Transcript for:
Human Evolution and Society

Twenty-five million years ago, a new species appeared on Earth. The great apes. Among them was one family with extraordinary abilities. They were our distant ancestors. Through evolution, they gave rise to new, more advanced species. Then ventured far and wide and invented hunting, power, tools, love, and soon war. They competed with the great beasts, conquered the planet, adapted to every climate. They became us, homo sapiens, modern man. Where and when did our lineage begin? Who was the first of us? What is that quality that makes us human? The difference that sets us apart from other animals. Thanks to the latest scientific discoveries, we are about to take a journey into the depths of time to find out which of our ancestors took the decisive step and gave birth to the first man. Our family story begins 25 million years ago, at a time of intense global warming. With the vast Tethys Ocean fragmenting and closing off in the Near East, humid forests spread north from Africa. Our distant ancestors followed the forest and rapidly populated the ancient world. They ruled the canopy, a hundred different species. Gigantopithecus, Ramapithecus, and Sivapithecus stretched from Europe to modern-day China. This is the age of the Planet of the Apes. Which of these great primates is our common ancestor? The Mediterranean coast, 13 million years ago, in modern-day Spain. A humid tropical forest. Here lives a creature with exceptional abilities. This acrobat is Pierolapithecus. The animal kingdom has never seen such a marvel. This great ape is the origin of our family, but how? What makes him our great-grandfather? We are only beginning to understand. Pierola lives in the trees and mainly eats fruit. He is too heavy to walk on the branches, so he hangs, though he does sometimes end up on two feet. He can walk. Contrary to common belief, the ability to walk upright wasn't developed on the ground but up in the branches. Bipedalism was not man's invention but the apes'. This Pierola is a young male. He left his family several days ago. He now faces a difficult task, being adopted by a new group, and he's just discovered one. His fate will be decided here. However, each group has its own territory and intruders are rarely welcome. A young female and her infant. Mothers are especially wary. Not easy to approach. Up there, there is an older female much easier to make contact with. A large male, clearly a dominant alpha male. He seems calm, but it is far too dangerous to approach. To be accepted, he must first be noticed, a tense moment. Has the young female picked up his scent? She's the most beautiful Pierola he's ever seen. It seems to be going all right. It's another story with the alpha male. He could kill him, but for now, it's just physical intimidation. The young male's first attempt ends in failure, but his mood provokes an unexpected reaction. Our ancestors possessed a new quality, previously unknown in the animal kingdom, something shared by very few species, empathy. Understanding the emotions of others. Even more extraordinarily, they are affected by the feelings of others, sympathy. It's happening to the older female. She feels the distress of the young male and it makes her anxious. She must act. She wants to find out more about him. Empathy is a powerful force. It is the thing that allows us to live in a society today. Why does he need to be adopted by strangers? It relates to the social structure of Pierolas. The females never leave the group, while the males are forced to leave at adolescence. What do the old female's gestures mean? Will he be able to stay? Not yet. The young male keeps his distance. He needs to sleep. Most mammals only sleep for a few minutes at a time, not Pierolas. In terms of sleeping, they are revolutionaries. The Pierolas have come up with an extraordinary invention. They build nests in the treetops. However, it takes a long time to learn how to build a nest, and the only way to learn is from the mother. The young male always slept in his mother's nest. He still doesn't know how to make his own. Up here, Pierolas are protected from predators, and their leaf mats stop them from falling. They can sleep all night without fear. Long restorative nights. Thanks to the miracle of sleep, Pierolas improve their mental faculties. Sleep allows our brains to sort information. Not all of it received during the day is useful. Our brain puts some in the trash and stores the essential parts in our memory. All that while we sleep, remarkable. Pierolas have passed this down to us. Without this invention, we could never have become humans. This morning, the group has come down to the forest floor. The young male followed them. He wants to make contact with the group again. Pierolas love the sweet taste of fruit, but they have an advantage over other species. Their stomachs can digest all sorts of food. Well, they still have their favorites. There they are. The young male has made his choice and will approach the older female. Out of all the different foods in the forest, some are highly poisonous. How do they know what is edible and what is poisonous? For Pierolas, the answer is sharing experiences. The mother teaches her young how to choose and pick. This knowledge is passed from generation to generation. The beginning of a culture. The elder female can't leave her new contact. Like all Pierolas, the young male knows how to give gifts. Figs. Will she accept them? It's a good sign. Now he can begin the conversation. The language of the Pierolas mainly consists of grooming. Grooming and caresses say far more than words. However, touching females in the group risks angering the alpha male. The females defend the young male against the alpha. Their numbers make them stronger. The alpha must back down. Among Pierolas, the females have the power. The young male has taken an important step. He has become the old female's favorite. Now it's the female's turn to caress. Part of this seems like more than caressing. What exactly does she want? The young male has no experience of pleasure. To relax the atmosphere, Pierolas have invented a totally new behavior, laughing. This development, which resolves conflicts, is not a human invention, but an inheritance. Our ancestors lived in an earthly paradise. Fruit in abundance, freshwater available everywhere, and in all seasons. The only real dangers are the predators that roam the floor of the great forest. To detect them, Pierolas read the signs of the forest. They have a deep understanding of their environment. The cry of a bird alerts them. The alarm sounds. A tiger. They have a different call for each threat. That means the alert is lifted. They can go back down. Pierolas live in a golden age for the great apes, but this period of prosperity cannot last. Great upheaval is on the horizon. Africa is on a collision course with Europe. Tectonic activity that will soon destroy the environment. The young male remains outside the group. He is cautious. The alpha is still dangerous. To be completely adopted, he needs the alpha's consent. He's perhaps not the best nest builder, but he comes from a group that knows how to catch tasty little insects. An amazing technique the golden-eyed female has never seen before. He uses the stick to catch termites. There is nothing tastier than termites. This invention is crucial. The stick is the first tool. An extension of the hand which allows us to perform new tasks. An idea that will be invaluable to us. They have understood. The young male is now the main attraction of the group. The infant is a victim of his greed. He forgot his mother's teaching and has been poisoned. A fate suffered so often by the young. The young male recognizes this poison. The Pierolas already have some knowledge of the curative powers of plants. This knowledge varies between groups and allows them to cure some ailments. The young male seems to have some knowledge on this matter that the group does not. There are many different types. Plants that put tapeworms to sleep, plants covered in tiny spines that trap the sleeping worms. Pierolas were herbalists. The tale of this young hero may seem secondary, but it tells another, more powerful story, the spread of knowledge. Societies that forced their young adults to leave possess this quality. The young depart with the knowledge of their group and transmit it to other groups. The infant is saved, thanks to the young male. The young female has made her choice. He must become part of the group. It's her will against the alpha. Pierola alpha males resist the pressure of the females as long as possible, but the females always win. The alpha can sense. From now on, the young male is part of the group. It's a sign. The earth is moving and the great period of climatic cooling is approaching. Our ancestors had to leave, to escape this place, and so the great exodus begins. Africa is on a collision course with Europe. The climate of the planet is changing dramatically. The humid forests of Europe are disappearing. The same is happening in large parts of Asia, where the forests of China and Japan are fragmenting. The Asiatic great apes migrate towards South Asia. They give rise to the ancestors of the gibbons and the orangutans. The African continent has just closed the Strait of Gibraltar. Cut off from the water of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean dries out and becomes a dead sea. Pierolas and their relatives cross the dried Mediterranean. They migrate towards Africa, where the forest is spreading, notably on the vast green plains of the Sahara. Pierolas evolved and became a new species with new, more astonishing abilities. This new ancestor was called Sahelanthropus or Toumai. Further south, we rejoin the path of our lineage, 7 million years later. Toumai lived on the shores of Lake Chad. They were probably our common ancestor with modern chimpanzees. Their inventions will make them amongst the most dangerous and intelligent species on the planet. With them, the march towards humanity gathers pace. Toumai still sleep in the trees, but have found plenty to do on the ground. A much more varied food supply, even if it's a little trickier to get to. The descendant of the young female is now a Toumai. Her appearance has changed, but she has kept her golden eyes passed down through her DNA. Her son still has much to learn. An infant's education now takes much longer. As well as knowing what to eat, he must learn how to eat it. Toumai use different tools for different foods, but mastering each tool takes hours of practice. Toumai try to benefit from all nature's gifts. The females have a greater practical instinct than the males. They imagine and invent new techniques. Toumai have also improved this strange way of getting around, walking on two feet. It has many advantages, such as being able to carry objects long distances. The descendant of the alpha still dominates the group. There have been considerable changes in our ancestors' social structure. Now the males have the power. There is a hierarchy and the alpha knows it must be respected. He often feels the need to remind everyone. It's usually the weakest that feel his force. A society dominated by males is a never-ending series of rivalries. The alpha is a type of ultra-dominant male who always feels the need to show his force. Is this young one still alive? He's okay, just a bit shaken up. The Alpha doesn't just rely on strength to stay on top. He builds friendships with several allies. He praises a male knowing he could be a threat one day. He sweet-talks the elder female. Her goodwill could come in useful. Alliances, strategies, betrayal, conquest, and power. This type of society has given rise to a new activity, politics. The males spend most of their day plotting. It is left to the females to find ways to feed and educate their young. It's no wonder that females have become more resourceful than the males. To the alpha, ruling the group also means having access to the female. The problem with bipedalism is the male can't see the female's genitals as clearly. How does he know if she's interested? Before being able to mate, he now has to check the willingness of the female. She's not interested. The new territory of the Toumai includes water and all the food it contains. Our ancestors are just getting used to this new element and will encounter an abundance of riches. The Toumai's greatest invention, however, is preference. A male and a female can decide to get away from the group just to spend some time together. For these two juveniles, it's the first time. A big step in relationships between males and females. Before there was only sniffing, then mating. It only lasted a minute. Now they can spend time together and exchange gestures of affection. The great apes begin to feel their hearts beating, their hair standing on end. The great game of seduction. She seeks his gaze. He is transfixed. She smells him. They feel desire. They give kisses and invent a new way of mating, face to face. No one has noticed that the infant has strayed from the bank. Too late. The little one's frail body is limp and lifeless. Toumai are well aware of the importance of the group. The loss of a member is heartbreaking. Life on the ground does have its advantages, but there are far more predators than in the canopy. That's why Toumai still depend on the trees. Something strange is happening in our ancestors' minds. The young female should have left the lifeless body behind, but she refused. Why? What does she feel? Something happened this morning. Several unknown individuals were spotted on the other side of the hill. The three males of the group are very excited. There under the large fig tree, another group of Toumai. The first time they've seen them. Two very enticing females. They have been eating overripe figs and are now drunk. This group has come here for the fermented fruits that rot on the ground. The Alpha wants the females. He wants what he sees, but they belong to other males, and he is an absolute giant. What can he do? A cunning plan is formulating inside the alpha's head. A previously unimagined idea. An idea that will make us the most dangerous predator on the planet. The idea is to kill. Killing one's own species. Killing with premeditation and in an organized way. Killing to take the goods of others. The Toumai have just invented war. They have conquered a new territory, and with it a tree full of fruit and a few females. War has its advantages. From now on, the alpha group will occupy this land. The young female still has a worrying connection to her infant. She is refusing to accept reality because reality has become unbearable. The infant is motionless, but his body is still there. What is it that lives in us and vanishes so suddenly? Toumai are starting to understand the concept of death. The loss of life, the loss of a being. They know that their own lives will end. Faced with suffering and confusion, they gather around the body of their departed friend. Gathering, the feeling of being in a group, united in space and time. The beginning of a ritual, a first funeral ceremony. For many years we believed that awareness of death made us human. Not anymore. Today, we know that we share this knowledge with many other species, including chimpanzees. Awareness of the passage of time is a huge leap forward in our family history. Five million years ago, Africa began to dry out. The great forests of the Sahara receded and placed pressure on the descendants of the Toumai. They separate into several families. Some evolve along the line of the chimpanzees and gorillas. They abandon bipedalism and invent a new way of getting around on four feet. Others evolve along the line of humans. They are spread throughout Africa, especially in the East. Here we find the great family of Australopithecus. Between four and two million years ago, there is a great diaspora, afarensis, Abel, Africanus, Kenyanthropus, Anamensis, Gary. Around 2 million years ago, a new character appeared in South Africa. He would go on to radically alter our history. We named him Sediba. Is he an Australopithecus or the first man? That question hasn't yet been solved. Sediba lived in the south of the African continent. Drought increasingly affects this part of Africa and will play a considerable role in the development of our ancestors. Despite spending the majority of their time on the ground, sediba are still dependent on the trees. The only protection from the man-eating beast that roam the land at that time. They never stray too far. The dry season is at its peak. There's no more fruit on the trees. The only food is underground. Roots and bulbs are difficult to find and dig out of the ground, and they need a lot of chewing before they can be swallowed. However, that's all there is. Hours are spent chewing this tough food. This young male is still part of the group, though he has no female. The females now live in a harem with the strongest males. These two females are part of the alpha's harem. When a carcass is left by the larger predators, there's only enough for the Alpha and his females. A few bones to suck, but only the strongest have access. That's why the females have accepted this new arrangement. Less power for more protection. Sediba don't live very long. This old female can no longer chew. The marrow is all she can swallow. The alpha doesn't share with the elders. The old female would already be dead without the young male. By chewing her food, he keeps her alive. Empathy at work again. This extreme scarcity of food is driving our species to extinction. If they don't find an alternative, they will all die. They must adapt. Fortunately, sediba possesses a highly developed brain and an array of tools and techniques. Inside the brain of one of them, a revolutionary idea is taking shape. If the meat won't come to them, they will have to go to it. Over there. The alpha's female wants to take the risk. The young male is ready too. None before them have tried this. Against the wishes of the alpha, they will attempt the impossible. How can they be so foolish? Neither of them has ever been so far from the trees. The desire to eat meat outweighs the dangers of the savannah. The brave ones who took this reckless decision could not have known the profound effect it would have on the history of our species. A fresh carcass, an abundance of meat. They've never seen so much. The first pieces they choose are those that contain fat. The tastiest. Fat is so rare in nature and yet so rich in energy and important for the digestion of animal proteins. The sediba pick out the parts that contain the most, the marrow, the entrails, the brain, the tongue, and the eyes. The two explorers are back, their arms laden with the most wonderful food. Food for everyone. What a success! A solution for the future of the species? However, the alpha is not ready to digest this humiliation. The female is part of his harem. She has betrayed him. Sometimes the females do swap males. However, a possessive alpha like him can't lose one of his females. It's a threat to his power. The young male can do nothing. Here, might is right. He humiliates her in front of everyone, punishes her, and isolates her from the others. The old female has nothing to lose. She's the only one that can come to her help. The harshness of this life has not favored the females. They have lost a lot of their power to the benefit of the large males. The first effects of the meat are immediate. It's easier to digest than roots, and the body feels lighter. Meat gives the sensation of well-being and the sound of sleep. The second effect will take hundreds of thousands of years. Less energy consumed by the stomach means more energy for the brain. Thanks to that, our mental capacity will improve and our bodies become taller and slimmer. Although physical force still dominates, it won't be enough to adapt. A new generation is coming whose ingenuity will prove the decisive advantage. Sediba already used rocks to break and crush roots, but he has a new thought. The young male has an idea that could change their lives, maybe even the future of his species. If he can cut the carcasses of animals killed by big predators into smaller pieces, they can carry them to a safe place. If it works, they will have provisions for several days. For this, they will need a range of new tools to cut and slice the flesh and break the bones. He shapes them out of a rock. These shards are as sharp as razors. It will take thousands of years to master the technique. One of the great advantages of our ancestors is that, they relied on their capacity for imagination and on the language they were beginning to articulate. They were capable of conceiving a project, weighing up different aspects, and anticipating future needs. The young male has decided to train the group to find carcasses and bring them back. He lays out his vision. His words evoke images of abandoned feasts. He captures their attention. He wins them over with his words. The alpha understands that his dominance is under threat. His physical force is no longer sufficient, so he takes the young male's idea. A dream of plentiful food is leading them into dangerous territory. Sediba are prey. Without their trees, they are vulnerable, and yet they march into the unknown. Driven by an urge greater than any other, to eat. They explore a continent inhabited by great carnivores. On the hunt for carcasses left by the kings of the savannah. Who would think that this band of scavengers would soon dominate the planet? When a carcass is found, everyone should take their turn. First the top predators, then the hyenas, the vultures, and the rest. It's crucial to get there at the right time. The alpha doesn't know that yet. Their tree. They should never have left their tree. It is perhaps this moment that the fate of the entire human race hangs in the balance. They could retreat to the safety of the tree and risk dying of starvation, or they could head into the unknown, risking being attacked but having the chance to eat. What should they do? The young female doesn't know what to choose. Everything is telling them to seek shelter. Is there another life beyond the tree? The group splits into two factions. Some follow the young female, while the others head back to the tree. In fact, it is the weaker ones that will make the right choice. They will risk everything for a better life. The strong never want to give up their privileges. Those who leave are guided by their imagination. Open spaces, prey in abundance, and food for everyone. They dream of another world, a better world. Up there, over the mountains. Even the old female. Her energy, nearly spent, is galvanized by hope. This world does exist. A vast land of riches. If some of us hadn't had this astonishing courage, you wouldn't be here today. Those who have chosen to stay near the trees will survive for a time. They will be known as Paranthropus or almost humans, but they will not be able to adapt to the next climatic changes. We thought that Lucy, the most famous Australopithecus, was the grandmother of humanity. We were wrong. Lucy was, in fact, one of these almost humans, and her descendants died out a million years later. Those who left the Savannah freed themselves from a life of the trees and had to invent a new way of living. The world isn't exactly as they imagined. There are riches all around, but there are just as many traps. Limitless space lies ahead of us and nothing will stop our advance. Is this how man became free? Is this how we became truly human? Some believe so, but is there still something missing? After the sediba, a new species emerges, a very mobile man. The next character in our story is an unparalleled explorer, Homo erectus. Five million years ago, the two Americas collided. This led to the creation of the Gulf Stream. This warm current travels from the Gulf of Mexico up toward the Arctic and plunges into the ocean, taking the heat with it. The polar ice cap formed, the earth cooled and entered the Ice Age. The green plains of the Sahara dried out. Two million years ago, populations of herbivores left Africa in search of new pastures. Homo erectus followed. Some of our ancestors migrated to Europe, others to Asia. They crossed mountains and deserts, forests and swamps. They traveled unthinkable distances into the unknown. Driven by the spirit of conquest passed down to them from their ancestors. They migrate to the Far East. The north of China, home of the Chinese Homo erectus. Homo erectus possesses the anatomy of a champion. This man of the plains is born to run. A vertical body propelled by his long legs and balanced by his arms. He is equipped with an extraordinary internal cooling system, a body covered in short hairs, sweat glands that allow perspiration, and in his brain, a blood-purifying system that regulates body temperature. This gives him the most stamina of any living creature. Homo erectus has now become a big game hunter. Like wolves, they track their prey across great distances. They are slower but can run a lot longer than their prey. When the prey is exhausted, they set the trap. For Homo erectus power is not reserved for the males. The difference in size between males and females has reduced. The rule of the strongest is now replaced by the leadership of the cleverest. In this group, a female is in charge. Her ability to anticipate, her intelligence and political skill have made her their chief. No longer scavengers competing with vultures, thanks to their weapons and collective organization, Homo erectus now compete with the top predators, but they have become dependent on their prey. They must follow them wherever they go. They have become nomads, and so they build shelters on their travels. Their ancestors adapted to the environment. They are transforming it. Finding a site to set up camp. They are building their first shelters, sometimes enclosed by fences, camps that allow them to protect themselves. Homo erectus has created a more complex society. Each member of the group now has a role, often according to their particular skills. Some are skilled at shaping rocks. Others for cutting meat. Social functions appear for tanning hides or building shelters. Work, and the distribution of tasks are now part of human life, with all the pressures and conflicts that come with them. Clearly, some do more than others. The leader of the group must maintain justice. The most important moment of the day is when the food is shared out. Serving some first with the best cuts. Giving a little extra to someone she may need soon. Establishing a hierarchy and nurturing alliances. The fine details of her social life require political skill. To protect their bodies, Homo erectus have clothes made from plants, hides, and bark. However, this brings its own problems. Parasites have found a new home. A body covered in thin, visible skin, is easy and enticing prey for bloodsuckers. They no longer fear predators, but another enemy now stalks them, more dangerous, more ruthless. The world is still full of unexplained phenomena. Homo erectus has an inquiring mind trying to make sense of the mysteries that surround it. One of the greatest is about to be revealed. It's here. This savage beast appears in some dry seasons to take lives. It is a huge creature. They must prepare to fight. They are defeated. They save whatever they can. In a few hours, the fire has destroyed their world. Their camp has gone up in smoke, and the herds deserted the landscape. However, Homo erectus is about to make a discovery. What is that powerful odor? What are these mouth-watering smells? An animal has been trapped in the fire. Its flesh is still good and has a delicious taste. This is perhaps how Homo erectus discovered this remarkable property of fire, to cook food. As well as the taste, they will soon notice that the meat is easy to chew and digest. What about those awful roots? Cooked, they are delicious. They require 16 times less energy to digest. An amazing discovery. Cooked food will allow us to reduce the size of our jaw muscles and develop our brains. We will walk with a lighter step and think clearer. Our brains will become high-powered machines capable of associations, constructed thoughts, and new emotions. It is likely that the aesthetic sense developed at this time. Shapes and lights elicited new sensations. We were affected by the beauty of the world. They are all dreaming about that delicious food but lack the key ingredient, fire. If only they knew how to obtain it. That one looks small and seems alone. Maybe they can capture it. Another group. They have captured the beast. Technology. In this new world, nothing is more important. They are ready to fight to obtain it. They could fight, but the young chief has a different idea. His clan knows how to control fire. The other has a greater skill in working hides and accessories. This period saw the first instances of trade. Through objects, the techniques that go with them travel between clans. A new era for humanity, the exchange of knowledge. Thanks to traditions and language, knowledge accumulates and the spread of skills accelerates over vast distances. From now on, everything will move a lot faster. No wonder the use of fire appeared so suddenly and across the entire world. The young chief is attracted to this woman. Her face stirs something in him. At this point in our history, the first real couples begin to appear. Selecting, desiring, and seeking intimate moments alone. Aesthetics now play a role in sexual relationships. Bodies are covered in colors, styles, decorations to arouse. Sexuality brings people together, but something else is happening. A story of bonds that build and grow and last. The story of love is still being told. The domestication of fire changed the lives of the first humans and gave them warmth, and protection from insects and predators. It cured their ailments, eliminated the dark, sharpened the points of their spears, and made them stronger. However, the greatest advance was in the domain of speech. Thanks to the development of our left brain and a small evolution in the throat, the larynx, our speech became so articulate that we could evoke the past, speak of the future, and recount stories. Imagine, the old woman is a storyteller. Who are we? Where are we from? She tells the story of these people and their exploits. These tales give meaning to their lives. Perhaps it is this that makes us human. The first man is the one who can tell his story. Homo erectus will continue to populate the earth. With their skills, they will adapt to every climate. Different populations begin to diverge genetically and give rise to new types of man. In furthest China, Homo erectus will become Beijing man, a giant. In Indonesia, Solo man. At its edges on Flores Island, a tiny man of no more than a meter. In Central Asia, he is Denisova man. In the cold of Europe, Homo erectus has become a Neanderthal. A massive, heavy man of incredible strength. He can withstand extreme cold. His skin whitens to better absorb the weak sunlight. His eyes and hair grow lighter. In Africa, he becomes Homo sapiens, and it is through him that the greatest changes will occur. At least six species of humans populate the ancient world. Each develops according to the environment and creates its own culture. However, this multi-faceted humanity won't last long. Homo sapiens will soon replace them all. Around 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens turned the world of man upside down. Invented more complex societies and proved more inventive in every area. How will he go on to invent art, skills, beliefs, magic, writing, medicine, and science? His extraordinary imagination certainly helps, but so does the knowledge accumulated by his forefathers. The Pierola, Toumai, sediba, and Homo erectus. They have left us a heritage of millions of years of evolution, one through the impulse to live and a fierce desire to learn. With this knowledge passed down through the ages, this great dreamer gave rise to the diversity of peoples today. A hundred thousand years ago, Homo sapiens left just like his ancestors, to conquer the world. He left Africa and spread out across the globe. He mastered navigation, across the seas and vast glacial expanses. He traveled to Australia, to America over the Bering Strait and soon inhabited the entire planet. He occasionally intermingled with those who went before, but everywhere he went the other species of man disappeared. His appearance changed according to climate and place. His skin, his hair, the shape of his eyes. From him arose a multitude of peoples, all looking different, but deep down the genes are the same. Genes developed through millions of years of evolution. He is the father of the entire human race on earth today. He is the only human on earth, but his presence shines with a million fires. Four hundred thousand years ago, a new man enters the world. He's the first representative of an extraordinary species, the Homo sapiens, our family. His children cross the seas and the mountains. They adapt to every climate. Time and again, they lose everything, but they reach beyond their limits and always managed to survive. They discover agriculture and they tame animals. They build villages and change the landscape. Man becomes the most powerful creature in the animal kingdom. They explore their imaginary world and in the process discover art and the magic of dreams. Over the last 50,000 generations, their knowledge has been passed down to us. We are their children. What's their real story? How do they populate the earth? How did they make our lives what they are today? Here is the story of the dazzling rise of our great family, the Homo sapiens. How does this story begin? How did our species appear? Where did it come from? Remember, 8 million years ago, the planet suddenly cools. Water is locked into the poles and an enormous ice cap forms over Europe and Asia In the North, life has to acclimatize to the cold. In the tropics, life desperately struggles to survive the drought. In Africa, the great apes see their forests disappear. Two of them, Orrorin and Toumai adapt to the savanna and invent a new way to get around. They stand up. Four million years ago, they disappear, giving birth to a new, better-adapted species, the Australopithecus. Lucy and her fellow creatures continue to walk upright. They survive by eating hardy plants, but eventually, they die out too. They are no match for their predators. Next, Homo habilis arrives on the scene. This skillful man is the first true representative of the human species. He invents tools and starts to explore and travel the world. His evolution changes him into Homo erectus, the standing man, discoverer of fire. He's not yet king of the animal world, but he's just made a giant leap. Erectus sets out to conquer the world. He leaves Africa and enters Asia and Europe. Unknowingly, a few thousand little groups of men and women prepare for the arrival of our species. Imagine 400,000 years ago. We are in the heart of the African continent. Homo erectus sometimes walks up to 50 kilometers a day to survive. He chases small animals and picks berries and roots for himself and his people. Sometimes, he dies along the way. At best, he lives to about 25 or 30. They feel the loss deeply, but it confuses them. Erectus doesn't know anything about the mystery of death. Where has the breath gone? Why doesn't he move? Meanwhile, the threat of danger lurks behind them. Walk or die, it's the law. The body is left to the animals. They'll remember the person for a while and then the memory will fade. When erectus settles down for the night, first, he makes a shelter to protect himself. Then he builds a fire to keep predators away. He's able to make all sorts of tools, but this is of little use to the woman carrying a child. She's been eating nothing but roots for days now. She needs protein. She doesn't want any more roots. The erectus Chief is well aware that he hasn't succeeded in finding game. He knows that roots are bitter and don't satisfy hunger. He doesn't need to be reminded. Erectus is curious and always eager to discover new things. Although the Chief has heard this noise before, today, he takes pleasure in the resonant sound. Suddenly, it doesn't resonate. Nothing. There. It's much better with his ear pressed to it. Homo erectus is a hunter. At dawn, the Chief and his brother follow fresh tracks from She who walks on two legs. They know she's a fast runner, so they hatch a plan. One attracts her attention while the other lays in wait. Ready to attack. Termites, the irresistible yellow ones. The Chief knows all about She who walks on two legs. She's obsessive about her eggs, and knows them all individually. If one were to go missing, she would throw a fit. The chase is on, everything's going according to plan. What's his brother doing? If she catches him, she'll kill him. Her legs cut like flint. Her beak is like a spear tip. The brother always manages to mess everything up. He can't be trusted. The animal can't escape. All is well. It's a good day for erectus. Erectus starts by eating the stomach, full of freshly eaten plants. Then he cuts up the animal to transport it back to camp. Images of the capture fill the Chief's head. It was easy after the beast fell into the hole. There's an idea there, but the flies distract him and keep him from thinking about it any longer. Erectus's body is less and less hairy. Insects constantly attack his naked skin, especially the sensitive parts, but the brother's privates are protected. It's the animal skin. With the protective skin, the flies don't bite. Perhaps this is how Erectus invented clothing. Hierarchy determines the sharing of meat. The hunters are served first. Then, the preferred females, for whom choice pieces are reserved. The woman carrying the child now has meat. Erectus is flushed with pride at having done his duty as Chief and protector. When in power, you learn to watch your back because there's always someone ready to take your place. The skin. He forgot his skin. It's his skin. It's his place, and he's the Chief. Some things aren't shared. Like the woman carrying the child. Like suffering or hope. The Chief's head is brimming with images. He can't stop thinking of a hole, so he decides to dig one where the animals drink in the hopes that they fall in like the creature on two legs. Digging in the mud changes their appearance. Surprised, the Chief doesn't recognize his brother. They may well have just invented laughter. Perhaps the first laughs of humanity, but also the discovery of beauty, thanks to an important find, a stone different from the others. He finds it pretty, so the stone becomes something else. A treasure that's a joy to behold. What's it like on him? Isn't he handsome? Handsome and different, it's his stone now. It's his sign, the sign of the Chief. The Chief wants the one carrying the child to look at the stone, but now's not the time. She's got searing pains in her stomach. The woman wants to be alone when the child comes from her. She knows instinctively what she has to do. The Chief is full of hope. The trap, the skin that protects, and the stone. The child. Will it come? One time out of two, it's born without breath, like those who fall on the trail. Sometimes the pain kills the woman as well. Will a new life begin? It's alive. It's a little girl. She has a funny head with a straight forehead and no hair on her skin. She looks so fragile and vulnerable. The Chief doesn't want the cold to take her breath away. He knows now that his skin is no longer for him. His skin is for the child. Without knowing it, they've just given birth to a new species of man, a species that will soon replace them. Homo erectus senses he's done his time and he's holding the future in his arms. Homo erectus will disappear. He'll have lived more than a million years. Homo sapiens arrives. He will change the life of man and conquer the world. The evolution of erectus into sapiens happened over hundreds of generations. Little by little, his body became more slender, his forehead smooth, and his brain became bigger and more complex. Sapiens leaves Africa and explores the Middle East. He starts to wear clothing, develops a sense of aesthetics, and makes tools. His thoughts and imagination will turn him into a new man. We are at minus 100,000 years. Electrical storms are the worst. They kill every time. Where does this blinding light come from? Who spits this anger that rattles our skulls? One of us will find an answer to the great mystery of death. He's called Neka, the youth. Ever since he's known how to hunt, Neka protects his mother and little sister. The Clan had walked since daybreak. The wind came up suddenly and the sky began to spit fire. The Chief looked for refuge but found nothing. We huddled together waiting for nature's fury to pass. Naoki, Neka's sister, got scared and took off. Her mother followed to protect her. That's when tragedy struck Neka's life. A horned beast appeared from the lightning strike. Neka sighed, the animal left, leaving the bodies of his sister and mother on the ground. They were motionless. Neka had been unable to protect them. He felt responsible, they had to move and get up. The Chief quickly understood that the breath had left them, but Neka didn't want to believe it. He refused to listen or to see what everyone else did. They were dead, and nothing could be done. The Chief wanted to leave as soon as possible, but Neka wanted to stay. He wanted to wait until they woke up. The Chief didn't understand, but he couldn't abandon Neka, so we stopped there. At the beginning, it was just for one night. Sapiens is nomadic. Now, he makes shelters with skins. His language is more sophisticated. He's got words to talk about abstract concepts like time behind and time ahead. His brain has more memory and is capable of more associations. His imagination is more active and likely his dreams are more impressive. In his sleep, sapiens believes he travels into another world, a parallel world situated just behind his eyes. The Clan was still sleeping when a horned beast came to drink at the river. The body of an animal this size meant meat for everyone in the Clan. Without a doubt, for Neka, this was the same horned beast, the one who came the day before with the great light. That time, the Chief wasn't clumsy. The wound would kill her. The Chief was proud. Thanks to him, the Clan would have food for weeks, but Neka had other things on his mind. In the dying breath of the animal, he heard his sister groan. At the same moment the beast died, the inexplicable happened. As the breath of the animal disappeared, his sister's breath returned. How was it possible? Naoki, breathe. She was coming back to life. That's how Naoki came back to us. We were joyful, but Neka was preoccupied. He wanted to understand what had happened. Did the animal give its breath to his sister? Did the death of the animal allow Naoki to live? It was a big mystery. The Chief expected thanks for his catch, but instead, the Clan was taken up with Neka and the miracle. Neka found new hope. Maybe the animal's skin held a bit of breath to revive his mother. At the beginning, everyone said Neka had lost his mind. He was obsessed with the idea that the horned beast could give life back to his mother. We hoped that Neka's mother would come back too. However, we didn't understand his behavior. He didn't eat. He stayed by the body, waiting for a sign. The sign came from above. It was the vultures, who came to take the body. Neka refused. If the vultures took his mother's flesh, no breath could ever return. It's perhaps on that day that Homo sapiens invented the first burial place. It protected it, but more importantly, it kept a decomposing body out of sight. Even without vultures, the body disappeared little by little. The Chief wanted Neka to eat, and he offered him a choice piece, which he never does. What he wanted was for Neka to give him the secret of his magic. He wanted to understand how Neka brought Naoki back to life, but he was in for another surprise. Neka told him that his mother lived in another world and that she needed to eat. He was delirious, but the youth gave his meat to his mother. That was too much, she didn't need food anymore. She was dead. A few of us began to believe in this world. The world we went to when we slept. Where we could meet the dead. It was the land of dreams. A few days later, three Clan members decided to leave. There were a lot of us, and fights broke out all the time. They wanted to find another Clan and another Chief. They couldn't put up with him anymore. Before leaving, they wanted to hear about the images Neka saw behind his eyes one more time. They wanted to hear the extraordinary account of Neka's mother to remember it. To take it with them. Neka could see the other world. The one where the dead went when their breath left them. He saw his mother with the horned beast. His mother looked at him as if to say, all is well. She was no longer hungry or cold. There was a glow behind his eyes that said life continued elsewhere, a life after death, and that changes everything. These beliefs are probably the beginnings of religious thought. An extraordinary flight of imagination that will endow sapiens with a phenomenal power, faith. The idea of eternity was spread to all people and appeased the anguish of death. Now man can imagine a life beyond the limits of his own existence. The time of shamanistic beliefs has arrived. The spirit world as a place alongside the world of the living. We are between minus 100,000 and minus 50,000 years. Sapiens explores almost all the territories on the planet. Some head towards Asia, others towards Europe. Why do they risk their lives in an unknown world? Do they follow the game migrations, signs from nature? Many believe in the power of the sun and the moon. Fifty thousand years ago, the first group of Homo sapiens arrives in southern Europe. This Clan worships the sun. Understandably, its disappearance in the middle of the day terrifies them. A woman enters a trance to fight against the devourers of light. It's coming back. The sun is back. The woman who guides them is a shaman. Her name is Nata, she's the eldest of three sisters. For Nata, the darkened sun is a bad sign. The suns must be strong for the Clan to survive. They will follow them behind the mountains to the land where all the suns travel. They should have given up when faced with the immensity of the Alps. Nevertheless, their faith carries them. They don't hesitate to undertake the most perilous trip of their lives. Sapiens encounters white Earth for the first time. Their feet burn. It acts like a skin and takes on the shape of whatever touches it. To protect themselves from the cold, sapiens invent the shoe. Nothing stops the shaman's determination, they have to continue their ascent. Their skin starts to tingle, and their extremities begin to freeze. They'd like to go back down, but no one dares defy Nata. The shaman decides for the Clan. Matriarchy is widespread among sapiens. Women have the authority. They're responsible for the future of the Clan. The men follow. The mute has just lost his ear. There's no blood or pain. What's to be done with his frozen ear? How will they reattach it? The mute awaits the shaman's advice. Nothing can be done except maybe eat it. No, the mute prefers to eat it himself. After all, it's his ear. A new sun rose this morning, but its first rays bring neither warmth nor nourishment. Over thousands of years in heading towards the cold lands, sapiens skin lightened to better absorb the sun's ultraviolet rays and to promote the synthesis of essential vitamins. They have adapted to a weaker exposure to the sun, but not to higher altitudes. While she slept, Nata's elder sister left for the other world. Her cold body became hard like wood. Sapiens' beliefs are as numerous as nature's mysteries. For this Clan, there is no burial site. They offer dead bodies to the light. She in turn eats them and brings them to the land of the other life. Nata accompanies the dead to help them find their way. One day she'll find her sister in the world of suns. They continue to plod forward. They've eaten nothing but snow for the last three days. Nata promised them that at the end of the trail, night didn't exist. This gives them courage, but courage doesn't nourish the weakest ones. Not every sapiens is entitled to a ceremony. Some are abandoned without funeral rites. Nata knows the pain her sister is feeling. She feels the suffering of her Clan, but they can't stop. How did they survive? Was it their animal skin clothes or the animal fat they rubbed into their skin? The conquest of virgin lands commands a high price. Sapiens leaves many of its own along the way, but every territory they explore will benefit future generations. Now, they number fewer than the fingers of one hand. As their last bit of strength drains from them, hope is rekindled. Three shapes covered in snow. They are animals surely. Food to sustain them so they can complete their voyage. They're saved. Rocks. Many rocks. What are these rocks doing on these animals? A bird wing, but it doesn't have any flesh. Other men have been here, but who are they, and where do they come from? Why are these bodies imprisoned beneath rocks? Their skulls don't look like ours. Nata is lost, the land of suns is not here. There's nothing to eat, they're condemned. In this hell, no one can survive. No one except maybe an exceptional being. In this cold and hostile Europe, another species of human is perfectly adapted to the environment, the Neanderthal. Nata and her companions opened the tombs of their ancestors. Neanderthal is also a descendant of Homo erectus. His ancestor arrived in Europe 2 million years ago. Of all the human species, Neanderthal is the most robust, the hardiest. The Neanderthal Chief decided to bring the strangers to camp. When Nata opens her eyes, she doesn't know if she's still in the world of the living. What are those beings who aren't exactly men? Neanderthal made numerous discoveries without ever having made contact with sapiens. The invisible world, beliefs, music, and fire. He lives in caves and buries his dead. The Moon Clan rescued Nata and her companions. Their Chief wants to know who dared dig up his ancestors. Nata's face intrigues the Chief. Who are these beings with flat foreheads? They must be revived. The Moon Clan Chief wants to know everything about them. The shaman regains consciousness a few times. Everything is strange and different from what she knows. What are they doing with her man? They can't do that. He must stay with her, she needs him. Differences in culture, language, and way of life. For these sapiens, the Neanderthal practices are sacrilegious. Nevertheless, its culture is no less rich or interesting. The next day, the smell of cooked meat wakes Nata and her sister. Hunger overrules fear. Since the snow, they've forgotten everything. Where are they? Who brought them here? Bit by bit, images of the men with big noses crowd Nata's thoughts. Who are these people? Memories from her journey surface. It wasn't a dream. Samke, where is he? Nata suddenly remembers where they put her companion. She has no idea that it's a tomb. They hid him like games stored for later, like the skeletons in the snow. Samke is dead. She must give him to the light so that the mountain winds may carry his spirit. To survive during the cold winter, Neanderthal eats mostly meat. He's the greatest hunter on the planet. As he enters the cave, a surprise awaits the Chief. The corpse buried the day before is gone. It escaped. Where are you? Show yourself! Maybe he went into the ground. What is that strange voice? Is it him calling? The body was there, the woman was crying out. The Neanderthal Chief doesn't understand Nata's trance. The movements of her body intrigue him. Nata and her sister will stay with the Moon Clan. Without knowing it, these sapiens will have discovered a new continent, Europe. This crossing of the Alps opened a route, and others will follow in the footsteps of these pioneers. This encounter is but the first, there will be others. In a few millennia, sapiens and Neanderthal will undertake an exceptional adventure together, big game hunting. At the same time, on the other side of the planet, Homo sapiens discovers Asia. Due to the ice age, the ocean levels are 120 meters lower than today. The islands of Southeast Asia are joined together. Homo sapiens' voyage will push him to the ends of the earth. Throughout his migrations, sapiens' appearance changed. The climates and environments modified the shape of his eyes, his nose, and the color of his skin. He also discovered a new and marvelous way to get around, navigation. For generations, the River Clan made waterways the center of its life. Water is sacred to them. She's the compass they follow and she protects them from danger. They've been traveling down this body of water for months. They crossed the Indonesian peninsula without seeing even one other clan. Nevertheless, another human inhabits this land. He's been observing their movements for a long time. This human being is also a descendant of Homo erectus, having arrived here almost 2 million years ago, he evolved into many subspecies that populate all of Asia. Peking man, Java man, or Flores man. Each of these adapted to their environment. Only the youth saw the curious man and no one believes him. The River Clan is always on the move. They follow the water carried by the currents of this life-giving vein that becomes larger with each passing day. Sixty thousand years ago, the River Clan arrives at Land's End in Asia and discovers the Pacific Ocean for the first time. For them, this expanse of water is a new river. It's so wide they can't see the other side. They know nothing like it. The immense waves and crashing surf make their bodies tremble. They're fascinated. The Chief is determined to find land on the other side of the water. He decided to split the clan in two. He leaves with his shaman and his family and will return for the rest of the clan. Homo sapiens is still unaware that thousands of kilometers of deep, dangerous waters lay in front of him. Carried by their faith, this group of men and women throw themselves into conquering an ocean whose monstrous powers they can't imagine. Those remaining set up camp. Just one warrior protects three women and a child, Snake Eyes, the best fisher of the Clan. Since they settled in, the curious man has come by many times. It's always the same one, and he always does the same thing. Snake Eyes wants to meet him. He knows it's prudent to get to know strangers so that they don't become mean or dangerous. The man always runs away. His behavior is curious. This time, Snake Eyes decided to act. He knows that no man has ever outrun him. In this Asian jungle, he can read all the signals, decipher the animal cries, and locate any creature at a distance. He's right there, what does he want? Snake Eyes is captured like a blind buffalo. Snake Eyes has fallen into the clutches of a forest spirit. These Homo erectus are truly formidable hunters. In such a hostile environment, their rules for survival assume that every living thing is edible. Even humans under certain circumstances. These Homo erectus captured him like they would a bird. For the moment, they admire his plumage and colors and invite him to share their meal, but what blood is this? Do they plan to kill and eat him too? Snake Eyes must remain calm. Those navigating towards the other shore were quickly swept away. The winds and currents take them far from land. When they wake up that morning, there is no land on either side. There are no birds in the sky. The Chief doesn't understand. The world disappeared. The giant river covered everything. They drift slowly towards Antarctica. Snake Eyes is alive, they're saved. Snake Eyes has aroused the hunters' curiosity. They want to know the secrets of the painted men who walk on water and about the powers of their shells and fishhooks. The Clan Chief still hasn't returned. What if they never come back? Weakened by the lack of water, the shaman has just died. His beliefs shattered. When faced with nature's wrath, Homo sapiens often doubts the reason for his existence. Those who walk on water begin exchanging their knowledge with the forest people. The art of jewelry making, fishing techniques, and manufacture of tools and clothing. Bonds form between these two peoples, despite their genetic differences. All over the Asian continent, sapiens and erectus probably intermingled to make up the large family of Asian peoples. After hundreds of kilometers, the navigators are weak, dehydrated, and sunburned. Land! The other side of the big river! Land has returned from the depths. They navigated for days and days. Thanks to the currents, their ignorance, and bravery, they finally arrive in a land yet unexplored by man. Perhaps they believe they have reached the secret world of their dreams. Sixty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens discovered an immense land mass separated from the rest of the world for millions of years. Australia, the cradle of unique plant and animal species. The Chief and his people will navigate the ocean many times without finding their way back. They'll form the basis of another large human family, a people of extraordinary navigation skill, the family of the Pacific. In the rest of Asia, the migrations continue. Homo sapiens crosses China and enters America on foot via the Bering Land Bridge. Meanwhile, sapiens enters Europe in succeeding waves. He adapts to the cold and the frigid life of the tundra. We are at minus 40,000 years. Whipped by glacial winds, the European winter is terrible. Man's only food is meat, but the herds are scarce. Sometimes they disappear altogether, and famine takes hold. Sapiens is always on the move looking for game. He lives in teepees made of animal skins and branches perched on high hills. They're constantly on the lookout. During these times of scarcity, women don't produce milk for their infants, so they die, one after the other. The Chief of the Reindeer Clan has found one rabbit, dead from cold. Not nearly enough to feed his two women and his clan. The Reindeer Clan is turning into the Silent Clan. The Chief, Akea, stalks the vicinity tirelessly, listening for movement in the bushes or the smallest animal cry. Even the tough and smelly flesh of the Blackbird is better than nothing. He never misses his mark at this distance with his new weapon. He asks her who she is and what she's doing there. The woman doesn't understand She wants his necklace. She's got an odd face with bumps over her eyes, as if she'd banged herself. This woman is a member of the Neanderthal people. They're starving too. She's entranced by the shells on the sapiens' necklace. She's never seen any before, but he's overwhelmed by his desire to touch her and to smell her. He wants to take her. His advances have never been shunned before. He's Akea, Chief of the Reindeer Clan. At dawn, strange and new animal cries rang out near the camp. Massive animals covered with long hair and enormous teeth saunter down from the North. These are the long noses, the shaman knows. There were many before, huge herds, but they disappeared. All that meat is within easy reach, but how will they go about killing them? The crazy old fool is ready to face them, but that doesn't reassure the Chief. The shaman will call upon the ancestral spirits to give strength to the hunters. Akea will succeed, the shaman knows. The mammoths have been on Earth for millions of years. For these pachyderms, as for the men, the Ice Age is a curse. These huge beasts travel enormous distances every day to find the 200 kilos of food they need. The shaman stays on the mountaintop, invoking the spirits. Spirits of our ancestors, give courage and strength to our hunters. Kill these giants for us. Akea knows how to kill reindeer, stags, and pigs, but he's never dared attack such a powerful beast. They are nothing in the face of these monsters. Although their hearts beat with fear, their stomachs scream with hunger. The smell of meat makes them salivate and their feet fly. However, they're too fast. The long noses are suspicious of men, and they flee. The way is blocked, it's a dead end. They'll have to retrace their steps and confront their attackers. Their desperate fear makes them even more dangerous. One of them, the youngest, is frightened by the human cries. He's afraid to turn back. It's man against beast. Man lost and one of them was killed, but there's still hope. Over there, a group of Neanderthal. They've also come to hunt. They have an advantage over the Reindeer Clan. They know the long noses are afraid of fire. The Neanderthal woman frightens the mammoth and forces it to retrace its steps. They've still got one last chance. Their spears are useless against the animal's tough skin, but they don't have a choice. The young mammoth charges for the opening, but Neanderthal is there. Neanderthal knows that isolating the beast isn't enough. He must cut off any escape. Neanderthal is the greatest of hunters, but a mysterious sickness eats away at his body. The long nose is cornered. Sapiens and Neanderthal are united around the same prey for the first time. These men and women close in on the giant, pushed together by the same instinct, to survive. Its movements must be kept to a minimum. This time the Neanderthal woman isn't competing against the sapiens man. They've got him, and he's at their mercy. They aim for their vulnerable spots where the skin is thinnest, the groin and the anus. The shaman will thank the ancestors long into the night. Thanks to them, the Reindeer Clan just invented a new way to hunt organized big game hunting. This new method will have considerable consequences on the life of man. The mammoth's meat gives the Clan an enormous supply of food. They can go months before their next hunt. For the first time, man has time ahead of him. Free time to think, experiment, and make seemingly useless things. Neanderthal and sapiens are assembled around a meal with new feelings of helping one another, solidarity, and feelings of attraction. The Neanderthal woman wants the Chief of the Reindeer Clan for herself but Akea already has two companions, and nothing will happen without their approval. They approve. In the future, they'll live together. The two Clans have a lot to learn from one another. Gradually, they'll learn each other's language, word by word. The discovery of cooperation for big game hunts laid the groundwork for an inevitable connection between men of different origins. Soon, new links will be forged. Marriages, alliances, the roots of society. Tonight, Akea wants to take the woman who stirs his desire. What evil makes her nose bleed? Although the Neanderthal woman suffers from a sickness, they don't let it interfere with their enjoyment of one another. The shaman isn't pleased with this alliance. He's suspicious of the Neanderthal woman. This woman and man both belong to mankind, but they're not the same species. Their union will not produce offspring. They're genetically different. The woman's spirit stole the Chief's. The Reindeer Clan must be protected. Akea's spirit must be regained. That night, the fire projects the shadow of the Chief's headdress onto the rock. The shaman sees it as the animal nature within the Chief dancing on the rock. He wants the memory of this magical moment to last, so he follows the contours with wood charcoal. A spirit is there. The spirit of Akea stays on the rock, he took it back from the woman. Forty thousand years ago, the first symbolic representation was drawn on rock. The birth of art. Soon this invention will have a universal impact. A few years have passed. In their travels together, most of the Neanderthals have died from the sickness that afflicts them. They're just three, including the Chief's woman. She can't take it any longer, she'll remain where she is. It's the end of her journey. No child came from her belly. The clan can't stop, winter is nipping at their heels. They must walk South. Time is of the essence, Akea must walk at the front. The future of the Reindeer Clan takes precedence over everything else. Exhausted from the fever, the woman wants to rest and cool down in the icy water. He'll never see these people again. Neanderthal is dying. Little by little, this species will disappear from the Earth, cut down by disease, and a declining birth rate. It remains a mystery. Akea doesn't want to hear the shaman's prayers anymore. Perhaps he questions the fragility of our species. Neanderthal disappears. Big game hunts spread. The rhythm of life changes all over the planet. More free time, more creations. Homo sapiens sculpts objects. He makes costumes and jewelry and decorates his tools. It's a veritable cultural explosion. In certain areas, a powerful human creation will appear, cave art. Art will become a message. We are in France, 20,000 years ago. Homo sapiens have dispersed throughout Europe. Sometimes he suffers from isolation. Some Clans don't find other populations to mingle with. They reproduce amongst themselves over one, two, and three generations. Inevitably, inbreeding strikes their children, leaving them incapable of reproducing. This puts the survival of the Clan in jeopardy. For years, Atka the sorcerer has tried to cure his people of this curse. However, the ancestor who guides him says nothing. There's no response. Has Atka lost his power? What good is a sorcerer who can't look after his clan? Atka feels alone, isolated from the group, with his son to look after. Before, the Bison-hunting Clan was prosperous. There were eight hunters, 12 women, and lots of children. Today, there are only nine, with one lone male child. If he doesn't find a solution soon the clan will die out. The Chief has just found a winter shelter. Atka's son is agitated, it's as if this place spoke to him. As if he heard voices. The cave is welcoming, spacious, near water, and sheltered from the wind. It has the shape of a skull. Fires have been lit here, and there, people slept and ate. Others lived here before them, but where are they now? The child was the first to find the passage. It was his illness. He was always looking to hide himself and avoid people. Atka senses a presence. Who's hiding deep in the belly of the cave? Bears, lions, or humans? The rock answers him. Caves are the best places for shamanistic rituals. This one looks promising. He senses something, there, right beside him. Signs made by a man's hand. The first rock paintings show streaks, circles and spirals. These shapes are a shaman's visions in the first stage of a hallucinogenic trance. They'd been here. Other men's hands had etched this rock. What went on here? Did they wish to leave a message? Atka knows how to take the hidden powers from roots, insects, and mollusks. He turns them into colors for his paint and healing potions. He'll use them to help find the wayward spirit of his son. He wants to bring him back into the real world. This slug is magical. It will allow him to reach the depths of his soul and travel to the invisible world where his son's spirit hides. His sorcerer ancestor taught him everything. Returning to nature long ago, he became a bison. Since then, the animal spirit has guided him. Atka calls upon it now and asks for help healing his son. The slug's magical effect is quick. The sick spirit of the child resists, it flees to evade capture. Atka follows step by step, he won't let it escape. Outside the trance, the clan settles down to eat. Their wish is about to come true. Men and women from another clan. They don't speak the same language. They must welcome those who come from elsewhere. Luck is with them. It's their cave, and they don't want another clan here. They don't want to share. As his arms fight, the spirit of the bison takes over Atka's body. This woman wears sorcerer's signs. She tuned in immediately to Atka's calls from the depths of the stone skull. The sorcerer is no longer Atka. His body doesn't belong to him, his movements are those of the animal. The sorceress has understood, she enters his trance. Before the stranger's eyes, Atka's hand traces the contours of a new image. The men from both clans are so taken with the spectacle that they stop fighting and wait to see what will happen next. The image takes on a form they recognize. It reminds them of an emotion they've experienced. They look at one another and feel the same thing, and go straight to their hearts. Everything's in motion, a transformation is taking place. Is it from the glow of the flames or the sorcerer's dance? They all see the spirit of the animal, it advances and walks. They can even hear it. They are experiencing the inner workings of the human soul. Cave painting becomes a language that will allow all the Homo sapiens to understand and accept one another. It will be a universal message that will touch the hearts of men and bring them solidarity. Together they prepare for the arrival of winter. They help one another, exchange skills, and find a better way to protect themselves from the icy winds. Atka hasn't found his child's lost spirit. Not yet. The two sorcerers exchange secrets on medicinal plants. Knowledge shared is knowledge gained. They begin to amass an understanding of nature's mysteries. One day, from this vast knowledge, medicine will be born. Between minus 30,000 and minus 20,000 years ago, works of art appeared over most of the planet, thousands of kilometers from one another. It was as if all the Homo sapiens had given each other a signal. All over art assembles little groups of men and allies them with bigger communities. Soon, immense populations will come together to become nations. Suddenly, 12,000 years ago, the temperature rises. It's the beginning of a major climatic change. Two-thirds of the polar ice caps melt, the ocean levels rise 120 meters. The continents gradually take on the shapes we recognize today. A grandiose era of the life of man is coming to a close, but a new one is beginning. Almost everywhere, the weather becomes mild, water abundant, and the earth generous. Sapiens discovers regions so rich in game and edible plants that he stops traveling. He builds villages of stones, built to last. For many, it's the end of a nomadic life that dates back to the beginning of time. With settling down, everything will change. [Foreign spoken audio] We're in Mesopotamia, 12,000 years ago. Listen to my story, it completely changed the life of man. My mother was young. We didn't know then what we know today. [Foreign spoken audio] Everyone loved Nene. Especially my mother. When he stopped to see her on his way back from hunting, he always brought bird eggs. Life had become easier for men and women. They were beginning to take the time to enjoy each other's company. My mother was in love with Nene, and he was in love with her. They didn't hide their affection and it amused everyone, especially the Chief of the village. [Foreign spoken audio] They'd been together barely two moons. They were happy and carefree. However, that day, she'd had a premonition. Back then, we had to go far into the mountains to pick the wild wheat that grew there. As summer's days grew shorter, we harvested as much grain as possible to last through the winter. Nene knew that at this time of year, the falcon laid her eggs. My mother loved eggs. Ten thousand years ago, man is in complete harmony with nature. She no longer made him suffer, and he enjoyed her wonderful surprises. [Foreign spoken audio] She didn't see him leave, so she thinks he's playing a trick on her. -Nene! -Nene! Then, she remembers her premonition. Nene! Homo sapiens takes pleasure in nature, but if he upsets the balance, nature retaliates. The mountain swallowed Nene's body. My mother looks for him in vain. -Nene! -Nene! Right up until they heard the wolf howl. They feared for Nene's life. Nene! If there were a pack of them, it was better to stay together. We feared wolves. Nene! -Nene! -Nene! -Nene! -Nene! -Nene! -Nene! A howl, a moaning man. She senses that Nene is close by. It's not Nene, but the strangest thing she's ever seen. A little boy with a she-wolf. The most ferocious carnivore. The wolves had been by our side forever. When our children got lost in the forest, the wolves devoured them. We didn't like wolves, especially our Chief. He'd killed more than one. He doesn't have time to take care of this one. He hears the moans of the child, too. [Foreign spoken audio] The child is wild, and abandoned by another clan. [Foreign spoken audio] My mother tries to comfort him, but he resists. Enough! The Chief loses his patience with the child. They stop looking for Nene, distracted by what to do with the child. He would have answered them if he were there. Homo sapiens live here in little stone huts, assembled around a common grain loft. The first village. The first houses. My mother took the child with her and gave it Nene's bed but he didn't want to sleep. He listened to the mountain. She couldn't believe that the she-wolf was the child's mother. His animal mother. We'd never seen this before. My mother had a lot of love to give. She needed someone. I was the wild child. I didn't feel human. I thought I was a wolf. My animal mother had picked me up. In this first village, Homo sapiens share the labor. Each works for the community. Animal skins are now used for receptacles. Hot rocks from the fire make the cooking pots boil. Women think about men. There's not a clan anymore, but many families and each family has their house. People do favors for one another and visit. Polygamy is disappearing. The family revolves around the couple, a man and a woman, their children, and sometimes their parents. It's the birth of today's family. For my mother, this dream was shattered. No trace of Nene. No one had seen or heard him. My mother needed to give and to love. She needed to share her life. [Foreign spoken audio] I didn't want anyone near me. I couldn't stand being touched and hated the feel and smell of clothing. I rejected everyone's presence but hers, but I wouldn't eat the black meat she offered from the fire. Little by little, she grew attached to the wild child. She grew fond of me. I was beginning to take a place in her heart. The place of a son. One day the she-wolf returned to reclaim her son. She'd fed me, protected me, and kept me warm since I was born. Men don't like wolves because they don't know them. My wolf mother would never have harmed me, but the men thought I was in danger with her. Like all children, in the presence of wolves. [Foreign spoken audio]. She was the first to understand. Maybe because she could sense the animal's love. She was suffering from the absence of a loved one too. I now had two mothers and I didn't know which to choose. She knew how to speak to the wolf as to the child. That's how my mother became my mother for always. A year passed, I lived among the people. The she-wolf stayed near the village, and little by little, she got accustomed to the presence of men. An alliance between man and animal was born. It was the beginning of a big adventure, not just with wolves, but with other animals too. Twelve thousand years ago, the first wolf joined the community of men. However, it would take generations of wolves born among men for them to become what today we call dogs. Thanks to my wolf mother, we made another major discovery. A skeleton lay in the middle of the wild wheat. [Foreign spoken audio] It was Nene. [Foreign spoken audio] He disappeared the day my mother found me. She gave me the love she had for him. It was his necklace. My mother knew right away what she had to do. The grains of wheat from Nene's pouch had germinated. They'd grown right where they'd fallen. [Foreign spoken audio] The Chief understood that each grain had reproduced into a multitude of others. It was so simple, yet no one had ever thought of it. My mother gave me Nene's necklace, and I've worn it my entire life, until today. This necklace comes to you, son of my son. Wear it, and leave it to those who come after you. Tell this story to all men so that they never forget it. It's 10,000 years ago. Thanks to these amazing discoveries, the life of man will never be the same. The discovery of agriculture becomes widespread throughout the world over a few centuries. Homo sapiens settles down permanently next to his crops. He lives his life by the rhythm of the seasons, and each year reaps the fruits of his labor. The domestication of the wolf is followed by that of numerous other animals. Homo sapiens discovers breeding, which provides a steady and abundant supply of food. In many places all over the world, giant monuments reach towards the sky. Man's homage to the divinities. The population increases. Villages are built. Trade expands and bigger and bigger groups form. Soon, large civilizations will appear. Prehistory is finished. No matter the color of our skin or the shape of our eyes, the 6 billion human beings who populate the Earth today all descend from the same family. She lived in the dawn of time and would give birth to thousands of generations of men and women, right up to us. Their discoveries still enrich our lives. Such is the gift that our parents as far back as they reach, gave to us. Thanks to them, our children will go on to populate other planets. Twelve thousand years ago, man suddenly took a decisive turn. He left the nomadic life to settle in the first villages. Before long, he would invent farming, cattle raising, irrigation, commerce, metal alloys, architecture, medicine, and religion. On his way, man had to overcome many challenges. Property ownership generated the first wars. Livestock spread deadly diseases. Overpopulation caused starvation but Homo sapiens continued. He built cities and imagined a complex, organized, and hierarchical society. He communicated over great distances, thanks to the written word. In 8,000 years, the population of the planet went from three million to 100 million inhabitants. Man built society as we know it today. Soon, he would no longer be the same man. He became a modern man. This is the account of the defining moments leading through the ages to our time. The history of our evolution to modern man began about 15,000 years ago as a result of a rapid climate change of tremendous magnitude. Global warming wrought immense changes. In a few dozen centuries, two-thirds of the polar ice cap melted away, large sheets of ice broke off, and the ocean rose 120 meters. Little by little, the continents took shape as we know them today. In some regions, torrential rains caused cataclysmic flooding. In others, drought parched the land, natural fires set forests ablaze. The Ice Age was over. Humans could now embark on a new adventure. The pioneers of this transformation emerged in the Fertile Crescent, today's Near East. Twelve thousand years ago, three to three million men and women inhabited the planet. They were nomads. They lived in wide open spaces and rarely encountered other humans. This clan was one of the first to have domesticated wolves. They made them into dogs. However, another change had occurred on planet Earth. The strange idea had taken hold. Stone teepees with swirls of leaves on top. They'd never seen anything like it. Aar was their leader. He was listened to because he was the strongest. Ashaa, our second companion, was expecting her first child. These nomads didn't know they were looking at houses, a revolutionary invention, a new way of life that would change human history. Humans had decided to settle here permanently, to stop roaming, and instead, radiate out from a center, their village. Where were they? What were these stones for? They had water in them and food. Whatever had possessed them to have bags so heavy? Why build structures that couldn't be moved? They had a tree in the middle of their teepees. They were doing what spiders do. [Nomadic spoken audio] Warm outside and cool inside, the temperature was pleasant, as was the smell and odor of men and women and children along with the reassuring aroma of dried meat. There was a lot of food. Not being on the move and having to plan ahead for times when nature stopped providing. Sedentary people had not yet become farmers. They gathered berries and grain. They didn't know wild plants could be cultivated. Their way of life added a new dimension to the human temperament, a dimension unknown to nomads. The sense of ownership. For nomads, the riches of the earth belonged to everyone but sedentary people could no longer think this way. Their survival depended on their food reserves, and this dependency created the fear of having them taken away. [Nomadic spoken audio] For nomads, strangers were simply travelers like them. Even when food was scarce, survival dictated that they share what they had. For the sedentary man, stranger meant danger. [Nomadic spoken audio] The kind of Aar entered the village as he would anywhere, naturally and without guile, but those who lived there saw it as an intrusion. These people thought they owned everything, their houses, their stone containers, and even the water in them. [Nomadic spoken audio] Aar and his clan couldn't understand their hostility. Nomads who encountered other humans welcomed them. [Nomadic spoken audio] These people even felt they owned the land, the land where our ancestors had walked. [Nomadic spoken audio] Aar's clan had come in peace, they had a pregnant woman among them. They liked this place. We're going to stay whether the others welcome them or not. [Nomadic spoken audio] What had made people settle? Perhaps their alliance and serials had something to do with it. To be eaten, the grain had to be crushed into flour. This required two large, heavy stones. Perhaps they'd stop roaming to stay close to these stones. This is what had changed them. At day's end, nomads watch the sunset while the sedentary people count the reserves. True, the nomadic life had its drawbacks. As a pregnant woman, you're only too well. One was that they seldom had sufficient reserves. When nature was stingy, they went hungry. [Nomadic spoken audio] Ashaa could no longer digest the puree of half-rotten fruit. She needed meat to regain her strength, but there was no dried meat left. Whenever there was a problem, Aka, the one-eyed woman would tell Aar. The others didn't dare. [Nomadic spoken audio] It was too late to hunt. Why should they when there was so much food right there next to them? Aar helped himself. He probably did not know the meaning of stealing. He simply took what he needed. The villagers lived surrounded by their belongings, mostly the heavy tools used to prepare and cook the strange grain that had become central to their survival. Among nomadic peoples, the social soul was not the family, but the group. Settlers made the family unit the norm, with a house for each family. However, they had a problem. Tiny animals coveted their provisions. At that time, the settlers were still hunters and gatherers. Many did not yet have dogs. Their domestication occurred far from the first villages. In Eastern Europe and China, the dog was used for hunting, but also for protection, the elimination of food waste and companionship. The dog benefited from this new relationship as well. [Nomadic spoken audio] It did not take the villagers long to realize how useful a dog was. [Nomadic spoken audio] That night, it suddenly seemed the villagers had accepted them. [Nomadic spoken audio] They brought stone bowls and some of their strange grain, but these were not gifts. They wanted the dog in return. Aar refused the barter. Then they tried to win them over by offering to share the secret of the grain. Ashaa had a bad feeling. Aar wondered whether he shouldn't have trusted her instincts. The two groups were too different from each other. The cooked grain was mushy and tasteless. Aar would have preferred roasting all the mice his dog was finding. For the one-eyed woman who had no teeth, it was easier to eat the meat. [Nomadic spoken audio] Ourham, the village leader had realized that the dog could rid him of the vermin that were eating his grain. To get him, he was prepared to offer more gifts, but Aar would have none of it. [Nomadic spoken audio] He would keep his dog. [Nomadic spoken audio] As sedentary people accumulated things, ownership became a goal in and of itself. They realized that they could use their possessions to get whatever they wanted. This concept was foreign to nomads. A nomad's life consisted of hardship and the unexpected. His existence was ruled by nature and its forces. His beliefs were inextricably linked to these forces over which he had no control. [Nomadic spoken audio] Those who had chosen a sedentary life still feared nature, but being organized enabled them to minimize the effects of nature's excesses, and to protect themselves, and make their lives more predictable. The stone tepees withstood gale-force winds and flames. This was not the case with skin teepees. Nomads knew they could lose everything overnight. What was there yesterday may not be there tomorrow. This uncertainty was precisely what sedentary people tried to ward off. They always looked for ways to avoid unpleasant surprises. The villagers offered to take Aar's clan in. [Nomadic spoken audio] Faced with the chaos of life, the villagers' solution was reassuring, organized, and stable. Even though nomads preferred a life of adventure to a life of work, discipline, and routine, security had tremendous seductive power. The villagers freed up one of their stone houses for them. The one who has always slept under the stars, unfettered and free, finds sleep elusive in confined spaces. One night Aka got used to eating the soft bread, but Ashaa was so wasted and weak that she could hardly eat at all. Aka fed her by chewing the bread first. Nomads adapted to their environment. Sedentary people adapted their environment to suit their needs. A few days went by and Aar and his group to their best to adjust. The villagers, who initially had pretended to be happy to help, were soon won over by their guests. A friendship was struck. Ourham still wanted Aar's dog, but was resigned to never getting him. Ashaa gave birth to a little girl. [Nomadic spoken audio] Like Aar's first woman, Ashaa died in childbirth. She was no longer breathing. She had joined the ancestors in the Sea of Stars. One Gaia girl child had left, another had arrived with no one to feed her. These nomads believed in Gaia, the Eternal Mother. Gaia would provide them what they needed. At that time, it is possible that men did not understand the concept of fatherhood. They may not have known that the children from the wombs of women were also part of them. The nomads left the village the following day at dawn. Aar gave his best dog to Ourham to thank him for his generosity. He also left Ashaa's daughter behind. It was the only way she would survive. Gaia would survive through her. [Nomadic spoken audio] Attracted by its comfort and security, most nomads would soon adopt the sedentary life, leaving in our genes traces of their free spirit, wanderlust, and love of discovery. Sedentaryness profoundly changed human behavior, propelling man into an era of invention and innovation. The gathering of wild berries and cereals would soon give way to actual farming. Wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent would extend through all of Europe and the Indus. Rice and millet in China, corn, potatoes, and peppers in America, sorghum in Africa. More or less consciously, Sapiens made the first genetic selection by choosing the seeds of the strongest, most productive plants. To cultivate the land, man would open clearings. The landscape became more human. It was 7,500 years before Christ in the Near East. The hamlet had mushroomed into a village with greater security and greater stability. More children were being born and fewer were dying. More people, more homes, and more tensions as well. Increasingly, the round houses, which were hard to extend, were being replaced by rectangular structures that could be enlarged or divided into separate rooms. Ooki's amulet told him that he was a descendant of the Gaia lineage. Ooki had been in love with Nekee ever since he could remember. He wanted to make her his wife. Here you go. The village now boasted a house of the dead where the bodies of the ancestors were kept. This place perpetuated their memory. To remember the dead, the villagers preserved their skulls and painted their faces so they resembled who they'd been. In this way, they knew where and whom they came from. Ooki was not the beautiful Nekee's only suitor. Oukou of the Belouta family was his eternal rival. The Beloutas were an important family. Oukou used his family's name to commit wrongdoings. What happened that day should never have happened. Nekee's father would choose a husband for his daughter based on the interests of the family and the omens of the animal spirits. However, the fight scared Ooki and he decided to request permission for Nekee's hand immediately. By this time, the villagers had domesticated a few animals. After the hunt, they would bring young animals back to the village. Young wild boars, mountain goats, they kept and fed them to have a reserve of fresh meat available when they needed it. These animals are quite rare, but Ooki decided to give his family's only baby boar to Nekee's father as an engagement gift. Oukou's family had gotten there ahead of him with a gift of two extremely rare animals. Cats were attracted to the villagers by rodents feeding on the stores of grain. They had quickly proven their worth. [Nomadic spoken audio] Having possessions had an impact on what people could obtain from others. The poorer you were, the less power you had. Competition between humans was changing. Survival of the fittest was becoming survival of the richest. Ooki loved Nekee and Nekee had been given to another. He could not go against village law or the elders' authority. It would be an offense to Oukou, his family, and Nekee's father. However, Ooki decided to take Nekee far away to start a family in another village. Ooki. They had their lives ahead of them, they were free and they loved each other. They felt they were in paradise. [Nomadic spoken audio] Nekee was getting cold, Ooki could cure her with plants. First, he had to make a fire to keep her warm. It was risky, but he had no choice. Of course, Oukou refused to lose the woman he had won. His powerful family and determination to have Nekee made him a formidable, tenacious, and merciless enemy. They had destroyed Ooki's body. He was barely breathing. With each breath, Ooki struggled to stay alive. At that time, humans understood that you could bury seeds in the ground and they would grow shoots after a few weeks. They even knew how to select the best specimens and improve their crops. Upon seeing Nekee, Ooki's father feared that something terrible had happened to his son. Ooki's father and brother searched far and wide but Oukou had covered his tracks well. Days went by, his life was hanging by a thread. He held on thanks to the blades of wheatgrass he reached out to touch. He saw that groan every time he regained consciousness. They gave him hope. They represented life. The rivalry between Ooki and Oukou had escalated into a feud between two family clans. It would divide the village. Man had long known of the powers of medicinal plants, but surgery was still in its infancy. Trepidation had only recently been invented. The skull was opened up to cure traumas, dementia, and other unknown ailments. Conflicts that were easily resolved in small groups could threaten the cohesiveness of large groups. The feud heated up. Some villages siding with Ooki, others with the Belouta family. No resolution was in sight. The hole in Ooki's skull had released the blood that had paralyzed him. He would survive, but as a parasite, unable to help his family in the fields. There had been no rain that year. The soil was barren and the village was suffering. Oddly enough, at that time, no one had ever realized how essential water was to the reproduction and growth of plants. Nobody had made a direct connection between the lack of rain and crop failure. A connection had, however, been made between Ooki and hardship. Ooki had defied the spirits, they were punishing the village. Even his father blamed him. Oooki spent his days observing nature, trying to understand its secrets. His body was weak, but his mind was strong. Suddenly, an idea came to him. An idea, even a simple one, can change the course of history. Ooki's muddy hand making a furrow in the wet earth, water trickling, seeds sprouting, tender green shoots growing. Water was the secret of life. It had always been there right before their eyes, but they hadn't realized it. Irrigation was born. Ooki's father and brother thought it was madness. They humored him and spared no effort. Understanding the role water played in farming would greatly strengthen the sedentary way of life. Well irrigated crops were far more productive and the years of scarcity would soon be over. Ooki was ecstatic. He felt he had robbed the heavens of their powers and shamed the reigns. He was stronger than nature, stronger than all the spirits. Oukou came to spy, trying to figure out why these fields were so green while his were barren. He still believed Ooki was cursed. [Nomadic spoken audio] Irrigation had made all the difference. The fields were producing an abundance of cereals, much more, in fact, than they needed. They had a production surplus that could be used for local trading. It was a form of wealth that gave them power over those who were lacking. [Nomadic spoken audio] Nekee's father and those who had ostracized Ooki's family now came with gifts they wanted to trade for grain. Trading, the bartering of goods and services brought people together and eased tensions. Ooki and his family, descendants of the Gaia line, had become the most powerful and the most respected family in the village. However, Ooki could not forgive Oukou's family for what they did to him. He would never sell them so much as one grain of wheat. Wealth could therefore become a form of violence. By observing the young boars Nekee's father had traded, Ooki had another stroke of inspiration. If he kept the females and males together, they multiplied. His discovery would quickly make its way around the world. Ooki. Ooki still loved Nekee. He'd never stopped loving her. [Nomadic spoken audio] However, he had given up hope of her ever returning to him. [Nomadic spoken audio] She finally convinced him to relent. Ooki didn't want to deprive her of food simply because of her loathsome husband. She had nothing to do with it. He eventually forgave Oukou and his family. With farming, animal breeding, and irrigation, man could now legitimately say that he had a measure of control over the living world. He had overcome the elements. His newfound power filled him with enormous pride. He began to think that he was more powerful than nature. In fact, to represent his deities, he replaced the images of animals and spirits with his own image. Ooki even found himself a woman and started a family. The Gaia lineage would continue. The trading of goods soon led to the exchange of know-how and techniques. Information and innovations would circulate over great distances and human evolution would accelerate. After farming, animal husbandry spread around the globe like wildfire. After the wolf became dog, other animals followed. While sheep and goats were domesticated in the Near East and Asia, the boar became the pig and the aurochs cattle. Hens were domesticated in Pakistan, Donkeys in Palestine. Horses between Europe and Central Asia, and llamas in Peru. Even insects, bees were domesticated in Egypt. The domestication of animals fostered a population explosion, but it also brought with it a number of evil effects. Terrible hardships awaited mankind. It was 3,500 years before Christ. The village had grown into a town with a population of more than a thousand. Since travelers had introduced the wheel and carts, work had become easier. People had trades, stonecutters, masons, blacksmiths, potters, and so forth. Not full-time trades though, because everyone still worked in the fields and raised cattle. There were many families, conflicts were commonplace. A council of experienced men mediated disputes, dispensed justice, and took all major decisions involving the community. Waka and Uhru were brothers, both descendants of the Gaia line, one of the oldest in the town. Waka, the elder of the two, wore the head of family amulet. These brothers were well respected by everyone. Everybody now had their own field, their own animals, and their own house. They all had possessions and the problems that came with them. Owning also meant defending. The tanner's goats had spent the night in the old potters' fields. Needless to say, they destroyed his crops. [Nomadic spoken audio] In such cases, people appealed to the council. The council made its rulings on a case-by-case basis and generally according to custom. An exchange of goods usually made up for the offense. These collegial arrangements maintain the town's delicate balance. However, the misfortunes soon to befall the town would completely destroy that balance, thanks to Uhru and his insatiable greed for riches. Ike was the son of Waka, the eldest in the Gaia lineage. The family had fields and goats, but his father's first job was as the town's blacksmith. The first metals had just made their appearance and their strength fascinated humans. Ike brought ore back from the mountains for his father, ore found in its natural state like copper and gold. Waka would melt and mould them to make containers and small tools. The tools made from these metals were too soft to turn over the soil. [Nomadic spoken audio] Lately, Ike's mother had developed red blotches on her skin. No one had any idea that these marks heralded a terrible tragedy. Every week, a goat was slaughtered to feed the family. This was Ike's job, and he hated it. He never knew which one to kill. Little did he know he was treading on deadly, invisible organisms. The half-dead goat was a sign of the tragedy that lay ahead. Due to the concentration of men, animals, filth, and excrement, there was also an exponential increase of germs, bacteria, and viruses. Ike's mother was becoming sicker and sicker. The red rash had spread all over her body. Had a very high fever and was vomiting violently. Uhru, Ike's uncle was a healer. He had mastered the science of plants and concocted potions and ointments for the whole town. There had always been illness among humans, but this was a mysterious new type of illness. It was more dangerous, more devastating. Uhru tried to be reassuring. He cared about his reputation and his reward. His power as a healer would prevail. Uhru loved gifts. He never hesitated in seeking compensation. He should have refused the reward from his brother but his greed was too great. [Nomadic spoken audio] Wild pigs, sheep, and cattle were sick. The villagers could not have anticipated that by breeding them, they had created conditions which led to the transmission of these illnesses to humans. [Nomadic spoken audio] Initially, no one made the connection, not even Uhru. In those days, diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, influenza, and smallpox were all transmitted to humans by their animals. Ike's mother was dying. Her whole body was wracked with pain and her final moments were excruciating. There was nothing they could do. By that time, funeral customs had changed, they'd become more complex. The bodies of the deceased were not kept in the family home, testimony to the greater importance given to each lineage. All family members, including Uhru, have to give something to the dead. Within a few days, it was absolute carnage. The potter's whole family suddenly died. There were no more entire families until there was nobody left in the house to bury them. The wise men of the council decided to put all the corpses in a pit outside the town, keep the smell of death away. The council had been gathered in the meeting house since the prior day but no one, not even the shaman, Idru, could explain what had caused the plague. How could they have known? Their only clue was the skin rash, it always started with a rash. With Uhru leading the way, everyone was summoned to show their bodies. If they bore the blotches, they were cursed. Apparently, the mysterious illness chose its victims. Those who were infected developed a rash. Now, no one lucky victim could escape detection. [Nomadic spoken audio] Uhru had identified the sign of the scourge and established himself as the only one able to stop it. They had to listen to him and obey his orders. Every person marked with a curse was banished. Even Uhru's brother was forced to leave. [Nomadic spoken audio] Faced with plagues, men who had no knowledge of bacteria or viruses blamed invisible forces. Almost overnight, Uhru had invented a new form of power, that of chief. He became the most important man in town. Having banished his brother, Uhru remained as the one person who decided for all the others. He alone headed the Gaia lineage. Who better than Idru, the shaman, to validate the chief's discovery. The chief had identified evil, and evil had to be cast out. Before long, religion and the state would be in lieu. Uhru believed that fire kept the evil spirits away. Without knowing it, he made a wise move which stopped the epidemic among the animals. He ordered that all the dead animals be burned. They hailed their chief for his great clairvoyance and for saving them. At last, Uhru's power, intelligence, and wisdom had been recognized. The hunt for the tainted individuals continued. In his new position of power, Uhru knew he needed armed men to help him carry out his decisions. All houses were searched, all villagers checked. Those bearing the telltale rash were banished and their homes marked with lime. [Nomadic spoken audio] A chief who made good decisions for the community received thanks in the form of gifts. Uhru became richer. His prestige among the villagers soared, but Uhru's pride would be his downfall. The band of outcasts wandered aimlessly and hopelessly, its members dying one after another. Epidemics share certain characteristics. They spread rapidly from one infected individual to another. Infection doesn't always mean certain death. The surviving outcasts realized that they were getting stronger. The plague was leaving their bodies. [Nomadic spoken audio] They had been spared. [Nomadic spoken audio] Only three of them had survived. After a few weeks of walking, they found life again. These people had come from Anatolia to the North. They too had been stricken with the disease and many of their men had died. All these women without men welcomed the newcomers with great generosity. Ike and the other two survivors were surprised to see that among these people, a woman made the major decisions. Where they came from, men issued the orders. This was new behavior. From the high Anatolian plateaus, the women had brought with them two major discoveries, the horse, a fiery, shy, and untamable animal. Now stood before Ike, calm and docile as a newborn lamb. The women had not tamed the horse solely for its meat. Ike was smitten with Kelee. She brought out in him a feeling he had never experienced before. He wanted to sing, to dance, to take her in his arms, and kiss her mouth. The second discovery would change his father's life and later the lives of all men. It was a metal as hard as rock, something his father Waka had never seen. How would they made it? Waka was dying to know but it was a closely guarded secret. Back in the town, the epidemic had ended suddenly, propelling Urhu to even greater power. He was now the keeper of the belongings of all those who were gone, including his brother, Waka. These things were of no use to anyone\ in empty houses. Urhu brother's house held many treasures. Urhu helped himself. Soon all the belongings left in the deserted houses had been appropriated. Urhu proclaimed that they were now community property. They soon became his property, but this was more than one man needed. Idru was not pleased. Urhu had to make the shaman a true ally, his support would have to be bought. The chief began to share some of his riches with his supporters, thereby creating an elite, an upper social class. Bronze, a remarkable metal. The Anatolian blacksmiths were reluctant to divulge their secret. The tattooed woman who had the power also had great tenderness for Waka. Copper and pewter mixed together in the same bath. It was simple, but someone had to think of it. Bronze would make much stronger and harder tools. They'd increase the productivity of farming communities. Bronze would also be used to fashion much deadlier weapons. Who had had the idea? How many alloys had they tried before finding this one? In the town, everything had changed, especially Urhu. His status now required that Urhu live in the largest building, the former meeting house. He had ordered that statues representing Gaia be erected everywhere. Urhu was no longer like other men. He no longer worked in the fields or raised animals. As chief, he couldn't debase himself by performing such menial tasks. It was reasonable that he should be supported by those he led. All citizens were therefore required to make a contribution to the chief, tax of sorts. Not everyone was happy with his practice, but everyone accepted it. A new form of organization of power was born, chieftainship. Urhu was being kept by the efforts of everyone else. Part of the fruit of the villagers' labors was given to the chief, who in turn shared it with the ruling class. In the chief's intimate circle, a hierarchy was established. This brought greed and power struggles. Kelee had changed Ike. Love had made a man of him and given meaning to his life. [Nomadic spoken audio] With her, he had discovered the speed, spirit, and majesty of a galloping horse. This incredible animal would change man's perception of distances. Though curiously, at that time, no one had actually mounted a horse. It would take another 2,000 years before horseback riding was invented. [Nomadic spoken audio] Completely cured and armed with what they had learned, Ike and Waka decided to return home. Discontent was brewing in their town. Urhu had become a despot who would not be contradicted. This homecoming had not been expected. Waka had been one of the most esteemed men in the town. More importantly, he was the eldest in the Gaia lineage. [Nomadic spoken audio] Urhu wanted to know what his brother had brought him from his voyage to distant lands. What kind of honor was this? [Nomadic spoken audio] Where were the riches? How did his brother plan to reward him for his extraordinary genius? Power begat power. Ownership called for more wealth, and all of this corrupted the mind. Idru realized that his chief had gone too far. What could he do? Ike's most precious treasure had been stolen but his knowledge of bronze would get Kelee back for him. When power becomes abusive and the balance between what it gives and what it takes is upset, power is doomed. When a powerful man makes decisions for his own benefit and ignores the needs of those who depend upon him, he is doomed. Urhu had gone too far, Urhu was doomed. [Nomadic spoken audio] Urhu was lost. He was willing to take everything down with him rather than hand over his power. [Nomadic spoken audio] Idru, the shaman had betrayed him. The love of ownership, the love of power, and the fear of losing it, created man's vanity, and his vanity would consume him. Waka decided that Ike should reign. Ike would guide his people in the new world unfolding before their eyes. Ike and Kelee would be worthy of their trust. Chieftainships would soon give way to kingdoms. Enlightened monarchs would understand that their power lay in the prosperity of their people. That riches were to be distributed and not hoarded. To achieve greater wealth without taking it from their people and looking for it elsewhere, and thus wars were invented. In the following 2,000 years, great and powerful cities would emerge around the globe in Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. The richer agglomerations would want to expand. They would take up the first arms, take over nearby villages and towns and federate them. This was how cities came about. The first such city would flourish in today's Iraq and give rise to the great Sumerian civilization. It was the year 2,500 before Christ in Mesopotamia. This is Tobar, the shepherd of the Gaia lineage. Since his childhood, Tobar had dreamt of seeing the great city. He was spellbound. The size of the buildings, who could have built them? The gods? As soon as they appeared, cities held a tremendous fascination for humans. For the first time in the history of mankind, peoples of various origins and different languages lived and built their futures together. Where were all these people going? What were they doing? They were passing each other without so much as a glance. It was a feast for the eyes, an abundance of things to see. Objects from faraway places, jewels, perfumes, spices, wines. Some utilitarian, others just for the pleasure of the senses. The state was also present everywhere. The king had many representatives. Heading the list were those who collected the taxes that supported the city. The scribe was responsible for the accounts. It was the chief of guard who carried out the decisions of the king's treasury. [Nomadic spoken audio] Some subjects were already attempting to minimize their wealth in order to lower their contribution to the state. To record trading and taxes, a system of codes engraved in clay had been invented, writing was born but it was only used to record transactions. Tobar was fascinated by the scribe. Sarki had mastered the science of signs, which he saw as magical knowledge. Could he count the stars in the skies? The weaver created fabrics for the notables but his debt to the state had tripled, and he was unable to pay. Sarki and the weaver had become friends. Why demand so much right away? Could he not pay in installments? The Chief of Guards did not know how to read but he had the memory of an elephant, nothing would deter him from his mission. The Chief of Guards' loyalty to his king was unshakable but he used his authority to satisfy his cruelty. [Nomadic spoken audio] How could he serve the king if he deprived him of his best craftsman? The more Sarki defended the weaver, the harder the chief of guards thrashed him. The king's palace, the center of this hive of activity was an immense house, bigger than the biggest dune in the desert. This was where the taxes were sent. Tobar wanted to see what was behind the walls, but it was a restricted area. [Nomadic spoken audio] Tobar had never encountered such a thing, a place open only to a chosen few. He wanted to know what went on in there. Why were they hiding their activities from the citizens? In his village, anyone could see the chief. You only had to ask. [Nomadic spoken audio] It was like a golden village within the city, a place where all decisions were made. It looked wonderful. It housed architects, artists, and scholars, the greatest concentration of knowledge ever brought together. The riches of the state were used to maintain the city and the king's prestige, but also to protect the kingdom. Thieving nomads had made a foray into the northern part of the kingdom. The king had to increase his army, hire more soldiers, and manufacture new weapons. He needed more resources. Tobar was drawn to the scribe. He was mesmerized by his knowledge. He wanted to meet him and especially to learn from him. It was now clear why he had come to the city. He wanted to write. [Nomadic spoken audio] Tobar implored the scribe to teach him, but writing wasn't something everyone had access to. It was reserved for the elite, and the young Shepard wasn't part of it. Thanks to writing, kings could extend their power to remote regions. Their messages, however, had to remain secret. It was important that no one be able to decipher them, hence the strategic importance of having knowledge of the symbols. By accepting to help Tobar learn, Sarki was taking an enormous risk. He was not allowed to teach the secret code to anyone. Watch and keep quiet. Sarki liked the shepherd. His naivete and openness appealed to him. Writing requires discipline and rigor, it must be learned one step at a time. The principle is simple, a sign on a clay tablet. A sign and a clay tablet, and we decide what it means. [Nomadic spoken audio] Gaia was an old lineage, but Tobar knew nothing about his heritage. If only his ancestors had been able to write. The first lesson was a disaster but it gave Sarki an idea, an idea that might save his friend, the weaver. Sarki's friend had been chosen to contribute to the extra war effort, and the Chief of Guards was about to strip him of everything he had. [Nomadic spoken audio] The sophisticated organization of the city had its share of injustices and imbalances. The functionaries had to carry out orders without consideration for people's lives. This time, they were asking too much. The weaver had hidden his last reserves. Sarki was appalled by the abuse. He was prepared to lie to save his friend. After 20 years of loyal service, he would betray his king. Talented scribes would soon do much more than simply copy data. He would invent new symbols to represent concepts, ideas, and words. The young shepherd began to see how writing could be a very powerful tool. It could be used to communicate knowledge, the natural and scientific laws, and to disseminate this information broadly. However, writing could also be used to lie, transmit false information and deceive people. Words would prove more powerful than the sword. To redress the injustice against his friend, the weaver, Sarki falsified the royal treasury's record. A few signs were changed and the amount was different. The treasurer was tense. He'd been unable to collect all the goods demanded by the king. [Nomadic spoken audio] Sarki had never cheated before, he was numb with fear. The falsification was well done but the treasurer had doubts. [Nomadic spoken audio] The Chief of Guard saw through the trick. He knew Sarki had altered the figures on one of the clay tablets. He just didn't know which one. Sarki. Sarki was hard on his student, Tobar wasn't allowed to go out. He wasn't allowed to sleep more than four hours a night. The faster Tobar learned, the more demanding Sarki became. There were times when Tobar missed his village and his sheep but soon he would learn to write the word sheep. Sarki was under investigation. The falsified tablet had been found and compared to the original. [Nomadic spoken audio] What good would all of Sarki's knowledge be now? His imagination would free him. Oh, no, the Chief of Guards promised he'd be executed. Sarki was thrown in prison. Having one's freedom taken away is terrible punishment. For an uneducated man like Tobar, it would have been unbearable. With intellectual food, Sarki's mind remained free. He was able to endure solitude, boredom, persecution. Writing made it possible to transmit knowledge to a large number of people, but this meant that people had to be taught to read. -Ba. -Bu. -Bu. -B. -B. Sarki determined that he would educate all the prisoners, even the mute. He wasn't allowed to but he didn't care. He wanted to pass on his knowledge to share it before he was sentenced to death. He only got away with it because Lugal, the guard, had a curious mind. He listened and learned, and he never breathed a word to his superiors. Indeed, thousands of years would pass before writing was truly democratized. As cities, prosperity, and vitality are linked to its ability to educate its people, the monarchs had not understood this at first. They'd wanted to keep the knowledge to themselves so as to exploit it to their own ends. [Nomadic spoken audio] Sarki had betrayed his king. For such crimes, the king alone will judge. Sarki was sentenced to die the following morning. It would be a long time before mankind would separate justice from power. In the city, public executions offered people an entertaining spectacle, but their real purpose was to reinforce the sovereign supremacy. Tobar could not let this happen, Sarki had taught him everything he knew. He had risked his life for him, it was time to repay his friend. He loved Sarki, and on that day, he understood how much Sarki loved him. He had been his disciple, his prodigy. Tobar gave his master the symbol of Gaia, it would protect him. [Nomadic spoken audio] By living in large cities, humans gradually lost touch with nature and no longer recognized its dangers. Even though they could read the stars to find their way, they were unable to find water in the desert. Without shade for protection, their bodies failed them. MG. Sarki felt the end was near, but he had no regrets. He preferred to die free than to live a lie. By this time, the desert people were used to finding city dwellers lost in the sand dunes. As a rule, they'd already died of thirst. What would they do with a dying man? Strip him of his goods and leave his body to the vultures. Who were these people? Why had they saved him? They were nomads, and for them, a stranger was a traveler who deserved their hospitality. These people were descendants of the Aar line, an ancient family that had never converted to the sedentary life. They knew the Gaia lineage very well. Tobar continued to study on his own without ever forgetting Sarki. For Sarki's inspired teaching stayed with Tobar, who gradually became an educated man. A master of symbols. Between the major urban centers, new nomadic peoples had emerged. Moving in caravans, they began to crisscross the planet, trading goods over thousands of kilometers, unknowingly contributing to the dissemination of knowledge which would continue to grow. Thanks to these travelers and their interactions with large cities, knowledge and know-how, science, the arts, and techniques grew by leaps and bounds. Thanks to Sarki, they were able to master figures and symbols. One day, writing would enable all people to free themselves from the shackles of their kings. [Nomadic spoken audio] Ten years have gone by, Sarki returned to the city he had fled. [Nomadic spoken audio] Tobar had become a royal scribe and a master. Sarki was very impressed, he was proud of his protege. Sarki had told the Desert Nomads about Tobar and wanted him to join them. He wanted to show him the world and everything it had to offer. Tobar chose to stay, his place was here. He had a mission. His role was no longer to count the king's treasures. He was writing the history of mankind. He would write the history of the Gaia dynasty so that it could be read and heard in the far reaches of the world for thousands of years to come. The written word would soon become the pillar of human creation, the most powerful means of communication in the universe. There would soon be billions of humans sharing their knowledge at an increasingly rapid rate. When they will no longer know where to go, they will look back to see where they came from.