1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,000 We could be 100,000 years ago, it feels primordial. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Yaa-ha! 3 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,000 This is the Rosetta Stone of human evolution. 4 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,000 You can identify a relative of mine? 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000 These are ancestors who many folks might not even call human. 6 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,000 Unbelievable. 7 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,000 Almost there! 8 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,000 My God. 9 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 In my travels, I've investigated the world's greatest mysteries, 10 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,000 from buried treasures to vanished empires. 11 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,000 But tonight, I'm tackling the biggest mystery of all. 12 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,000 You. 13 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Me. 14 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 All of us who call ourselves human. 15 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Up until very recently, everything we knew about our earliest ancestors 16 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000 came from a handful of fossils and a lot of guesswork. 17 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,000 But now, science is uncovering the missing pieces of our evolutionary puzzle. 18 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 And new discoveries are exposing shocking facts about our past 19 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000 that impact all of us today. 20 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 Would you like to be smarter? 21 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,000 In South Africa, an archaeologist is revealing how we got the brains we have today 22 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 and how to make them even better. 23 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Having trouble quitting smoking, worried about diseases. 24 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 The answers to your future health may be found hiding in your DNA, 25 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:14,000 in ancient genes from species that went extinct 40,000 years ago. 26 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 And an archaeological site on the Indian Ocean could hold the key 27 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,000 to why our species survived to colonize the world. 28 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 And also offers us a dire warning for what lies ahead. 29 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Humanity's origin story is the first chapter of your biography. 30 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,000 And it's being rewritten at this very moment. 31 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:40,000 Join me on an epic global quest to meet our ancient relatives face to face 32 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 and learn their long forgotten secrets. 33 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Secrets that might just save our future. 34 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 My name is Josh Gates. 35 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Explorer. 36 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Adventurer. 37 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations. 38 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,000 That was exciting. 39 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,000 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained, 40 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,000 I traveled to the ends of the earth, 41 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,000 investigating the greatest legends in history. 42 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Okay, let's punch it. 43 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 This is Expedition Unknown. 44 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:29,000 My journey to understand our mysterious origins begins in the exotic wilderness of... 45 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Wisconsin? 46 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,000 Specifically the University of Wisconsin, 47 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,000 where I'm meeting distinguished anthropologist, Dr. John Hawks. 48 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Hiya. 49 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Hey. 50 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,000 How are you? 51 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,000 I'm John. 52 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Nice to meet you. 53 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,000 Nice to meet you as well. 54 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,000 Pleasure. 55 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000 So, thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. 56 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Absolutely. 57 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,000 You are an anthropologist? 58 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,000 That's right. 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,000 Or serial killer? 60 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Well, one of the two. 61 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Why not both? 62 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Exactly. 63 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:08,000 And so I was hoping that you could walk me through the entire history of human evolution in about two minutes. 64 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Yeah, well, I'll do my best. 65 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 So definition of evolution is biological change over time. 66 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:16,000 That's it. 67 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,000 Species change over time. 68 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:19,000 That's right. 69 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,000 Okay, so let's dispel a couple of myths. 70 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,000 We did not evolve from monkeys. 71 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:24,000 That's absolutely right. 72 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,000 Right? 73 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,000 The monkeys that are in the world today have their own evolutionary histories. 74 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 We share ancestors in common with them, 75 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 but those ancestors were different from either of us. 76 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,000 So we have our monkeys, we have our apes, we have us, 77 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 and then somewhere back in history, we have a relative. 78 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:42,000 That's right. 79 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 When does the human line start heading this way and apes and monkeys head this way? 80 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Around 7 million years ago. 81 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,000 People think of it like that diagram that we've all seen. 82 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,000 That's exactly the march of progress. 83 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,000 You start sort of stooped down and then you get a little bigger and a little higher, 84 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,000 and finally you're fully modern human. 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,000 Right. 86 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,000 It doesn't work that way at all. 87 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,000 We're not a chain of progress. 88 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 We are this crazy, diverse tree. 89 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:13,000 So it turns out the march of progress and just about everything else they taught you in school is wrong. 90 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,000 Up until about 20 years ago, the human family tree looked something like this. 91 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Our first human ancestors split off from other primates, 92 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000 and pretty soon start walking on two legs. 93 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,000 A few million years later, they make stone tools and figure out fire. 94 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Our brains grow until, boom, homo sapiens, 95 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000 aka modern humans like you and me. 96 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,000 It's nice and tidy, but there's a problem. 97 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000 Scientists keep discovering new relatives, and the story of our evolution? 98 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,000 Well, it keeps evolving. 99 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Arranged in front of us is the current portrait of our growing family, 100 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,000 and John introduces me to the granddaddy of us all, 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000 our very first human ancestor, discovered in 2001. 102 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,000 Without him, there wouldn't be a you. 103 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,000 This is Sahelanthropus Chadensis. 104 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Sahelanthropus Chadensis. 105 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,000 It doesn't need to be this hard. 106 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,000 This is Chad. 107 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Yes. 108 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,000 It's appropriate. 109 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,000 It's from Chad. 110 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:12,000 Perfect. 111 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,000 This is Chad. 112 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,000 Yes. 113 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:15,000 So we start with the Chads. 114 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Yes. 115 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 The Chads are really very different from us and more similar to apes, 116 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,000 and most of their skeleton, and they all live in Africa. 117 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Our early branches of our tree, all African branches. 118 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:27,000 Got it. 119 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,000 So, back to our family tree. 120 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,000 Grandpa Chad goes here on the bottom about 7.2 million years ago. 121 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,000 Chad has some relatives, so these guys get their own branch. 122 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 In fact, most of them actually hung out on branches because we weren't walking fully upright yet. 123 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Those first steps were taken by these guys called Australopiths. 124 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Except now, we found more of them as well as their bigger cousins, Heranthropus. 125 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Next comes our group known as Homo. 126 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000 The big players here are Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Neanderthals. 127 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000 About 2 million years ago, we begin migrating out of Africa, 128 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,000 where paleoanthropologists keep finding more lost relatives, 129 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,000 like 3-foot-tall Hobbit humans in Indonesia and Denisovans in Siberia. 130 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,000 And perched at the very top of our growing family tree are Homo sapiens, 131 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,000 aka Modern Man. 132 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,000 But in 2010, DNA evidence revealed that in the not too distant past, 133 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Homo sapiens were interbreeding with Denisovans, Neanderthals, 134 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,000 and even yet to be named species, 135 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 making our tree more of a tangle of vines. 136 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Despite all the intermingling, by about 25,000 years ago, 137 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,000 every single other species had died off. 138 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:49,000 And our messy family was pruned down to just one branch, Homo sapiens, the last man standing. 139 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,000 Just a really complicated, intricate picture that we're getting. 140 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Some people might look at this table and say, 141 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:03,000 Bunch of bones. Why is it important that we understand this story? 142 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,000 I think there's two big reasons. 143 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:10,000 When we look at humans in the world today, we all have genes from these ancient people. 144 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:16,000 And those genes are affecting your personality, they're affecting your health, 145 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 they're affecting your biology in ways that matter to you. 146 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,000 We tend to think about inheritance in this really short time scale. 147 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,000 It's our parents, it's our grandparents. 148 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,000 But we're inheriting genetic material from all of our relatives. 149 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,000 That's right. You have to understand the world that we're making now, 150 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,000 with smartphones and technology, etc., is not the world we're adapted to. 151 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,000 We're adapted to the world that our ancestors lived in. 152 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Right. 153 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:43,000 And we keep changing things, but our genes are trying to live in the past. 154 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,000 And that makes a difference to us. 155 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Wow. So if I want to understand me, I've got to understand them. 156 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,000 That's right. Got it. 157 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,000 The reason it's important, when we realize that there were 20 or more species 158 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,000 of our close relatives that are now gone, we understand that 159 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,000 actually things did not go so well for our family in the past. 160 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,000 Right. 161 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,000 Understanding why our relatives are all gone, we're the only ones left, 162 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,000 is going to be essential to understanding how we can survive in the future. 163 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Wow. 164 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,000 Alright, well, I want to understand me. 165 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,000 I also want to hopefully endure into the future, 166 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,000 and have my kids endure into the future. 167 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,000 How do I understand all this? 168 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,000 You've got to get out there. 169 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,000 There are discoveries being made all the time, right? 170 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,000 As we're talking here, there are discoveries being made, right? 171 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:28,000 Right. 172 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 And the best way to start is to go to where all of this began. 173 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Africa. 174 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,000 Africa. 175 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:39,000 To dig into humanity's past and learn what it means for our future, 176 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,000 I catch a flight out of Madison. 177 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 Three connections and the entire planet of the apes reboot later, 178 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,000 I touch down in Tanzania. 179 00:09:48,000 --> 00:10:02,000 I'm headed to an archeological site where scientists are finding stunning evidence 180 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,000 that is rewriting the book on our earliest ancestors. 181 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,000 Welcome to Africa's Great Rift Valley. 182 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:13,000 It was here that ancient hominids began the long evolutionary journey 183 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,000 that led to who and what we are today. 184 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Getting approval to film at the archeological site requires more than just filling out a form. 185 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,000 I need permission from the gatekeepers. 186 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,000 Welcome party. 187 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:43,000 These are the Maasai, a semi-nomadic tribe of warriors and cattle rustlers 188 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,000 who live amidst Africa's big game. 189 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,000 They have inhabited this land for centuries. 190 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,000 The village and their chief offer me a warm welcome. 191 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,000 Nice to meet you. 192 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:54,000 Thank you. 193 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,000 It's incredible. 194 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,000 And then put me to the test. 195 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,000 So explain the jumping. 196 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:02,000 It's a competition. 197 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:03,000 It's competition. 198 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,000 And we look at the one who jumped higher than the other. 199 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:10,000 The adumu or jumping dance is an important initiation ceremony, 200 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 demonstrating a warrior's strength and skill. 201 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 The best dancers seem to defy gravity. 202 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,000 Hey. 203 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,000 Yes, come try. 204 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:21,000 We have to do it. 205 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,000 Okay. 206 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,000 All right, bring it on. 207 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:24,000 Here we go. 208 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Oh, boy. 209 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:47,000 If leaping is my passport, this investigation may never get off the ground. 210 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,000 I think he won. 211 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,000 I may have come in second, but I'm still being treated like an honored guest. 212 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,000 And the chief invites me to join him for a special ceremony. 213 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,000 A warning. 214 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:08,000 What you are about to see is intense and could fairly be called cruel. 215 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 It is also a time honored Masai tradition, 216 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,000 the sacred letting of blood from a prized cow. 217 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,000 So they'll take blood from the cows jugular vein actually, 218 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,000 and then they'll use a natural compound, 219 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,000 which they'll put in the wound. 220 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,000 It naturally cauterizes it. 221 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000 And the cow actually ends up being fined. 222 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 The gourd is then passed my way. 223 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:44,000 Its contents, the price of admission to the world of our ancient ancestors. 224 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Thank you. 225 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,000 Bottoms up. 226 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,000 My mission to understand who we were when our first ancestors came down from the trees 227 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:08,000 has brought me to the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania to meet a leading anthropologist. 228 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:14,000 But before I can continue my journey, I'm paying my respects to the native Masai people. 229 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,000 The chief of this village has invited me to join him in a ceremonial drink. 230 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000 And it's not pasteurized. 231 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,000 Thank you. 232 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,000 Bottoms up. 233 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:34,000 The Masai believe that drinking cow's blood is a ritual that honors the very essence of the animal. 234 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,000 It's like a very hot glass of milk filled with iron. 235 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,000 I'm not eager for a refill, but I do appreciate the power of the gesture. 236 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000 You almost ate it now. 237 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,000 Yeah! All right. I'm Masai now. I'm in. I'm in the club. 238 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 It was a bloody ordeal, but I've earned the chief's blessing. 239 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,000 These are your lands and I appreciate you letting us cross through them. 240 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,000 It's okay. 241 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Thank you very much. 242 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:12,000 And you too. You're welcome again. 243 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Thank you. 244 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,000 Satti Sana. 245 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,000 I drive deeper into Tanzania's wilderness. 246 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,000 Through terrain that looks absolutely prehistoric. 247 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Eventually, I reach my destination, the office of Dr. Charles Museba, 248 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,000 who is unearthing shocking facts about our earliest ancestors 249 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,000 and how becoming bipedal shaped how we eat, how we think, 250 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,000 and how we act to this day. 251 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,000 Nice to meet you. 252 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000 You're a hard man to find. 253 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,000 Without the GPS, I would have been hoping for this. 254 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Without the GPS, I would have been hopeless. 255 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,000 So where are we? 256 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 This is an exciting place. 257 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,000 Let's check it out. 258 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,000 Absolutely. 259 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 In fact, Laetoli is also a very famous place. 260 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:03,000 This is where paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey made the find of the century. 261 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,000 Four million year old human footprints. 262 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:13,000 These small steps for early man represent a giant leap for mankind, walking upright. 263 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 Dr. Museba brings me to meet his team, who are following, quite literally, 264 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,000 in Dr. Leakey's footsteps as they scour volcanic ash 265 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,000 for fossilized evidence from our collective past. 266 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:26,000 Hi, everybody. 267 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,000 Hi. 268 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,000 You guys are bundled up here. 269 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:30,000 This is a tight operation. 270 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,000 It's like a giant game of twisters going on here. 271 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,000 So what's really happening? Walk me through it. 272 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,000 So what are you seeing here? 273 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,000 We're actually doing what we call surface collection, 274 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,000 but we have to do it systematically. 275 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,000 So that's why you're seeing this great system. 276 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000 Dr. Museba, what do you got there? 277 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000 We have the proximal end of the femur. 278 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 I was going to say it was the proximal end of a femur. 279 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,000 Why are you laughing? 280 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,000 No. 281 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,000 I knew what it was. 282 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000 I didn't know. 283 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000 I didn't know. 284 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:07,000 What Dr. Dean has found is part of the leg bone of a three million year old antelope 285 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,000 that roamed these plains when early hominids made the Laetoli footprints. 286 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Incredible to think that animal was walking around over three million years ago 287 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000 and that the remains are right here at the surface. 288 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,000 You're not working in a big trench here. 289 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000 This is really right at your fingertips. 290 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,000 Josh, you want to give us a hand? 291 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,000 Yeah, I would love to give you a hand. 292 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,000 Okay, well, come with me. 293 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,000 How's the pay? 294 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,000 Uh... 295 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,000 They're laughing. 296 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 For several hours, we carefully inspect every square inch of dirt. 297 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:42,000 Oh, something here. 298 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,000 What do we got? 299 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,000 What do you think? 300 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,000 It looks like a flat bone. 301 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Yeah, it's a rib. 302 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:56,000 It's a rib from? 303 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:01,000 Yeah, from an antelope about 3.4 million years ago. 304 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,000 Finding animal bone fossils is routine out here. 305 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,000 But what happens next is just plain luck. 306 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:14,000 Hey, Josh. 307 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,000 Holy s***. 308 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,000 Oh, my God. 309 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,000 What is it? 310 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,000 It's a tooth. 311 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 It's a tooth? 312 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Yes. 313 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000 It's a name Sizer. 314 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,000 From? 315 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,000 One of our own ancestors. 316 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,000 This tooth is from one of our ancient ancestors. 317 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,000 Yes, it is. 318 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,000 Unbelievable. 319 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000 How often does that happen? 320 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,000 Not that often. 321 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:34,000 Hey! 322 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000 Nice work, man. 323 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000 That's incredible. 324 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,000 This is maybe all that remains of a distant relative. 325 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,000 Yes. 326 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:48,000 Dr. Museba explains that the tooth belongs to Australopithecus afarensis, 327 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:53,000 the species that made the Laetoli footprints 3.6 million years ago. 328 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Fines like this are crucial to understanding what our earliest ancestors ate 329 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 and how this can affect our diet and behavior today. 330 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,000 We can take this tooth into a lab. 331 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000 We can do chemical analysis and then we can tell whether these guys were vegetarian 332 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 or they had a little bit of meat in their diet. 333 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,000 Incredible. 334 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,000 This tooth kind of opens the door to a lot of questions that I have. 335 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000 You know, how we ate, what we ate. 336 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000 You know, our earliest ancestors, I kind of have two different visions of them. 337 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,000 You know, some people describe them as like scavengers. 338 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,000 You know, we're down out of the trees, 339 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,000 but we're kind of opportunistic and getting what we can. 340 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:38,000 And then this other image of them, more the kind of pop culture image of them, is the hunter. 341 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,000 It's a big question. 342 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,000 Who were we when we first began? 343 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,000 Organized and intelligent hunters? 344 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:51,000 Or, as many have suggested, scavengers and primarily herbivores like apes. 345 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,000 Which is right. 346 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,000 To answer that, let's take a drive. 347 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,000 A drive? 348 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Yes. 349 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,000 Boys up for a drive? 350 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,000 Let's go. 351 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,000 Should I just keep this or what? 352 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,000 No, you cannot keep that. 353 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,000 The owner of this tooth was us, version 1.0. 354 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000 But just how close was this beta model to modern man? 355 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,000 In order to understand how our ancestors got their food, 356 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000 we have to compare ancient animal bones with those of modern prey. 357 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000 And modern prey being killed by what? 358 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,000 Being killed by lions. 359 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,000 Lions? 360 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,000 Okay. 361 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,000 We're going looking for lions? 362 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,000 Yes. 363 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,000 That sounds dangerous. 364 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000 It is dangerous. 365 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,000 Great. 366 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,000 Okay, confirmed. 367 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:44,000 It's dangerous. 368 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:54,000 By comparing the bite marks on a lion's lunch with the marks on three million year old fossils, 369 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,000 we can determine how our ancient ancestors ate. 370 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,000 Did a skilled hunting party make the kill? 371 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,000 Or were we surviving on berries and lion leftovers? 372 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,000 That's something you don't want to hit with a car. 373 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,000 It's all legs. 374 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,000 But the animal we're chasing is far more dangerous. 375 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000 This is lion country. 376 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,000 No cages, no second chances. 377 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,000 More than 250 people are killed by lions every year. 378 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,000 Out here, man is not at the top of the food chain. 379 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:35,000 So it's about 80 to probably 100 lions out here. 380 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,000 It's hard to see them in this tall grass. 381 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,000 By the time you actually see them, it's almost too late. 382 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:47,000 After hours of off-roading, we finally encounter Africa's apex predator. 383 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,000 There. 384 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000 Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. 385 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Hi. 386 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000 Oh my God. 387 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Big male lion right in front of the vehicle. 388 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Male lions are highly territorial, often working in groups to protect their turf. 389 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:08,000 Or just shut up. 390 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,000 There's another one. 391 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,000 Another lion, another male. 392 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,000 We gotta move here. 393 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,000 I'm searching Africa's Serengeti for the secrets of our earliest ancestors. 394 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:31,000 Secrets that may help us understand ourselves and even save our future. 395 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,000 Dr. Charles Musiba and I are looking for lions with a fresh kill. 396 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:42,000 The bones will help us determine if our ancestors from 4 million years ago were ape-like scavengers 397 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,000 or were organized and intelligent hunters. 398 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:52,000 After hours of searching, we discover that the king of the jungle is also the king of the road. 399 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:57,000 Hi. 400 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Oh my God. 401 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,000 Or just shut up. 402 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:03,000 There's another one. 403 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:04,000 Another lion, another male. 404 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000 We gotta move here. 405 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,000 Okay, let's back up a little bit here. 406 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 Surrounded, we carefully maneuver around the lions. 407 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:27,000 The males are the ferocious protectors of the pride, but it's the females who do all the hunting. 408 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,000 We're gonna find a hunter, a kill, we've gotta look for the females. 409 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Yes. 410 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,000 So we drive deeper into the bush. 411 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Our encounter with the king of the jungle means the queen must be close by. 412 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,000 Oh, lions, lions. 413 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,000 Two females. 414 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,000 Oh yeah. 415 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,000 Look at that, two females. 416 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,000 Oh look, there's a warthog up there. 417 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,000 Look at that. 418 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000 I think she is gonna go for it. 419 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Oh, she is definitely going after that warthog. 420 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,000 Pumba, run. 421 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000 Okay, okay, let's see if we can follow him. 422 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000 Hakuna Matata. 423 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,000 We're gonna major Matata. 424 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:21,000 They went around there, so they should maybe pop out in here. 425 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,000 I don't see them, they just disappeared. 426 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000 Oh, two females, that's them. 427 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,000 That's them? 428 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,000 They got a kill. 429 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,000 Is it the warthog? 430 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:41,000 No, it's not. 431 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:46,000 What is it? 432 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,000 I think it's a wildebeest. 433 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,000 It's a wildebeest. 434 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000 Okay, we got our fresh kill now what? 435 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Well, now we have to go out and have a look at it. 436 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,000 Do you think you're gonna do that? 437 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Not right now. 438 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,000 So how long will they eat for? 439 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,000 They will eat for hours. 440 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,000 Okay. 441 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,000 Let's go and come back later. 442 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:10,000 Come back here later? 443 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:11,000 Yes. 444 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,000 Okay, we'll let them eat. 445 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 To collect data, it's important we don't disturb the lions while they eat. 446 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,000 So we leave Africa's fiercest predator to its feast 447 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,000 and return to the site several hours later to see what's left. 448 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,000 No lions, at least none we can see. 449 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,000 So they're gone, where I don't know, and now what? 450 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000 We're gonna step out of the car and have a look. 451 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,000 I knew you were gonna say that. 452 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,000 But we have to be very careful. 453 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:40,000 There are so many of them. 454 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:41,000 But we have to be very careful. 455 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000 There are so many lions around here. 456 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,000 Yeah. 457 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,000 While we can't see the two female lions that we're feeding earlier, 458 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000 that doesn't mean they can't see us. 459 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,000 Okay, here we go. 460 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,000 Nice and clear. 461 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,000 Let's go. 462 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,000 So with a great deal of trepidation, I open the car door 463 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000 and we step out into the wild. 464 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,000 This is crazy. 465 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,000 Where's the carcass? 466 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,000 It's all gone. 467 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,000 It's gone. 468 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,000 Yeah. 469 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,000 These lions took this thing down to nothing, basically. 470 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,000 Look, and we have a jaw bone here. 471 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,000 And here. 472 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,000 Right here. 473 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,000 Yeah. 474 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Josh, here, put these gloves. 475 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,000 This is actually a long bone. 476 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,000 The part of the jaw. 477 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:30,000 Oh, yeah, look at that. 478 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,000 Nice puncture mark right there. 479 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000 So this is where the tooth went in right there. 480 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,000 And on the jaw. 481 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,000 Look at that. 482 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,000 That's a puncture wound right there. 483 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,000 So that's a tooth. 484 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000 It's going right into the jaw. 485 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000 Right into the jaw. 486 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,000 Unbelievable. 487 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,000 Now think about this. 488 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,000 If our ancestors would come out and try to see if they could get some meat, 489 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,000 there's nothing there. 490 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,000 How would you survive? 491 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000 That's the biggest question, right? 492 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,000 You wouldn't. 493 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,000 It seems like just scavenging wouldn't have been enough. 494 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,000 Absolutely. 495 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,000 To make the case that our ancestors didn't settle for leftovers, 496 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,000 Dr. Musiba shows me fossils he found at his dig site. 497 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,000 So these are fossilized bones. 498 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,000 And about how old are these? 499 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,000 About 2.8 to 3 million years ago. 500 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,000 These are actually from the Wildebeest. 501 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,000 These are from the Wildebeest? 502 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,000 Yes. 503 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,000 So this and this are the same? 504 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:19,000 Yes. 505 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:20,000 Okay. 506 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000 And so what do we see in these bones from 3 million years ago? 507 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,000 So if you look right here. 508 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,000 This mark here. 509 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,000 This mark, yeah, right there. 510 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,000 And we can actually look at it by magnifying on the glass. 511 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,000 You see that groove? 512 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Yeah. 513 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,000 And it looks different than the bite marks. 514 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Exactly. 515 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,000 So that's a cut mark? 516 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:37,000 Yes. 517 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,000 So that was made by one of our ancestors with a tool? 518 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:40,000 Exactly. 519 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,000 Wow. 520 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,000 We just have a cut mark there without a bite mark. 521 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,000 And if you're butchering animals, 522 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000 there's lots of meat to take off of them. 523 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:49,000 So you're not just dealing with scraps? 524 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Absolutely. 525 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:56,000 What Dr. Musiba's fossil shows us is that prehistoric humans began hunting meat 526 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000 well over 3 million years ago, 527 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 almost immediately after walking upright. 528 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Just imagine you're a biped. 529 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,000 You're freeing your hands. 530 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,000 Yeah. 531 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,000 You can use your hand to make tools. 532 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:13,000 And probably they were cooperating and hunting together as a group. 533 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,000 Really suggests also, I think, an intelligence. 534 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:23,000 Hunting requires a high degree of cooperation, communication, and strategy. 535 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,000 The cut marks on this bone suggest that millions of years ago, 536 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:31,000 our brains had already developed far beyond our primate cousins. 537 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:36,000 Our ancestors, as they were evolving, their brain was also expanding. 538 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:41,000 That actually requires a diet which includes high protein. 539 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,000 So where do you get that? 540 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Meat. 541 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:45,000 Exactly. 542 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,000 So of about 2 million years, their brains grew 3 times bigger. 543 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:50,000 3 times bigger? 544 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,000 Yes. 545 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Wow. 546 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,000 Walking upright allowed us to hunt, 547 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,000 and more protein led to bigger brains. 548 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,000 Our gray matter grew from less than a pound to about 3 pounds. 549 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000 And this brain growth kicked our evolution into overdrive. 550 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:13,000 The addition of consuming high amounts of protein fundamentally alters our evolution. 551 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,000 It does. 552 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 This episode brought to you by the Meat Council. 553 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,000 This is incredible. 554 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,000 Thank you. 555 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:20,000 You're welcome. 556 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,000 Really, really amazing stuff. 557 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:26,000 Protein supercharged our brain, and we became smarter and better hunters. 558 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:34,000 Now, I'm going to see these ancient skills in action by joining one of the last hunter-gatherer societies on Earth, 559 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000 the Hadza tribe. 560 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:42,000 I had about 100 miles south of Leitoli near the shores of Lake Ayasi, 561 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,000 where I meet my guide, Dr. Elgidius Ichimbaki. 562 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,000 So let's talk about the Hadza. 563 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,000 Yeah. 564 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,000 These are people that live really traditionally, right? 565 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,000 Indeed. 566 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,000 We were living 100,000 years ago. 567 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,000 Exactly. 568 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,000 So they are literally living in the Stone Age. 569 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,000 Exactly. 570 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,000 They take us back in history. 571 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000 After three hours on a bumpy dirt road, 572 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,000 we arrive at the Hadza camp. 573 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,000 This is it? 574 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,000 Yeah, that's the Hadza camp. 575 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,000 I'm about to enter a world that much of humanity abandoned long ago, 576 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,000 a land that time forgot. 577 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000 The Hadza chief, Montana. 578 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,000 Montana. 579 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Nice to meet you. 580 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,000 Montana, Bauer. 581 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,000 Montana. 582 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,000 Montana. 583 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:40,000 Montana, Bauer. 584 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,000 Montana, Bauer. 585 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,000 Montana, Bauer. 586 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:43,000 Gosh. 587 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,000 I'll have this. 588 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:45,000 Hey, it looks great. 589 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,000 It looks very good on you. 590 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,000 You look like Don King. 591 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:48,000 Do you know who that is? 592 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,000 No. 593 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:50,000 Well, you look just like him. 594 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,000 You look great. 595 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,000 Chief, thank you for letting us come here 596 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,000 and for allowing us to film your village. 597 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,000 That language is amazing. 598 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,000 What's the Hadza language? 599 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,000 It's the click language. 600 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,000 It's the click language. 601 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,000 The click language, the Hadza speak, is an isolate, 602 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000 unrelated to any other known tongues. 603 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,000 The word Hadza itself simply means human. 604 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000 Chief Ndere shows me his village. 605 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:23,000 35 Hadza living with just the bare essentials. 606 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,000 Basic huts and fire and hides for warmth. 607 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,000 Survival tools discovered by Homo erectus 608 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,000 more than a million years ago. 609 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,000 Chief, if I'm trying to understand how 610 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:39,000 our ancient ancestors lived and hunted, 611 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,000 and I know that the Hadza still hunt 612 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,000 and live very traditionally. 613 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,000 Can you teach me how to be a Hadza? 614 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,000 I can teach you how to hunt and then you become a Hadza. 615 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,000 Okay. 616 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,000 The chief shows me the Hadza arsenal, bows and arrows, 617 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,000 an innovation dating back about 70,000 years. 618 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,000 Simple wooden arrow, very sharp. 619 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,000 Be careful, they allow that to do with the poison. 620 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,000 Ow! 621 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,000 Oh no. 622 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:06,000 Oh no. 623 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,000 All kidding aside, these handmade arrows are razor sharp. 624 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000 But before I'm allowed to join a hunt, 625 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,000 I'll need to show that I can use one of these things. 626 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:16,000 Can I see how you do it? 627 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000 That's it, I'll be in the car if you need me. 628 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,000 It's your time, come and try. 629 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000 So, so just like that? 630 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,000 Yep. 631 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 I've got one chance, one shot, to prove I'm worthy 632 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,000 of the secrets of our ancestors. 633 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,000 I'm with the Hadza tribe in Tanzania to learn 634 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,000 how the secrets of our first ancestors 635 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,000 profoundly affect our lives today. 636 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,000 The Hadza are hunter-gatherers, 637 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,000 and their daily lives may be closer to our prehistoric relatives 638 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,000 than anywhere else on Earth. 639 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,000 Okay. 640 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,000 Before I'm allowed into the Hadza Inner Circle, 641 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,000 I need to prove my skill with a bow. 642 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,000 Ow! 643 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:25,000 Woo! 644 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,000 I will have been a good cook what I like, Ali. 645 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,000 Yes, you are good, you join them tomorrow morning for the hunt. 646 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,000 For the hunt? 647 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,000 Then I cook one. 648 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,000 Good! 649 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:40,000 Yeah? 650 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,000 I don't know what that means, but I'm in. 651 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,000 Okay, tomorrow we hunt. 652 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,000 Bepe. 653 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,000 Joining the Hadza on a hunt is a huge honor. 654 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,000 This is not for sport. 655 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000 It is their only means of survival, 656 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000 and we are not the only predators. 657 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,000 There are lions and big game here as well. 658 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000 It's a real life hunger games, 659 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,000 and I just hope the odds are ever in my favor. 660 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,000 Well, it is dawn, and we are off like a shot. 661 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,000 The men are up, the dogs are up, 662 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,000 we have our bows and arrows, and we are headed out. 663 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Dogs are a relatively modern addition to the hunt, 664 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:22,000 domesticated by groups like the Hadza about 20 to 30,000 years ago. 665 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,000 Within minutes, I get a first-hand lesson 666 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,000 in the Hadza's blistering skill with a bow. 667 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,000 Did you get it? 668 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000 Here you go. 669 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,000 Wee! 670 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000 Wow! 671 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,000 This tiny bird has been sniped at a distance 672 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,000 through dense branches. 673 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,000 Wow! 674 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,000 Nice aim. 675 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:45,000 Yeah? 676 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,000 Unbelievable. 677 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,000 And they'll eat this, yeah? 678 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:49,000 Yeah, they do. 679 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:50,000 Wow! 680 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:51,000 No bear. 681 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,000 And it turns out we're not the only predators 682 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,000 hunting these birds. 683 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,000 Josh, look at that tree. 684 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000 Where am I looking at? 685 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,000 It's a snake. 686 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,000 Right there? 687 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 688 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,000 It's a green mamba. 689 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,000 That's a green mamba? 690 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,000 Oh, yes. 691 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,000 Green mamba is extremely dangerous. 692 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,000 That is a snake that can kill you. 693 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,000 It's also a snake that can move really quickly 694 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,000 and almost jump, so even under a tree, 695 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,000 not very safe from it. 696 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,000 Growing up to seven feet long, 697 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,000 the green mamba's venomous bite can be fatal 698 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,000 in under 30 minutes. 699 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,000 Out here in the bush, that's a death sentence. 700 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,000 Everything out here is dangerous. 701 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,000 With the sun rising, we pick up the pace. 702 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000 It will take more than a sparrow to feed a village. 703 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,000 Since we left camp, the hodts have not stopped walking, 704 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,000 and something tells me they're not going to. 705 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,000 It's just past 7.30. 706 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000 We've already covered three miles. 707 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000 Oh, they got something. 708 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000 Oh, it's a gazelle! 709 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:13,000 I was up. 710 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,000 Koshu died the other day. 711 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,000 I'm sorry. 712 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,000 I'm sorry. 713 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,000 Gone. 714 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,000 They lost it. 715 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Now, think about how many calories, collectively, 716 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,000 we have expended trying to chase this animal. 717 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,000 Each hunt is a game of risk and reward. 718 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,000 To win, you have to sweat, 719 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,000 but if you miss your target, 720 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,000 you don't earn any food to replenish your strength. 721 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,000 Remember these guys? 722 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,000 Don't go back to camp for pizza after this. 723 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,000 No kill, no dinner. 724 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:55,000 We hike on, and soon discover there are more fresh tracks here. 725 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,000 That's it. 726 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,000 I got tracks. 727 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,000 Tracks that could turn the hunters into the hunted. 728 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:05,000 Push back. 729 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,000 Looks like they may have trapped a bush pig, 730 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,000 which is like a boar. 731 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,000 It's actually very dangerous. 732 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:28,000 These things can charge out, 733 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000 and they can absolutely eviscerate you. 734 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,000 Now, this is probably a really good snapshot 735 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,000 of how our ancient ancestors hunted, 736 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,000 minus the bows and arrows. 737 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:38,000 At least in the earliest years, 738 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,000 they would have had only simple spear points. 739 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,000 But clearly, it would have taken organization, 740 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,000 intelligence, cooperation, 741 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,000 and a lot of other things. 742 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,000 Otherwise, they would have gone hungry and died, 743 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,000 and none of us would be here today. 744 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,000 Weighing upwards of 300 pounds with razor sharp tusks, 745 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000 a charging bush pig can kill. 746 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,000 So coordination is essential. 747 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Not just to capture our dinner, 748 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,000 but to survive the hunt. 749 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,000 Bows at the ready. 750 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,000 We attempt to flush out the bush pig 751 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,000 using what may have been early man's first tool, 752 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,000 a rock. 753 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,000 A rock. 754 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,000 A rock. 755 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:36,000 A rock. 756 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:37,000 A rock. 757 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:38,000 A rock. 758 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,000 A rock. 759 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:40,000 A rock. 760 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,000 A rock. 761 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:42,000 A rock. 762 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,000 A rock. 763 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:45,000 We got it. 764 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,000 We give chase. 765 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,000 But it disappears into another dense thicket. 766 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:10,000 But not before extracting a heavy toll from our hunting party. 767 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,000 A few of the dogs have actually been injured by the bush pig. 768 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,000 One of them has been gored a little bit. 769 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,000 He's going to be okay, but they want to get him back to the camp. 770 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,000 This just as easily could have been any of these hunters here or any of us. 771 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:29,000 The animals they're going after are legitimately really dangerous. 772 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000 They carry the dog back to camp, 773 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000 but the rest of the hunting party pushes on. 774 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,000 In the primal world of the Hadza, 775 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,000 where the stakes are life or death for the tribe, 776 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,000 the chase never stops. 777 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,000 Soon we're on the trail of something new. 778 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,000 They've spotted a wild cat called a caracal. 779 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000 It's over here. 780 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,000 It's in the tree. 781 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,000 We got it. 782 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:29,000 I may be driving in the remote reaches of Tanzania's Serengeti, 783 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:32,000 but there's one thing I can't seem to escape. 784 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000 Rush hour traffic. 785 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,000 It's not something I see every day. 786 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000 In the middle of the road. 787 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:44,000 The real road hogs though are the elephants. 788 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,000 Oh, big boy. 789 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,000 Wow. 790 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,000 Crazy. 791 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,000 Okay, just an elephant, just a young male elephant. 792 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,000 Mad dogging me from the side of the road shouldn't be a problem. 793 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,000 And the crosstown commute is bananas. 794 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,000 Monkey road walk. 795 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,000 Excuse me. 796 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000 Excuse me. 797 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,000 You. 798 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:19,000 In my quest to understand the life of prehistoric man, 799 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:23,000 I've left the museums, the textbooks, and the fossils behind, 800 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:27,000 and stepped into a world a hundred times older than the pyramids, 801 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,000 hunting with the Hadza tribe of Tanzania. 802 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:34,000 Their prehistoric survival strategies show how traits pass down 803 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:39,000 from our earliest ancestors impact how we think and act today. 804 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,000 After hours of searching, 805 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,000 we've spotted a wild African cat called a caracal. 806 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,000 It's over here. 807 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,000 It's in the tree. 808 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,000 He got it. 809 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,000 Watch out. 810 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000 Incredible. 811 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:31,000 Now, this may seem brutal, and it is. 812 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:36,000 It absolutely is, but consider that this hunting is the only way 813 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,000 that they feed their entire village. 814 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000 There's no economy, there's no money. 815 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,000 Nobody's going to a restaurant here. 816 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,000 And for those of us who eat meat but buy it in the supermarket, 817 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:49,000 it's easy to forget that it still costs a life. 818 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:58,000 We've now learned that our ancestors' protein-rich diet enlarged our brains. 819 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:03,000 But my time with the Hadza underscores that it's become a double-edged sword. 820 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,000 We're still biologically programmed for the world of our distant relatives 821 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,000 when protein was hard to get, 822 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:13,000 and we expended a lot of calories trying to chase it. 823 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:18,000 Today, the cravings that drove us to hunt drive us to the burger joint, 824 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,000 a trip which burns a lot less energy. 825 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:27,000 All because we still react to instincts encoded by our ancestors millions of years ago. 826 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:29,200 The 827 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:43,000 Cooking the day's catch and sharing it over a campfire is a ritual as old as hunting itself. 828 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:44,000 It's good. 829 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:48,000 There isn't much meat to go around, but having never worked harder for a meal, 830 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,000 I can't remember feeling more satisfied. 831 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:57,000 And for dessert, the Hadza share another ancient ritual. 832 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,000 I don't know what it is, but I'll try it, sure. 833 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,000 I was back in college there for a second. 834 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:16,000 I want to thank you for trying to teach me how to hunt today. 835 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:20,000 Your way of life takes a lot of skill and a lot of perseverance. 836 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,000 How long would it take for me to become a Hadza? 837 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:28,000 It's going to take me ten years just to learn the language. 838 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,000 Even more. 839 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,000 Even more? 840 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:31,000 Yeah. 841 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,000 No. 842 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,000 I can't make that noise. 843 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:44,000 Hunting with the Hadza showed me the awesome power of communication and cooperation. 844 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:52,000 These skills not only made our early human ancestors formidable survivors. 845 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:53,000 Sure. 846 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:58,000 They became the very building blocks of language and civilization, 847 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:03,000 giving birth to art, music, and of course, dance. 848 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:07,000 It took millions of years of programming to make you, you. 849 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:12,000 And scientists are now realizing that the key to understanding ourselves and our future 850 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:16,000 lies in decoding what we inherited from our prehistoric past. 851 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:17,000 Woo! 852 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:19,000 Good boy, Rob. 853 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,000 Thank you, Africa. Good night. 854 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:25,000 And to do that, we need to look inside ourselves, literally. 855 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,000 I fly from Tanzania to San Diego, California, 856 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:34,000 where Dr. Nathaniel Pearson has been analyzing a swab of my DNA 857 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:40,000 to see exactly how much of my ancient ancestors still live on in my genetic code. 858 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:41,000 Nathan? 859 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:42,000 Oh, hey. 860 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,000 Hey, how are you, man? Nice to meet you. 861 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:44,000 Pleasure. 862 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,000 Actually, it's not nice to meet you. I'm very nervous to meet you. 863 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,000 Why? 864 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:49,000 Because, you know, when we talk about early human ancestors, 865 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:51,000 it's all been very hypothetical up to this point, 866 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,000 but now you have my DNA. It's getting real. It's getting real. It's personal now. 867 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,000 It's getting real. That's right. 868 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:57,000 So talk to me. What's going on in here? 869 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:01,000 So DNA is like a cookbook for the proteins that make your body up. 870 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,000 I've never had anybody explain it so clearly. That's amazing. 871 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,000 That's all it is, right? 872 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,000 It's a cookbook. 873 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:11,000 It's also becoming the ultimate artifact that traces how we mix together over time. 874 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,000 So it's like a cookbook with a lot of old recipes tucked into margins. 875 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:15,000 Yeah, and the recipes get mashed up. 876 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:17,000 Got it. So I'm a mess is what you're saying. 877 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,000 All of us are. 878 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:19,000 But it's a beautiful mess. 879 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:20,000 Yes. 880 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:21,000 And this is kind of like an example of that. 881 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:26,000 Nathan has organized human DNA from around the world into pools 882 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,000 and arranged them by color on this chart 883 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:32,000 to show me what population my own genetic recipe comes from. 884 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,000 This is sort of beautiful tapestry mixing all kinds of DNA from different parts of the world. 885 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:40,000 The green here would be parts of Southern Europe Mediterranean. 886 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,000 The orange here will be West Africa. 887 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:43,000 Okay. 888 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,000 And you're seeing those in different mixes as you move across. 889 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,000 Once you get to the purple, that's North Asia. 890 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:51,000 There have been waves that come sort of sloshing out of Africa to other parts of the world. 891 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:55,000 Those waves are sloshing together and forming these kinds of mixes over time. 892 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,000 Got it. 893 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:57,000 And those mixes then mix on. 894 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:58,000 Yes. 895 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,000 We're going to see where your thread kind of fits in. 896 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:01,000 This is you. 897 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:02,000 Okay. 898 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:03,000 And this is your mix. 899 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:07,000 And so we see here this dark blue that represents a lot of sort of North European ancestry. 900 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,000 My mother's British. 901 00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:09,000 My parents are white. 902 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:10,000 This is kind of what I would expect. 903 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:11,000 This is not surprising. 904 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:12,000 Right. 905 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:13,000 And so there's a little sliver there of blue. 906 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:16,000 It's a little component from sort of Southern Asia a long time ago. 907 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:17,000 Wow. 908 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:19,000 But there's little bits of mystery in everybody's genome. 909 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:23,000 I want to emphasize this is all kind of like a bird's eye view of your recent ancestor. 910 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:24,000 Sure. 911 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,000 What I want to do now is dive a little bit deeper. 912 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:28,000 We want to look at those individual strings of DNA. 913 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:29,000 Okay. 914 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:33,000 And what they can tell us more deeply about you. 915 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:37,800 This tapestry shows my ancestry going back about 33 generations. 916 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:43,000 But evidence of far more distant relatives lies hidden deep in my genetic code. 917 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:46,000 Let's talk about, you know, early ancestors. 918 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:52,360 When we look at your DNA, we can look back and find traces that hint at early quite mysterious 919 00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:57,000 forebears who probably date back about 2000 generations. 920 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:58,000 2000 generations. 921 00:46:58,000 --> 00:46:59,000 Yeah. 922 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:00,000 So that's about how many years? 923 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:02,000 That's about 40 to 50,000 years ago. 924 00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,000 You can find ancestors of mine that far back. 925 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,000 We can. 926 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,000 Who am I related to? 927 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,000 I'm not sure if you're ready. 928 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:14,000 These are ancestors who many folks might not even call human. 929 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:18,000 Next time on Expedition Unknown. 930 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:24,000 Our investigation into what makes us human kicks into high gear. 931 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:29,000 This is the Rosetta Stone of human evolution. 932 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:34,000 I take a dangerous journey into the wilderness to meet our closest living relatives. 933 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:38,000 Face to face. 934 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:45,000 We'll descend beneath the earth to discover the evolutionary leap that made us smarter. 935 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:47,000 Josh, look at this. 936 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:49,000 That is a 2.1 million year old tool. 937 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:52,000 That's crazy. 938 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:59,000 And risk it all to learn the secret to our future survival. 939 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,000 Almost there. 940 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:03,000 Whoa, whoa, whoa.