUAGE]

NARRATOR: THIS WAS A KEY MOMENT
IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPECIES.

[NEANDERTHALS MURMUR
IN ANCIENT LANGUAGE]

NARRATOR: FACE-TO-FACE
FOR THE FIRST TIME

WITH OUR NEANDERTHAL COUSINS.

[MODERN HUMANS SHOUTING]

NARRATOR: IT USED TO BE THOUGHT
WE SIMPLY WIPED THEM OUT.

BUT HERE, IT SEEMS
WE WERE CURIOUS ENOUGH

ABOUT EACH OTHER
TO BECOME NEIGHBORS.

[ALL MURMURING]

HERSHKOVITZ: THERE ARE
NO OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD

THAT MODERN HUMANS
AND NEANDERTHALS WERE LIVING

SIDE-BY-SIDE, IN CLOSE
PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER,

FOR AT LEAST 10,000 YEARS.

NARRATOR: WHAT WAS ONCE
SCIENTIFIC HERESY--

THAT WE MATED AND INTERBRED
WITH NEANDERTHALS--

HAS BECOME SCIENTIFIC FACT.

[MURMURING]

NARRATOR:
DNA REVEALED IT.

NOW A SKULL FROM GALILEE
CONFIRMS IT.

[SPEAKS
ANCIENT LANGUAGE]

HERSHKOVITZ:
THIS IS THE ONLY SKULL

AND THE ONLY EVIDENCE, THE ONLY
ANTHROPOLOGICAL EVIDENCE,

THE ONLY FOSSIL
EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE

FOR INTERBREEDING BETWEEN
NEANDERTHALS AND MODERN HUMANS.

THIS IS THE SMOKING GUN.

NARRATOR: THE HUMAN STORY
IS GETTING A REWRITE.

WE USED TO THINK WE HAD
A CLEAR, SIMPLE GENESIS.

NOW IT SEEMS OUR PAST
IS FAR MESSIER.

BUT IT'S ALSO MORE INTRIGUING.

OURS IS A STORY OF CONTACT

WITH OTHER SPECIES--
OUR ANCIENT COUSINS.

WE WERE NOT SEPARATE FROM THEM.

THEY ARE PART OF US.

HAWKS: WHEN WE LOOK
AT THE ORIGIN OF MODERN HUMANS,

WE SEE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

AND WE PERCEIVE THEM
AS BEING VERY DIFFERENT, AND SO

WE GIVE THEM DIFFERENT NAMES:
MODERN HUMANS, ARCHAIC HUMANS.

TO US, THOSE DIFFERENCES
ARE REALLY IMPORTANT

BECAUSE WE CAN SEE
AND IDENTIFY THEM.

BUT LET'S LOOK AT IT
FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE.

WE DON'T KNOW
WHETHER THEY THOUGHT

THAT ANY OF THESE DIFFERENCES
THAT THEY SAW AROUND THEM

WERE IMPORTANT OR NOT.

WHAT WE KNOW IS

THAT THEY WERE
INTERBREEDING WITH EACH OTHER.

AND THE COOL THING IS THAT WE
CAN LOOK WITHIN OUR OWN GENES

AND SEE THE EVIDENCE
OF THAT ANCIENT INTERBREEDING.

IT'S AS IF THESE ARCHAIC HUMANS
STILL ARE LIVING ON

INSIDE THE DNA OF US ALL.

NARRATOR: WE ARE ALL
SHAPED BY OUR PAST,

ENCOUNTERS THAT HAPPENED
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.

AS A RESULT,
OUR SPECIES IS A PATCHWORK

OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HUMANS.

WE ARE ALL HYBRIDS,

7 BILLION OF US

ACROSS PLANET EARTH.