The Rise of Humans: Great Scientific Debates

Illustrating scientific debates over the rise of humans; the ancestry casts Ramapithecus out; witnessing fossil evidence and molecular evidence, working both together and independently; explaining some of anthropology's most complex issues.

Discovering and debating over fossil remains of a possible Homo ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, in 1970; following the story from the perspective of the key personalities involved, scientists Don Johanson and Richard Leakey.

Discovering the 4.4-million-year-old remains of Ardipithecus ramidus; debating whether it is a true hominin or not; suggesting a mix between an effective climber and walking bipedally; examining the fossil and genetic evidence of this "ground ape."

A human's brain separates them more from apes than any other anatomical feature; investigating the gradual increase in hominid brain size; fossil skulls revealing facts about blood circulation; shedding light on brain size and skull structure.

Exploring the link between diet and morphology in Australopithecus robustus and Africanus; the teeth and jaws of these two species offer fierce debates about dietary hypotheses; adaptive differences between robust and gracile hominids.

Wondering whether Africa or Asia is closer to human origins; drawing on the ideas and theories of prominent scientists like Charles Darwin, Ernst Haeckel and Louis Leakey; learning how scientists trace the origin and evolution of the genus Homo.

Tools mark a major step in evolution, but even chimpanzees can make and use tools; Professor Martin offers a detailed picture of early stone toolmakers; illustrating some of the primitive tools found in parts of Africa.

Fossil records reveal that Homo habilis serves as a transitional marker between Australopithecines and the rest of the genus Homo; Homo habilis has the anatomy to be ancestors of the genus Homo yet not exist at the right time in evolutionary history.

Using the skeleton of a 1.5-million-year-old boy, the Nariokotome skeleton; delving into the issue of the importance of size when becoming human; Homo erectus fossil discovery leads to reevaluating the growth process of these hunters and gatherers.

Explaining the complexity of the Movius Line, a line that separates the Western distribution of hand axes from areas in the East; central to this constant puzzler in the story of evolution is the more than 500,000-year-old remains of the Peking Man.

Debating the Homo floresiensis in paleoanthropology, small-brained humans with a height of 3.5 feet; investigating the origins of these "hobbits", whether they represented a new species of humans or were abnormally developed modern humans.

Exploring the message of archeology; Professor Hawks reveals how archeological remains offer evidence about how ancient people cooperate to make tools, hunt animals, share meals and show compassion in taking care of the injured.

Working with the European fossil record; debating over whether Neandertals were modern humans' true ancestors, or simply a much less specialized population; combing through remains from Spanish caves in Atapuerca; encountering the Piltdown Man.

Francois Bordes interprets variations in stone tool remains as evidence of different groups of people who existed in the past; Lewis Binford believes these variations reflected different activities; scientists debate over the correctness of both.

Importance of language in human evolution; studying the skeletal remains of Neandertals found in the late 20th century; anthropologists use the help of a specific bone and a key language gene to determine that Neandertals can talk.

Scientists examine Neanderthal genes to determine how close sapiens DNA is to this primitive species; reconstructing the entire genome sequence of Neanderthals in 2010; shocking facts about the true fate of Neanderthals emerge.

Tracing behavioral patterns back to Neanderthal heritage by closely studying mitochondrial DNA; debating over its usefulness; Professor John Hawkes explains how it works along with the importance of Neanderthal heritage.

Wondering if modern humans emerged from Africa or evolved in other regions has become the most persistent debate in anthropology; considering the evidence for both scenarios; learning how scientists determine the dispersal of modern humans.

Investigating the role of climate change in events like the catastrophic eruption of Mount Toba eons ago; wondering if this event causes a population crash among prehistoric humans; ending some populations and paving the way for modern humanity.

Scientists debate whether language was a target of natural selection in evolution or a side effect; Professor Hawks makes sense of what Charles Darwin, Noam Chomsky and others had to say about evolution's role in the development of human language.

Wondering if prehistoric art is a side effect of intelligence or a fundamental cultural ability; examining beads, utility tools, decorative objects, rock art and other primitive art forms at archeological sites in Europe, Africa and Australia.

Discussing the debate over the arrival of humans in the New World; some anthropologists believe that the Clovis culture is the first to spread south across North America; others believe there may have been even earlier migrations to the Americas.

The link between agriculture and the spread of early human societies in Europe; studying if agriculture spread through population movements to widespread areas or close populations adopted farming practices and languages without mass migration.

Professor Hawks concludes anthropology's most itching questions; whether humanity is still evolving; imagining how modern humans might look like in the future; wondering if it is possible to bring evolution under human control.