All language subtitles for Skeletons of the Sahara 720p PBS & NG EN Sub

Narrator: DEEP IN THE WASTELAND
OF THE SAHARA DESERT,

A DINOSAUR HUNTER
SEARCHING FOR FOSSILS

STUMBLES UPON SOMETHING
ASTOUNDING...

THOUSANDS OF BONES SCATTERED
ACROSS THE SAND...

NOT THE BONES OF DINOSAURS--

THE BONES OF HUMANS.

Man: WE WERE DUMBFOUNDED.

Narrator:
IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST
PREHISTORIC BURIAL GROUNDS

EVER FOUND IN THE SAHARA.

Man: PAUL KNEW IT WAS
A BIG DEAL RIGHT AWAY.

Narrator: AND IT TELLS THE STORY
OF TWO CULTURES

THAT WERE ALMOST LOST FOREVER.

BUT WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE
DOING HERE...

HUNDREDS OF MILES
FROM THE NEAREST WATER?

HOW DID THEY LIVE?

AND HOW DID THEY DIE?

AS A DINOSAUR HUNTER
CONFRONTS HIS OWN SPECIES...

Man: I WAS TRYING
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO

WITH THIS THING, THIS PLACE,
THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: ...A VANISHED WORLD
COMES BACK TO LIFE.

Man: WE FOUND FLOWERS
ABOVE THE GRAVE

AND BELOW THE GRAVE.

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE
REALLY LOVED THEM.

Narrator: IT'S A RACE
AGAINST THE SANDS OF TIME...

TO SAVE THE SKELETONS
OF THE SAHARA.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM
WAS PROVIDED BY...

THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

Narrator: IT IS ONE OF THE MOST
FORBIDDING PLACES ON THE PLANET:

THE SAHARA DESERT.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS DAUNTED.

Paul Sereno: HEY, GABE,
LAUREN, DIDIER--

DECAL TIME.
[LAUGHS]

Narrator: PALEONTOLOGIST
PAUL SERENO AND HIS TEAM

PREPARE TO SET OUT
ON A FIVE-WEEK EXPEDITION.

Sereno: OK, HERE WE GO.

WHOO!

WHOO!

Driver: TRES BIEN, TRES BIEN.

Sereno: THIS IS SORT OF
THE ANOINTING

OF THE EXPEDITION, THE VEHICLES.

YOU PUT THAT DECAL ON,
AND THIS IS OFFICIAL NOW.

WE'RE ON OUR WAY.

Narrator: THIS WILL BE SERENO'S
EIGHTH JOURNEY INTO THE SAHARA.

HIS TEAM'S MISSION IS TO TRY
TO SOLVE A MYSTERY

ABOUT A LOST CIVILIZATION

TWICE AS OLD
AS THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS.

A TWO-DAY TREK FROM THE TOWN
OF AGADEZ IN CENTRAL NIGER

WILL TAKE THEM 300 MILES
INTO THE WORLD'S LARGEST DESERT.

Sereno: ONCE YOU LEAVE AGADEZ,
YOU'RE IN THE OPEN DESERT.

AND YOU CAN GO A THOUSAND MILES
AND NOT SEE ANYBODY.

OR YOU CAN GO
SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES

AND RUN INTO PEOPLE THAT YOU
NEVER EXPECTED TO FIND.

Narrator: THEY'RE HEADED TOWARDS
A PREHISTORIC SITE

CALLED "GOBERO."

SERENO'S GOING TO GOBERO
TO CONTINUE WORK HE BEGAN

MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO...

WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED
UPON A VIRTUAL TIME CAPSULE,

10,000 YEARS OLD...

CONTAINING MESSAGES FROM HUMANS
NO ONE KNEW EXISTED.

PAUL SERENO IS A WORLD FAMOUS
DINOSAUR MAN...

KNOWN FOR ALWAYS GOING
THE EXTRA MILE...

PUSHING TO EXPLORE
ONE MORE HILL...

ONE MORE DUNE ON THE HORIZON.

IN HIS FIELD, FINDING ONE
NEW KIND OF EXTINCT SPECIES

CAN MAKE A CAREER FOREVER.

Sereno: WOW.
THIS IS GREAT, DAVE.

Man: THAT'S A BIG-ASS CLAW!

Narrator:
SERENO HAS DISCOVERED DOZENS

OF UNKNOWN DINOSAURS
AND ANCIENT CROCODILES

IN OVER 20 YEARS
CRISS-CROSSING THE DESERT.

BUT THE DISCOVERY OF GOBERO

WAS ONE OF HIS
MOST ASTOUNDING FINDS--

AND ONE THAT SHOULD NEVER
HAVE HAPPENED.

ONE DAY IN 2000,
DANGEROUSLY FAR FROM CAMP,

SERENO'S TEAM STOPPED
IN THIS SPOT

TO PROSPECT FOR DINOSAUR BONES.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER
MIKE HETTWER

WAS WITH THE EXPEDITION

AND REMEMBERS THE DAY
GOBERO WAS DISCOVERED.

Mike Hettwer: SO ORIGINALLY
WE ARRIVED HERE

WITH OUR LAND ROVERS

AND WE SPREAD OUT
TO PROSPECT THIS, AH,

THIS PART OF THE SAHARA DESERT.

EVERYBODY WANTS TO FIND
THE COOLEST THING.

AND, YOU KNOW, FOR ME PERSONALLY

I HADN'T FOUND ANY
BIG DINOSAUR BONES THIS TRIP

AND I WAS LOOKING TO FIND
SOMETHING AND SO...

I WAS LOOKING AT THE GROUND

AND I WAS FOLLOWING
A TRAIL OF BONES,

AND I'M JUST TAKING PICTURES.

Narrator: BUT THE BONES
HETTWER WAS FOLLOWING

WERE NOT DINOSAUR BONES.

THESE BONES WERE HUMAN.

Hettwer: AND THEN I STARTED
WALKING TOWARD THESE HILLS

AND THEN I STARTED SEEING LIKE,
YOU KNOW,

A LEG BONE CONNECTED,
YOU KNOW, TO A HIP. RIGHT?

OR A COUPLE OF ARM BONES.

AND THEN I STARTED
SEEING SKELETONS

WITH THE HEADS SHEARED IN HALF
BY THE WIND. RIGHT?

THEY ALMOST LOOKED LIKE TEACUPS,
BUT THEY WERE HUMAN SKULLS

THAT HAD BEEN CUT IN HALF
BY THE SAND AND THE WIND.

AND THEN THOSE HALF SKULLS
WERE ATTACHED TO VERTEBRAE,

AND YOU STARTED SEEING
FULL SKELETONS.

AND THEN, AS I WALKED FURTHER,

I STARTED SEEING
REALLY WELL-PRESERVED SKELETONS.

SO WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU COME BACK

AND EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW,
EVERYBODY BRINGS BONES.

AND THEY PLACE THEM ON TOP
OF ONE OF OUR LAND ROVERS.

AND I SHOWED THEM
ALL OF THESE SKELETONS.

PAUL KNEW IT WAS A BIG DEAL
RIGHT AWAY.

Narrator: AND IT WAS
AN EVEN BIGGER MYSTERY.

SO MANY SKELETONS LYING
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT...

HUNDREDS OF MILES
FROM THE NEAREST WATER...

WHAT WERE THEY DOING HERE?

Sereno: WE WERE DUMBFOUNDED.

I MEAN, YOU SEE A HUMAN SKELETON
LOOKING ACROSS THE DESERT

AND YOU'RE WONDERING
HOW OLD IS THIS?

WHAT WORLD DID THIS PERSON SEE?

WHY IS HE HERE?

I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT TO DO WITH THIS THING,

THIS PLACE, THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: FROM THE LOOK
OF THE SKULLS,

THE PEOPLE APPEARED TO BE
PREHISTORIC HUMANS.

TOOLS FOUND ON THE SITE ALSO
POINTED TO A STONE-AGE CULTURE.

SUDDENLY, SERENO FACED
A TERRIBLE DILEMMA.

HIS STUNNING DISCOVERY HAD COME
AT THE END OF A LONG DAY.

THE TEAM NEEDED TO GET
BACK TO CAMP BEFORE DARK.

Sereno: AND WE HAD NO TIME.

WE SPENT, WE COUNTED,
I DON'T KNOW, A DOZEN SKELETONS.

AND WE GOT BACK IN THE CAR--
WE HAD TO, FOR OUR OWN SAFETY--

AND WE DROVE BACK TO CAMP
AND WE MARKED IT IN OUR GPS

AND WE SAID SOMEDAY
WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK.

WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK
AND SEE WHAT THAT PLACE IS.

Narrator: THE HUMAN BONES WOULD
HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEIR RESCUE...

AND FOR THEIR LIFE STORY
TO BE TOLD.

BUT ALL THE WHILE,

THE BLOWING SAHARA SAND
WAS WEARING THEM AWAY.

Sereno: I SENSED
IT WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT

THAT I REALLY NEEDED
TO GET BACK TO.

I JUST FELT I COULDN'T JUST
LET IT ERODE INTO NOTHING.

Narrator: SERENO WOULD RETURN
TO GOBERO FOUR TIMES

IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.

EACH EXPEDITION UNCOVERED
MORE SKELETONS.

Sereno: THERE WAS SOMETHING
UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS BURIAL.

Narrator: AND EACH TIME
HE WOULD BRING SAMPLES

BACK TO HIS LAB
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

FOR CLOSER STUDY.

EVEN AS HE LEARNED MORE,

THE MYSTERY OF WHO THESE PEOPLE
WERE ONLY DEEPENED.

Sereno: WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT
HERE IS A 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL,

AND SHE'S BURIED ON HER SIDE.

YOU CAN SEE THE SKULL
COCKED AT AN ANGLE.

HERE COMES ONE ARM,
THE RIGHT ARM,

HERE'S THE SHOULDER,
THE LEFT ARM,

HERE'S THE LEFT LEG,
THE RIGHT LEG JUST UNDERNEATH

FLEXED BACK TO THE FEET
OVER HERE.

THERE'S SOMETHING
THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE,

AS WE EXCAVATED DOWN,

AN EDGE CAME UP THAT I DID NOT
RECOGNIZE AS SKELETAL.

IT WASN'T BONE.

AND I THOUGHT, "WHAT IS THAT?"

Narrator:
IT TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING
NO ONE HAD SEEN BEFORE.

ENCIRCLING THE UPPER ARM
OF THIS TEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL...

A BRACELET, MADE FROM THE TOOTH
OF A HIPPO.

Hettwer: AND YOU CAN SEE
THIS BRACELET ON HER ARM.

WHEN YOU'RE BRUSHING
THIS STUFF BACK

AND YOU'RE EXPOSING THIS

AND YOU SEE SOME PIECE
OF JEWELRY OR SOMETHING

THAT, UM, YOU KNOW,
ORNAMENTATION

THAT SHOWED YOU
WHO THE PERSON WAS,

THOSE ARE THE GREAT MOMENTS,
RIGHT?

AND THE COMPLETE SURPRISES.

Narrator: WHAT WAS EMERGING
WERE HINTS THAT THESE PEOPLE

HAD A WELL-DEVELOPED CULTURE
WITH RITUALIZED BURIAL.

CLEARLY, THIS PLACE WAS NOT
JUST A DUMPING GROUND FOR BONES.

GOBERO WAS
AN ENORMOUS CEMETERY--

ONE OF THE LARGEST AND OLDEST
EVER FOUND IN THE SAHARA.

BUT WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE DOING
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

HOW DID THEY LIVE HERE?

SERENO VOWED TO RETURN YET AGAIN
IN SEARCH OF MORE ANSWERS.

BUT POLITICAL UNREST
IN THE SAHARA BLOCKED HIS WAY.

FIVE YEARS OF REVOLUTIONS,
TERRORIST ATTACKS,

AND CIVIL WARS

MADE A HOT LAND
TOO HOT FOR TRAVEL.

THIS FIVE-YEAR GAP HAS BEEN
SERENO'S LONGEST SEPARATION

FROM THE SITE SINCE FINDING IT.

NOW, A BRIEF WINDOW
OF OPPORTUNITY

IS LETTING HIM COME BACK
TO GOBERO...

ALONG WITH AN ARMED ESCORT OF
40 TROOPS FROM THE NIGER ARMY.

Sereno: IF IT'S NOT NIGER
THAT'S HAVING A REVOLUTION

OR CHANGING A GOVERNMENT,

IT'S LIBYA OR SOME OTHER PLACE.

THE DESERT NEVER SEEMS
LIKE IT QUIETS DOWN.

Narrator: HE'S ANXIOUS TO SEE
WHAT'S LEFT OF THE SKELETONS

AND TO PROVE HIS SKEPTICS WRONG.

Sereno: THEY SAID YOU'RE NEVER
GOING TO GET BACK TO GOBERO;

IT'S GOING TO BLOW AWAY
INTO THE SANDS OF TIME.

ANYTHING YOU'VE GOT
IS ALL YOU'RE GOING TO GET,

BECAUSE YOU ARE NEVER GOING
TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK,

AND NOW WE'RE
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR.

WE'RE ABOUT 30 MILES AWAY;
WE'RE CLOSING IN.

OK, WE'RE ON THE SITE.

WE'RE ACTUALLY
ON OUR CAMPSITE HERE.

OK, LET'S GO.

OH, MY GOD.

IT IS JUST AMAZING.

IT IS JUST AMAZING
TO BE BACK HERE.

FINISH THE STORY.

Narrator:
SERENO'S TEAM OF RESEARCHERS,
BONE SPECIALISTS, AND GEOLOGISTS

QUICKLY SET UP CAMP...

EAGER TO CONTINUE THE HUNT

FOR CLUES ABOUT THE PEOPLE
WHO ONCE LIVED HERE.

THEY'LL BE SPREADING OUT
OVER NEARLY 70 ACRES

TO THREE DIFFERENT BURIAL SITES.

EACH SITE HAS A NAME:

FROM G1 ON THE EASTERN EDGE
TO G3 ON THE WEST.

THE PEOPLE LAID TO REST HERE

MAKE THESE HILLS
HALLOWED GROUND.

Sereno: I'LL NEVER FORGET
THE FIRST TIME I DID IT.

I WAS SITTING AT GOBERO
AND I WAS JUST BRUSHING OFF,

YOU KNOW, A HUMAN SKELETON.

AND THEN IT JUST,
IT DAWNED ON ME, YOU KNOW,

THIS IS, THIS IS MY SPECIES.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TEETH ARE,
ARE FAIRLY WORN,

BUT NOT TERRIBLY WORN.

I'D SAY IT'S
A YOUNG ADULT PROBABLY.

IN THE DINOSAUR WORK,

THERE WAS SUCH AN OTHERNESS
TO EVERYTHING I HAD DUG UP.

IT WAS BIG, IT WAS WEIRD,
THE MORE BIZARRE THE BETTER.

BUT HERE, IT IS MY OWN SPECIES.

I'M LOOKING INTO THE EYES
OF MY OWN SPECIES.

AND THE HAIR ROSE ON MY BACK.

Narrator:
AS MORE AND MORE SKELETONS
WERE RECOVERED FROM THE SAND,

SOMETHING SURPRISING
BECAME CLEAR.

THESE HILLS WERE NOT JUST
SACRED GROUND TO ONE CULTURE...

THEY HOLD THE BONES OF AT LEAST
TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF HUMANS.

A TIMELINE BASED
ON CARBON DATING

OF OVER 70 GOBERO SKELETONS

INDICATES THAT AN EARLY PEOPLE
SETTLED IN GOBERO

AROUND 10,000 YEARS AGO,

LONG BEFORE THE FIRST PYRAMIDS
IN THE NILE VALLEY.

AFTER BURYING THEIR DEAD HERE
FOR 1,500 YEARS,

THIS POPULATION DISAPPEARED.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER,

ANOTHER PEOPLE ARRIVED,
STILL PRE-EGYPTIAN:

THEY LASTED 2,500 YEARS.

THE EARLY GOBERO SKELETONS
ARE FOSSILIZED A DARK COLOR--

THEIR BONES SIGNALING
A LARGE, STRONG PEOPLE.

THEIR SKULLS ARE LONG
AND OVAL-SHAPED,

WITH ENORMOUS EYE SOCKETS.

THE MORE RECENT BONES
ARE UNSTAINED.

THEIR SKULLS ARE HIGHER,
NARROWER, WITH SMALLER EYES...

THEIR SKELETONS MORE DELICATE.

TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF HUMANS,
SEPARATED BY THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

BURIED IN THE SAME SAND.

Sereno: THAT WAS
THE STAGGERING THING--

THAT THERE WERE SKELETONS,

ONE SITTING HERE,
ONE SITTING THERE,

THAT WERE 5,000 YEARS APART.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMING
TO THIS SPOT, SOMEHOW,

FOR 5,000 YEARS,

AND ALL OF THEM WERE OLDER
THAN THE EGYPTIAN MUMMIES,

BUT THIS WAS SOME KIND
OF A SPOT.

Narrator: BUT WHAT KIND
OF A SPOT WAS IT?

HOW COULD HUMANS HAVE SURVIVED
THE DESERT FOR SO LONG?

SCATTERED ACROSS THE SAND
WERE OTHER BONES

EVEN MORE UNLIKELY TO FIND HERE
THAN HUMANS.

AND THEY PROVIDED A CLUE.

Sereno: AND IT'S JUST RIDDLED
WITH ALL SORTS OF THINGS,

I MEAN, HERE'S
A LITTLE FISH BONE,

HERE'S ANOTHER LITTLE BONE,
COULD BE A TURTLE BONE.

HERE'S ANOTHER BONE
OF A MAMMAL.

Narrator: FISH BONES,
TURTLE SHELLS,

AND SOMETHING
EVEN MORE SURPRISING.

Sereno: THIS IS THE ANKLE BONE
OF A HIPPO.

THIS IS A WATER-LOVING ANIMAL.
NEEDS PERMANENT WATER.

THE ANKLE BONE OF A HIPPO
JUST LAYING OUT ON THE SITE.

Narrator: WHAT WERE THEY DOING
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

COULD IT BE THAT THE SAHARA

WAS ONCE MORE THAN JUST
SAND AND ROCKS?

THE ANSWER HAS TO DO WITH HOW
THE EARTH MOVES AROUND THE SUN.

12,000 YEARS AGO,
THE EARTH'S ELLIPTICAL ORBIT

BROUGHT IT CLOSER TO THE SUN,

AND ITS TILT CAUSED
MORE RADIATION

TO STRIKE
THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

WARMER CONDITIONS PRODUCED
MORE MOISTURE

AND PUSHED THE MONSOON
RAIN CLOUDS FURTHER NORTH,

BRINGING PRECIOUS WATER
ACROSS NORTH AFRICA.

A SERIES OF LAKES AND WATERWAYS
FED GRASSLANDS AND TREES.

IT WAS A TIME KNOWN
AS THE "GREEN SAHARA,"

AND IT LASTED 5,000 YEARS.

FISH SUCH AS SIX-FOOT NILE PERCH

AND LARGE ANIMALS LIKE HIPPOS
AND GIRAFFES THRIVED.

SCIENTISTS LONG BELIEVED
THAT HUMANS SETTLED HERE, TOO,

BUT UNTIL GOBERO,
THERE WAS ALMOST NO SIGN

OF WHERE THEY LIVED
OR WHO THEY WERE.

Sereno: SCIENTIFICALLY THIS IS,
THIS IS HUGE.

BECAUSE THE GREEN SAHARA
AND THE DRYING OF THE SAHARA

IS THE GREATEST CLIMATIC SHIFT
SINCE THE ICE MELTED.

IN THE LAST 10,000 YEARS,
THIS IS THE BIGGEST--

I MEAN, LOOK AT,
LOOK AT WHAT'S BEHIND ME.

THIS WAS A PARADISE
OF LINKED OASES AT ONE POINT,

WITH ALL THE ANIMALS
YOU KNOW FROM AFRICA

COMING IN TO DRINK
AT THE WATER HOLES--

ELEPHANTS, HIPPOS,
WATER-LOVING CROCODILES,

SIX-FOOT FISH.

WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT
TO REALLY UNDERSTAND GOBERO

AS BEST AS WE CAN,

AND WE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE
ANY DETAIL BEHIND.

YEAH, THAT'S A HAND UP HERE.
THERE'S A HAND...

Didier Dutheil:
THERE IS NO SUTURE...

Narrator: DIDIER DUTHEIL
ACCOMPANIES SERENO

ON ALL OF HIS EXPEDITIONS
TO GOBERO.

AN EXPERT IN FISH
AND OTHER AQUATIC ANIMALS,

HE LIKES TO QUOTE A LOCAL SAYING

TO EXPLAIN HOW GOBERO
CAME TO BE:

Dutheil: "AMAN/IMAN"--
THE WATER IS LIFE.

GOBERO IS REALLY LIFE.

BUT THEY HAD LIFE
BECAUSE THEY HAD WATER.

AND THEY HAD A HUGE LAKE.

AND IN THIS LAKE, OF COURSE,
THEY HAD SOME FISHES,

THEY HAD SOME FROGS,
THERE ARE A LOT OF TURTLES,

ELEPHANT, THEY HAD
A BIG BIODIVERSITY.

AND OF COURSE THIS KIND OF
BIODIVERSITY ATTRACT HUMANS.

AND A LOT OF HUMANS, YOU KNOW,

MADE A SETTLEMENT
AROUND THIS LAKE,

AND GOBERO IS ONE
OF THOSE SETTLEMENTS.

Narrator: TODAY THE SAHARA
IS FAR FROM BEING GREEN.

AS THE TEAM HUNTS FOR EVIDENCE

OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE
NEAR THE ANCIENT LAKE,

A 30-MILE-AN-HOUR WIND BLOWS
CONTINUALLY ACROSS THE DESERT.

THE WIND IS A BLESSING
AND A CURSE.

WITHOUT IT, THE GRAVES
WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN EXPOSED--

BUT ONCE THE BONES DO EMERGE,

THE BLOWING SAND
WILL PULVERIZE THEM.

SO THIS IS A RACE
TO RECOVER WHAT THEY CAN

BEFORE THE WIND STEALS
THE REMAINING CLUES.

THE TEAM'S OBJECTIVE
IS TO COLLECT MATERIAL

FROM THE DIFFERENT TYPES
OF HUMAN BURIALS FOUND HERE

IN HOPES OF ANSWERING QUESTIONS
ABOUT HOW THEY LIVED.

THE MORE ANCIENT HUMANS
HAVE BONES

THAT ARE STAINED A DARK COLOR.

THESE ARE BELIEVED TO BE FROM
PEOPLE OF THE KIFFIAN CULTURE.

BEFORE GOBERO,

NO ONE HAD ACTUALLY SEEN
A KIFFIAN SKULL OR SKELETON.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS KNEW OF THEM
MAINLY THROUGH POTTERY SHARDS

THAT SURVIVED
WITH A DISTINCTIVE PATTERN.

WITH THESE BURIAL REMAINS,
IT WAS POSSIBLE TO BEGIN FILLING

AN ENORMOUS VOID
IN THE HUMAN RECORD.

BUT HOW MUCH CAN BONES
THIS ANCIENT

REALLY TELL US
ABOUT HOW PEOPLE LIVED?

PLENTY, IF YOU KNOW
HOW TO READ THEM.

CHRIS STOJANOWSKI
IS A BIO-ARCHAEOLOGIST

FROM ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.

OVER HALF THE BONES RECOVERED
AT GOBERO

FIND THEIR WAY TO HIS LAB
IN TEMPE.

STOJANOWSKI USES PLASTIC BOXES--

THE KIND MOST PEOPLE USE
TO STORE WINTER CLOTHES--

TO HOLD THE BONES
OF ANCIENT MEN AND WOMEN.

Chris Stojanowski:
NOW I'M LAYING OUT THE TOES,

STARTING WITH THE FIRST TOE,
THE BIG TOE.

Narrator: FROM THESE, HE CAN
PUT TOGETHER THE HUMAN PUZZLE...

Stojanowski: THESE ARE
THE BONES OF THE ANKLE.

Narrator: ...PIECE BY PIECE.

Stojanowski:
THOSE ARE THE TWO FEET.

OK, SO THIS IS THE FIBULA...

AND THE TIBIA.

Narrator: EACH PIECE
OF THE PUZZLE REVEALS SOMETHING

ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND THE BONES.

Stojanowski: IF YOU LOOK AT ALL
OF THE PLACES ON THE BONE,

THESE ROUGHENED AREAS
THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER,

THAT TELLS YOU THOSE ARE
WHERE MUSCLES WOULD ATTACH,

AND HOW WELL DEVELOPED
THESE DIFFERENT AREAS ARE

IS GOING TO TELL YOU
HOW STRONG THAT PERSON WAS.

AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE
IS THIS ELEVATED RIDGE,

WHICH WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE INDIVIDUAL LIVED

A FAIRLY ACTIVE LIFESTYLE.

AND THE RIGHT FEMUR,
OR THE THIGHBONE.

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE BEST WAY TO
ESTIMATE HOW TALL SOMEONE WAS,

BY LOOKING AT THE FEMUR,

'CAUSE IT'S THE LONGEST BONE
IN THE BODY.

YEAH, IT'S PRETTY LONG.

AND IT'S ALSO VERY BOWED.

PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY WERE
DOING QUITE A BIT

WITH THEIR LEG MUSCLES.

IMAGINE IF YOU WERE LIVING
IN AFRICA 10,000 YEARS AGO,

IN WHAT'S NOW
THE SAHARA DESERT,

AROUND THE MARGINS, PRESUMABLY
AROUND THE MARGINS OF THIS LAKE.

AND YOUR PRIMARY PROTEIN WAS
COMING EITHER FROM HUNTING,

WHICH WOULD HAVE YOU MOVING
QUITE A BIT,

OR FROM FISHING THESE FISH
THAT WERE ALMOST AS BIG AS YOU,

FROM BOATS, WITH HARPOONS
THAT YOU HAND-MADE.

AND ALL OF THE WORK
THAT WOULD COME IN TO PLAY

FROM YOU JUST SORT OF GETTING
YOUR DAILY FOOD REQUIREMENTS.

SO THAT KIND
OF ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

OVER THE COURSE OF ONE'S LIFE
RESULTS IN THINGS LIKE THIS.

Narrator: SOMETIMES
STOJANOWSKI'S BEST CLUES

COME FROM THINGS
HE DOESN'T SEE--

FROM THE ARM BONES, EVIDENCE
OF A PEACEFUL PEOPLE.

Stojanowski:
THE ULNA AND THE RADIUS.

IF YOU WERE TO BE STRUCK WITH
SOMETHING AND DEFEND YOURSELF,

YOU WOULD PUT YOUR ARM UP
LIKE THIS.

WHATEVER WAS HITTING YOU
WOULD AFFECT THIS BONE HERE,

AND IT'S VERY COMMON
TO SEE PEOPLE WITH FRACTURES

IN THE LOWER PART
OF THESE BONES.

WE DON'T SEE THAT
WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL

NOR DO WE SEE THIS WITH
ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM GOBERO.

IT'S A BIT OF A CLUE,
RIGHT, RIGHT.

SO APPARENTLY DEFENSIVE THINGS
WERE NOT PART OF THEIR PROBLEM.

Narrator: THE BONES REVEAL
THAT KIFFIANS

WERE ROBUST AND POWERFUL

AND LED AN ACTIVE
BUT PEACEFUL LIFESTYLE.

THEY WERE ALSO
VERY LARGE PEOPLE.

MANY OF THE SKELETONS MEASURE
WELL OVER SIX FEET TALL...

MAKING THE WAY THEY WERE BURIED
ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE.

THEY'RE BUNDLED UP
LIKE STACKS OF FIREWOOD.

Stojanowski: THE EARLIER BURIALS
AT GOBERO ARE TIGHTLY FLEXED

IN THAT THE ARMS ARE SORT OF
BROUGHT CLOSE TO THE BODY,

WITH THE HANDS UP TO THE FACE.

THE LEGS ARE PULLED UP
IN MANY CASES

ALL THE WAY UP TO THE FACE.

SO THE PERSON WOULD FORM
THIS LITTLE BIT OF A BUNDLE.

Narrator:
FULLY EXCAVATED, THE SKELETONS
RAISE MORE QUESTIONS.

Sereno:
THESE WERE ROBUST PEOPLE,

YET THEY WERE FOLDED SO TIGHTLY
IN THEIR BURIALS;

LIKE, HERE YOU HAVE THE KNEES
ALMOST AT THE JAWS

AND THE FEET CROSSED.

IN FACT, THIS ENTIRE SKELETON
OF A MAN

CAN FIT INSIDE A 10-INCH TUBE.

AND THAT IS THE BURIAL STYLE
THAT WAS COMMON

ABOUT 10,000 YEARS AGO
AT GOBERO.

Narrator: WHY WERE THEY
BURIED THIS WAY?

SOMEONE POSITIONED THIS MAN'S
BODY IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH...

BEFORE RIGOR MORTIS SET IN.

SOMEONE CROSSED HIS FEET...

AND CAREFULLY PLACED HIS HANDS
ACROSS HIS MOUTH.

EACH GESTURE SEEMS SYMBOLIC
OF SOMETHING,

BUT WITHOUT WRITTEN CLUES,
THE MESSAGE REMAINS MYSTERIOUS.

THE KIFFIAN GRAVESITES
ARE SEEN HERE IN DARK BROWN.

THEIR PLOTS ARE ORGANIZED--

MUCH LIKE THOSE
IN A MODERN-DAY CEMETERY.

THE OLDEST DATES
TO 10,000 YEARS AGO.

THE MORE RECENT BURIALS,
SEEN HERE IN LIGHT BROWN,

SEEM MORE HAPHAZARD,
WITH NO CLEAR ORDER.

THESE ARE THE BONES OF A PEOPLE
KNOWN AS "TENERIANS."

THEIR SKELETONS ARE SHORTER
IN STATURE,

THEIR BONES MORE SLENDER.

THEY WERE BURIED
LYING ON THEIR SIDES,

ALMOST AS THOUGH
THEY WERE SLEEPING.

AND, THEIR GRAVES,
UNLIKE THE KIFFIANS,

ARE LADEN WITH CLUES
ABOUT THEIR CULTURE.

THE 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL
WITH THE HIPPO TOOTH BRACELET

WAS FROM THIS POPULATION.

AND THERE WERE
OTHER CURIOUS FINDS.

Hettwer: IT'S LIKE ONE IS JUST
MORE INTERESTING THAN THE NEXT.

I MEAN, THIS IS A GUY
WITH HIS, YOU KNOW,

HE'S GOT HIS MIDDLE FINGER
IN HIS MOUTH.

WE HAVE NO IDEA
WHY HE WAS BURIED

WITH A MIDDLE FINGER
IN HIS MOUTH.

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE
BEST-PRESERVED SKELETONS

WAS THIS WHERE THERE IS
A VERY LARGE POT

THAT WAS AROUND THE HEAD
OF THIS PERSON.

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY.
YOU KNOW?

Narrator: A FEW BURIALS
COMBINE ELEMENTS

OF BOTH GOBERO CULTURES.

THIS MAN LIVED
IN TENERIAN TIMES.

BUT IN DEATH HE WAS
BENT IN HALF,

HIS KNEES PULLED UP TO HIS HEAD.

AND HE WAS BURIED WITH THE SHELL
OF A LARGE TURTLE

COVERING HIS BACKSIDE.

THESE CLUES FROM THE GRAVE

INDICATE DEATH
STEEPED IN RITUAL.

BUT WHAT ABOUT
THEIR DAILY LIVES?

WAS ANYTHING LEFT BEHIND?

SERENO'S TEAM SCOURS THE TERRAIN

FOR EVIDENCE OF
A GOBERO CIVILIZATION.

THEY SIFT THROUGH PILES
OF SAND...

IN SEARCH OF EVEN
THE SMALLEST CLUE.

Woman: WE CALL THIS DEBITAGE,
AND IT COMES FROM MAKING TOOLS.

Sereno: A PLACE AS DETAILED
AS GOBERO,

WITH AS MANY CLUES AS,
AS WE HAVE HERE,

THAT'S YOUR CHANCE.

THAT'S YOUR CHANCE TO ADD
SOME PAGES TO HUMAN HISTORY.

Narrator: PREHISTORIC
GARBAGE PILES, CALLED MIDDENS,

PROVIDE HUNDREDS
OF EVERYDAY ITEMS

AND HELP FORM A PORTRAIT

OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED
OFF THE LAKE...

WHEN THE SAHARA WAS GREEN...

AND PEOPLE FOLLOWED THE ANIMALS
THAT FOLLOWED THE WATER...

THEY HUNTED WILD GAME
WITH SHARPENED STONES.

THEY FISHED WITH BARBED HARPOONS
AND WELL-CRAFTED HOOKS.

THEY DECORATED THEIR POTS AND
MADE BEADS FROM STONE AND IVORY.

Sereno: BOTH PEOPLE,
AS BEST AS WE CAN TELL,

WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS.

THE KIFFIANS SEEM
TO HAVE DEPENDED MORE

ON THE AQUATIC RESOURCES

BECAUSE WE FIND
JUST AN ABUNDANCE OF HARPOONS

FOR THEIR HUNTING,

VERSUS THE ARROW,
BOW AND ARROW HUNTING

THAT SEEMINGLY, FROM
THE ARTIFACTS THAT WE FIND,

DOMINATED THE TENERIAN CULTURE.

THIS STUFF WAS PRETTY MUCH
COLLECTED ALL TODAY.

THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING.

Narrator: WE CAN HOLD
IN OUR HANDS

THE VERY TOOLS USED
BY THESE PREHISTORIC PEOPLE.

BUT UNDERSTANDING THE LAND
THEY LIVED ON IS TRICKIER.

HOW MUCH CAN WE REALLY KNOW
ABOUT THEIR WORLD?

SERENO IS USING NEW TOOLS

TO TRY AND PHYSICALLY REIMAGINE
GOBERO AS IT WAS.

Sereno: IN THE END WE WANT
A MASTER MAP,

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF BURIALS
AND A LOT OF ARTIFACTS TO TRACK.

Narrator: IT STARTS WITH MAPPING
THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE

AS IT EXISTS NOW.

Sereno: AT GOBERO,
YOU CAN SEE YESTERDAY TODAY.

WHY NOT MAP IT IN A SPECIAL WAY?

SO ACCURATELY THAT WE COULD
ACTUALLY FILL THAT LAKE BACK UP

AND IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE
5,000 YEARS AGO

WHEN PEOPLE WERE LIVING THERE.

Narrator:
FIELD ENGINEER NELS PETERSON
IS DOING JUST THAT.

BUT HOW DO YOU MAP A LANDSCAPE
SO SEEMINGLY EMPTY?

Nels Peterson: YOU KNOW,
THE SIMPLEST WAY

TO KEEP TRACK
OF THIS INFORMATION

IS TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS

WITH TAPE MEASURES AND RULERS
AND COMPASSES

ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE ALIGNED.

WE ALSO DRAW PICTURES
OF THE SKELETONS.

THOSE ARE THE SIMPLEST AND SOME
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES.

Sereno: I THINK IF YOU TAKE
FOUR PICTURES

THEN WE GET THE WHOLE GRID.

Peterson: YOU CAN ASSOCIATE
THE GRIDS THAT WE PUT UP,

WHICH IS, YOU KNOW,
THESE METER SPACING

THAT WE USE TO MAP AND SORT OF
NAVIGATE AROUND THE SITES.

THAT'S ONE THING.

Narrator: BUT ON THIS TRIP, NELS
IS GOING TO GO A STEP FURTHER.

HE'S SCANNING THE LANDSCAPE
USING LASER BEAMS

THAT BOUNCE OFF EACH
RISE AND DIP IN THE DUNE.

Peterson: IT SENDS A BEAM
OF LIGHT FROM THE CENTER OF IT,

A VERY SHORT BEAM,
AND IT FIRES IT OFF

AND IT HAS A STOPWATCH INSIDE

AND IT MEASURES HOW MUCH TIME
IT TAKES FOR THAT BEAM OF LIGHT

TO GO OUT TO THE END
AND COME BACK.

AND IT DOES THIS
THOUSANDS OF TIMES PER SECOND.

Narrator: NELS COMBINES
THE LASER IMAGES

WITH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

AND DATA COLLECTED
BY SOIL SCIENTISTS.

THEN HE CREATES A 3D MAP
OF THE GOBERO LANDSCAPE...

ABLE TO FILL IN
WHAT WAS ONCE THERE.

Peterson: IN ORDER TO RECREATE
THIS LOCATION,

YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.

YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY
HOW EVERYTHING WAS LAID OUT.

AND THIS IS GOING TO PROVIDE
THE MATERIAL TO DO THAT.

Narrator: THE RESULTING IMAGE
REVEALS HOW THE BURIALS SURVIVED

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

EACH OF THE GRAVES
SITS ON A DUNE.

BUT UNLIKE OTHER DUNES
IN THIS DESERT,

THESE BARELY MOVE.

THE REASON?

THEY'RE ANCHORED BY ROCKS
FORMED FROM LAKE SEDIMENTS.

IF NOT FOR THIS, THE DUNES
WOULD HAVE DRIFTED...

AND THE BONES WOULD HAVE
GONE WITH THEM.

BASED ON THE TEAM'S
PRELIMINARY DATA,

THEY CAN SEE
FOR THE FIRST TIME

THE CONTOURS
OF THE ANCIENT LAKE.

THE WATER AT GOBERO
MAY HAVE BEEN BETWEEN THE DUNES

AND AS DEEP AS TEN FEET.

AND THEIR ANALYSIS REVEALS
ANOTHER CURIOUS DETAIL:

THAT THE WATER LEVEL CHANGED
OVER TIME.

AROUND 8,500 YEARS AGO,
THE LAKE ROSE.

JUST HOW HIGH THE WATER CAME UP
IS STILL UNKNOWN.

BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT CLUE

IN ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING
DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN THE TWO KINDS
OF SKELETONS.

THE KIFFIAN BONES
ARE MORE DARKLY COLORED,

BECAUSE FOR A TIME--
PERHAPS CENTURIES--

THEY WERE UNDER WATER.

Stojanowski: AT A CERTAIN POINT,
THE LAKE GOT SO HIGH

THAT THE WATER COVERED
THE TOP OF THE DUNE.

PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY COULDN'T BE
BURIED THERE ANYMORE.

Narrator: IN ORDER TO FOSSILIZE,

THEIR GRAVES MUST HAVE BEEN
UNDERWATER FOR YEARS.

WATER PASSING
THROUGH THE SKELETONS

FLUSHED OUT THE MINERALS
THAT WERE NATURALLY THERE

AND REPLACED THEM WITH MINERALS
FROM THE EARTH.

Stojanowski: SO THE FACT THAT
THEY WERE COVERED WITH WATER

IS WHY THEY'RE FOSSILIZED,

AND IT'S ALSO WHY
THEY ARE STAINED.

Narrator: THEN HUNDREDS OF YEARS
AFTER THE FIRST BURIAL HERE,

A SEVERE DROUGHT
SHRANK THE LAKE,

FORCING THE KIFFIANS TO MIGRATE
FROM THE AREA

AND DISAPPEAR FROM HISTORY.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER,
THE WATER RETURNED TO GOBERO--

AND THE TENERIANS MOVED IN.

LAB WORKER ERIN FITZGERALD

IS WORKING ON ONE OF THOSE
TENERIAN GRAVES...

WHEN A NEW STORY
BEGINS TO UNFOLD.

Erin Fitzgerald: SO I WAS
WORKING IN THE JAW AREA

FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND...

WORKING THIS WAY
DOWN THE HUMERUS...

Narrator: IN THE GRAVE
IS THE SKULL OF AN ADULT,

HALF-SHEARED BY THE WIND.

AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE...

JUST BELOW THE SAND, PLACED NEAR
THE ABDOMEN OF THE ADULT--

A SECOND SKULL.

THIS ONE IS SMALLER,
AND TOO FRAGILE TO TOUCH.

Man: OH, WOW,
THIS LOOKS INCREDIBLE.

Erin: WHEN WE UNCOVERED
THE BONE FROM THE SAND

IT WAS AS THIN AS AN EGGSHELL.

IT WAS SO DELICATE
THAT YOU BLEW ON IT,

YOU WOULD HAVE PROBABLY
BLOWN A HOLE THROUGH IT,

IT WAS SO, SO,
IT WAS SO, SO DELICATE.

AND SO WE, WE COVERED IT UP
IMMEDIATELY

AND JUST LEFT ENOUGH THAT WE
COULD SHOW PAUL WHEN HE CAME IN.

Sereno: WHEN DID YOU FIND THIS?
TODAY?

Man: LAST NIGHT.
Erin: YESTERDAY.

Man: YESTERDAY.

I WAS FOLLOWING THE ELBOW

AND BRUSHING BACK
A LITTLE BIT MORE AND, YOU KNOW,

IT BECAME OBVIOUS
THAT IT STARTED TO LOOK

LIKE A, LIKE A SKULL.

Erin: SO UNLESS IT WAS BURIED
RIGHT AFTER

OR RIGHT NEXT TO HER,

BUT IT DEFINITELY LOOKS
LIKE IT COULD BE A SK...

A BABY SKULL.

Narrator: THE SKULL APPEARS
TO BE SO SMALL AND SO THIN,

THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT IS THAT IT
MAY HAVE BELONGED TO AN INFANT.

Sereno: THERE IS A LITTLE SKULL
IN THERE; IT LOOKS INTACT.

I DON'T WANT TO BRUSH
ANYTHING BACK

WITHOUT TAKING THE SAMPLE
OF THE SAND.

Narrator: A WORKING HYPOTHESIS
EMERGES:

Sereno: THAT WOULD BE
MY WILD GUESS,

THAT WE HAVE, MAYBE, A WOMAN
THAT DIED IN CHILDBIRTH

AND THE BABY PLACED WITH HER
WHO ALSO DIED.

AND, UH, IT'S NOW
OUR RESPONSIBILITY

NOT TO LEAVE ANY CLUES BEHIND.

THIS IS GREAT.

Erin: AND THEY MUST HAVE
COME IN THIS WAY,

AND CAME ACROSS THIS.

WE KNEW THAT WE DIDN'T
WANT TO TOUCH

ANY MORE OF THE YOUNG CHILD

BECAUSE THE BONES AT THAT AGE
ARE VERY, VERY TINY,

AND IF WE START DIGGING
FOR THE SKELETON

WE MAY LOSE SOMETHING,
WE MAY NOT SEE SOMETHING,

AND THAT'S WORK THAT NEEDED
TO BE DONE IN THE LAB.

WE WANTED TO WAIT FOR ALL THAT
FINE PREPARATION FOR THE LAB.

Narrator: BUT FIRST,
THE TEAM HAS TO FIGURE OUT

HOW TO MOVE THE BURIAL, INTACT,
TO A LAB OVER 6,000 MILES AWAY.

Sereno: IT IS A TOUGH SEDIMENT
TO WORK IN.

IT'S LOOSE SAND, SO EVERY ONE
IS BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL.

YOU BRUSH IT AWAY, IT CAVES IN.

SO YOU REALLY KIND OF
KEEP TRACK OF THINGS

AND EVERYBODY, PALEONTOLOGIST
OR ARCHAEOLOGIST,

IS REALLY UP AGAINST TRYING
TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN PLACE

AND KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING IS.

Narrator:
TO ENSURE THAT HAPPENS,

THE TEAM SQUIRTS A LIQUID GLUE
AROUND THE BONES,

HELPING HOLD THE SEDIMENT
TOGETHER,

KEEPING THE BURIAL
JUST AS IT WAS FOUND.

THIS METHOD OF PREPARATION
IS SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS

WOULD MOVE THE HUMAN SKELETON
PIECE BY PIECE

AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER
IN THE LAB.

BUT SERENO TAKES THE SAME
APPROACH TO RECOVERING HUMANS

THAT HE DOES WITH DINOSAURS.

Sereno: YOU'RE GOING TO TRY
AND KEEP IT INTACT

AND LEAVE WHATEVER CLEANING JOB

AND WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO
WITH THE SPECIMEN

FOR DECISIONS
BACK IN THE LABORATORY

MOSTLY UNDER A MICROSCOPE.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD,
BUT IT'S STILL VERY DELICATE.

WE COULD NEVER LIFT IT...

Narrator: ONCE THE GLUE SETS,

SERENO AND ERIN WRAP THE REMAINS
WITH TIN FOIL.

AND THEY ALSO APPLY
WET PLASTER--

THE KIND USED TO WRAP
A BROKEN LEG OR ARM.

Sereno: AND WHEN WE APPLY IT,

IT'S GOING TO BE
AN INDESTRUCTIBLE COVER

THAT WILL TAKE THIS SKELETON,
SAFELY, AROUND THE WORLD.

THE MAIN AIM IS WE WANT TO KNOW
THE STORY OF HOW THIS PERSON

WAS PUT TO REST THOUSANDS OF
YEARS AGO IN INTIMATE DETAIL,

THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCOVER
IN THE LAB,

'CAUSE IT'S INSIDE
AND IT'S NOT GONNA MOVE,

UNTIL WE OPEN IT UP
BACK IN CHICAGO.

Narrator: NEARLY A YEAR LATER,

AT ANOTHER SETTLEMENT
ON A LAKE...

THE CONTAINER HOLDING THE GOBERO
SKELETONS AND ARTIFACTS

LEAVES A WAREHOUSE
WEST OF CHICAGO.

TRUCK DRIVER BILL LOUIS

HAS HAULED A LOT OF FREIGHT
IN HIS DAY.

Bill Louis: YOU NEVER REALLY
KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAUL.

IT COULD BE DOG FOOD,
IT COULD BE TOYS.

IT COULD BE REALLY ANYTHING
THAT'LL FIT IN A CONTAINER.

Narrator: BUT THIS LOAD
OF 6,000-YEAR-OLD BONES

IS A FIRST FOR BILL.

Bill: IT MAKES YOU
A LITTLE NERVOUS, YOU KNOW?

I'M DEFINITELY GONNA REMEMBER
HAULING THIS LOAD, I KNOW THAT.

Narrator: WHEN THE TRUCK ARRIVES
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO...

PAUL SERENO AND HIS LAB TEAM
ARE READY.

Sereno: I CAN'T BELIEVE
HOW LONG IT'S BEEN

SINCE WE SAW THIS CONTAINER.

Narrator: THEY'VE BEEN WAITING
MONTHS FOR THE CHANCE

TO FINALLY GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE DOUBLE BURIAL

AND TO STUDY OTHER CLUES
FROM THE SITE.

Sereno: GOT IT?

1, 2...

Narrator: THE SHIPMENT INCLUDES

NEARLY A THOUSAND POUNDS
OF ARTIFACTS.

AND 30 FULL SKELETONS PACKED
IN THEIR PLASTER JACKETS.

CHICAGO MAY BE 6,000 MILES
AND 5,000 YEARS FROM GOBERO.

BUT IN PAUL SERENO'S
FOSSIL LAB,

THE SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA
WILL HAVE PLENTY OF COMPANY.

SPECIMENS FROM OTHER PROJECTS

CROWD THE SHELVES
AND COVER THE TABLETOPS.

THE FOCUS HERE IS ON DINOSAURS--

BIZARRE BEASTS FROM HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE PAST.

FOR SERENO'S HAND-PICKED STAFF,

SOLVING HUMAN MYSTERIES
PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES.

Bob Masek: WHEN PAUL GAVE ME
THE FIRST HUMAN TO WORK ON,

IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW,

YOU SORT OF HAD TO GET
USED TO WORKING ON A,

ON ANOTHER HUMAN,
ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.

THE FIRST ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT
UNEASY AT THE FIRST.

Sereno: ALL RIGHT? READY?

IT'S ABOUT 200 POUNDS.

Narrator: NOW IT'S THEIR JOB

TO MOVE THEIR BELOVED
DINOSAURS ASIDE

TO MAKE WAY
FOR THE NEW DELIVERY...

Sereno: YOU GOT IT?

Narrator: ...FROM THE GOBERO
BURIAL GROUNDS.

[TOOL WHIRRING]

TYLER KEILLOR ALSO FEELS STRANGE
WORKING WITH THE FAMILIAR.

Tyler Keillor: THERE'S NO
MISTAKING A HUMAN SKULL

WHEN YOU FIND IT.

THE SHAPE OF THE EYES,
THE TEETH, THE NOSE,

SO, THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW,
AS WE CLEAN THEM OFF,

AND THEY WERE REALLY
INTERESTING,

AND ALL VERY DIFFERENT,
VERY UNIQUE, TOO.

YOU CAN REALLY SEE
THE INDIVIDUALITY

OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON.

Narrator: ERIN HAS BEEN WAITING
NEARLY A YEAR

FOR HER REUNION WITH THE BURIAL
SHE UNCOVERED IN GOBERO--

THE ONE CONTAINING TWO SKULLS--

POSSIBLY OF A MOTHER
AND A STILLBORN CHILD.

Erin: I FELT LIKE I WAS
BACK IN NIGER AGAIN.

IT'S HARD TO THINK
THAT A YEAR HAS GONE BY

AND JUST LOOKING
AT THE JACKET AGAIN

WAS LIKE I WAS THERE YESTERDAY.

IT'S GREAT TO BE REUNITED
WITH IT AGAIN.

Masek: SO ARE WE GONNA GO
STRAIGHT UP, THEN?

Erin: YEAH.

Narrator: INSIDE, THE BURIAL,
JUST AS THEY'D DISCOVERED IT--

BUT WITHOUT THE WIND
AND BLOWING SAND

TO HINDER THEIR INVESTIGATION.

HERE IS WHERE THE REAL STORY
WILL BE REVEALED.

Sereno: IT'S A CHANCE
REALLY TO SEE

UNDER MUCH MORE CONTROLLED
CIRCUMSTANCES NOW,

WHAT THIS BURIAL'S GONNA TELL US

ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
6,000 YEARS AGO.

NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS.

Narrator: PEOPLE WHO PREPARE
FOSSILS ARE A SPECIAL BREED...

COMBINING THE FOCUS
OF SCIENTISTS

WITH THE SKILLS OF ARTISTS.

EVERY BIT OF EVIDENCE

IS GATHERED, NUMBERED,
AND CATALOGUED.

TINY FRAGMENTS OFTEN HOLD
THE KEY TO ANCIENT PUZZLES.

ON THE DOUBLE BURIAL, SOMETHING
UNEXPECTED BEGINS TO EMERGE.

Erin: IT SEEMS TO BE A LOT
BIGGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.

Narrator: THE SKULL ONCE
BELIEVED TO BELONG TO A BABY

IS MUCH LARGER THAN IT
APPEARED TO BE IN GOBERO.

THIS IS ONE OF MANY SURPRISES
TO EMERGE

ONCE THE SKELETONS
ARE IN THE LAB.

Sereno: WOW!

THAT IS A BIGGER SKULL
THAN WE THOUGHT. WOW.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

LOOKS LIKE PART OF THE SKULL

HAS MOVED UP THIS WAY,
YOU THINK?

Erin: YEAH, WE HAVE
ANOTHER MILK TOOTH HERE.

Sereno: OH, YEAH, AND YOU FOUND
ONE UP THERE LOOSE. YEAH.

Narrator: NOT ONLY
IS THE SECOND SKULL

MUCH LARGER THAN A BABY'S...

Erin: YEAH, WE ALSO FOUND
THIS MILK TOOTH...

Sereno: AH-HAH.

Narrator: ...TEETH SCATTERED
AROUND THE SITE

PROVIDE ANOTHER CLUE.

Sereno: THIS IS AN ERUPTING
SIX-YEAR MOLAR, IT'S GOT TO BE,

BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE
MILK MOLARS COMING OFF THE TOP.

SO I THINK WE HAVE, YEAH,
AN OLDER CHILD,

THE CHILD IS MAYBE
FIVE YEARS OLD,

FIVE AND A HALF YEARS OLD, YEAH.

Erin: MAKES SENSE.

Narrator: A DOUBLE DEATH
DURING CHILDBIRTH,

THOUGH SAD, MAKES SENSE...

BUT THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Sereno: VERY MUCH OF A MYSTERY.

TO TRY AND EXPLAIN
EXACTLY HOW YOU'D HAVE A BURIAL

OF AN ADULT WOMAN
AND A FIVE- OR SIX-YEAR-OLD

THAT WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE DIED
ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY

TO BE POSED LIKE THIS IS, AGAIN,
IT'S JUST A REAL MYSTERY,

AND WE NEED EVERY BONE
TO FIGURE IT OUT.

Narrator:
BUT AS ERIN DIGS DEEPER,
SHE FINDS NO NEW EVIDENCE

TO HELP HER SOLVE THE MYSTERY
OF A CHILD BURIED WITH AN ADULT.

Erin: I WONDER IF THE FACE
HAS BEEN PRETTY BROKEN UP, YEAH.

Narrator: THE DESERT HAS CLAIMED
TOO MUCH OF THE SKELETONS--

AND THE DOUBLE BURIAL
WILL REMAIN AN OPEN CASE.

Sereno: THIS HAPPENS
ALL THE TIME.

BUT THIS IS REALLY
WHAT SCIENCE IS ABOUT.

IT'S ABOUT CONJECTURE
AND REFUTATION.

IT'S ABOUT HYPOTHESIS AND TEST.

AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN
TO NEW INFORMATION.

IT COULD BE PARTS
OF THE JUVENILE SKULL MOVED.

AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN
TO A DIFFERENT CONCLUSION,

SOMETHING YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING.

READY? OK.
LET'S PUT THIS ONE IN FIRST.

Narrator: BUT FOR EVERY DEAD END
THEY RUN INTO

WITH THE GOBERO BONES,

THERE ARE OTHER PATHS THAT HELP
GET SERENO AND HIS TEAM

CLOSER TO KNOWING
WHAT THE PEOPLE BY THE LAKE

WERE REALLY LIKE.

AND THEY USE EVERY MODERN TOOL
TO GET THERE.

ON THIS MORNING,

SERENO IS TAKING THE SPECIMEN
NICKNAMED "ACCORDION MAN"

ON A SHORT TRIP.

Sereno: WE'LL JUST SLIDE IT
RIGHT IN THERE.

Narrator: HE'S GOING TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO HOSPITAL

FOR AN IMPORTANT TEST.

Sereno: LAUREN, THERE IS
NO PLACE TO PARK.

I'VE GONE AROUND THE FRONT...

Narrator: BUT YOU CAN BE
10,000 YEARS OLD

AND STILL NOT GET A BREAK
ON PARKING.

Sereno: I DON'T KNOW
WHERE...I...

Man: RIGHT AROUND THIS CORNER,
RIGHT AROUND THIS TRUCK HERE...

Sereno: FOR THE CT MACHINE?

Man: YEAH, YOU CAN DROP OFF
RIGHT IN FRONT.

YOU GOT A WHEELCHAIR FOR HIM?

Narrator: SERENO'S TECHNIQUE
OF LEAVING BODIES INTACT--

JUST AS THEY ARE FOUND
IN THE GROUND--

MAKES IT DIFFICULT
TO FULLY STUDY THEIR BONES.

Sereno: HAVE YOU HAD
ANY PATIENT OLDER THAN THIS?

Doctor: I DON'T THINK SO.

Sereno: EVEN YOUR MUMMY
IS YOUNGER.

[LAUGHS]

Narrator: AND SO MANY OF
THE BURIALS GET A FULL CT SCAN.

THIS WILL GIVE PAUL
A CLEARER PICTURE

OF THE BONES' SIZE
AND DENSITY...

AND HELP HIM DIGITALLY UNRAVEL
ACCORDION MAN.

Machine: BREATHE IN
AND HOLD YOUR BREATH.

Sereno: I'M LOOKING
AT THIS THING HERE

AND I'M WONDERING
WHAT THAT IS, BECAUSE...

Man: THAT'S THE SPINE
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT?

Sereno: AH, OK.

Man: PELVIS?

Sereno: YEAH.

Machine: BREATHE.

Narrator: THE DATA
FROM THE CT SCAN

ENABLES ONE OF SERENO'S
GRADUATE STUDENTS

TO DEVELOP AN ANIMATION...

LETTING THIS KIFFIAN MAN

STAND UP FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN NEARLY 10,000 YEARS.

ANOTHER SET OF CT SCANS
GIVES US DATA

FOR OUR FIRST GLIMPSE
OF A TENERIAN MAN

LAST SEEN OVER 5,000 YEARS AGO.

THE RECORD LEFT BEHIND AT GOBERO

IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE
PICTURE WE HAVE OF THESE PEOPLE.

THEIR BONES AND ARTIFACTS FILL
A HUGE VOID IN HUMAN HISTORY.

AND WHILE WE CAN
SEE THEM STAND...

EVEN LOOK A MODEL IN THE EYE...

THEIR SOULS REMAIN ELUSIVE.

BUT ONE BURIAL IN PARTICULAR
PROVIDES STUNNING INSIGHT

INTO THE KIND OF PEOPLE
THEY MAY HAVE BEEN.

IT WAS UNCOVERED IN 2006.

Sereno: SO WHEN I FOUND IT
IN THE FIELD,

YOU SEE THIS SEMICIRCULAR SHAPE.

WHEN YOU SEE A SEMICIRCLE
LIKE THAT,

YOU KNOW IT'S A HUMAN SKULL.

Narrator: WITHIN A SINGLE GRAVE,

THE TENERIANS HAD BURIED
THREE PEOPLE:

AN ADULT AND TWO CHILDREN.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE?

Sereno: THIS IS HER LEFT LEG,
THIS IS HER RIGHT LEG.

Narrator: IN THE LAB,
CERTAIN DETAILS BECAME CLEAR.

Sereno: AND WE DIDN'T EVEN SEE
SOME OF THE COMPLEXITY

UNTIL, OF COURSE,
WE HAD PREPARED THIS IN THE LAB,

BECAUSE IT WASN'T
THIS WELL EXPOSED,

BUT THE WOMAN
IS CLEARLY REACHING UP

RIGHT NEAR THE FOREHEAD
OF THIS FIRST CHILD.

AND IT LOOKED
AS THOUGH HER HANDS

WERE SORT OF GRASPING LIKE THIS,

BUT WE LATER CAME TO UNDERSTAND

THAT THEY POSED HER HANDS
VERY SPECIFICALLY

IN A CROSS LIKE THIS--

SHE'S REACHING AND HER HANDS
ARE ACTUALLY CROSSED.

ONE COMES FROM THE DOWNSIDE
TO BE THE TOP HAND.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS
WE DON'T KNOW.

BUT SOMEONE HAD TO DO THAT
VERY SPECIFICALLY.

Narrator: IN ORDER TO DISPLAY
THE BURIAL CLEARLY,

SERENO HAD HIS TEAM CAST A MODEL
OF THE THREE SKELETONS...

AND MOUNT THEM
ON A LIFE-SIZED PANEL.

ONE SIDE SHOWS THE AREA THAT WAS
EXPOSED TO THE SUN AND WIND.

SOME THINGS--
LIKE TWO OF THE SKULLS--

WERE RECONSTRUCTED USING
OTHER BONES FROM GOBERO.

THE FLIP SIDE OF THE PANEL

REVEALS WHAT REMAINED PRESERVED
BENEATH THE SAND.

FROM THE POSITION OF THE LIMBS,

IT'S CLEAR THAT THE ADULT WOMAN,
ON THE RIGHT, WAS BURIED FIRST.

THE CHILD IN THE MIDDLE HAS
ITS KNEE CROSSED OVER HER LEG.

AND THEN THE SECOND CHILD
WAS PLACED WITH ITS ARM EXTENDED

OVER THE NECK OF THE FIRST.

AND THE HANDS WERE INTERTWINED.

FROM POLLEN SAMPLES,
SERENO LEARNED THAT THE BODIES

HAD BEEN LAID
ON A BED OF FLOWERS.

FOUR UNSHOT ARROWHEADS WERE
ALSO FOUND BENEATH THE BONES.

MIKE HETTWER WAS AT THE SCENE
WHEN IT WAS FIRST UNCOVERED.

Hettwer: I MEAN, YOU JUST
SO RARELY SEE THIS

WHERE YOU SEE BEHAVIOR
AND CARING AND EMOTION

IN A, IN A BURIAL.

I BET I SHOT
5,000 PICTURES OF THIS.

ALL DIFFERENT ANGLES, SUN.

I WOULD COME OUT HERE SOMETIMES
DURING THE NIGHT AND SHOOT IT.

LIGHT IT WITH FLASHLIGHT,
LIGHT IT WITH FLASH.

THE AMAZING THING HERE

WAS THAT YOU NEVER SEE
THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR.

YOU KNOW, WE FOUND FLOWERS ABOVE
THE GRAVE AND BELOW THE GRAVE

AND THAT SOMEBODY MUST HAVE
REALLY LOVED THEM.

AND IT'S LIKE,
THERE WERE A FEW TEARS SHED

BY SOME OF THE TEAM MEMBERS

AS THEY WERE, AS THEY WERE
DIGGING THIS BACK.

BUT AS YOU'RE BRUSHING IT BACK

AND YOU START TO SEE
ALL THESE BONES TOGETHER,

YOU START TO WONDER
WHAT THEY ARE.

AND THEN YOU START TO, YOU KNOW,
TO SEE THE ARM BONES

AND YOU REALIZE THAT PEOPLE
ARE HOLDING HANDS,

AND SOMEONE POSED THEM IN DEATH.

Narrator:
TO BE POSED IN THIS WAY

MEANS THEY DIED WITHIN HOURS
OF EACH OTHER--

BEFORE RIGOR MORTIS
STIFFENED THEIR LIMBS.

Stojanowski: THE OBVIOUS
QUESTION PEOPLE HAVE IS:

YOU KNOW, HOW DID
THESE THREE PEOPLE

COME TO DIE
AND BE BURIED TOGETHER?

Narrator: TO HELP ANSWER
THAT QUESTION,

CHRIS STOJANOWSKI
AT ARIZONA STATE

HAS BEEN FOLLOWING
THE BEST EVIDENCE

AVAILABLE TO PALEO-BIOLOGISTS:
THE TEETH.

Stojanowski:
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

IS A REALLY ACCURATE ESTIMATE
OF AGE AT DEATH.

AND WITH THIS CHILD
FROM THE TRIPLE BURIAL

WE ACTUALLY HAVE THAT.

Narrator: HUMAN TEETH BEGIN
GROWING IN THE WOMB

AND CONTINUE THROUGH
THE LATE TEENS.

EVERY DAY A NEW LAYER OF ENAMEL
COATS THE OUTSIDE OF THE TOOTH.

BUT A BODY UNDERGOING STRESS--
TYPICALLY DISEASE OR FAMINE--

INTERRUPTS ENAMEL PRODUCTION
UNTIL THE STRESS PASSES.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE,

THESE STRESS EVENTS SHOW UP
AS DARK DIAGONAL LINES.

THE ONE STRESS EVENT
ALL HUMANS SHARE IS BIRTH.

Stojanowski:
THE NEO-NATAL LINE IS HERE.

Narrator: THE NEO-NATAL LINE
GIVES SCIENTISTS

THE STARTING POINT
OF A HUMAN'S LIFE.

LIKE THE RINGS OF A TREE,

COUNTING THE ENAMEL LAYERS
ON THE TEETH REVEAL ITS AGE.

BUT NOT IN YEARS--
IN DAYS.

STOJANOWSKI ANALYZED
THE YOUNGER CHILD'S TEETH

AND CAME UP WITH ITS AGE.

Stojanowski: BY COUNTING
THESE DAILY GROWTH INCREMENTS,

WE SEE THAT DEATH OCCURRED
AROUND 1,806 DAYS AFTER BIRTH.

Narrator: THAT PUTS
THE SMALLER CHILD,

THE ONE ON THE LEFT,
AT ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD.

THE OLDER CHILD WAS EIGHT.

BUT HOW DID THEY DIE?

STOJANOWSKI SEES
NO SIGNS OF STRESS

IN THE CHILDREN'S FINAL MONTHS;

NO CLEAR INDICATION
OF DISEASE OR FAMINE

AS POSSIBLE CAUSES OF DEATH.

Sereno: IF WE SAW IN THOSE TEETH
A PATTERN THAT MATCHED,

SOMETHING THAT THEY EXPERIENCED
IN THEIR LIFE, SOME STRESS,

ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE END.

WE DIDN'T SEE THAT AT ALL.

Narrator: SERENO HAS A THEORY
THAT POINTS TO THE VERY WATER

WHICH KEPT GOBERO ALIVE.

Sereno: SOMEHOW THEY MET
THEIR DEATH.

THERE'S NO BROKEN BONES,
THERE'S NO SIGN OF DISEASE,

THERE'S A HUGE AGE RANGE.

THAT INDICATES THEY DIED
PROBABLY TOGETHER

AND DIED SUDDENLY.

AND THE ONLY WAY I CAN THINK
THAT THAT HAPPENED--

THE MOST REASONABLE WAY--

IS THAT THEY DROWNED
IN THE NEARBY LAKE.

Narrator:
UP UNTIL 5,000 YEARS AGO,

IT WAS STILL POSSIBLE
TO DROWN IN THIS SPOT.

THEN, AROUND THE TIME
OF THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS,

THE MONSOON RAINS
MOVED SOUTH AGAIN

AND THE GOBERO WATER
DRIED UP COMPLETELY.

THE SAHARA BECAME
THE DESERT WE KNOW TODAY...

AND A WAY OF LIFE
THAT HAD LASTED 5,000 YEARS

CAME TO AN END.

ALL EVIDENCE OF THAT WORLD
MAY HAVE VANISHED FOREVER

IF IT WEREN'T FOR
AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY

BY A SCIENTIST
CHASING DINOSAURS.

Erin: AND WE ENDED UP
STARTING AROUND HERE,

COMING BACK THROUGH HERE.

Sereno: DISCOVERY ISN'T REALLY
FINDING SOMETHING

YOU'RE EXPECTING.

IT'S BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED.
THERE'S NO QUESTION.

IT'S FINDING SOMETHING THAT YOU
COULDN'T POSSIBLY DREAM OF...

AND THIS WAS ONE INCH AWAY,
MAYBE TWO OR THREE YEARS AWAY,

FROM BEING WEATHERED AWAY.

...BUT REALIZING
THAT IT'S IMPORTANT.

THAT'S REALLY
THE HEART OF DISCOVERY.

AND IT WOULD PROBABLY GO

TO ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT FINDS
THAT I'VE MADE

AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT
SCIENTIFIC FINDS OF OUR CENTURY.

YOU CAN MAKE IMPORTANT FINDS
AND SORT OF EXPECT THEM.

BUT THE BIG THINGS
ARE THE UNEXPECTED...

AND GOBERO TURNED OUT
TO BE ONE OF THOSE.

Announcer: TURN TO PBS

FOR STORIES THAT DEFINE
THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...

Man: ALL OF THIS STUFF
WAS JUST ERUPTING.

Announcer: REVEALING
OUR STRENGTHS...

Man: YOU CREATE A NEW FUTURE.

Announcer: OUR STRUGGLES.

Woman: IT'S VERY AMERICAN
TO SAY, "THIS IS NOT RIGHT."

Announcer:
THESE ARE OUR STORIES.

Man: WE WERE SO INNOCENT,
AND ODDLY ENOUGH,

WE WERE SO AMERICAN.

Announcer:
OUR AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...

ONLY ON PBS.

FOR MORE ON
SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA,

OR TO WATCH THIS PROGRAM AGAIN,
VISIT pbs.org.

SKELETONS OF THE SAHARA
IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

TO ORDER, VISIT shopPBS.org

OR CALL US AT 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

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AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.