All language subtitles for The UnXplained S04E10 Mysteries of the Missing Link 1080p HULU WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
Shocking discoveries

revealing glimpses
of mankind's ancient past,

the bones of giants
that lived centuries ago

and primitive beast men

roaming the wilderness.

Of all the mysteries

that mankind
has been able to solve,

one still baffles
our collective curiosity.

Where did we come from?

Were human beings
the result of a spontaneous,

divine creation?

divine creation?
Or is it possible

Or is it possible

that we,
as some evidence suggests,

evolved over time
from other species?

And was there possibly
a missing link

that made us what we are today?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

(creatures chittering)

SHATNER:
Since the dawn of man,
human beings have wondered

how we came into existence.

how we came into existence.
And throughout history,

And throughout history,

people have proposed
many different theories

to try and explain the profound
mystery of mankind's origins.

Since the earliest
written records, it's clear

that human cultures
around the world

that human cultures
around the world
have been curious
about our origins.

have been curious
about our origins.

Where did we come from?
It's a great question.

And the question means
something different to everyone.

Every culture has
different origin stories.

Every culture has
different origin stories.
In many creation stories
about human origins,

In many creation stories
about human origins,

humans are fully formed
from the start.

For example,
in Genesis chapter one

of the Hebrew Bible,
we get a very structured,

very orderly account
of creation.

In this narrative,

through a series of spoken acts,

through a series of spoken acts,
God creates the heavens,
the Earth,

God creates the heavens,
the Earth,

creates land, the seas,

and then populates
all of these domains

with fish and birds
and creeping things.

And then, on day six,

And then, on day six,
God creates the humans.

God creates the humans.

And Genesis records that God

speaks the humans
into existence,

male and female,
in His own image and likeness.

The implication here is that
these humans would look

just like we look today.

MICHIO KAKU:
Throughout history,
before the coming of science,

all we had were mythologies
about our origins.

Stories, tales handed down
generation by generation

Stories, tales handed down
generation by generation
over thousands of years.

over thousands of years.

That's all we had.

But then we had Charles Darwin,

and Charles Darwin said
that we are related to the apes.

and Charles Darwin said
that we are related to the apes.
And that was a huge shock.

And that was a huge shock.

SHATNER:
In 1871,
Charles Darwin published

The Descent of Man,
which proposed the theory

that humans and apes
share a common ancestor.

SHAPIRO:
The natural evolutionary history
of our lineage

is that we were monkeys
and then we were apes

and then, eventually,
we became Homo sapiens.

But when and how this happened,
it's still something

that scientists are
trying to piece together

from the often fragmentary
fossil record.

SHATNER:
Ever since Darwin's
groundbreaking work,

many have theorized
that there could have been

many have theorized
that there could have been
a so-called "missing link"

a so-called "missing link"

between us
and our primitive ancestors

that would explain
how modern humans came to be.

But in recent years,
scientists have suggested

that this idea
may be too simplistic,

and that the truth
about mankind's origins

is far more complicated
and mysterious.

KIRSTEN FISHER:
I think our idea
that there might be

a missing link
in human evolution

stems from the way humans

may be inherently uncomfortable
with the idea

that evolution doesn't...
hasn't progressed towards us

on purpose or with any
particular direction in mind.

In the relative
scheme of things,

In the relative
scheme of things,
we're just a very small branch

we're just a very small branch

in a much more diverse tree
of living things.

Which is kind
of an amazing thought.

Human evolution in the past

has been seen as a sort of line.

has been seen as a sort of line.
You see that sort of typical,

You see that sort of typical,

uh, an ape hunched over
and slowly standing up.

But we're now realizing
that it's not true.

In our past, there were
multiple different species

that actually had similar traits
to modern-day humans.

that actually had similar traits
to modern-day humans.
And so, evolution is not linear.

And so, evolution is not linear.

It's not even a tree, it's more
of like a-a brambly bush.

It's all over the place.

SHATNER:
Could it be that there
is not one missing link

but rather
many different species

that formed
the human evolutionary tree?

And if so, could they have had
a significant effect

And if so, could they have had
a significant effect
on the origins of mankind?

on the origins of mankind?

To answer that question,
perhaps we should begin

by examining the species
we're most closely related to,

by examining the species
we're most closely related to,
the Neanderthals.

the Neanderthals.

Genetics company
23andMe announces

their at-home testing kits
can now detect

how much of a person's DNA
comes from the Neanderthals.

Neanderthals are
an extinct species

that were very similar to humans

and died out
roughly 30,000 years ago.

But the 23andMe tests have shown
that there is a small percentage

of Neanderthal DNA
in each and every one of us.

REAGAN:
With the advent of
these designer DNA tests,

it's making us rethink
the way humans evolved.

Neanderthals are a subspecies
of Homo sapiens.

We share a common ancestor
with them

around 800,
700,000 years ago.

They existed in what is Europe,
the Middle East,

and basically dominated
the ice age.

And hopefully, now that we know

that we have Neanderthal DNA
in our genome,

we'll be more interested
in actually learning

about our past.

KAKU:
This is a shock,
'cause we used to think

that we didn't mate
with anybody else.

But using the science of DNA,

we begin to realize,
"Hey, there was a lot of mating

that went back and forth between
Neanderthals and humans."

We now have data to work with

to retrace the family tree
of our race.

SHATNER:
Modern humans

and Neanderthals are both what
scientists refer to as hominins,

a group of species
that includes mankind

and its closest relatives.

Thus far, fossils
of 21 different hominin species

have been found,
and new genetic discoveries

are revealing that we have
much more in common

with the Neanderthals
and other hominins

with the Neanderthals
and other hominins
than previously thought.

than previously thought.

ANDREW COLLINS:
Neanderthal fossils

first came to light in the early
part of the 19th century.

But at that time, they were
dismissed as inferior to us.

So the idea that modern humans
have Neanderthal DNA in them

is incredibly important,

because it shows that
they are our distant cousins.

We're realizing now,
more and more,

that they were,
in every respect, human.

If you had a Neanderthal today
and you dressed them in a suit,

would you know
it was a Neanderthal?

The answer is probably
you wouldn't.

They were great, uh,
toolmakers and users.

They left behind art.

Different jewelry as well.

Different jewelry as well.
We're finding out
that Neanderthals

We're finding out
that Neanderthals

We're finding out
that Neanderthals
were actually
burying their dead,

were actually
burying their dead,

which shows that they were
invested in their loved ones.

What we've learned
by studying Neanderthal DNA

is that some traits
that Neanderthals had

were passed into
modern human populations.

One of the traits that came
from Neanderthals

was a propensity
to have diabetes.

And so it ended up
getting passed on,

even though it provided
a little bit of a disadvantage

to those who had it.

Our closest relative
is the Neanderthal,

and they're gone, but they also
survive in our DNA.

and they're gone, but they also
survive in our DNA.
The more we can
learn about them,

The more we can
learn about them,

the more we learn about us.

Did the Neanderthals
play an important role

Did the Neanderthals
play an important role
in the evolution
of modern humans?

in the evolution
of modern humans?

in the evolution
of modern humans?
Or could it be
that they only represent

Or could it be
that they only represent

one piece of the puzzle?

Because recently,
scientists unearthed the bones

of another ancient species,
in Asia,

that may have played
a role in our development.

A species that was
never known to exist.

SHATNER:
Archaeologists
conducting excavations

within the dark recesses
of the Liang Bua cave

uncover the skeletal remains
of a primitive human.

Oddly, the bones appear
to belong to an adult

Oddly, the bones appear
to belong to an adult
less than four feet tall.

less than four feet tall.

And genetic analysis reveals
that the person's short stature

was not due to deformity.

Remarkably,
this individual belonged

to a previously unknown species

of miniature humans

that lived 60,000 years ago.

TOCHERI:
The team of scientists
excavating on Flores

uncovered the partial skeleton
which we now know as LB-1,

or Liang Bua One.

It immediately sent shockwaves
around the world.

We know it's a member
of our genus Homo

because it has characteristics
of its teeth and jaws

because it has characteristics
of its teeth and jaws
that we use to define our genus.

that we use to define our genus.

So it's these features
that help us understand

that it is closely related
to us, but smaller.

SHATNER:
After further study,
the newly discovered species

of miniature humans was given
the name Homo floresiensis,

after the isle of Flores
on which it was discovered.

The $64 million question
is how did the ancestors

of Homo floresiensis
reach Flores?

Flores is a oceanic island.

That means it's never been
connected by land

to either the Asian continent
or the Australian continent.

It's long been thought
that only modern humans

were clever enough to somehow
reach these kinds of islands

by crossing open water.

And so, to find
Homo floresiensis

on this oceanic island

shows us how much
we underestimate

earlier hominins in terms
of their dispersal capabilities.

JIM VIEIRA:
What's most interesting
is they found tools

on the isle Flores.

Finding tools on this
isolated Indonesian island

opens up a Pandora's box
of ideas.

How did they get there,

how far back
do these beings exist

and what level of sophistication
did they have?

TOCHERI:
Homo floresiensis disappears

roughly about 50,000 years ago.

But we only have evidence
from this one cave.

And so, I think there's still
a lot that we need to uncover,

to figure out
the most likely explanation

for their extinction.

SHATNER:
Due to their stature,

some anthropologists began
calling Homo floresiensis

"the hobbits," in reference
to the furry-footed characters

from Middle-earth popularized
by author J.R.R. Tolkien

in his 1937 book The Hobbit,

which has led many to wonder,
could hobbit-sized humans

be part of a missing link?

The hobbit is the prime example
of saying, "Hang on, stop,

and start thinking
of what's going on here."

As time goes, we're finding
more and more evidence

that there was a range
of different kinds of humans.

KAKU:
In science,

we always have
to keep an open mind,

we always have
to keep an open mind,
even when things, uh, disturb

even when things, uh, disturb

our sense of who we are
and where we came from.

We're just beginning to realize
that The Lord of the Rings

is really a paradigm
for other species out there,

is really a paradigm
for other species out there,
lurking, that have
not yet been discovered.

lurking, that have
not yet been discovered.

Homo sapiens are not
necessarily

the only game in town.

SHATNER:
The discovery
of Homo floresiensis

proves that humans were just one
of many intelligent species

to inhabit Earth in the past.

But remarkably,
there could be evidence

But remarkably,
there could be evidence
of not only hobbit-sized humans

of not only hobbit-sized humans

but also a species of giants
that once lived

in what is now modern Russia.

The Altai Mountains, Siberia.

Archaeologists conducting
excavations inside a cave

make an unexpected discovery.

They find two
enormous human teeth,

twice the size
of a modern person's.

What they found was some
massive teeth that were so big

they thought
they were cave bear teeth.

But then, they were sequenced,
and they realized

it's a new human cousin
who may have been seven,

eight foot tall,
with massive skulls and jaws.

It's really a curveball
to anthropology.

SHATNER:
Further analysis of the teeth

revealed they were more
than 50,000 years old,

and belonged to a previously
unknown human subspecies

that has been named
the Denisovans.

From what little evidence
of the bones and the teeth

From what little evidence
of the bones and the teeth
that have been found,

that have been found,

not only at the Denisova Cave
in Siberia...

...but also a huge jawbone

that was found in a cave
on the Tibetan Plateau,

there is every indication
that giants

really did walk the Earth
in ancient times.

SHATNER:
Could the human family tree

have once included a branch
with actual giants?

Many experts believe
it's possible,

not only because
of the fossil evidence

but also because legends
of extraordinarily large beings

have persisted
for thousands of years.

In the European tradition,
we have, uh, creatures

like giants that are
very, very widespread.

We know now that folklore
can last thousands of years.

So, could ancient people
have encountered Denisovans

and interpreted them as giants,

as sort of brutish,
as living differently from us,

but still able to, uh,
interact with us?

Or maybe they dug up some bones
or stumbled across them

and said, "Wow, these guys look
really different than we do,"

and then came up
with the stories.

I'm sure there are other
archaic versions of humanity

out there that we have
not yet discovered.

So I think we're just beginning
to unravel the family tree.

There are other hidden branches
out there

There are other hidden branches
out there
that have not yet been found

that have not yet been found

because we don't have
evidence yet.

because we don't have
evidence yet.
But I think we will,
as the years go by.

But I think we will,
as the years go by.

Many experts now believe
that early humans coexisted

with a number of different
species that were similar to us.

But if that's true,
then what happened to them?

Did they all just die out?

Or could some still exist
in remote areas

Or could some still exist
in remote areas
all over the world?

all over the world?

SHATNER:
27-year-old Dean Harrison

is out for a late-night jog

in a wooded area
near the town of Ormeau.

Suddenly, he sees a large
creature moving in the forest.

(low grumble)

HARRISON:
I got these chills

HARRISON:
I got these chills
that I could not explain
that went

that I could not explain
that went

from my head to my toes,
and then back up again.

My hair went on end,

because I could hear it
walking through the swamp.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Pulling up the foliage

Pulling up the foliage
out of the ground
and throwing it

out of the ground
and throwing it

through the rest of the forest.

I moved my eyes to see
this huge silhouette

standing there in the bush line
right behind me.

We're talking
about eight feet, roughly.

There was something
about this that just,

alarm bells went off in my head,
and I ran as fast as I could.

SHATNER:
Although Dean's
nighttime encounter

with the enormous creature
was brief,

further research
led him to believe

that he had encountered
an elusive species

that is commonly referred to
as the yowie.

LYLE BLACKBURN:
The yowie is a hair-covered,

LYLE BLACKBURN:
The yowie is a hair-covered,
manlike creature that's said

manlike creature that's said

manlike creature that's said
to live on
the Australian mainland.

to live on
the Australian mainland.

There's been thousands
of sightings

of this creature over the years,

and stories of it even date back
to Aboriginal legends.

HARRISON:
The Aboriginals had a lot
of names for this creature.

There was yahoo or yuree,
yaree, youree,

depending on which dialect
and-and which area

you came from that--
which, how you pronounce it.

The first sightings were
written in the papers

in Australia since the 1800s.

Most people describe them
like a big human.

The head sits on the shoulders
and a little bit protruded.

Massive shoulders
like cannonballs.

Very, very muscular.
Deep, muscular chest.

Very long arms,
compared to a human.

Uh, shorter legs.

Deep-set eyes
and heavy eye ridges.

Uh, protruding jaw.

Quite a flat, splayed nose.

You can get them
anywhere up to about nine,

even ten feet tall,
some people say.

And there's no shortage of them

because the sightings
are growing.

SHATNER:
Dean's encounter inspired him
to form a group

known as Australian
Yowie Research, or AYR.

HARRISON:
We have basically created
a group

where people can turn to
and look for the answers

once they have an encounter
with one of these creatures.

On our expeditions,
we've had a lot of sightings

and encounters over the course
of the last 25 years

along the Great Dividing Range
from the bottom end of Victoria

all the way to the top end
of Australia.

SHATNER:
Could a species
of giant, ape-like humans

really be hiding
throughout Australia?

It may sound
far-fetched to some.

But the truth is
that the numerous sightings

of the yowie
aren't the only evidence

that a large cousin of man
may still be living in the wild.

Because there are reports
of similar creatures

all over the world.

The general idea
of an undiscovered

large, ape-like creature
living in the woods

is very common around the globe.

Whether we're talking about
the Himalayas for the Yeti,

the U.S. for Bigfoot,

or whether we're talking
about Australia and New Zealand

for the yowie,

this is something that appears
to be a worldwide creature.

Evolutionary biologist
Jane Goodall at one point said

it was possible that such
a creature could exist.

And when you have
someone with that sort

of a scientific reputation
that will say

there is a possibility
that this creature exists,

that's very compelling evidence.

BLACKBURN:
If we look back at early man,

there's evidence
of similar types of hominids.

If they developed
in some shadowy place

and continued
to survive and evolve,

these early humans
could have become

what we know as Bigfoot,
yowie or the Yeti.

And if we were to actually
find undeniable photo

or video evidence
of these creatures,

it would completely change
the way we've thought

about everything,
i-including our own evolution.

These creatures could be
closely related to us.

This could be a branch
of our own ancestral tree.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that the yowie,
Bigfoot and the Yeti are real,

as the countless sightings
around the world suggest?

And if so, are these creatures
part of a lost branch

of the human family tree?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining a creature

that some believe left behind

that some believe left behind
physical evidence
of its existence

physical evidence
of its existence

physical evidence
of its existence
high in the Himalayan mountains.

high in the Himalayan mountains.

From their Makalu base camp,
located roughly 12 miles

From their Makalu base camp,
located roughly 12 miles
southeast of Mount Everest,

southeast of Mount Everest,

the mountain expedition team
of the Indian Army

releases a photo of an unusually
large set of footprints.

COLLINS:
An expedition
from the Indian Army

noticed very strange tracks
in the snow.

And when they looked at them,
they realized that each one

was 32 inches in length
and 15 inches in width.

And they came to the conclusion

that they possibly belonged
to the legendary Yeti.

And we know it in the West
as the Abominable Snowman.

VIEIRA:
The Indian Army

are not prone to throw out
such sensationalistic material.

So that caught people,
a lot of people, off guard.

And you look at these prints

and you start
to ask the question,

and you start
to ask the question,
"How big a creature
would create them?"

"How big a creature
would create them?"

SHATNER:
Curiously, this isn't
the first time

that massive, bipedal footprints
have been found

in the vicinity
of Mount Everest.

In 1951, British mountaineer
Eric Shipton captured a photo

of what appeared
to be a giant footprint

with an ape-like thumb
instead of a big toe.

BLACKBURN:
One thing that supports
the credibility

of all these sightings
is that so many people

have described the same thing.

There has been
numerous footprints

that have been cast and observed
and photographed over the years.

And this just corroborates

the different
witness sightings to suggest

that something
is still out there.

The idea that massive creatures
like the Yeti

are living in the wild
might sound far-fetched to some,

but there have been
many similar accounts

of strange, bipedal animals
throughout history.

For instance,
there's a particular species

that was believed
to inhabit North America,

and would only come out
at night.

SHATNER:
Local farmer
Felix Axley is planting

his first crops
of the growing season

when he feels his plow catch
on something beneath the soil.

He digs beneath the dirt

to find the source
of the impediment

to find the source
of the impediment
and pulls out
a strange carved statue

and pulls out
a strange carved statue

of two creatures
that appear to be human

but have short bodies
and large, round heads.

but have short bodies
and large, round heads.
The face, they almost,
uh, look flat,

The face, they almost,
uh, look flat,

you know, and, uh,

and they showed their eyes
as very prominent.

When Felix actually dug it up,

he probably didn't know
what he was looking at,

so he put them
on a sled and drug it

back up to his farmstead
and leaned it against the well,

and it stayed there
for years and years.

SHATNER:
The odd statue
remained a local curiosity

for more than a century,
but today,

it is kept at the Cherokee
County Historical Museum

because experts have determined
that the carving depicts members

of a legendary civilization
who the Cherokee referred to

as "the moon-eyed people."

VIEIRA:
In 1797,

Benjamin Smith Barton
came out with a book

and he cited
a Revolutionary War veteran

who was an interface
between the government

and the Cherokee people
in Georgia, who told him

about the legend
of the moon-eyed people.

The legend is that they were
people with huge eyes

who could see at night
and not so well during the day.

The Cherokee of the Appalachia
of North America

entered this region
around 1,000 years ago.

And when they got there,
it was already occupied

by a type of population

they refer to
as the moon-eyed people.

And it was said
that they had existed

for many tens
of thousands of years.

JOHN STAMEY:
The moon-eyed people
have been described

as being about three,
three and a half feet tall,

and having larger heads
proportionally than we do.

They've also got pale
blue eyes and pale skin.

Which also means that direct
sunlight is not good for them,

so they are primarily nocturnal.

BILLY PALMER:
The moon-eyed people

lived on the eastern bank
of the Valley River.

And then the Cherokees,

they lived between
the Hiwassee and Valley River.

The Cherokees lived
with the moon-eyed people

The Cherokees lived
with the moon-eyed people
in harmony for a while,

in harmony for a while,

but then they eventually

got in arguments
for property reasons.

And so, the moon-eyed people

were displaced by the Cherokees.

SHATNER:
According to legend,

after being driven westward
by the Cherokee,

the moon-eyed people
disappeared...

...and were never seen again.

Was there actually
a primitive society of pale,

human-like beings
with enormous eyes

that lived in North America?

Many experts believe
it's possible,

because the Cherokee aren't
the only Native Americans

whose legends speak
of the moon-eyed people.

VIEIRA:
What's interesting
is that Lakota, Sioux,

so many tribes have legends
of short people with huge eyes.

It's been said
that even Lewis and Clark

met with Native tribes
in South Dakota,

and were told
by the Native people there

that these little people
were malevolent

and had poison arrows
and actually killed

some of their members.

And we're talking
about fierce warriors,

not people
prone to superstition.

THOMPSON:
One of the very
interesting aspects

is trying to overlay
these sort of characters

with what we now have
coming from archeology.

For example, we know that
there were a lot of hominids

running around the Earth.

It's not out
of the realm of possibility

that some of these stories
we have

refer to long-held
folklore notions

of when the world was
a much more diverse place.

SHATNER:
Could there have been
entire civilizations

belonging to other branches
of the human family tree

that disappeared from history?

It's a fascinating notion.

But in the case
of the moon-eyed people,

many researchers believe
that actual physical evidence

of their society still exists.

Standing atop the peak
of this worn mountain

at the southern end
of the Appalachians

is a jagged rock wall

is a jagged rock wall
that is 855 feet long.

that is 855 feet long.

that is 855 feet long.
COLLINS:
The moon-eyed people,

COLLINS:
The moon-eyed people,

they are accredited
with the creation

of incredible structures on
the side of mountains and hills

like on Fort Mountain.

In fact, there's even a sign
on Fort Mountain

saying that these structures
were created

by the moon-eyed people.

STAMEY:
We're pretty certain

it was not built
by the Cherokees,

because the Cherokee
did not use rock

in their construction,
they used a concoction

in their construction,
they used a concoction
called wattle and daub...

called wattle and daub...

...and that was straw,
clay and mud.

Since it's not built
by the Cherokees,

it might very well have been
built by the moon-eyed people.

It might seem unbelievable
that there was a race

of pale humanoids with enormous,
moon-shaped eyes

that once inhabited
North America,

that once inhabited
North America,
but there have been reports

but there have been reports

of an even more
incredible creature

that dwells in the swamps
of South Carolina.

A bizarre beast that
is said to be part man...

...and part reptile.

SHATNER::
17-year-old Christopher Davis

stops to change a flat tire

deep in the back roads
of Scape Ore Swamp.

And he quickly senses
that he is not alone.

About the time he's putting
the jack and the flat tire

into the trunk of his car,

he looks up and he sees

something coming at him
in the moonlight.

The closer this thing got,

the more he knew
this wasn't a person.

He looked up and he saw
a greenish-looking figure,

maybe about seven
to eight foot tall,

and arms that draped
down to the side

with three claws on each hand.

SHATNER:
Sensing he could be in danger,

SHATNER:
Sensing he could be in danger,
Christopher bolts into the car

Christopher bolts into the car

Christopher bolts into the car
and drives away
as fast as he can.

and drives away
as fast as he can.

and drives away
as fast as he can.
(engine starts)

(engine starts)

BLACKBURN:
Christopher looked

in his rearview mirror

in his rearview mirror
and could see this thing
pursuing him.

and could see this thing
pursuing him.

He was completely frightened,
utterly overwhelmed

He was completely frightened,
utterly overwhelmed
by what he saw coming at him.

by what he saw coming at him.

Eventually, it disappeared
into the darkness.

SHATNER: Christopher got home
safe and sound.

But his terrifying story quickly
spread through the media.

Newspapers
and television stations

jumped on the bizarre encounter.

ANCHOR: Deep in the Scape Ore
Swamp of South Carolina,

there reportedly
lives a creature

that is part man and part beast.

A creature that 17-year-old
Christopher Davis claims

attacked his car late one night
on this lonely country road.

Seven feet tall.

Long arms, red eyes.

STAMEY:
There was a media frenzy
once the story got out.

There were stories
in newspapers in Korea

There were stories
in newspapers in Korea
about the Lizard Man.

about the Lizard Man.

And that's just a tribute
to the viralness

And that's just a tribute
to the viralness
of the Lizard Man.

of the Lizard Man.

SHATNER:
During the media frenzy,

dozens of other eyewitnesses
began contacting

the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

They all claimed to have
had similar encounters

with a strange,
three-fingered creature

that appeared to be part man
and part reptile.

But rather than
dismiss such reports,

law enforcement took them
quite seriously.

They had the witnesses come in,
they interviewed them--

in some cases,
gave them polygraph tests.

And all of the witnesses
that reported sightings

of the Lizard Man were credible.

Could there really be
a reptile species

that evolved to walk upright
like humans?

It may sound far-fetched,

but many researchers
believe it's possible.

And as evidence,

they point to
a creature in the Bible

that exhibited characteristics
of both man and reptile.

FISHER:
The serpent
in the Garden of Eden

is not like normal serpents
in that it can speak.

The Hebrew Bible describes
how the serpent tricked Eve,

and as part of the punishment,

he is cursed and told that
it's going to go on its belly

in the dust, which implies
it had some prior, uh,

mode of locomotion
that was different.

So, it may have been
a walking serpent.

Some legends that develop--

you see this
in some medieval artwork--

the serpent was understood
to have had legs.

Some of the Jewish legends
about Eve and the serpent

imply that it may have also
had some kind of arms or hands

that could, uh,
push her to touch the tree,

or bringing fruit to her.

So the idea
of this serpent-human hybrid

So the idea
of this serpent-human hybrid
is a very ancient one.

is a very ancient one.

SHATNER:
The notion
that an ancient species

of reptiles
with human characteristics

may have evolved
alongside people is intriguing.

But could there
be scientific evidence

But could there
be scientific evidence
to suggest
that such beings exist?

to suggest
that such beings exist?

Neuroscientists
at the Max Planck Institute

publish a landmark study.

They claim to have discovered
an evolutionary link

between the development
of the human brain

and early reptiles
that lived in the distant past.

We know that humans are mammals,
and reptiles are reptiles.

But at a certain point,
we had a common ancestor:

cynodonts, which
lived 235 million years ago.

cynodonts, which
lived 235 million years ago.
They're these
small-bodied creatures

They're these
small-bodied creatures

that had rodent-like attributes,

even though they were
still reptiles.

KIRSTEN FISHER:
In evolutionary terms,

we share, uh, many features
with our reptile relatives.

Things like the amniotic sac,

four limbs, elements
of our neurological system,

like the basal part of
the brain. Also, our cerebellum.

So we can look
at any familiar reptile,

whether it's a crocodile
or a turtle

and know that it is,
in fact, your relative,

and know that it is,
in fact, your relative,
albeit a very distant relative.

albeit a very distant relative.

SHATNER:
Could it be that many
of the evolutionary traits

found in modern humans didn't
arise from ancient primates

but rather from a reptilian
ancestor millions of years ago?

And if so, is it possible
that there are bizarre

human and reptile hybrids
that are still alive today?

STAMEY:
There have been a number
of other sightings

of the Lizard Man
outside of Lee County

and Sumter County
in South Carolina.

There's some in Europe,
there's some in South Africa.

Every one of them was about
six to eight feet tall

with red eyes.

It always had red eyes.

That is one commonality
that you can't get over.

And so, it is certainly possible
that the Lizard Man is real.

If it was ever proven
that a race of reptilians

If it was ever proven
that a race of reptilians
existed on Earth...

existed on Earth...

well, that would
challenge everything

well, that would
challenge everything
we currently think
about evolution.

we currently think
about evolution.

Which could also be the case
with some ancient skeletons

that were recently found
in Africa.

Skeletons that are
shedding new light

on the origins of mankind.

SHATNER: The Bloubank River
valley, South Africa.

September 13, 2013.

Two amateur spelunkers enter
the Rising Star Cave system

and explore its twisting depths.

Inside, they make
an unexpected discovery.

Inside, they make
an unexpected discovery.
The cave is littered...

The cave is littered...

with the bones of 15 people.

Carbon dating reveals the bones

Carbon dating reveals the bones
are more than 300,000 years old.

are more than 300,000 years old.

But even more astonishing,
scientists determine the bones

belong to a previously
unknown species of hominid.

They name it Homo naledi.

So, what's really remarkable
about this discovery

of Homo naledi was its
very small cranial capacity.

Homo naledi has
a cranial capacity around

610 cubic centimeters,
and anatomically modern humans

have roughly
1,270 cubic centimeters.

So, we're seeing
a huge difference

between these two species
living at the same exact time.

And that says a lot
about human evolution,

that it's not necessarily
having a giant brain

that's gonna
get you far in life.

TOCHERI:
The discovery of Homo naledi
opened up a lot of questions

about how we thought
about the evolution

about how we thought
about the evolution
of our species in Africa,

of our species in Africa,

where we find another species
of human overlapping with us,

that shares some aspects
of their anatomy with us,

but other aspects
look very, very different,

showing another direction
that evolution took

showing another direction
that evolution took
in their particular lineage.

in their particular lineage.

SHATNER:
Ever since
Charles Darwin published

The Origin of Species,

we've assumed
that evolution favors species

that have the most desirable
traits, such as intelligence.

But some researchers
believe the discovery

of Homo naledi's
smaller brain size

raises the possibility
that survival of the fittest

may not always be the case.

REAGAN:
Fittest doesn't necessarily mean

you can run a marathon,
you can scale tall buildings.

It doesn't even mean you can do
calculus or win a Nobel Prize.

It's whoever can survive and
hack it in their environment.

SHATNER:
If it's true that being
the strongest, the fastest

or the smartest isn't required

to ensure the survival
of a species,

could our quest to unravel
mankind's origins

have been misguided
all this time?

And if so, is it possible
that we'll ever truly

be able to answer who we are
and where we come from?

FINLAYSON:
It's clear that our story
is being rewritten all the time.

FINLAYSON:
It's clear that our story
is being rewritten all the time.
We know the basics,
and we know that

We know the basics,
and we know that

we're part of
an evolving lineage,

but I'm sure more will be found

in terms of fossils
but also in terms of the DNA,

in terms of fossils
but also in terms of the DNA,
which has given us
a lot of information

which has given us
a lot of information

about makes us human.

TOCHERI:
Human diversity was
just so much greater

in the recent past
than it is today.

Over the past hundred years,
we've gone from having a handful

of species, you know, separated
by vast periods of time

to a very bushy,
bushy tree, family tree

full of different examples
of how to be human

at different points in time over
the past six million years.

It's incredible.

REAGAN:
We talk about this missing link,

but we're discovering
more and more species

that fit outside
of what we had expected.

So it's making us rethink
the way humans evolved.

And I think we're gonna continue
seeing these discoveries,

to hopefully find more pieces
of this puzzle that will

help us understand
where we came from.

And hopefully better inform us
how to keep moving forward.

Will we ever find
the elusive missing link

that explains mankind's origins?

Each skull or skeleton that
we uncover certainly brings us

one step closer
to finding the answer.

But then again,
perhaps we shouldn't assume

that the purpose of evolution
is all about us.

Maybe human beings
are just one piece

of a much larger mystery that,
at least for the time being,

remains unexplained.

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