The Human Spark, With Alan Alda: Becoming Us

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This episode centers on the caves and rock shelters of the Dordogne region of France, where Alan Alda witnesses the spectacular paintings and carvings that date back some 30,000 years. Archaeologists once thought this artwork to be the first record of people with minds like our own. When this art was created, Europe had already been peopled for hundreds of thousands of years by Neanderthals. The people who painted the caves, our ancestors, were strikingly different, possessed of the Human Spark. Where and when did the Human Spark ignite? In these caves, or at a much earlier time? This program is full of vigorously argued controversy, and of course the inimitable curiosity and humor of Alan Alda
Introduction: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (0:46)
Sponsors: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (0:44)
What is the Human Spark? (1:54)
Lascaux Caves, Dordogne France (2:24)
Skull of Early Man (1:35)
Bigger Brains - New Abilities (1:24)
Homo Heidelbergensis (1:29)
Neandertal Dwellings - Roc de Marsal France (2:28)
Neandertal Tool Kit (1:49)
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (3:05)
Neandertal Diet (1:36)
Neandertal Teeth (1:52)
Modern Childhood - A Long Process (2:05)
Anatomically Modern Human (2:02)
Abri Castanet Rock Shelter Excavation (2:53)
Jewelry - Evidence of the Spark? (1:46)
Symbolism & the Human Spark (2:38)
Neandertal - General Adaptive Approach (2:36)
Projectile Technology Advances Man (2:03)
Language and the Human Spark (2:32)
Bow and Arrow - Ancient African Technology (2:46)
Origins of Human Spark in Africa (2:53)
African Archaeological Sites (4:21)
The Final Transition (3:02)
Previews, Sponsors & Credits: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (2:16)
Introduction: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (0:46)
Sponsors: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (0:44)
What is the Human Spark? (1:54)
Lascaux Caves, Dordogne France (2:24)
Skull of Early Man (1:35)
Bigger Brains - New Abilities (1:24)
Homo Heidelbergensis (1:29)
Neandertal Dwellings - Roc de Marsal France (2:28)
Neandertal Tool Kit (1:49)
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (3:05)
Neandertal Diet (1:36)
Neandertal Teeth (1:52)
Modern Childhood - A Long Process (2:05)
Anatomically Modern Human (2:02)
Abri Castanet Rock Shelter Excavation (2:53)
Jewelry - Evidence of the Spark? (1:46)
Symbolism & the Human Spark (2:38)
Neandertal - General Adaptive Approach (2:36)
Projectile Technology Advances Man (2:03)
Language and the Human Spark (2:32)
Bow and Arrow - Ancient African Technology (2:46)
Origins of Human Spark in Africa (2:53)
African Archaeological Sites (4:21)
The Final Transition (3:02)
Previews, Sponsors & Credits: The Human Spark, with Alan Alda - Part 1, Becoming Us (2:16)

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