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- [Narrator] Chimpanzees
our closest relatives
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in the animal kingdom,
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but when did our and their ancestors
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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start going their separate ways,
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and where did our human
lineage first originate?
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Until now Africa, the home
of today's chimpanzees,
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has always been considered
the cradle of humanity.
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That view is now being
called into question.
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- It wouldn't be surprising
to see animals in Europe
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that may have been ancestral.
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- [Narrator] German
researcher, Madelaine Bohme,
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discovers a puzzling jaw bone in Greece.
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On Crete, researchers find
the fossilized footprints
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of a mysterious biped.
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(upbeat music)
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- And along comes presumably
a little family group
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or eminence.
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- And in Germany, a new extinct
great Ape comes to light.
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- We think this is a genuine transition,
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a missing link.
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- [Narrator] Was Europe, not Africa,
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the actual cradle of humanity?
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Athens capital of Greece,
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and ancient birthplace of democracy.
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For years now, the German
Paleontologist Madelaine Bohme
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has been researching the
natural history of this region.
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What she discovered during that
time could radically change
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our view of human evolution.
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- The Greek climate
today is Mediterranean,
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hot, dry summers, and cool wet winters.
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seven million years ago
things were very different.
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The landscape covered today by Athens
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used to be grassland, a Savannah.
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- [Narrator] And to the
animal kingdom at that time
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was entirely different too,
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Greece was home to several
species of elephant.
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There were also rhinos,
giraffes and ostriches.
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Animals we know today from Africa.
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- It was four or five
degrees warmer than now,
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and wetter to, a lost world.
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- [Narrator] At that time,
seven million years ago,
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a mysterious creature was
living in Southeastern Europe.
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Only a few traces of it still survive.
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It may have been our
very earliest ancestor.
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(plane engine roaring)
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The search for clues
begins in Athens in 1944,
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the city has been occupied
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by the German Wehrmacht for three years.
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The situation is tense and
resistance by Greek partisans
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against the occupiers is
becoming fiercer by the day.
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Among the Germans is the
geologist Bruno Von Freyberg.
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His task is to supervise construction work
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on new bunkers and gun positions,
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on the grounds of a farm
on the outskirts of Athens,
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his workers discover something
unusual in the rubble.
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(speaks in foreign language)
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Inside a block firmly bonded to the rock,
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a piece of ancient bone.
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(speaks in foreign language)
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It's just one of many fossils
that now come to light.
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Some are astonishingly well preserved.
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(upbeat music)
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- The paleontologists Bruno
Freyberg knew right away
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that this was an extraordinary find.
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He told his workers to
retrieve as many of the bones
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as they could to preserve
them the science.
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- [Narrator] In 1949, Von Freyberg
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describes the fossils
in a scientific paper,
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and he also lists a monkey
jaw among the finds.
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- The papers in German
was only five pages long
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and was published in Greece,
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but not much attention was paid to it.
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people thought it was
an ordinary monkey jaw.
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- [Narrator] Only decades later in 1972.
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Does it become clear that Von Freyberg
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actually discovered the remains
of an extinct great Ape.
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For researchers, this
difference is crucial
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because in the animal kingdom,
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the great apes are our closest relatives.
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In our shared evolutionary history,
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around 14 million years ago,
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the branch of the orangutans formed,
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today they live in Southeast Asia.
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Then some 10 million years ago,
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the evolutionary line
of the gorillas formed.
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They are only found in Africa.
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It was 7 to 8 million years ago
that finally the chimpanzees
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embarked on their own evolutionary path.
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They are our closest animal relatives.
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The human chimpanzee split
finally marks the beginning
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of our own evolutionary development.
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But where can the Jawbone of Grecopithecus
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be placed on this timeline?
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Von Freyberg had not determined its age,
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and the Jawbone had also disappeared.
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Then in 2009, at an
excavation site in Bulgaria
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researchers find a single molar.
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It too comes from an extinct great ape.
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It's a sensational find because scientists
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can date the tooth
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It's over 7 million years
old and comes precisely
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from that crucial phase when man
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and chimpanzee parted company,
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and our own evolution began.
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- At that moment, I suddenly
remembered Bruno Von Freyburg
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and thought three might be a connection
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in terms of age and also locality
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between the two from Bulgaria
and the jaw bone from Greece.
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Actually, that was what
really got me interested
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in the topic of human evolution.
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- [Narrator] Could our
roots really lie in Europe.
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If Madelaine Bohme's
suspicions are confirmed,
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it would amount to a
scientific earthquake.
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Since chimpanzees live in Africa today.
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And it not only look but
behave so much like us.
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Researcher suspected as
early as the 19th century,
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that humanity had also
originated in Africa.
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This assumption has
survived to the present day
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and it's hardly ever been
called into question.
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And something else has
also made us assume,
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until now at least that Africa
is the cradle of humanity.
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Numerous important fossils
of our early human ancestors
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have been discovered
there since the 1920s.
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Most experts are quite
certain that humanity
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can only have originated
in Africa and nowhere else.
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So the idea that our roots
extended even further back
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and even outside Africa
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has gone against the
general consensus so far.
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At the university of Missouri in the U.S
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the Anatomist Carol Ward is
working on reconstructing
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the evolutionary history of some
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of the most famous finds from Africa.
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Among them is probably
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the most well-known African fossil Lucy.
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a prehuman of the species
Australopithecus afarensis.
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40% of the skeleton has been preserved.
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- Lucy is sort of the poster
child for human evolution
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because she's so complete.
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And when she was found in the seventies,
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she was not only the
most complete skeleton.
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She at that time was
earliest in our timeline
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of human evolution.
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- [Narrator] Lucy was discovered in 1974
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during an excavation
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by the American paleo
anthropologists Donald Johanson
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in the Ethiopian afar region.
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The Beatles song, Lucy
in the Sky With Diamonds
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was being played in the researcher's camp
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hence the name, also because
the remains were most likely
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those of a female.
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- Lucy, lived 3 million years ago.
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So she's really about
halfway through time.
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Since we branched off
from a chimpanzee lineage,
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from an ancestor that wasn't like a Chimp,
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wasn't like the human that lived
six or 8 million years ago.
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- [Narrator] Using forensic methods.
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It was even possible to
completely reconstruct Lucy
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and give her a face.
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She was only one meter tall
and weighed 29 kilograms.
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Unlike a great ape,
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Lucy could already walk well on two legs.
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However, she clearly arrived
long after the divergence
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of the human and chimpanzee lineages
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around seven million years ago.
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It's also difficult to place
Lucy with any precision
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in the human lineage
because during that phase,
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our early history of development
was already well-advanced.
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Africa is like one huge
experimental laboratory
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of human evolution.
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Many species of prehuman
lived side by side.
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- She may not have been
ancestral to you and me.
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She was a member of one of
several species of australopiths,
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whether which one of those
was our ancestor, if any,
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we don't really know.
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But they're all similar in many ways.
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And it's certain that our
ancestor was something like them
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and shared the features that
most of them have in common.
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- [Narrator] This uncertainty
also makes one thing clear,
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to understand the origin of humankind
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we have to look even further
back and to come as close
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as possible to the human chimpanzee split.
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And this is why another
older find from Africa
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is now the object of
very special attention.
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Tumai Sahelathropus tchadensis
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to give his scientific name is discovered
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in Chad in 2001.
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The locality is the Sahara, far away
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from the known sites in East Africa,
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where Lucy was also found.
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Over millions of years,
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the fossil has become greatly distorted.
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So it has to be straightened
out in a complex process
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on the computer to determine
whether the fossil comes
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from an extinct great ape
or an early human ancestor.
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(upbeat music)
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It becomes clear that Tumai
has a mixture of features,
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his thick Simeon brown ridges
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resemble those of a male
gorilla or chimpanzee,
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but underneath the face
is slightly flatter.
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However, for many researchers,
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the most important anatomical
detail lies below the skull.
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- We know that one of
the earliest features
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that sets us ape for forebears
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is standing upright on two feet.
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One thing we have is the hole
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where the spinal cord leaves the skull,
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and in humans this is up
tucked up underneath the skull.
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Like we see right here
in the Sahenthropus.
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This is the hole it's
called foramen Magnum,
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which means big hole.
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And it's right here underneath the skull.
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So I put it up here,
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we can tell that the vertebral column
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would have been underneath the head.
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In a chimpanzee or a
monkey or some other animal
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that frame and Magnum would be back here
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because it's quadrupedal.
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- [Narrator] But Tumai
cannot be precisely dated.
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The discovers can only estimate his age
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at between 6 and 7 million years.
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So was Sahelathropus at the very beginning
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of our evolution,
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or could the finds from
Europe be even older?
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Right now, it's still
no more than a suspicion
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because the molar from Bulgaria
is only a small indication.
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And so far the Jawbone
discovered in Athens in 1944
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has not been precisely date in either.
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Madelaine Bohme is going
to have to re-examine it
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using state-of-the-art methods.
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The trouble is the Jawbone
can no longer be found.
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She spends two years hunting
for it without success.
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Finally, she's advised to talk to one
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of Bruno Von Freyberg former colleagues,
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long since retired.
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This is the breakthrough.
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- When our collections were
partly being dismantled
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at the Institute to make
space for laboratories.
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Professor Von Freiyberg
said to me, Dr. Schuffler,
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00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,610
this is the most valuable
piece from our collection
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treat it with great care.
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So the secretary and I placed
it in a safe at the Institute.
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- [Narrator] Where it
remained for many decades.
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- When they said, oh, you
mean the monkey tooth,
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that's in the safe back here.
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That was an unbelievable moment.
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(speaks in foreign language)
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- Then the safe was opened,
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00:14:43,220 --> 00:14:47,250
and out came a Tupperware
container with a label on it,
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bearing an exclamation
mark in red felt pen.
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Important Graecopithecus Freiburg.
253
00:14:59,180 --> 00:15:03,370
Having it handed to me in a
Tupperware container, okay.
254
00:15:03,370 --> 00:15:05,780
I guess that was a very
good way of storing it,
255
00:15:05,780 --> 00:15:08,313
was still slightly bizarre all the same.
256
00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:15,010
- In 2014, the fossil is taken
257
00:15:15,010 --> 00:15:17,270
to the university of Tubingen.
258
00:15:17,270 --> 00:15:21,693
There the Jawbone of Graecopithecus
can finally be examined.
259
00:15:23,930 --> 00:15:27,130
The find is fragile and
has also been damaged
260
00:15:27,130 --> 00:15:28,143
during the war.
261
00:15:31,660 --> 00:15:35,120
But the researchers no longer
have to rely exclusively
262
00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:37,423
on external anatomical features.
263
00:15:40,830 --> 00:15:43,330
Now they can even explore the inside
264
00:15:43,330 --> 00:15:45,483
of the fossil without destroying it.
265
00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,450
High resolution images from
a computer tomograph show
266
00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:52,503
every detail of the Jawbone.
267
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,340
The dental roots are decisive here.
268
00:15:58,340 --> 00:16:01,220
What will their analysis reveal?
269
00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:03,613
will they prove typical of a great ape?
270
00:16:09,414 --> 00:16:13,210
- Here, we have a 3D print of
the tooth of graecopithecus
271
00:16:13,210 --> 00:16:15,390
that we saw on the computer.
272
00:16:15,390 --> 00:16:17,560
And you can see that the roots are fused
273
00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:18,483
almost to the end.
274
00:16:19,990 --> 00:16:22,883
That's very typical of human dental roots.
275
00:16:23,970 --> 00:16:26,510
And if we look at a chimpanzee tooth,
276
00:16:26,510 --> 00:16:30,400
he has exactly the same tooth
and lower jaw, premolar,
277
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,183
we have a wide separation.
278
00:16:33,230 --> 00:16:35,160
Here I have exactly the same tooth,
279
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,853
but human only see one root.
280
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:44,130
With Graecopithecus, the roots
are on the way to fusing.
281
00:16:44,130 --> 00:16:46,440
That is they're partially fused
282
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,023
and they also converge
and come together here.
283
00:16:50,330 --> 00:16:52,873
This is the state we know from pre-humans.
284
00:16:56,340 --> 00:16:58,400
- [Narrator] What seems
like only a minor detail
285
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,080
at first glance is an important indication
286
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,840
for the researchers that Grecopithecus
287
00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,250
belongs to the human lineage,
288
00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:07,910
but is he actually older
289
00:17:07,910 --> 00:17:11,343
than all the African
pre-humans discovered so far?
290
00:17:13,070 --> 00:17:16,850
The former Nazi party
rally grounds in Nurnberg,
291
00:17:16,850 --> 00:17:20,770
even 75 years after the end
of the second World War,
292
00:17:20,770 --> 00:17:23,683
they are still a bizarre
monument to national socialism.
293
00:17:27,740 --> 00:17:30,100
This is where Madelaine
Bohme finally makes
294
00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:31,560
her successful breakthrough
295
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:33,853
in dating the rediscovered fossil.
296
00:17:38,970 --> 00:17:40,958
The catacombs of the
Congress hall contained
297
00:17:40,958 --> 00:17:44,480
the other fossils that
Bruno Von Freyberg collected
298
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,423
in Athens in 1944.
299
00:17:52,380 --> 00:17:53,370
They were handed over
300
00:17:53,370 --> 00:17:55,940
to the Nuremberg Natural History Society,
301
00:17:55,940 --> 00:17:57,520
which keeps them here.
302
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,130
For Madelaine Bohme, this discovery
303
00:18:00,130 --> 00:18:02,263
is like finding buried treasure.
304
00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:11,470
- So he really did mark
them in his own handwriting.
305
00:18:11,470 --> 00:18:15,220
We can see that on this
one, I think yes, here,
306
00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:17,930
no one knew the importance
of this collection.
307
00:18:17,930 --> 00:18:19,660
I knew it had to exist,
308
00:18:19,660 --> 00:18:22,360
but in terms of quality
and the number of pieces
309
00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:25,030
I had absolutely no idea.
310
00:18:25,030 --> 00:18:27,580
Without this collection,
we'd never have been able
311
00:18:27,580 --> 00:18:31,393
to reconstruct the environment
or date things at all.
312
00:18:32,290 --> 00:18:34,340
So this is an absolute treasure.
313
00:18:34,340 --> 00:18:37,600
The Jawbone on its own
is all well and good,
314
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,693
but it would have been simply
isolated in time and space.
315
00:18:42,650 --> 00:18:45,830
- [Narrator] Ultimately the
remains of a very special animal
316
00:18:45,830 --> 00:18:49,123
are key to determining the
historical time period.
317
00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:54,505
- The age is always in
the rock in the sediment.
318
00:18:54,505 --> 00:18:57,690
This problem here is that we
had a drawer full of bones
319
00:18:57,690 --> 00:18:59,140
and the sediment was missing.
320
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,413
But luckily we have draft bones,
321
00:19:04,410 --> 00:19:06,160
and on this bone we did the dating.
322
00:19:07,090 --> 00:19:10,120
There's a drilled hole
and if we look inside,
323
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:12,670
we can see that it's half
full of reddish sediment.
324
00:19:12,670 --> 00:19:14,913
And the other half is a cavity.
325
00:19:16,237 --> 00:19:19,140
This sediment was liquid
when it flowed into the bone
326
00:19:19,140 --> 00:19:22,610
and settled at the bottom,
with the cavity above it.
327
00:19:22,610 --> 00:19:26,330
So this was up and this was down.
328
00:19:26,330 --> 00:19:28,273
With this information, we can date it.
329
00:19:32,630 --> 00:19:34,050
- [Narrator] Since the
researchers now know
330
00:19:34,050 --> 00:19:36,720
the original location of
the fossil in the rock,
331
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,410
they can determine the orientation
332
00:19:38,410 --> 00:19:40,743
of tiny magnetic particles inside it.
333
00:19:41,860 --> 00:19:44,500
When the sediment was
deposited with the bone
334
00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:46,150
and became solid rock,
335
00:19:46,150 --> 00:19:49,123
these particles aligned with
the Earth's magnetic field.
336
00:19:50,340 --> 00:19:53,140
Over millions of years,
the Earth's magnetic field
337
00:19:53,140 --> 00:19:55,390
reversed time and time again
338
00:19:55,390 --> 00:19:58,140
from North to South pole and back.
339
00:19:58,140 --> 00:19:59,980
But the orientation of the particles
340
00:19:59,980 --> 00:20:02,193
remained fixed inside the rock.
341
00:20:03,940 --> 00:20:06,890
Since we know when these
changes in polarity occurred
342
00:20:06,890 --> 00:20:08,750
the age of the rock and can be derived
343
00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:11,403
from this paleomagnetic fingerprint.
344
00:20:11,403 --> 00:20:14,280
It's now clear that not
only the giraffe bone,
345
00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,743
but also the Jawbone was
7.175 million years old.
346
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,130
Madelaine Bohmer's
discovery is a sensation.
347
00:20:25,130 --> 00:20:28,340
Her findings are published in 2017
348
00:20:28,340 --> 00:20:31,543
and cause a huge stir worldwide.
349
00:20:35,250 --> 00:20:40,250
- To me, it wouldn't be surprising
to see animals in Europe
350
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,230
that may have been
ancestral to Australopiths
351
00:20:45,230 --> 00:20:48,050
or close relatives of Australopiths.
352
00:20:48,050 --> 00:20:50,843
So I think it was really exciting.
353
00:20:51,740 --> 00:20:54,900
It's one fossil and
there is debate about it
354
00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:57,810
because it's just a
jaw and it doesn't have
355
00:20:57,810 --> 00:20:59,270
post cranial elements.
356
00:20:59,270 --> 00:21:01,310
We don't know about the locomotion.
357
00:21:01,310 --> 00:21:04,110
We don't know a lot about the animal yet,
358
00:21:04,110 --> 00:21:06,730
but the fact that it's
a clue that in fact,
359
00:21:06,730 --> 00:21:11,540
they might be relatives of
hominids or even ancestral,
360
00:21:11,540 --> 00:21:12,970
that's really exciting.
361
00:21:12,970 --> 00:21:16,010
So I feel like I'm
cheering them all on hoping
362
00:21:16,010 --> 00:21:17,083
that they find more.
363
00:21:18,510 --> 00:21:19,360
- [Narrator] Whether or not
364
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,080
our oldest human ancestor
actually did come
365
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,610
from Europe and not from Africa
366
00:21:24,610 --> 00:21:26,930
has not yet been conclusively proven
367
00:21:26,930 --> 00:21:29,490
by Madelaine Bohme's discovery.
368
00:21:29,490 --> 00:21:33,170
The molar and the Jawbone
are important indications,
369
00:21:33,170 --> 00:21:35,680
but not yet clear evidence.
370
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,663
But then on Crete, a further
important clue surfaces.
371
00:21:41,010 --> 00:21:43,110
On the Northwest coast of the island,
372
00:21:43,110 --> 00:21:46,870
Madelaine Bohme meets an
international research team.
373
00:21:46,870 --> 00:21:50,040
In 2002, close to present day, tequilas
374
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:51,860
of Polish paleontologist
375
00:21:51,860 --> 00:21:54,703
discovered mysterious
fossilized footprints.
376
00:21:55,550 --> 00:21:59,130
They bear the traces of
bipedalism, a crucial feature
377
00:21:59,130 --> 00:22:02,620
that distinguishes our early
ancestors from great apes.
378
00:22:02,620 --> 00:22:05,370
And they're around 6 million years old,
379
00:22:05,370 --> 00:22:08,480
older than almost all the fines in Africa.
380
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:09,530
- So that's the heel.
381
00:22:11,063 --> 00:22:13,513
This is the outline of the whole print.
382
00:22:15,065 --> 00:22:17,950
There you go, that's the ball,
383
00:22:17,950 --> 00:22:22,063
the big toe on the smaller side toes.
384
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:24,750
That's the whole thing.
385
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:30,530
- [Narrator] The shape of the foot
386
00:22:30,530 --> 00:22:32,020
and the forward pointing toes
387
00:22:32,020 --> 00:22:34,823
really are reminiscent
of human footprints.
388
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,540
It seems out of the
question that they were made
389
00:22:38,540 --> 00:22:42,290
by an animal that only stood
briefly on its hind legs,
390
00:22:42,290 --> 00:22:43,720
because there are no clues
391
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,233
such as claw marks or anything similar.
392
00:22:47,350 --> 00:22:49,460
- These footprints, as far as we can tell
393
00:22:50,650 --> 00:22:51,960
are footprints of hominids.
394
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,660
In other words, early
members of our own lineage.
395
00:22:54,660 --> 00:22:58,360
And they are the earliest
hominid footprints known anywhere
396
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:00,200
in the world by a considerable margin,
397
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,340
maybe at least 3 million years or so.
398
00:23:02,340 --> 00:23:06,590
And I love them because
they are a record of life.
399
00:23:06,590 --> 00:23:08,100
Think about that, I mean, you
know, if you've found like,
400
00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:09,820
you know, the skeleton of an
early hominid, that would,
401
00:23:09,820 --> 00:23:12,300
of course be cool, but it's
the skeleton of a dead hominid.
402
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:13,840
What we have here is it's like a sort
403
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:18,220
of static film clip in stone
of a family of live hominids,
404
00:23:18,220 --> 00:23:20,550
not only is it the case that the surfaces
405
00:23:20,550 --> 00:23:21,840
that you see reflected in the stone
406
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,533
is the actual living
flesh of the foot, right.
407
00:23:27,270 --> 00:23:29,726
But you're seeing behavior.
408
00:23:29,726 --> 00:23:32,890
(upbeat music)
409
00:23:32,890 --> 00:23:37,460
- In Tanzania, comparable
traces were discovered in 1978,
410
00:23:37,460 --> 00:23:40,250
the locality is called Laetoli.
411
00:23:40,250 --> 00:23:42,510
The imprints are from pre-humans
412
00:23:42,510 --> 00:23:45,240
probably even relatives of Lucy.
413
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,220
However, they are only
3.6 million years old,
414
00:23:49,220 --> 00:23:52,573
much younger than those of the
mysterious bipeds on Crete.
415
00:23:54,170 --> 00:23:58,520
They lived at a far earlier
evolutionary phase as proven
416
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,040
by dating of the sandstone
417
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:01,863
in which their tracks are preserved.
418
00:24:05,780 --> 00:24:08,380
But the researchers
can interpret even more
419
00:24:08,380 --> 00:24:09,713
from this locality.
420
00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:13,450
- We've got a shoreline
here, maybe it's a lagoon,
421
00:24:13,450 --> 00:24:14,723
maybe a little river Delta,
422
00:24:14,723 --> 00:24:15,556
we're not quite sure,
423
00:24:15,556 --> 00:24:17,370
but we're very close to the water's edge.
424
00:24:17,370 --> 00:24:21,770
And along comes a presumably
a little family group
425
00:24:21,770 --> 00:24:24,746
of this hominids looking from a distance,
426
00:24:24,746 --> 00:24:27,340
they look kind of like
little hairy humans,
427
00:24:27,340 --> 00:24:29,510
or like little chimpanzees that somebody
428
00:24:29,510 --> 00:24:30,730
is taught to walk on the back legs.
429
00:24:30,730 --> 00:24:33,700
The taller signs might be about
a meter 40 in height or so,
430
00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:35,880
the youngsters, perhaps half that.
431
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,440
And what are they doing? Well,
432
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,920
they seem to be just
wandering around to guess
433
00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,530
they're probably foraging
for food at the water's edge,
434
00:24:44,530 --> 00:24:47,040
the footprints on the surface,
sort of meander around.
435
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,190
There's no very clear pattern.
436
00:24:48,190 --> 00:24:49,800
It's not like they're purposefully walking
437
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:51,660
in some direction.
438
00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:53,070
They actually look like
they're having a nice day
439
00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:53,953
on the beach.
440
00:24:56,244 --> 00:24:58,470
- [Narrator] In the next
step, the researchers want
441
00:24:58,470 --> 00:25:01,680
to date the rock strata with
the mysterious footprints
442
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:02,710
even more precisely
443
00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,420
The results will only
be definite later on.
444
00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:11,720
They are crucial for determining precisely
445
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,100
when bipedalism first began,
446
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:17,663
because it's only found in
humans and their ancestors.
447
00:25:19,631 --> 00:25:24,110
- This very question of bipedalism
is key to differentiating
448
00:25:24,110 --> 00:25:26,953
between early chimpanzees and pre-humans.
449
00:25:27,790 --> 00:25:32,133
The only way to answer it
100% is from the footprints.
450
00:25:33,130 --> 00:25:35,640
Of course, a bone can also be interpreted
451
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,840
as having come from a biped,
452
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,220
but it's the footprint itself
453
00:25:39,220 --> 00:25:40,903
that provides the ultimate proof.
454
00:25:43,630 --> 00:25:45,600
- [Narrator] But how can they
prove that the footprints
455
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,380
on Crete actually came from pre-humans
456
00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:55,250
Madelaine Bohme travels
457
00:25:55,250 --> 00:25:57,393
to an animal park in Southern Germany.
458
00:25:58,913 --> 00:26:02,570
Here together with her
preparator Heinrich Stewart.
459
00:26:02,570 --> 00:26:05,723
She wants to carry out
an unusual investigation.
460
00:26:08,859 --> 00:26:13,100
The Schwaben Park in Kaisersbach
is one of the few places
461
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:16,063
where chimpanzees can
be seen outside zoos.
462
00:26:18,898 --> 00:26:21,913
- Shoe laces, you're
interested in those aren't you?
463
00:26:23,950 --> 00:26:26,830
They're feet inside and they
look different from yours.
464
00:26:26,830 --> 00:26:28,230
well, it's time to tie them up again
465
00:26:28,230 --> 00:26:30,280
otherwise we can't go for a walk, can we?
466
00:26:34,940 --> 00:26:37,390
You want me to do
something? Don't you, ah,
467
00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:39,263
you wanted to see what I smell like.
468
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,670
That's a wristwatch
Jenny, humans have those
469
00:26:42,670 --> 00:26:45,240
because stressed out the whole time.
470
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,523
Yeah, it's a watch.
471
00:26:47,523 --> 00:26:49,230
It's interesting, isn't it?
472
00:26:49,230 --> 00:26:50,533
It's used to measure time.
473
00:26:51,910 --> 00:26:53,953
The time we have here on earth.
474
00:26:58,030 --> 00:27:01,710
- [Narrator] Who's watching
who? Madelaine Bohme
475
00:27:01,710 --> 00:27:03,950
is not dealing with ancient bones here,
476
00:27:03,950 --> 00:27:06,543
but with a creature that
has a will of its own.
477
00:27:09,420 --> 00:27:11,660
- You're doing that perfectly.
478
00:27:11,660 --> 00:27:13,443
Where did you learn to do that?
479
00:27:17,570 --> 00:27:18,920
- [Narrator] She'll have to be patient
480
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,820
if she wants to take a
footprint from the Chimp,
481
00:27:21,820 --> 00:27:24,650
because that's the real aim of the visit.
482
00:27:24,650 --> 00:27:28,080
Precise footprints of
chimpanzees are hard to come by.
483
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,193
Even for experts, a box
with sediment is prepared.
484
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:35,943
Will Jenny the chimpanzee play along.
485
00:27:39,244 --> 00:27:42,813
A first attempt, Jenny
is still suspicious.
486
00:27:50,110 --> 00:27:51,610
It's clear that she finds
487
00:27:51,610 --> 00:27:54,063
the soft sediment less than appealing.
488
00:27:56,199 --> 00:27:57,690
Getting an accurate footprint
489
00:27:57,690 --> 00:27:59,863
proves to be more difficult than expected,
490
00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:04,750
but only a footprint showing
the anatomy in detail
491
00:28:04,750 --> 00:28:06,560
will be enough for a comparison
492
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,573
with the footprints found on Crete.
493
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:15,153
A second attempt, and
Jenny is still skeptical.
494
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,830
This time Madeline Burma lends a firm hand
495
00:28:27,830 --> 00:28:28,833
and it works.
496
00:28:34,860 --> 00:28:39,610
- We've done it, wow, Jenny,
fantastic, that's great.
497
00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,823
Excellent, super Jenny.
498
00:28:52,050 --> 00:28:53,880
- [Narrator] As the basis for a precise
499
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,370
three-dimensional reconstruction
on the computer later on,
500
00:28:57,370 --> 00:28:59,580
Madelyn Burma, quickly photographs
501
00:28:59,580 --> 00:29:02,153
the fresh footprint from all sites.
502
00:29:05,070 --> 00:29:07,380
The differences in
comparison to the footprint
503
00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:09,393
from Crete are quite clear.
504
00:29:11,420 --> 00:29:15,003
- On the print from Crete,
the ball of the foot is huge.
505
00:29:16,726 --> 00:29:18,913
And this feature is
missing with the chimp.
506
00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:23,503
A chimpanzee's toe is at
a big angle to its foot.
507
00:29:24,490 --> 00:29:28,110
Here it's almost 90 degrees,
with human footprints
508
00:29:28,110 --> 00:29:29,853
the toes are very close together.
509
00:29:30,700 --> 00:29:33,740
The lateral digital
impressions are very small here
510
00:29:33,740 --> 00:29:37,710
and get even smaller whereas
here they're quite big,
511
00:29:37,710 --> 00:29:39,273
so significant differences.
512
00:29:42,245 --> 00:29:43,670
- [Narrator] The chimpanzees foot
513
00:29:43,670 --> 00:29:45,960
can grip almost like a hand,
514
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,590
enabling it to grab branches easily.
515
00:29:48,590 --> 00:29:51,110
By comparison, the footprints from Crete
516
00:29:51,110 --> 00:29:53,920
are far more similar
to those of modern man.
517
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,463
The shape of the foot indicates
that its owner was a biped.
518
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:06,240
With chimpanzees however,
not only the foot shape,
519
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,430
but the entire anatomy is optimized
520
00:30:08,430 --> 00:30:10,363
for walking on all fours.
521
00:30:11,970 --> 00:30:13,950
- The knee is angled too,
522
00:30:13,950 --> 00:30:16,020
you have a fairly short lumbar spine.
523
00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:18,520
It's quite short here
because you prefer everything
524
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:19,473
to be angled.
525
00:30:20,950 --> 00:30:22,490
Then you're walking upright,
526
00:30:22,490 --> 00:30:26,743
and you can always see your
angle, always the angle.
527
00:30:29,327 --> 00:30:31,683
Now you can really see it properly.
528
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,713
And now you're standing
on two legs, wonderful.
529
00:30:37,220 --> 00:30:39,203
- [Narrator] Jenny and needs a break.
530
00:30:40,230 --> 00:30:42,563
She's certainly earned her treat.
531
00:30:48,363 --> 00:30:51,490
- The footprint from track
loss are clearly human,
532
00:30:51,490 --> 00:30:55,033
the question is, were they
great apes or bipedal hominids?
533
00:30:56,260 --> 00:30:58,780
It's now clear that they
were bipedal pre-humans.
534
00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:00,930
The comparison with the Chimp here
535
00:31:00,930 --> 00:31:02,383
leaves no other possibility.
536
00:31:05,350 --> 00:31:07,750
- [Narrator] Comparing the
footprints has been worthwhile,
537
00:31:07,750 --> 00:31:09,970
and it suggests that bipedalism
538
00:31:09,970 --> 00:31:11,777
could have originated in Europe.
539
00:31:14,220 --> 00:31:15,520
But what could have triggered
540
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,943
the start of the human lineage in Europe?
541
00:31:20,130 --> 00:31:23,190
Bulgaria may hold the key to this.
542
00:31:23,190 --> 00:31:25,550
The single molar of Graecopithecus
543
00:31:25,550 --> 00:31:28,123
was discovered there in 2009.
544
00:31:29,570 --> 00:31:33,863
the locality of former Riverbed
in the lowlands of Threes.
545
00:31:37,060 --> 00:31:39,730
- I suspect that the
early prehuman hominids
546
00:31:39,730 --> 00:31:43,060
like Grecopithecus especially
had a close connection
547
00:31:43,060 --> 00:31:47,110
to river systems, that would've
given them drinking water
548
00:31:47,110 --> 00:31:49,910
and different vegetation from
that in the open Savannah.
549
00:31:52,340 --> 00:31:53,870
- [Narrator] Might
there be even more bones
550
00:31:53,870 --> 00:31:57,210
of pre-humans hidden
at the excavation site,
551
00:31:57,210 --> 00:32:00,950
that kind of find would be
like winning the lottery.
552
00:32:00,950 --> 00:32:03,200
From the air, the course
of the ancient river
553
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:04,770
is clearly visible.
554
00:32:04,770 --> 00:32:07,550
The locality was discovered by accident.
555
00:32:07,550 --> 00:32:09,730
A company was mining some sand there
556
00:32:09,730 --> 00:32:11,893
for highway construction.
557
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,380
At the excavation site, Madelaine Bohme
558
00:32:17,380 --> 00:32:20,190
meets Nikolai Spassov, the Director
559
00:32:20,190 --> 00:32:23,363
of the National Museum of
Natural History in Sofia.
560
00:32:25,230 --> 00:32:28,100
The Bulgarian researchers
have discovered thousands
561
00:32:28,100 --> 00:32:31,040
of fossils of extinct
animals here over the years.
562
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,840
Madelaine Bohme has already
assisted them several times
563
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:36,343
with their excavations.
564
00:32:38,180 --> 00:32:42,253
In this season two, revealing
new bones have been recovered.
565
00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,640
The leg bones of an extinct species
566
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,293
of giraffe, for instance,
567
00:32:51,310 --> 00:32:53,410
The bones have to be put in plaster
568
00:32:53,410 --> 00:32:55,740
to make them easier to recover.
569
00:32:55,740 --> 00:32:58,953
The preparation only takes
place later on in the lab.
570
00:33:04,490 --> 00:33:08,610
- Every year we have many
new bones, for example,
571
00:33:08,610 --> 00:33:11,530
very interesting is now the mandible
572
00:33:11,530 --> 00:33:13,940
of relatively small carnivore.
573
00:33:13,940 --> 00:33:18,940
It could be a relatively small
cat, but we will see after.
574
00:33:19,100 --> 00:33:23,880
And this is a part of-
575
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,670
- Oh, yes, it's a cat, that nice.
576
00:33:26,670 --> 00:33:27,630
- Most probably, yeah.
577
00:33:27,630 --> 00:33:30,110
Yeah, great.
578
00:33:30,110 --> 00:33:33,833
- A tibia for rhino,
this top part of tibia.
579
00:33:35,530 --> 00:33:40,530
we have here Seratotelium
the so-called white rhino.
580
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,670
Now white rhino exist in Africa,
581
00:33:44,670 --> 00:33:46,840
of course, with another species.
582
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,830
But the beginning of these
genus is here in Savannah,
583
00:33:50,830 --> 00:33:52,803
old Savannah, some of the Balkans.
584
00:33:53,860 --> 00:33:58,687
Our secret is a new bone after the tooth,
585
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:04,680
femur of hominid and it
could be our graecopithecus.
586
00:34:06,030 --> 00:34:08,790
- Can I see?
- Yes, of course.
587
00:34:08,790 --> 00:34:10,880
In this moment it is understudy.
588
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,370
This bone is extremely promising
589
00:34:13,370 --> 00:34:18,370
for understanding the
locomotion of this hominid.
590
00:34:18,380 --> 00:34:21,279
- [Narrator] Since the
original is extremely fragile.
591
00:34:21,279 --> 00:34:24,210
Spassov shows Madelyn Burma, a replica.
592
00:34:24,210 --> 00:34:26,184
- Our team is very proud with this.
593
00:34:26,184 --> 00:34:28,683
- Oh yes, you can be proud.
594
00:34:32,460 --> 00:34:35,990
- I'm surprised, great
Nikolai congratulations.
595
00:34:35,990 --> 00:34:36,823
- Thank you.
596
00:34:37,740 --> 00:34:38,780
- [Narrator] If it's confirmed
597
00:34:38,780 --> 00:34:41,460
that the bone belonged to Grecopithecus
598
00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:43,653
and if it reveals signs of bipedalism,
599
00:34:43,653 --> 00:34:46,233
that would be further important proof.
600
00:34:47,340 --> 00:34:50,370
What's more the other fossils from Azmaca
601
00:34:50,370 --> 00:34:52,410
revealed that not only Greece,
602
00:34:52,410 --> 00:34:54,680
but also Bulgaria had a landscape
603
00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:56,533
like that of today's Africa.
604
00:34:57,690 --> 00:34:59,690
In a nearby museum, the researchers
605
00:34:59,690 --> 00:35:03,490
have even reconstructed whole
skeletons from that phase.
606
00:35:03,490 --> 00:35:06,010
The endothelium, an ancient elephant
607
00:35:06,010 --> 00:35:10,883
with downward curving tusks, a hyena,
608
00:35:13,340 --> 00:35:15,063
and a saber toothed cat.
609
00:35:19,090 --> 00:35:22,120
With the help of all the
fossils, the animal world,
610
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,600
to which Grecopithecus once belonged
611
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:26,653
can be precisely reconstructed.
612
00:35:28,870 --> 00:35:31,270
In an artist's impression, the researchers
613
00:35:31,270 --> 00:35:33,463
have brought that world back to life.
614
00:35:34,780 --> 00:35:38,475
A Savannah filled with the
forebears of today's elephants,
615
00:35:38,475 --> 00:35:41,310
gazelles, rhinos, and zebras,
616
00:35:41,310 --> 00:35:43,990
which once extended across vast regions
617
00:35:43,990 --> 00:35:45,773
of the Eastern Mediterranean.
618
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,640
And in the midst of them all Grecopithecus
619
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:52,293
as he might once have looked.
620
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:03,730
It was Charles Darwin, Founder
of the theory of evolution,
621
00:36:03,730 --> 00:36:05,870
who first suspected that the origins
622
00:36:05,870 --> 00:36:09,010
of humankind lay in a Savannah.
623
00:36:09,010 --> 00:36:13,160
This idea became known as
the Savannah hypothesis.
624
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,060
According to it, our
ancestors had to adapt
625
00:36:16,060 --> 00:36:18,310
to the disappearance of the forests,
626
00:36:18,310 --> 00:36:23,140
their original home, by
standing upright on two legs.
627
00:36:23,140 --> 00:36:26,770
That meant that their hands
were now free to make tools,
628
00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:31,733
for example, bipedalism also
guaranteed a better overview.
629
00:36:34,260 --> 00:36:36,120
An interpretation for which Darwin
630
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,923
was mocked by many contemporaries
as in this cartoon.
631
00:36:41,770 --> 00:36:45,110
Assuming that the cradle
of humanity is in Africa,
632
00:36:45,110 --> 00:36:49,300
the Savannah hypothesis is
actually untenable because there
633
00:36:49,300 --> 00:36:52,260
was hardly any Savannah
there 7 million years ago,
634
00:36:52,260 --> 00:36:55,950
but mainly forest with the
fines from Europe, however,
635
00:36:55,950 --> 00:36:58,903
the hypothesis is gaining
a new lease of life.
636
00:37:00,010 --> 00:37:02,490
- The African savannas appeared far later,
637
00:37:02,490 --> 00:37:05,130
only 2 or 3 million years ago.
638
00:37:05,130 --> 00:37:07,500
The Savannah's here are much, much older
639
00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:09,830
around 7 million years old.
640
00:37:09,830 --> 00:37:12,420
And these very old non-African savannas
641
00:37:12,420 --> 00:37:15,460
now contain an early prehuman.
642
00:37:15,460 --> 00:37:18,210
This doesn't place the whole
theory of evolution in doubt,
643
00:37:18,210 --> 00:37:20,800
but it does shift it
to a much earlier time
644
00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:24,363
and also significantly to an
entirely different continent.
645
00:37:27,390 --> 00:37:30,650
- [Narrator] But the fauna
is only part of the picture.
646
00:37:30,650 --> 00:37:34,803
Does the flora support this new
Savannah hypothesis as well?
647
00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:39,280
In the sediment surrounding
the greet fossils,
648
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:43,070
Madelaine Bohme discovers
tiny courts like particles.
649
00:37:43,070 --> 00:37:46,930
These are so-called,
phyllolith formed by plants
650
00:37:46,930 --> 00:37:48,980
and differ depending on different genera.
651
00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:53,120
They are highly resilient and can survive
652
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:54,653
for millions of years.
653
00:38:01,060 --> 00:38:04,080
With these tiny plant
particles, Madelaine Bohme
654
00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,090
can show that the region at that time
655
00:38:06,090 --> 00:38:08,543
was indeed predominantly grassland.
656
00:38:09,990 --> 00:38:13,610
Long before similar environmental
changes began in Africa,
657
00:38:13,610 --> 00:38:15,890
the forests in the Mediterranean region
658
00:38:15,890 --> 00:38:17,273
were already in decline.
659
00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:21,160
As a result of sinking temperatures
660
00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:22,903
and increasing aridity.
661
00:38:27,990 --> 00:38:31,500
And there is also
something else to suggest
662
00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,743
that humans originated in Europe.
663
00:38:35,170 --> 00:38:37,200
At the university of Toronto,
664
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:41,070
Paleo anthropologist, David
Begon has been researching
665
00:38:41,070 --> 00:38:44,853
the Genesis of great apes
and humans for 40 years.
666
00:38:45,830 --> 00:38:48,873
And his work is coming
up with some surprises.
667
00:38:50,730 --> 00:38:53,440
In the phase when the
lineages of today's great apes
668
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,100
were forming, these animals
lived mainly in Europe.
669
00:38:57,100 --> 00:38:59,600
Hundreds of such fossils
have come to light
670
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,160
since the mid 19th century.
671
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:05,933
The new finds from Bulgaria
and Greece are line with this.
672
00:39:10,290 --> 00:39:12,960
In Africa, on the other
hand, the ancestors
673
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,810
of the great apes left virtually no traces
674
00:39:15,810 --> 00:39:17,023
during this phase.
675
00:39:18,050 --> 00:39:19,680
Although conditions in Europe
676
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,970
became increasingly difficult for them
677
00:39:21,970 --> 00:39:24,000
due to climatic changes,
678
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,050
they managed to populate a huge region,
679
00:39:27,050 --> 00:39:30,450
their strategy, quite simply intelligence.
680
00:39:30,450 --> 00:39:32,050
- They were smart, they had big brains,
681
00:39:32,050 --> 00:39:34,800
they had bigger brains
than any monkey has.
682
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:36,930
They have bigger brains
than any given has.
683
00:39:36,930 --> 00:39:40,480
They had brains the size of relative
684
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,210
to their body size of chimpanzees.
685
00:39:43,210 --> 00:39:47,260
And that doesn't happen unless
there's a good reason for it.
686
00:39:47,260 --> 00:39:51,450
Brains are metabolically
very, very expensive,
687
00:39:51,450 --> 00:39:52,880
and you don't get a big brain.
688
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:54,650
You don't maintain a large brain
689
00:39:54,650 --> 00:39:56,250
unless you use it for something.
690
00:39:57,840 --> 00:39:59,500
Hey Andrew, how you doing.
691
00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:00,810
- [Narrator] Shortly before the beginning
692
00:40:00,810 --> 00:40:03,250
of our own evolution, great apes in Europe
693
00:40:03,250 --> 00:40:05,540
experienced a golden age.
694
00:40:05,540 --> 00:40:07,530
But to this day, these finds
695
00:40:07,530 --> 00:40:10,053
have hardly been noticed by researchers.
696
00:40:13,250 --> 00:40:17,707
- There is a widespread
concept that African apes
697
00:40:17,707 --> 00:40:21,910
and humans evolved in Africa
and have always been in Africa
698
00:40:21,910 --> 00:40:23,527
and never left Africa.
699
00:40:23,527 --> 00:40:27,350
And they may have had some
offshoots that went roaming
700
00:40:27,350 --> 00:40:30,530
into Europe, but basically
everything happens in Africa.
701
00:40:30,530 --> 00:40:34,040
You can't ignore the evidence
that we actually have,
702
00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:37,530
and you can't just be dismissive
of the evidence we have
703
00:40:37,530 --> 00:40:41,150
by saying, well, I know
that we're going to find
704
00:40:41,150 --> 00:40:44,221
a more relevant evidence
that will be contradictory,
705
00:40:44,221 --> 00:40:46,760
or that will prove my preconception,
706
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,180
that everything happened
in Africa in the future,
707
00:40:49,180 --> 00:40:50,740
but we just haven't found it yet.
708
00:40:50,740 --> 00:40:53,323
That's just not very good
science in my opinion.
709
00:40:55,050 --> 00:40:56,530
- [Narrator] Researchers are gaining
710
00:40:56,530 --> 00:40:58,540
an increasingly accurate idea
711
00:40:58,540 --> 00:41:01,250
of what the European great apes were like.
712
00:41:01,250 --> 00:41:04,050
And the number of fines
from new excavations
713
00:41:04,050 --> 00:41:05,343
continues to grow.
714
00:41:08,910 --> 00:41:12,380
The Alpine foothills in
the south of Germany,
715
00:41:12,380 --> 00:41:16,300
since 2011 in this clay
pit Madelaine Bohme
716
00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:19,460
and her team have been
excavating the fossilized remains
717
00:41:19,460 --> 00:41:23,743
of animals that lived here
11.6 million years ago.
718
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,750
Large turtles and giant salamanders
719
00:41:27,750 --> 00:41:29,850
once swam in a river here.
720
00:41:29,850 --> 00:41:32,530
On its banks, there were prehistoric pigs
721
00:41:32,530 --> 00:41:34,543
and ancestors of the elephants.
722
00:41:35,570 --> 00:41:38,890
Even an early Panda has been discovered.
723
00:41:38,890 --> 00:41:40,203
- That's a great find.
724
00:41:43,232 --> 00:41:44,790
- [Narrator] Every day the researchers
725
00:41:44,790 --> 00:41:47,480
come across new bones, like this vertebra
726
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:50,589
of a forest antelope, perfectly preserved.
727
00:41:50,589 --> 00:41:53,172
(upbeat music)
728
00:41:59,130 --> 00:42:03,190
But what makes this locality
unique are 37 fossils
729
00:42:03,190 --> 00:42:06,433
of a new species of great ape
that were discovered here.
730
00:42:08,130 --> 00:42:12,913
It's one of the most significant
finds of this kind ever.
731
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,633
The clay has even preserved
parts of the skeleton.
732
00:42:20,950 --> 00:42:23,790
- If we have such complete
bones of the skeleton,
733
00:42:23,790 --> 00:42:25,270
we can say a great deal
734
00:42:25,270 --> 00:42:28,110
about the animal's musculoskeletal system
735
00:42:28,110 --> 00:42:29,790
and their way of life,
736
00:42:29,790 --> 00:42:32,153
far more than with skull
fragments or teeth.
737
00:42:33,470 --> 00:42:37,710
These comparatively long ulna
is almost as long as mine,
738
00:42:37,710 --> 00:42:40,443
tells us that the arms were
far longer than the legs.
739
00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:45,220
That's a typical feature of great apes.
740
00:42:45,220 --> 00:42:48,323
Great apes climbing in
trees and swinging along.
741
00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:54,200
The tibia however, is quite short,
742
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:55,633
shorter than the in ulna.
743
00:42:56,550 --> 00:42:59,100
In humans it's the other way round,
744
00:42:59,100 --> 00:43:01,240
our tibia is longer than the ulna.
745
00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:04,334
But this tibia at the end
is built in such a way
746
00:43:04,334 --> 00:43:06,280
that it shows us that the great ape
747
00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:07,913
walked with straight knees.
748
00:43:09,030 --> 00:43:12,890
Also the ankle here has the
same structure as our human one,
749
00:43:12,890 --> 00:43:14,970
directionally aligned for walking
750
00:43:14,970 --> 00:43:16,693
rather than for climbing trees.
751
00:43:19,780 --> 00:43:21,740
So we see this as a hybrid form,
752
00:43:21,740 --> 00:43:25,071
which can be a precursor of
today's human bipedalism,
753
00:43:25,071 --> 00:43:28,230
and can also be a precursor
of the tree dwelling,
754
00:43:28,230 --> 00:43:30,733
four legged existence of great apes.
755
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,093
A genuine transition, a missing link.
756
00:43:39,910 --> 00:43:41,730
- [Narrator] The researchers
named their find,
757
00:43:41,730 --> 00:43:45,780
Danuvius guggunmosi, but
it's also known as udo,
758
00:43:45,780 --> 00:43:48,160
that's because of the day
on which the first fossil
759
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,490
was discovered was the 70th birthday
760
00:43:50,490 --> 00:43:54,380
of the popular German musician
Udo Lintonberg whose songs
761
00:43:54,380 --> 00:43:57,430
were constantly being played
on the radio that day,
762
00:43:57,430 --> 00:44:00,670
a parallel to the famous Lucy from Africa
763
00:44:00,670 --> 00:44:02,693
who was named after a Beatle song.
764
00:44:05,057 --> 00:44:07,680
- When you dig you take
what you get of course,
765
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:10,330
but naturally if we had
a complete skull of Udo
766
00:44:10,330 --> 00:44:13,320
or Danuvius guggenmosi
we'd know a great deal more
767
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,193
about his brain size, for example.
768
00:44:16,150 --> 00:44:18,620
We could maybe say more
about his direct evolutionary
769
00:44:18,620 --> 00:44:21,263
relationship to
chimpanzees and humans too.
770
00:44:22,140 --> 00:44:24,790
If we had a complete foot,
we could be more certain
771
00:44:24,790 --> 00:44:27,870
about bipedalism and the
distance he could cover.
772
00:44:27,870 --> 00:44:29,810
The important thing is
that we have the key
773
00:44:29,810 --> 00:44:32,100
in our hand, when it
comes to really being able
774
00:44:32,100 --> 00:44:34,086
to answer that in the future.
775
00:44:34,086 --> 00:44:36,669
(upbeat music)
776
00:44:40,570 --> 00:44:43,870
- [Narrator] 15% Of Udo
skeleton has now come to light,
777
00:44:43,870 --> 00:44:47,580
including fossils from many
different anatomical regions.
778
00:44:47,580 --> 00:44:49,240
A key advantage when it comes
779
00:44:49,240 --> 00:44:51,890
to getting a more accurate
picture of this great ape.
780
00:44:55,880 --> 00:44:58,530
To get a better idea of
the body's proportions.
781
00:44:58,530 --> 00:45:01,440
The fossils are laid
out with missing parts,
782
00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:03,656
substituted by replica's.
783
00:45:03,656 --> 00:45:06,239
(upbeat music)
784
00:45:08,870 --> 00:45:12,700
The replicas can be
produced on a 3D printer
785
00:45:12,700 --> 00:45:15,620
by mirroring the left tibia, for instance,
786
00:45:15,620 --> 00:45:17,894
the right one can be copied.
787
00:45:17,894 --> 00:45:20,477
(upbeat music)
788
00:45:28,500 --> 00:45:31,060
- In the old days that
had to be modeled manually
789
00:45:31,060 --> 00:45:33,050
with putty or clay and
790
00:45:33,050 --> 00:45:36,810
now we get a one to one
image just by mirroring it.
791
00:45:36,810 --> 00:45:39,437
That really helps us
with this reconstruction.
792
00:45:39,437 --> 00:45:41,350
And even if it's just a copy,
793
00:45:41,350 --> 00:45:44,193
it still brings us that
much closer to our ancestor.
794
00:45:50,330 --> 00:45:54,210
- No comparable find has
been made anywhere in Africa.
795
00:45:54,210 --> 00:45:57,210
Together with the other
extinct great apes from Europe,
796
00:45:57,210 --> 00:46:00,350
Udo is a further indication
that it was in Europe,
797
00:46:00,350 --> 00:46:02,173
that our evolution began.
798
00:46:05,390 --> 00:46:07,660
Even the size and weight of this great ape
799
00:46:07,660 --> 00:46:11,633
already correspond to later
species of pre-humans.
800
00:46:16,180 --> 00:46:19,850
This reconstruction shows
Udo standing upright
801
00:46:19,850 --> 00:46:22,150
with his legs and hips straight.
802
00:46:22,150 --> 00:46:25,430
Everything points to the fact
that he is a common ancestor
803
00:46:25,430 --> 00:46:30,153
of humans and chimpanzees,
and he's a European,
804
00:46:35,140 --> 00:46:38,340
But why don't any comparable
African finds exist
805
00:46:38,340 --> 00:46:39,890
from this period?
806
00:46:39,890 --> 00:46:43,253
Madelaine Bohme came across
a possible explanation.
807
00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:48,860
An electron microscope
takes an even closer look
808
00:46:48,860 --> 00:46:52,400
at the sediment around the
lower jaw of Grecopithecus
809
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:55,690
and traces are found of a
massive environmental change
810
00:46:55,690 --> 00:46:58,173
that hit north Africa at that time.
811
00:46:59,990 --> 00:47:03,160
Magnified 10,000 times,
the tiny dust particles
812
00:47:03,160 --> 00:47:04,820
making up most of the sediment,
813
00:47:04,820 --> 00:47:07,743
form a very special
geological fingerprint.
814
00:47:12,930 --> 00:47:16,570
This shape of particle and
specific patterns on its surface
815
00:47:16,570 --> 00:47:19,543
are only formed when
dust is blown by wind.
816
00:47:20,790 --> 00:47:24,150
The individual dust grains
collide again and again,
817
00:47:24,150 --> 00:47:25,603
and grind each other down.
818
00:47:28,810 --> 00:47:32,320
The chemical composition
of the rock is also clear,
819
00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:36,093
and it proves that this
dust came from the Sahara.
820
00:47:39,270 --> 00:47:42,290
- There were huge amounts
of dust at that time,
821
00:47:42,290 --> 00:47:44,970
up to a quarter kilogram
of dust per square meter
822
00:47:44,970 --> 00:47:49,273
was deposited each year,
that's a huge amount.
823
00:47:50,121 --> 00:47:52,210
Areas like that do still exist,
824
00:47:52,210 --> 00:47:53,963
but they're very inhospitable.
825
00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:59,160
Today, we have that level
of dust in the Sahara zone
826
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:01,873
where vast amounts were
blown off the Sahara desert,
827
00:48:03,185 --> 00:48:06,623
and back then Southern Greece
have the same level of dust.
828
00:48:10,010 --> 00:48:11,940
- [Narrator] This is the
first time the researchers
829
00:48:11,940 --> 00:48:14,790
have been able to date the
earliest known Sahara face
830
00:48:14,790 --> 00:48:15,783
with precision.
831
00:48:17,010 --> 00:48:21,320
It must've been at least as
long ago as Graecopithecus' age.
832
00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:24,630
That is 7.2 million years,
833
00:48:24,630 --> 00:48:28,083
several million years earlier
than previously assumed.
834
00:48:34,470 --> 00:48:37,900
If humankind really did
originate in Europe,
835
00:48:37,900 --> 00:48:41,370
this vast desert would
certainly have been a barrier,
836
00:48:41,370 --> 00:48:44,853
one that our early ancestors
could not have crossed.
837
00:48:45,780 --> 00:48:49,490
But this early desert phase
was followed again by a period
838
00:48:49,490 --> 00:48:53,610
with a humid climate during
which the Sahara was covered
839
00:48:53,610 --> 00:48:55,113
with green vegetation.
840
00:48:58,100 --> 00:49:01,460
It was during this phase, which
coincides with the emergence
841
00:49:01,460 --> 00:49:03,720
of the oldest African finds
842
00:49:03,720 --> 00:49:07,700
that early human ancestors
coming from Europe
843
00:49:07,700 --> 00:49:10,693
could easily have reached
Africa via the middle east.
844
00:49:12,170 --> 00:49:16,240
And they could have slowly
spread to Africa in this way
845
00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:18,650
and continued their evolution there
846
00:49:18,650 --> 00:49:21,220
after an initial European chapter
847
00:49:21,220 --> 00:49:24,023
as African fossil finds suggest.
848
00:49:30,370 --> 00:49:34,110
The ancestors of the chimpanzees
and gorillas could also
849
00:49:34,110 --> 00:49:37,140
have taken this route
from Europe to Africa,
850
00:49:37,140 --> 00:49:39,500
maybe they followed the receding forests
851
00:49:39,500 --> 00:49:42,700
as far as the equatorial areas of Africa,
852
00:49:42,700 --> 00:49:45,083
where they could continue
to live in trees.
853
00:49:49,050 --> 00:49:53,770
One species, however, Grecopithecus
took a different route.
854
00:49:53,770 --> 00:49:57,620
He remained in Europe, adapted
to the Savannah environment
855
00:49:57,620 --> 00:50:02,573
and established a new
lineage, that of humankind.
856
00:50:03,703 --> 00:50:06,286
(upbeat music)
857
00:50:07,214 --> 00:50:10,160
Perhaps the researchers will
soon encounter new finds
858
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:12,280
in the Mediterranean region as well
859
00:50:12,280 --> 00:50:14,393
to further support their ideas.
860
00:50:17,980 --> 00:50:21,893
Madelaine Bohme is going to
continue following these traces.
861
00:50:22,970 --> 00:50:26,973
For her, this is just the
beginning of further research.
862
00:50:28,540 --> 00:50:31,110
- They've been various
spectacular discoveries
863
00:50:31,110 --> 00:50:34,780
from recent research, that
throw an entirely new light
864
00:50:34,780 --> 00:50:37,183
on the role of Europe
in the origin of man.
865
00:50:38,090 --> 00:50:40,610
It's fantastic to be a part of all this.
866
00:50:40,610 --> 00:50:43,560
And I'm really excited about
what we're going to find next.
867
00:50:47,010 --> 00:50:50,080
- [Narrator] One thing
seems to be clear above all,
868
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:52,050
evolution doesn't fit in neatly
869
00:50:52,050 --> 00:50:54,930
with human geographical categories.
870
00:50:54,930 --> 00:50:58,980
Over millions of years, driven
by environmental changes,
871
00:50:58,980 --> 00:51:01,750
humankind seems to have steadily evolved
872
00:51:01,750 --> 00:51:05,630
across a large region that
initially encompassed Europe
873
00:51:05,630 --> 00:51:07,780
and later Africa.
874
00:51:07,780 --> 00:51:11,019
Humans constantly populated new habitats,
875
00:51:11,019 --> 00:51:16,019
and in the process cross borders
between entire continents.
876
00:51:16,053 --> 00:51:18,636
(upbeat music)
67022
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