1 00:00:10,407 --> 00:00:13,683 ALICE ROBERTS: They say this is where it all began. 2 00:00:16,687 --> 00:00:19,679 That we are all children of Africa. 3 00:00:23,367 --> 00:00:26,837 But if so, why do we look so different? 4 00:00:28,967 --> 00:00:32,721 And how on earth could a handful of African families 5 00:00:32,807 --> 00:00:35,765 become a whole world full of people? 6 00:00:47,967 --> 00:00:52,643 I'm Alice Roberts, medical doctor and anthropologist. 7 00:00:52,727 --> 00:00:57,084 I'm fascinated by what bones, stones, 8 00:00:57,927 --> 00:01:02,079 and even our bodies can reveal about the distant past. 9 00:01:03,767 --> 00:01:08,283 I'm going in search of the traces left by our African ancestors 10 00:01:08,367 --> 00:01:11,404 and their journeys to populate the world. 11 00:01:12,127 --> 00:01:15,403 This time, the most challenging journey yet.. 12 00:01:15,487 --> 00:01:16,761 Asia. 13 00:01:17,767 --> 00:01:22,761 Could people out of Africa really have conquered its frozen wastes? 14 00:01:22,847 --> 00:01:25,315 I don't think I've ever been so cold. 15 00:01:25,407 --> 00:01:29,844 And did the journey cause a change in the way people look? 16 00:01:32,047 --> 00:01:35,119 or have I got it completely wrong? 17 00:01:35,207 --> 00:01:38,279 I'm going to investigate an astonishing idea 18 00:01:38,367 --> 00:01:42,645 that the Chinese could be descended from a different branch of the human family 19 00:01:42,727 --> 00:01:44,080 to the rest of us. 20 00:01:47,727 --> 00:01:50,764 Come with me in the footsteps of our ancestors, 21 00:01:50,847 --> 00:01:54,726 on the most epic adventure ever undertaken. 22 00:02:11,967 --> 00:02:15,437 ROBERTS: Siberia, north of the Arctic Circle. 23 00:02:15,527 --> 00:02:18,837 I'm going to meet one of the most remote peoples on Earth 24 00:02:18,927 --> 00:02:20,997 to help solve a mystery. 25 00:02:21,087 --> 00:02:26,207 Why would our ancestors have ever ventured into such a wilderness? 26 00:02:29,047 --> 00:02:33,563 We're flying over vast expanses of ice and snow, 27 00:02:33,647 --> 00:02:36,878 but I'm getting very close to my destination now. 28 00:02:39,247 --> 00:02:41,602 I'm heading deep into Asia, 29 00:02:41,687 --> 00:02:44,201 5,000 kilometres east of Moscow 30 00:02:44,287 --> 00:02:47,165 to the small town of olenek. 31 00:02:57,727 --> 00:02:59,718 I've come to meet the Evenki. 32 00:03:04,407 --> 00:03:06,284 These people are the closest I can get 33 00:03:06,367 --> 00:03:09,040 to the humans I think first conquered these lands. 34 00:03:19,007 --> 00:03:21,123 I've arrived on a special day. 35 00:03:21,207 --> 00:03:23,721 It's the annual reindeer festival. 36 00:03:23,807 --> 00:03:24,922 (PEOPLE CHEERING) 37 00:03:30,447 --> 00:03:33,996 These animals have been vital to the people of Siberia 38 00:03:34,087 --> 00:03:36,760 for as long as anyone can remember. 39 00:03:43,727 --> 00:03:45,843 That's one lost his seat. 40 00:03:58,367 --> 00:04:00,039 People have come to this festival 41 00:04:00,127 --> 00:04:02,960 from an area the size of Britain and France put together, 42 00:04:03,047 --> 00:04:05,356 to race their reindeer on the frozen river. 43 00:04:05,447 --> 00:04:07,005 But it's also an opportunity 44 00:04:07,087 --> 00:04:11,285 for the people that live so scattered across this landscape to come together. 45 00:04:15,007 --> 00:04:18,966 ROBERTS: How our ancestors first came to these cold lands, 46 00:04:19,047 --> 00:04:21,959 and then survived here, is a mystery. 47 00:04:22,047 --> 00:04:24,402 So I hope the Evenki can help. 48 00:04:30,087 --> 00:04:32,999 But to find out more, I must leave the festival 49 00:04:33,087 --> 00:04:35,647 and head for one of their remote camps. 50 00:04:38,087 --> 00:04:39,805 It's going to be tough. 51 00:04:39,887 --> 00:04:43,323 It's already minus 26 degrees Celsius, 52 00:04:43,407 --> 00:04:46,797 and they say it could get a lot colder. 53 00:04:47,167 --> 00:04:49,556 I've got layers and layers on here. 54 00:04:49,647 --> 00:04:53,560 There are two, three, four... 55 00:04:53,647 --> 00:04:55,160 five with the coat. 56 00:04:55,247 --> 00:04:59,126 And it's absolutely essential that every bit of my skin is covered, 57 00:04:59,207 --> 00:05:01,118 including my face. 58 00:05:01,207 --> 00:05:05,997 Because if anything is exposed, it will literally freeze. 59 00:05:08,647 --> 00:05:13,516 But it seems that even my finest 2 1 st-century, hi-tech clothing 60 00:05:13,607 --> 00:05:15,962 is no match for the Siberian winter. 61 00:05:16,727 --> 00:05:18,126 Thank you. 62 00:05:20,727 --> 00:05:24,845 My driver is not convinced that this jacket is adequate, 63 00:05:24,927 --> 00:05:28,681 and he's given me a reindeer-fur jacket instead. 64 00:05:28,767 --> 00:05:31,884 I think he might be right, because reindeer fur is amazing. 65 00:05:31,967 --> 00:05:35,118 Each of these outer hairs is actually hollow 66 00:05:35,207 --> 00:05:36,720 and it's got air inside, 67 00:05:36,807 --> 00:05:40,004 so it's fantastic insulation. 68 00:05:40,087 --> 00:05:42,920 And I'm going to be testing it out. 69 00:05:49,287 --> 00:05:53,200 ROBERTS: Wonderful. Amazing stuff. 70 00:06:02,647 --> 00:06:06,117 To start with, the reindeer fur keeps me really warm. 71 00:06:17,367 --> 00:06:20,200 I even have a go at driving myself. 72 00:06:22,367 --> 00:06:25,803 But as the journey goes on, I begin to feel the cold. 73 00:06:25,887 --> 00:06:29,596 And with the wind chill, the temperature drops well below minus 40. 74 00:06:37,767 --> 00:06:40,565 As the hours go by, it gets colder. 75 00:06:43,567 --> 00:06:47,355 I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers and toes. 76 00:06:50,967 --> 00:06:55,597 Is it really possible that our ancestors survived this cold? 77 00:06:55,687 --> 00:06:59,566 After all, their bodies were not made for this climate. 78 00:07:00,927 --> 00:07:05,682 Because the latest research claims that Siberians, along with most humans, 79 00:07:05,767 --> 00:07:10,238 can trace their origins to a tiny group which left Africa 80 00:07:10,327 --> 00:07:13,080 around 70,000 years ago. 81 00:07:13,527 --> 00:07:16,997 A few family groups could have followed the great rivers north, 82 00:07:17,087 --> 00:07:19,476 around and through the Himalayas. 83 00:07:19,567 --> 00:07:21,205 But we just don't know. 84 00:07:22,687 --> 00:07:24,996 All we have is a few stone tools 85 00:07:25,087 --> 00:07:30,081 suggesting someone had reached Siberia by 40,000 years ago. 86 00:07:34,047 --> 00:07:40,395 What could have driven such a tropical species on deeper into the frozen north? 87 00:07:45,287 --> 00:07:50,236 The last half hour of the journey is the longest I have ever experienced. 88 00:07:57,967 --> 00:08:00,197 After what seems like forever, 89 00:08:00,287 --> 00:08:03,996 the Evenki camp finally appears through the trees. 90 00:08:12,847 --> 00:08:14,360 Oh, God! 91 00:08:14,647 --> 00:08:18,435 I don't think I've ever been so cold in my entire life. 92 00:08:18,527 --> 00:08:20,677 That's a six-hour journey. 93 00:08:22,247 --> 00:08:24,761 I saw some of it, but a lot of it I didn't see, 94 00:08:24,847 --> 00:08:26,519 'cause just look at that. 95 00:08:26,607 --> 00:08:28,359 Nothing at all. 96 00:08:28,447 --> 00:08:30,597 Oh, but we're here. 97 00:08:31,487 --> 00:08:33,205 I'm gonna go and get warm. 98 00:08:50,527 --> 00:08:54,202 ROBERTS: I wake up to find the camp in a fever of activity. 99 00:08:54,287 --> 00:08:58,280 Even in bright sunshine, it's still minus 20. 100 00:08:58,367 --> 00:09:00,722 But I feel privileged to be here. 101 00:09:02,367 --> 00:09:06,440 These Evenki are one of the most isolated peoples in the world. 102 00:09:06,527 --> 00:09:10,122 And this is the first time they've allowed their camps to be filmed. 103 00:09:13,287 --> 00:09:14,959 Well, the question that really leaps out 104 00:09:15,047 --> 00:09:17,515 is why on earth did the ancestors of the Evenki 105 00:09:17,607 --> 00:09:19,359 come this far north? 106 00:09:19,447 --> 00:09:22,325 But the answer is obvious. Hunting. 107 00:09:22,407 --> 00:09:26,525 And in fact, although the Evenki today have herds of domesticated reindeer, 108 00:09:26,607 --> 00:09:30,316 they still depend on the wild animals for their meat. 109 00:09:30,407 --> 00:09:34,161 Just as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. 110 00:09:34,247 --> 00:09:37,398 Well, I'm just about to go off on a reindeer hunt. 111 00:09:38,047 --> 00:09:40,720 So, Vasily, have you got a good feeling about the hunt today? 112 00:09:40,807 --> 00:09:45,597 MALE TRANSLATOR: Well, I feel it's going to be a good day. 113 00:09:45,687 --> 00:09:47,803 But you never can tell. 114 00:09:50,807 --> 00:09:53,560 ROBERTS: vasily Stepanov, the brigadier, 115 00:09:53,647 --> 00:09:57,606 leads what's known as a brigade of Evenki herders and hunters. 116 00:09:59,567 --> 00:10:04,880 We know that people have been hunting in Siberia for a very long time, 117 00:10:07,207 --> 00:10:10,517 because scattered across this vast wilderness 118 00:10:10,607 --> 00:10:14,566 archaeologists have discovered ancient butchered reindeer bones, 119 00:10:14,647 --> 00:10:17,798 and tools carved from their antlers. 120 00:10:36,287 --> 00:10:38,517 MALE TRANSLATOR: You can see all these reindeer tracks. 121 00:10:38,607 --> 00:10:41,804 They passed through and went off in that direction. 122 00:10:41,887 --> 00:10:42,922 over there. 123 00:10:44,207 --> 00:10:46,198 (SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE) 124 00:10:50,207 --> 00:10:54,200 ROBERTS: The brigadier reckons they were here recently, but are moving fast. 125 00:10:58,567 --> 00:11:00,159 After some time tracking, 126 00:11:00,247 --> 00:11:03,159 it becomes clear that he won't catch them today. 127 00:11:09,367 --> 00:11:12,404 But his people still need to eat. 128 00:11:13,287 --> 00:11:14,640 So, reluctantly, 129 00:11:14,727 --> 00:11:18,083 they choose one of their domesticated animals for slaughter. 130 00:11:32,767 --> 00:11:36,237 But now, as far as the Evenki people are concerned, it's... 131 00:11:37,207 --> 00:11:38,322 it's dinner. 132 00:11:39,247 --> 00:11:40,726 And the anatomist in me is quite intrigued 133 00:11:40,807 --> 00:11:42,923 to see how they're going to skin it 134 00:11:43,007 --> 00:11:44,804 and how they're going to cut it up. 135 00:11:50,887 --> 00:11:52,639 ROBERTS: Quite interesting, 'cause they're using the knife 136 00:11:52,727 --> 00:11:55,560 with the blade basically facing outwards 137 00:11:55,647 --> 00:11:58,320 so there's no chance of cutting through the deeper tissues. 138 00:11:58,407 --> 00:12:00,967 And it's almost bloodless. I mean, look at that. 139 00:12:01,047 --> 00:12:03,402 That skin is just peeling away. 140 00:12:04,287 --> 00:12:06,084 ROBERTS: For 40,000 years, 141 00:12:06,167 --> 00:12:09,796 a key to survival in this incredibly harsh environment 142 00:12:09,887 --> 00:12:13,436 has been to use every single bit of the reindeer. 143 00:12:13,967 --> 00:12:16,959 The eyes, liver and brain are delicacies. 144 00:12:17,047 --> 00:12:20,039 The antlers are used to boost male potency. 145 00:12:20,127 --> 00:12:22,083 And that's not all. 146 00:12:23,087 --> 00:12:27,080 MALE TRANSLATOR: Alice, it's like French wine. 147 00:12:37,327 --> 00:12:38,646 (ExCLAIMS) 148 00:12:38,847 --> 00:12:42,123 ROBERTS: But food is only one part of survival. 149 00:12:43,847 --> 00:12:46,315 To withstand this terrible cold, 150 00:12:46,407 --> 00:12:50,719 our ancestors had to come up with something really ingenious. 151 00:12:52,687 --> 00:12:55,565 Well, compared to the hunt, what these ladies are doing here 152 00:12:55,647 --> 00:12:57,365 seems a bit frivolous. 153 00:12:57,447 --> 00:13:00,883 But in fact, it's one of the greatest technological advances 154 00:13:00,967 --> 00:13:03,003 the humankind has ever seen. 155 00:13:05,887 --> 00:13:09,084 ROBERTS: our species wasn't designed for this climate. 156 00:13:09,167 --> 00:13:13,763 Yet somehow, uniquely amongst apes, we made it this far north. 157 00:13:13,847 --> 00:13:16,281 And the secret is right here. 158 00:13:18,007 --> 00:13:21,397 Tanya is measuring me up for my very own pair 159 00:13:21,487 --> 00:13:23,796 of reindeer-skin boots. 160 00:13:24,967 --> 00:13:27,401 FEMALE TRANSLATOR: okay, that's it. 161 00:13:27,487 --> 00:13:30,684 I've got your size. Let's get to work. 162 00:13:31,927 --> 00:13:34,361 There's a very specific part 163 00:13:34,447 --> 00:13:37,200 of the reindeer hide that's being used here. 164 00:13:37,287 --> 00:13:39,118 You can see from the shape of it 165 00:13:39,207 --> 00:13:41,880 that it's the fur from the reindeer's legs 166 00:13:41,967 --> 00:13:44,083 that they use to make boots out of. 167 00:13:45,407 --> 00:13:48,922 ROBERTS: But what happens now is the really important bit. 168 00:13:50,487 --> 00:13:53,479 ROBERTS: And this is it. This amazing technology 169 00:13:53,567 --> 00:13:57,196 that makes survival in this harsh environment possible. 170 00:13:57,287 --> 00:13:58,720 Sewing. 171 00:13:58,807 --> 00:14:02,004 And it all depends on having a needle. 172 00:14:02,767 --> 00:14:05,565 Some of the most ancient needles in the world 173 00:14:05,647 --> 00:14:06,966 are found in Siberia. 174 00:14:08,807 --> 00:14:11,162 ROBERTS: We'll never know who it was 175 00:14:11,247 --> 00:14:15,001 that first thought of carving a needle out of bone. 176 00:14:15,087 --> 00:14:20,320 But the oldest one found dates to around 40,000 years ago. 177 00:14:28,847 --> 00:14:30,678 It's no good having a needle 178 00:14:30,767 --> 00:14:33,440 if you don't have tough thread to sew with. 179 00:14:33,527 --> 00:14:36,041 And that comes from the reindeer, too. 180 00:14:36,127 --> 00:14:39,483 (SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE) 181 00:14:39,567 --> 00:14:42,127 FEMALE TRANSLATOR: I'm using sinew from the body of the reindeer 182 00:14:42,207 --> 00:14:45,119 to make threads for sewing clothes together. 183 00:14:45,207 --> 00:14:49,997 If you use these, it's a very sturdy and long-lasting way of sewing things. 184 00:14:50,407 --> 00:14:52,716 (SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE) 185 00:15:02,247 --> 00:15:05,080 ROBERTS: It's humbling that this apparently simple approach 186 00:15:05,167 --> 00:15:08,364 still beats synthetic clothing today. 187 00:15:12,367 --> 00:15:14,756 Beautiful! Spasibo. 188 00:15:17,527 --> 00:15:18,596 (WOMAN LAUGHING) 189 00:15:19,407 --> 00:15:20,635 ROBERTS: The needle and thread 190 00:15:20,727 --> 00:15:24,925 made the difference between death and survival. 191 00:15:25,007 --> 00:15:28,920 Tailored clothes meant people who originated in the tropics 192 00:15:29,007 --> 00:15:33,285 could now venture further north than any humans before. 193 00:15:48,207 --> 00:15:52,678 That evening, I get an invitation to join the brigadier's family 194 00:15:52,767 --> 00:15:55,759 as they tuck in to the reindeer killed earlier. 195 00:15:55,847 --> 00:15:58,805 And there isn't much else on the menu. 196 00:15:59,447 --> 00:16:02,917 The Evenki's meaty diet may sound unhealthy, 197 00:16:03,007 --> 00:16:07,159 but it boosts the metabolic rate and raises body temperature. 198 00:16:07,247 --> 00:16:10,762 Basically, it makes them feel warmer. 199 00:16:13,967 --> 00:16:15,844 As the evening moves on, 200 00:16:15,927 --> 00:16:19,442 our conversation turns to an eternal question. 201 00:16:21,087 --> 00:16:24,557 Anatoly, do the Evenki have any stories about creation? 202 00:16:24,647 --> 00:16:26,683 About how they came to be here? 203 00:16:29,047 --> 00:16:32,676 MALE TRANSLATOR: A bird called the loon dived three times into the sea. 204 00:16:32,767 --> 00:16:36,760 And only at the third time it brought a bit of mud. 205 00:16:36,847 --> 00:16:39,315 And from that mud, the earth arose. 206 00:16:39,407 --> 00:16:41,637 And then the mammoth came along. 207 00:16:41,727 --> 00:16:46,039 And with its tusks, it raised the earth still further 208 00:16:46,127 --> 00:16:48,402 and formed the rivers and mountains. 209 00:16:48,487 --> 00:16:53,117 So this is our beautiful story about the creation of the Earth. 210 00:17:12,367 --> 00:17:13,595 (CLANGING) 211 00:17:15,527 --> 00:17:16,880 ROBERTS: I feel I understand 212 00:17:16,967 --> 00:17:20,437 how our ancestors would have been able to survive here. 213 00:17:20,527 --> 00:17:23,280 But the consequence of having to follow their food 214 00:17:23,367 --> 00:17:26,757 would have been an endlessly nomadic lifestyle. 215 00:17:30,567 --> 00:17:32,319 All this commotion around. 216 00:17:32,407 --> 00:17:36,366 People are literally packing down their homes and moving off. 217 00:17:36,447 --> 00:17:38,961 And this is what a nomadic lifestyle is all about. 218 00:17:39,047 --> 00:17:40,560 These people have to move. 219 00:17:40,647 --> 00:17:43,480 They have to take their reindeer to new pastures. 220 00:17:54,207 --> 00:17:56,880 ROBERTS: The only thing the reindeer eat in winter 221 00:17:56,967 --> 00:17:59,242 is lichen under the snow. 222 00:17:59,327 --> 00:18:01,397 And they get through it very fast. 223 00:18:01,487 --> 00:18:04,081 So they're constantly on the move to find more. 224 00:18:04,167 --> 00:18:06,601 And the humans follow them. 225 00:18:07,327 --> 00:18:10,876 This is just amazing. We've got this caravan of reindeer sleighs 226 00:18:10,967 --> 00:18:12,798 carrying everything from the camp. 227 00:18:12,887 --> 00:18:17,517 And the entire herd, hundreds and hundreds of reindeer, 228 00:18:17,607 --> 00:18:19,120 are following us. 229 00:18:37,207 --> 00:18:39,960 ROBERTS: Finally, the reindeer stop, and so do we. 230 00:18:40,047 --> 00:18:42,845 Everybody joins in to put up the tchum. 231 00:18:44,087 --> 00:18:48,126 There are so few people around the world who still live like this, 232 00:18:48,207 --> 00:18:50,801 but once we were all nomads. 233 00:18:50,887 --> 00:18:53,242 ROBERTS: That's got to go on by itself. 234 00:19:01,167 --> 00:19:04,364 So what we've seen today is a nomadic lifestyle in action. 235 00:19:04,447 --> 00:19:07,996 We've seen a whole village being dismantled and moved on. 236 00:19:08,087 --> 00:19:10,840 And it took about 1 0 minutes to put this tchum up, 237 00:19:10,927 --> 00:19:13,646 and it's made of large poles and reindeer skin, 238 00:19:13,727 --> 00:19:15,638 the sort of materials that would have been available 239 00:19:15,727 --> 00:19:17,922 thousands and thousands of years ago. 240 00:19:18,007 --> 00:19:20,202 This is a very ancient way of life. 241 00:19:23,607 --> 00:19:26,599 ROBERTS: And it seems that for over 1 0,000 years 242 00:19:26,687 --> 00:19:31,203 this life on the move took family groups right across Siberia. 243 00:19:31,847 --> 00:19:36,443 Recent discoveries tell us that they reached the edge of the Arctic ocean 244 00:19:36,527 --> 00:19:39,246 nearly 30,000 years ago. 245 00:19:42,407 --> 00:19:46,559 Humans survived here for thousands of years. 246 00:19:48,807 --> 00:19:53,881 But then a dramatic turn of events changed their journey through Asia - 247 00:19:54,847 --> 00:19:57,441 the peak of the Ice Age. 248 00:20:00,127 --> 00:20:06,316 The latest climate research reveals what happened 25,000 years ago, 249 00:20:06,407 --> 00:20:09,444 as the Ice Age really took hold. 250 00:20:10,727 --> 00:20:15,403 In places, the temperature reached as low as minus 80. 251 00:20:15,487 --> 00:20:18,285 And it became unimaginably dry. 252 00:20:19,087 --> 00:20:22,921 Such extremes are impossible to survive. 253 00:20:26,647 --> 00:20:31,846 So what happened to these men, women and children? 254 00:20:42,927 --> 00:20:47,478 St Petersburg, the former imperial capital of Russia. 255 00:20:55,047 --> 00:20:59,199 The Hermitage is one of the world's greatest museums, 256 00:20:59,287 --> 00:21:02,723 home to some of the most celebrated works of art. 257 00:21:10,767 --> 00:21:13,486 But there's something else here, too. 258 00:21:13,567 --> 00:21:17,924 It's not on display, but it's every bit as precious. 259 00:21:22,047 --> 00:21:23,799 Here, in the storerooms, 260 00:21:23,887 --> 00:21:27,675 are a few objects that could unlock the secrets 261 00:21:27,767 --> 00:21:32,602 of those Siberian families struggling in the depths of the Ice Age. 262 00:21:36,327 --> 00:21:38,522 What is really striking about these objects 263 00:21:38,607 --> 00:21:40,643 from the height of the last Ice Age 264 00:21:40,727 --> 00:21:44,800 is that they're found in just a few places in the south of Siberia. 265 00:21:44,887 --> 00:21:48,721 Which is interesting because it suggests that as the climate worsened, 266 00:21:48,807 --> 00:21:52,163 these prehistoric people retreated into refuges 267 00:21:52,247 --> 00:21:54,841 where it still would have been very cold, 268 00:21:54,927 --> 00:21:57,646 but they would have been just able to survive. 269 00:21:58,607 --> 00:22:02,725 ROBERTS: People vanished from the frozen wastes of northern Siberia, 270 00:22:02,807 --> 00:22:04,126 to the south. 271 00:22:04,207 --> 00:22:08,086 one of the refuges they gathered in is now called Mal'ta. 272 00:22:11,127 --> 00:22:14,164 So can the few remains found here 273 00:22:14,247 --> 00:22:17,717 tell us anything about what happened? 274 00:22:18,207 --> 00:22:21,916 Just look at these tiny blades from the Ice Age. 275 00:22:22,287 --> 00:22:24,198 They are unusually small. 276 00:22:24,647 --> 00:22:28,037 And the archaeologists think this is because the appalling cold 277 00:22:28,127 --> 00:22:30,561 made it difficult to reach the quarries, 278 00:22:30,647 --> 00:22:34,037 so the stone itself was such a precious resource 279 00:22:34,127 --> 00:22:35,606 that they were using it to its utmost, 280 00:22:35,687 --> 00:22:38,247 getting as many blades as they could out of it. 281 00:22:38,887 --> 00:22:42,641 So the blades themselves got smaller and smaller. 282 00:22:45,047 --> 00:22:49,165 And something extraordinary was happening during this period. 283 00:22:49,247 --> 00:22:53,684 In spite of that struggle for survival, there was a blossoming of art. 284 00:22:55,567 --> 00:22:58,639 Now, we may never know 285 00:22:58,727 --> 00:23:02,003 the meaning of this beautiful pair of swans 286 00:23:02,087 --> 00:23:04,123 to the people that made them, 287 00:23:04,207 --> 00:23:08,723 but archaeologists have suggested that they might be hunting charms. 288 00:23:08,807 --> 00:23:12,800 That when the first swans flew, the first deer would appear, 289 00:23:12,887 --> 00:23:15,606 and it was the beginning of the spring hunting season. 290 00:23:16,327 --> 00:23:19,000 And how they must have longed for spring. 291 00:23:21,687 --> 00:23:25,475 ROBERTS: Many of the objects in this collection are mysterious. 292 00:23:25,567 --> 00:23:29,401 This unique plate is made from mammoth ivory. 293 00:23:30,647 --> 00:23:32,842 Some have suggested it's a map 294 00:23:32,927 --> 00:23:36,124 showing the physical and spiritual worlds, 295 00:23:36,207 --> 00:23:40,598 with the connection between them symbolised by a hole in the middle. 296 00:23:47,607 --> 00:23:50,121 These precious bone figurines 297 00:23:50,207 --> 00:23:54,086 are among the earliest depictions of people wearing fur - 298 00:23:54,727 --> 00:23:58,402 further proof that plenty of these Asian pioneers 299 00:23:58,487 --> 00:24:01,001 could sew clothes by this time. 300 00:24:07,327 --> 00:24:08,476 (CAMERA CLICKS) 301 00:24:14,127 --> 00:24:15,401 And finally, there are 302 00:24:15,487 --> 00:24:19,036 these delicate and beautiful little statues of women. 303 00:24:19,127 --> 00:24:22,278 And some of them are pierced, so they may have been worn as pendants, 304 00:24:22,367 --> 00:24:23,766 perhaps amulets. 305 00:24:26,967 --> 00:24:29,435 It's possible that they're fertility symbols, 306 00:24:29,527 --> 00:24:32,724 really underlining the importance and difficulty 307 00:24:32,807 --> 00:24:36,197 of producing children during such harsh conditions. 308 00:24:38,167 --> 00:24:39,839 And in fact, some archaeologists 309 00:24:39,927 --> 00:24:43,602 see this entire, very beautiful collection 310 00:24:43,687 --> 00:24:48,283 as a cry to the spirits in a time of stress and struggle. 311 00:24:52,327 --> 00:24:55,524 ROBERTS: It is amazing to think of those ancient people, 312 00:24:55,607 --> 00:24:58,838 who after all originated in a much warmer place, 313 00:24:58,927 --> 00:25:02,317 surviving in Ice Age Siberia. 314 00:25:07,087 --> 00:25:11,638 But it seems that around this time something else happened to them. 315 00:25:11,727 --> 00:25:15,686 Something which is much more difficult to explain. 316 00:25:19,767 --> 00:25:24,204 This is our best guess as to what our African ancestors looked like. 317 00:25:24,287 --> 00:25:27,404 This reconstruction is based on the skull of a woman 318 00:25:27,487 --> 00:25:30,559 who lived over 1 00,000 years ago. 319 00:25:32,127 --> 00:25:35,915 But sometime around the peak of the last Ice Age, 320 00:25:36,007 --> 00:25:40,558 the faces of the people of East Asia changed. 321 00:25:41,407 --> 00:25:42,681 Why? 322 00:25:53,367 --> 00:25:56,006 Today, from Siberia to Hong Kong, 323 00:25:56,087 --> 00:25:58,647 you come face to face with these changes. 324 00:26:01,207 --> 00:26:05,678 Almond-shaped eyes, a flatter face, a smaller nose. 325 00:26:07,607 --> 00:26:11,600 Most of all, we associate these features with China. 326 00:26:11,687 --> 00:26:14,997 And here they have become the subject of great interest - 327 00:26:15,087 --> 00:26:18,443 not to scientists, but to the beauty industry. 328 00:26:21,727 --> 00:26:23,445 ROBERTS: For cosmetics companies, 329 00:26:23,527 --> 00:26:27,645 understanding variation in people's faces can be big business. 330 00:26:27,727 --> 00:26:29,797 Now, during the Cultural Revolution 331 00:26:29,887 --> 00:26:33,004 Chinese women were forbidden from wearing make-up, 332 00:26:33,087 --> 00:26:37,638 but now China is one of the biggest markets in the world. 333 00:26:42,247 --> 00:26:43,646 Secret filming. 334 00:26:43,727 --> 00:26:45,957 ROBERTS: Here's one multinational that's in there 335 00:26:46,047 --> 00:26:49,244 trying to convince the Chinese to use their products. 336 00:26:49,327 --> 00:26:53,843 Crystal, she has a very traditional Chinese eye. 337 00:26:53,927 --> 00:26:57,886 So what I need to do is make her eye look bigger and more attractive. 338 00:26:57,967 --> 00:27:00,606 So you're actually trying to make her look less Chinese? 339 00:27:00,687 --> 00:27:01,756 No! 340 00:27:01,847 --> 00:27:04,486 (BOTH LAUGHING) 341 00:27:09,167 --> 00:27:11,237 ROBERTS: They claim to have some insight 342 00:27:11,327 --> 00:27:14,364 into what is special about the Chinese face. 343 00:27:14,447 --> 00:27:17,405 I'm curious, if a little suspicious. 344 00:27:18,407 --> 00:27:20,762 Now, in here is the wrinkle laboratory 345 00:27:20,847 --> 00:27:23,839 where they grade your wrinkles from nought to six. 346 00:27:26,647 --> 00:27:30,162 ROBERTS: The company is trying to compare the way skin ages 347 00:27:30,247 --> 00:27:32,363 in European and Chinese women. 348 00:27:32,767 --> 00:27:33,882 Sit down, please. 349 00:27:35,807 --> 00:27:38,446 This is all rather clinical-looking and scary, isn't it? 350 00:27:38,527 --> 00:27:40,802 ROBERTS: Carole wants to assess my wrinkles 351 00:27:40,887 --> 00:27:44,243 and contrast them with a Chinese woman of the same age. 352 00:27:44,527 --> 00:27:46,324 -Grade one. -Grade one? 353 00:27:46,407 --> 00:27:47,999 CAROLE: Yes. ROBERTS: That's good. 354 00:27:48,847 --> 00:27:51,236 CAROLE: That's lateral folds. 355 00:27:52,127 --> 00:27:54,925 Grade two. Crow's-feet wrinkle. 356 00:27:56,047 --> 00:27:59,244 Grade one. You have very little wrinkle 357 00:27:59,327 --> 00:28:01,204 -for your age. -ROBERTS: Excellent! 358 00:28:01,287 --> 00:28:03,437 I've paid Carole to say that. 359 00:28:03,967 --> 00:28:05,525 Thank you very much. 360 00:28:05,607 --> 00:28:07,882 So how does the Chinese woman do? 361 00:28:07,967 --> 00:28:10,640 CAROLE: Grade one, grade two, grade one. 362 00:28:12,247 --> 00:28:14,807 -Thank you very much, Carole. -You're welcome. 363 00:28:14,887 --> 00:28:17,720 ROBERTS: At our age, Carole sees very little difference. 364 00:28:19,447 --> 00:28:21,677 But what happens 1 0 years later? 365 00:28:21,767 --> 00:28:24,201 This is a 4 7-year-old European. 366 00:28:26,127 --> 00:28:28,004 This is grade four. 367 00:28:30,287 --> 00:28:31,766 Grade three. 368 00:28:32,487 --> 00:28:33,966 Grade four. 369 00:28:35,367 --> 00:28:39,440 ROBERTS: Compare her with a 4 7-year-old Chinese woman. 370 00:28:39,527 --> 00:28:42,997 Grade two. It's grade one. 371 00:28:44,927 --> 00:28:46,076 Grade one. 372 00:28:48,527 --> 00:28:52,998 There's a suggestion that Chinese skin ages more slowly. 373 00:28:53,087 --> 00:28:56,124 I'd need a lot more evidence to be convinced. 374 00:28:56,207 --> 00:28:58,721 But that's not nearly as controversial 375 00:28:58,807 --> 00:29:03,119 as the whole question of where Chinese features came from 376 00:29:03,207 --> 00:29:05,163 in the first place. 377 00:29:05,247 --> 00:29:09,001 It's one of the most fascinating and perplexing questions 378 00:29:09,087 --> 00:29:10,725 of our human origins. 379 00:29:15,767 --> 00:29:18,964 Some have suggested that these facial characteristics, 380 00:29:19,047 --> 00:29:23,518 like narrower eyes, smaller noses and flatter faces, 381 00:29:23,607 --> 00:29:26,326 could have been adaptations to cold, 382 00:29:26,407 --> 00:29:30,161 protecting the eyes and reducing heat loss from the face. 383 00:29:35,127 --> 00:29:37,402 It's an alluring idea. 384 00:29:37,487 --> 00:29:40,320 The problem is, there's no evidence for it. 385 00:29:42,687 --> 00:29:47,477 But there are many people in China who believe there's another explanation 386 00:29:47,567 --> 00:29:49,159 for the way they look. 387 00:29:49,247 --> 00:29:54,640 And their theory, if proved true, could be absolutely explosive. 388 00:29:59,327 --> 00:30:02,205 ROBERTS: It would mean we'd have to totally rethink our ideas 389 00:30:02,287 --> 00:30:06,838 about how Asia, and indeed the whole world, became populated. 390 00:30:09,207 --> 00:30:12,040 Many Chinese people believe that they look different 391 00:30:12,127 --> 00:30:15,642 because they are fundamentally different from the rest of us. 392 00:30:15,727 --> 00:30:19,356 The claim is that they come from a completely separate branch 393 00:30:19,447 --> 00:30:21,438 of the human family tree, 394 00:30:21,527 --> 00:30:25,236 and that they descend from an ancient type of human 395 00:30:25,327 --> 00:30:30,321 who arrived here in China nearly two million years ago. 396 00:30:34,327 --> 00:30:37,239 ROBERTS: Before we modern humans existed, 397 00:30:37,327 --> 00:30:39,682 there were earlier species of human, 398 00:30:39,767 --> 00:30:41,962 such as Homo erectus. 399 00:30:42,047 --> 00:30:44,163 A bit more ape-like than us, perhaps, 400 00:30:44,247 --> 00:30:47,205 with a heavy brow and a smaller brain. 401 00:30:49,287 --> 00:30:52,165 About 1.8 million years ago, 402 00:30:52,247 --> 00:30:56,320 the Homo erectus population started spilling out of Africa. 403 00:30:57,447 --> 00:30:59,039 I always believed 404 00:30:59,127 --> 00:31:02,881 that Homo erectus in Asia eventually died out, 405 00:31:03,607 --> 00:31:08,123 while Homo erectus in Africa ultimately evolved into us, 406 00:31:08,207 --> 00:31:09,606 Homo sapiens. 407 00:31:10,847 --> 00:31:16,524 Then, around 70,000 years ago, a tiny group left - 408 00:31:16,607 --> 00:31:20,316 ancestors of everyone outside Africa today. 409 00:31:21,687 --> 00:31:25,919 But in China they think this is completely wrong. 410 00:31:49,087 --> 00:31:51,999 I've come to zhoukoudian, near Beijing, 411 00:31:52,087 --> 00:31:54,476 where the Chinese say they have evidence 412 00:31:54,567 --> 00:31:58,480 that Homo erectus in Asia did not die out, 413 00:31:58,567 --> 00:32:00,956 but is in fact their ancestor. 414 00:32:06,887 --> 00:32:10,243 They believe passionately in their separate origin, 415 00:32:10,327 --> 00:32:13,956 and it's something everyone in China is taught from childhood. 416 00:32:20,487 --> 00:32:22,239 It's such an amazing idea, 417 00:32:22,327 --> 00:32:25,080 that the Chinese originate from a different branch 418 00:32:25,167 --> 00:32:28,000 of the human family tree from the rest of us. 419 00:32:28,087 --> 00:32:31,159 And it goes against everything I've discovered so far. 420 00:32:36,927 --> 00:32:39,441 ROBERTS: It was here, early last century, 421 00:32:39,527 --> 00:32:43,520 that the most important evidence behind this idea was discovered. 422 00:32:49,287 --> 00:32:50,959 So this is the cave itself? 423 00:32:51,607 --> 00:32:55,805 one of China's most revered scientists is Professor Wu xinzhi. 424 00:32:55,887 --> 00:32:59,402 He's dedicated his life to studying what was found here. 425 00:33:00,647 --> 00:33:04,356 -This cave named Pigeon Cave. -Pigeon Cave? 426 00:33:04,447 --> 00:33:07,644 Because here usually there are many pigeons... 427 00:33:07,727 --> 00:33:09,160 ROBERTS: Right. WU: ...living here. 428 00:33:09,247 --> 00:33:13,684 And the main fossils were found over there. 429 00:33:15,247 --> 00:33:19,445 ROBERTS: Half a million years ago, this huge pit was a cave. 430 00:33:19,967 --> 00:33:22,959 And it's here that archaeologists found a treasure trove, 431 00:33:23,607 --> 00:33:27,043 incredibly rare evidence of a long-lost world. 432 00:33:27,687 --> 00:33:31,965 The largest collection of Homo erectus fossils ever unearthed. 433 00:33:32,247 --> 00:33:36,206 The oldest skull is about half a million years old. 434 00:33:36,287 --> 00:33:37,606 -Really? -Yes. 435 00:33:37,687 --> 00:33:41,726 And the youngest one is between 436 00:33:41,807 --> 00:33:45,595 200 and 300,000 years old. 437 00:33:46,367 --> 00:33:47,880 So they were living here for... 438 00:33:47,967 --> 00:33:52,404 For around 300,000 years. 439 00:33:52,487 --> 00:33:54,000 -Right. -A long time. 440 00:33:54,087 --> 00:33:59,400 So I believe this is the home base of Homo erectus. 441 00:33:59,487 --> 00:34:00,522 ROBERTS: Right. 442 00:34:00,607 --> 00:34:04,361 Professor Wu is sure that Asian Homo erectus evolved here 443 00:34:04,447 --> 00:34:06,165 into the modern Chinese. 444 00:34:06,447 --> 00:34:07,846 And a few metres away, 445 00:34:07,927 --> 00:34:11,681 he shows me where some really crucial evidence was found. 446 00:34:12,807 --> 00:34:16,686 Here, in what is called the Upper Cave, they found more skulls, 447 00:34:16,767 --> 00:34:18,678 but these ones were quite different. 448 00:34:20,087 --> 00:34:26,083 This is Upper Cave. Many human skeletons was found here. 449 00:34:26,287 --> 00:34:28,960 30,000 years old. 450 00:34:29,047 --> 00:34:32,084 ROBERTS: The skulls clearly belonged to our species, 451 00:34:32,167 --> 00:34:35,443 but the researchers saw something surprising, too - 452 00:34:35,527 --> 00:34:39,600 they appeared to share some features with the Homo erectus skulls. 453 00:34:39,687 --> 00:34:44,397 There are many common features among them. 454 00:34:45,487 --> 00:34:50,402 And I think it is most probable that 455 00:34:50,727 --> 00:34:57,075 Upper Cave men are the descendants of Homo erectus. 456 00:34:58,967 --> 00:35:01,561 ROBERTS: Wu believes that Asian Homo erectus 457 00:35:01,647 --> 00:35:04,286 evolved into the humans found in the Upper Cave, 458 00:35:04,367 --> 00:35:07,598 and that they evolved into the modern Chinese. 459 00:35:07,687 --> 00:35:11,680 So, for him, Upper Cave Man is a sort of missing link, 460 00:35:11,767 --> 00:35:15,601 proof the Chinese do descend from Homo erectus. 461 00:35:17,967 --> 00:35:20,606 I'd love to see those ancient skulls, 462 00:35:20,687 --> 00:35:24,282 but tragically, in the mayhem of the second World War, 463 00:35:24,447 --> 00:35:26,756 the whole collection went missing. 464 00:35:32,527 --> 00:35:36,440 Luckily, before they were lost, plaster casts were made, 465 00:35:36,527 --> 00:35:39,837 and now even these copies are considered priceless. 466 00:35:41,567 --> 00:35:44,479 (LAUGHING) So, this is the exhibition room. 467 00:35:44,567 --> 00:35:45,602 Right. 468 00:35:45,687 --> 00:35:49,362 ROBERTS: Chinese scientists come here to study the history of their people. 469 00:35:49,447 --> 00:35:52,598 But the casts I want to see are securely locked away. 470 00:35:52,687 --> 00:35:54,678 I will ask him to take out. 471 00:35:54,767 --> 00:35:55,882 Oh, please do. 472 00:35:55,967 --> 00:35:57,639 (SPEAKING MANDARIN) 473 00:35:57,727 --> 00:35:59,638 I think I'm going to have to remove myself actually, 474 00:35:59,727 --> 00:36:02,878 because I'm not allowed to see the drawers that the skulls come out of. 475 00:36:02,967 --> 00:36:07,165 So, I'm just gonna come and stand back here discreetly. 476 00:36:07,247 --> 00:36:08,316 (WU LAUGHING) 477 00:36:08,407 --> 00:36:10,045 Wait for the skulls to appear. 478 00:36:13,007 --> 00:36:14,599 It's sort of layers of security. 479 00:36:14,687 --> 00:36:17,247 We're not allowed to see which key goes into which locker. 480 00:36:17,327 --> 00:36:23,675 He keeps the key so that nobody to know the number. 481 00:36:23,847 --> 00:36:25,280 -Do you know the numbers? -No. 482 00:36:25,367 --> 00:36:27,437 (LAUGHS) No? Even Professor Wu doesn't know. 483 00:36:27,527 --> 00:36:32,157 No, I do not want to know, because if I know that, 484 00:36:32,767 --> 00:36:36,919 if it is lost, I have the responsibility. 485 00:36:37,007 --> 00:36:40,124 -Yes. -But now I don't know anything. 486 00:36:40,207 --> 00:36:43,358 -Right. -No responsibility for me. 487 00:36:44,487 --> 00:36:47,160 ROBERTS: Finally I'm allowed in to see the plaster casts 488 00:36:47,247 --> 00:36:50,239 of the Homo erectus skulls from the Lower Cave. 489 00:36:50,327 --> 00:36:52,682 And Professor Wu has a surprise waiting. 490 00:36:52,767 --> 00:36:54,041 (ROBERTS ExCLAIMS) 491 00:36:54,127 --> 00:36:57,039 You see, this is the original specimen. 492 00:36:57,127 --> 00:36:58,162 That's the original? 493 00:36:58,247 --> 00:36:59,760 Yes, original. 494 00:36:59,847 --> 00:37:04,159 As you know, most of the original specimens lost during the war. 495 00:37:04,247 --> 00:37:06,522 I didn't know any of it had survived. 496 00:37:06,607 --> 00:37:11,442 Yeah, after the war we have done some new excavation. 497 00:37:11,807 --> 00:37:14,799 -ROBERTS: Right. -And got some new specimens. 498 00:37:14,887 --> 00:37:16,320 -This is one of them. -Can I hold it? 499 00:37:16,407 --> 00:37:17,635 Yes, yes. 500 00:37:19,647 --> 00:37:21,877 I honestly thought all the specimens had been lost, 501 00:37:21,967 --> 00:37:25,926 but this is an actual fossil of Homo erectus in China. 502 00:37:26,007 --> 00:37:28,840 It was found in 1 966. 503 00:37:28,927 --> 00:37:32,476 ROBERTS: So this is hundreds of thousands of years old, isn't it? 504 00:37:34,207 --> 00:37:36,118 WU: So this is another piece. 505 00:37:40,367 --> 00:37:43,723 It's just amazing for me to, I mean, to be holding in my hand 506 00:37:43,807 --> 00:37:46,844 this actual fossil, which is hundreds of thousands of years old. 507 00:37:46,927 --> 00:37:50,966 I honestly thought all I would see is casts, is reconstructions. 508 00:37:51,047 --> 00:37:52,958 -WU: Yeah, yeah. -And this is the actual fossil. 509 00:37:53,047 --> 00:37:54,958 WU: And now you hold original one. 510 00:37:55,047 --> 00:37:56,162 That's amazing. 511 00:38:00,927 --> 00:38:02,440 ROBERTS: But even more important 512 00:38:02,527 --> 00:38:05,599 is what Professor Wu has spotted in these fossils. 513 00:38:08,087 --> 00:38:11,875 First, he shows me some features of the ancient Erectus skulls 514 00:38:11,967 --> 00:38:14,800 that he believes are typically Chinese. 515 00:38:16,167 --> 00:38:22,640 The face is flat. The nose is flat. Not very protrude, as in Europe. 516 00:38:23,127 --> 00:38:24,242 ROBERTS: Yeah, yeah. 517 00:38:24,327 --> 00:38:29,037 And this part is also flat. 518 00:38:29,127 --> 00:38:32,085 So, this part of the cheek bones is sort of rotated like that. 519 00:38:32,167 --> 00:38:35,603 Then he shows me the much more recent Upper Cave skulls 520 00:38:35,687 --> 00:38:39,600 and picks out the same distinctively Chinese features. 521 00:38:40,167 --> 00:38:44,126 WU: But it also have the more flat face 522 00:38:44,207 --> 00:38:46,675 and a not very protruding nose. 523 00:38:46,767 --> 00:38:50,077 So the features that you're looking at in these skulls are really 524 00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:53,716 the features which characterise modern Chinese people today, 525 00:38:53,807 --> 00:38:55,877 and the sort of differences between your skull and my skull. 526 00:38:55,967 --> 00:38:57,195 -WU: Yes, yes. -Yeah. 527 00:38:57,287 --> 00:39:00,723 -Yeah, so your face here is like this. -Yeah. 528 00:39:00,807 --> 00:39:03,082 -And mine like... -And yours is flatter. 529 00:39:03,167 --> 00:39:04,202 -Yes. -ROBERTS: Yeah. 530 00:39:04,287 --> 00:39:05,879 And your nose is flatter here than mine. 531 00:39:05,967 --> 00:39:11,599 So we inherited some features from our ancestor. 532 00:39:12,207 --> 00:39:14,801 ROBERTS: Professor Wu sees a clear line, 533 00:39:14,887 --> 00:39:20,405 Homo erectus evolving into Upper Cave Man, becoming today's Chinese. 534 00:39:21,327 --> 00:39:24,319 For him, these fossils prove that the Chinese 535 00:39:24,407 --> 00:39:28,446 come from a completely different branch of the human family. 536 00:39:30,207 --> 00:39:34,200 But I can see significant differences between the skulls. 537 00:39:36,327 --> 00:39:41,481 The whole skull shape of Homo erectus is quite different from modern humans. 538 00:39:42,367 --> 00:39:45,040 And even those features that Wu pointed out, 539 00:39:45,367 --> 00:39:49,883 the nose and the cheek bones, don't seem that similar to me. 540 00:39:56,727 --> 00:40:00,606 Professor Wu, I mean, you've spent a lifetime studying these skulls, 541 00:40:00,687 --> 00:40:03,281 and I'm a complete novice in comparison, 542 00:40:03,647 --> 00:40:06,639 but I look at this modern skull here, 543 00:40:06,727 --> 00:40:09,844 this 30,000-year-old skull from zhoukoudian, 544 00:40:09,927 --> 00:40:15,923 and this looks quite similar to me to other skulls from Europe 545 00:40:16,007 --> 00:40:20,159 at the same time, so I don't think... It doesn't look Chinese to me. 546 00:40:20,247 --> 00:40:24,240 No, but the profile in Europe is different. 547 00:40:24,327 --> 00:40:25,919 Quite subtle though, isn't it? 548 00:40:33,607 --> 00:40:38,840 I'm still not convinced that the Chinese are so fundamentally different 549 00:40:38,927 --> 00:40:40,440 from the rest of us. 550 00:40:40,887 --> 00:40:45,597 Professor Wu is so knowledgeable and his arguments are so persuasive, 551 00:40:45,687 --> 00:40:47,678 so maybe I'm missing something. 552 00:40:49,047 --> 00:40:52,039 ROBERTS: And there is other evidence to suggest that Professor Wu 553 00:40:52,127 --> 00:40:53,526 could be right, 554 00:40:53,607 --> 00:40:57,759 that the Chinese do in fact descend from a different branch of the human family 555 00:40:57,847 --> 00:40:59,166 to the rest of us. 556 00:41:12,247 --> 00:41:16,081 I'm travelling 2,000 kilometres into Central China, 557 00:41:16,167 --> 00:41:19,079 to investigate something that's a real problem 558 00:41:19,167 --> 00:41:21,203 for my out of Africa theory. 559 00:41:22,807 --> 00:41:26,038 And it's all to do with stone tools. 560 00:41:29,847 --> 00:41:33,442 Elsewhere in the world, our species, Homo sapiens, 561 00:41:33,527 --> 00:41:36,803 is associated with sophisticated styles of tools. 562 00:41:36,887 --> 00:41:38,878 Like these from Europe. 563 00:41:38,967 --> 00:41:42,801 But in China, you find something completely different. 564 00:41:45,207 --> 00:41:51,203 A lot of very basic tools. A type in fact typical of Homo erectus. 565 00:41:53,647 --> 00:41:57,640 Archaeological evidence, then, that seems to undermine the idea 566 00:41:57,727 --> 00:42:00,958 that the Chinese evolved in the same way as the rest of us. 567 00:42:02,847 --> 00:42:05,407 If modern humans suddenly arrived in China, 568 00:42:05,487 --> 00:42:08,923 we might expect to see modern-looking stone tools 569 00:42:09,007 --> 00:42:11,965 appearing with their arrival, just like in Europe. 570 00:42:12,447 --> 00:42:17,441 But the tools in this part of the world stay looking fairly crude. 571 00:42:17,767 --> 00:42:19,359 And Chinese scientists say 572 00:42:19,447 --> 00:42:22,723 this is because there wasn't an influx of modern humans. 573 00:42:23,487 --> 00:42:27,605 But there could be another rather intriguing explanation. 574 00:42:35,887 --> 00:42:37,798 ROBERTS: Archaeologist Dr Joe Kaminga 575 00:42:37,927 --> 00:42:40,999 has spent decades working in Southeast Asia. 576 00:42:41,087 --> 00:42:44,523 And I'm hoping that his work might shed some light 577 00:42:44,607 --> 00:42:47,405 on this mystery of Chinese origins. 578 00:42:48,327 --> 00:42:51,763 I mean, this really is about as crude and basic a stone tool 579 00:42:51,847 --> 00:42:53,075 as you can get, isn't it? 580 00:42:53,167 --> 00:42:54,236 Yes, it is. 581 00:42:54,327 --> 00:42:56,841 Which is a bit bizarre, isn't it? Because in Europe 582 00:42:56,927 --> 00:43:00,124 at this time they're making quite sophisticated stone tools. 583 00:43:00,207 --> 00:43:01,845 So, I mean, what's going on here? 584 00:43:01,927 --> 00:43:04,077 We're in a completely different part of the world here. 585 00:43:04,167 --> 00:43:06,635 In Europe, there are different resources, different plants, 586 00:43:06,727 --> 00:43:09,446 different animals and different kinds of stone. 587 00:43:09,527 --> 00:43:11,757 And you have very large cobbles of flint in Europe, 588 00:43:11,847 --> 00:43:14,759 but you don't have very large cobbles of flint here in Southeast Asia 589 00:43:14,847 --> 00:43:16,360 or in South China. 590 00:43:18,567 --> 00:43:20,205 ROBERTS: But there is something else here, 591 00:43:20,287 --> 00:43:22,960 and Joe thinks they could've used it to make tools 592 00:43:23,047 --> 00:43:25,720 just as sophisticated as European ones. 593 00:43:28,367 --> 00:43:29,516 Bamboo. 594 00:43:32,567 --> 00:43:36,321 Why would you go through so much trouble to make a sophisticated stone tool, 595 00:43:36,407 --> 00:43:38,921 beautifully shaped, when you can just take a piece of bamboo 596 00:43:39,007 --> 00:43:41,396 and use that, and throw it away when you've finished with it? 597 00:43:41,487 --> 00:43:45,765 Because it's everywhere. You can always get it again, next valley along. 598 00:43:50,167 --> 00:43:54,285 ROBERTS: Joe believes that the crude stone tools were just used to chop down 599 00:43:54,367 --> 00:43:55,925 and work bamboo. 600 00:43:56,007 --> 00:43:57,725 (CREAKING) 601 00:43:59,367 --> 00:44:00,766 (ExCLAIMS) 602 00:44:02,567 --> 00:44:04,125 -Excellent. -Excellent. 603 00:44:04,207 --> 00:44:05,686 You carry it down the slope 604 00:44:06,567 --> 00:44:07,761 and I'll follow. 605 00:44:09,247 --> 00:44:10,475 (ROBERTS LAUGHING) 606 00:44:11,287 --> 00:44:12,800 Watch your step there. 607 00:44:13,087 --> 00:44:14,645 -Is it slippery? -It is. 608 00:44:14,727 --> 00:44:15,796 (ExCLAIMS) 609 00:44:15,887 --> 00:44:17,525 JOE: Perfect. 610 00:44:17,847 --> 00:44:19,997 ROBERTS: It's a tantalising idea, 611 00:44:20,087 --> 00:44:23,318 but it's not easy to believe that a flimsy bit of bamboo 612 00:44:23,407 --> 00:44:27,036 could ever do the job of a sharp stone tool. 613 00:44:27,367 --> 00:44:29,085 We need to put it to the test. 614 00:44:29,167 --> 00:44:32,125 If you just want to make a small knife, we've got a flake. 615 00:44:32,207 --> 00:44:33,720 -Right. -Just saw it. 616 00:44:33,807 --> 00:44:36,844 You can open up the cut by bending the bamboo. 617 00:44:40,287 --> 00:44:43,677 The next step is simply to thin the edge. 618 00:44:43,767 --> 00:44:47,316 And just cut... cut it on the inside of the bamboo. 619 00:44:47,407 --> 00:44:48,726 And it should work very well. 620 00:44:48,807 --> 00:44:51,116 It has a completely different texture to wood. 621 00:44:51,527 --> 00:44:56,157 The fibres are very long, very even. Everything's very predictable. 622 00:44:56,247 --> 00:44:58,442 -There's no knots in it. -ROBERTS: No. 623 00:44:58,527 --> 00:45:01,963 And it's as simple as that. 'Cause I think I'm about done. 624 00:45:02,047 --> 00:45:03,446 ROBERTS: Really? JOE: Yeah. 625 00:45:03,687 --> 00:45:04,881 And behold. 626 00:45:05,807 --> 00:45:07,798 It's pretty sharp stuff. 627 00:45:08,527 --> 00:45:10,961 ROBERTS: Bamboo's sharpness comes from silica, 628 00:45:11,047 --> 00:45:14,323 a hard mineral also found in sand. 629 00:45:14,767 --> 00:45:17,156 I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to... 630 00:45:18,007 --> 00:45:20,123 butcher a chicken with it, though. 631 00:45:20,207 --> 00:45:21,640 (CHICKEN CLUCKING) 632 00:45:23,047 --> 00:45:24,639 ROBERTS: What are you making now? 633 00:45:24,727 --> 00:45:27,116 I'm making an arrow head. 634 00:45:28,607 --> 00:45:31,280 JOE: So I'll just start to shape the point. 635 00:45:32,127 --> 00:45:35,722 ROBERTS: We don't know if ancient people used bamboo arrow heads, 636 00:45:35,807 --> 00:45:39,436 but it seemed like a good way to test the limits of bamboo technology. 637 00:45:42,807 --> 00:45:44,320 A very snug fit. 638 00:45:44,567 --> 00:45:46,558 ROBERTS: Now we need to shoot something. 639 00:45:46,727 --> 00:45:47,921 (BOTH LAUGHING) 640 00:45:51,487 --> 00:45:55,002 ROBERTS: First, I want to see what Joe's bamboo knife is capable of. 641 00:45:55,087 --> 00:45:56,918 So this is going to be somebody's dinner, hopefully. 642 00:45:57,007 --> 00:45:58,406 Well, maybe ours. 643 00:46:00,087 --> 00:46:01,884 -All right. -Okay, I'll have a leg. 644 00:46:06,127 --> 00:46:07,321 (CRACKING) 645 00:46:10,687 --> 00:46:13,121 You have to saw a bit, but it's getting through it. 646 00:46:15,447 --> 00:46:17,563 Oh, this is pretty good, Joe. Look at this. 647 00:46:18,127 --> 00:46:19,355 JOE: Good. 648 00:46:20,967 --> 00:46:23,401 Well, we've just disjointed a leg, so that's... 649 00:46:23,487 --> 00:46:26,843 The bamboo has got through skin, it's got through ligament as well. 650 00:46:26,927 --> 00:46:29,487 So it's doing pretty well, I'd say. 651 00:46:29,567 --> 00:46:30,556 How about that? 652 00:46:30,647 --> 00:46:33,241 ROBERTS: And,just how effective is a bamboo arrow? 653 00:46:33,327 --> 00:46:35,158 Well, I don't think I'm going to be too adventurous. 654 00:46:35,247 --> 00:46:37,602 Shall I try the arrow head you just made? 655 00:46:37,847 --> 00:46:41,123 Go for it. You don't mind if I step 20 metres aside? 656 00:46:41,207 --> 00:46:43,084 Yeah, you keep well to one side, Joe. 657 00:46:43,167 --> 00:46:45,840 I wouldn't trust me with this at all. 658 00:46:47,327 --> 00:46:49,124 Let's have a look at this, then. 659 00:46:50,127 --> 00:46:51,162 (LAUGHS) 660 00:46:52,007 --> 00:46:54,077 Can you see that, stuck in the ground? 661 00:46:58,127 --> 00:46:59,924 Well, how about we try the cabbage? 662 00:47:00,607 --> 00:47:03,041 ROBERTS: I mean, look at that, though. That's a bamboo arrow 663 00:47:03,127 --> 00:47:04,719 embedded in a bit of wood. 664 00:47:08,007 --> 00:47:09,122 Excellent. 665 00:47:09,207 --> 00:47:10,242 (JOE CLAPPING) 666 00:47:10,327 --> 00:47:12,124 Arrow in a cabbage. Look. 667 00:47:14,567 --> 00:47:18,560 Well, that's pretty impressive for bamboo technology, I think. 668 00:47:18,647 --> 00:47:19,716 Well, now that you've killed the cabbage, 669 00:47:19,807 --> 00:47:21,638 we can have that for dinner as well, with the chicken. 670 00:47:21,727 --> 00:47:22,921 Excellent. 671 00:47:25,007 --> 00:47:28,636 ROBERTS: Bamboo turns out to be surprisingly versatile, 672 00:47:28,727 --> 00:47:32,766 so it's at least possible that modern humans from Africa were here 673 00:47:32,847 --> 00:47:37,238 using sophisticated tools, made not of stone but of bamboo. 674 00:47:39,967 --> 00:47:43,596 But that still doesn't prove that the Chinese came out of Africa 675 00:47:43,687 --> 00:47:45,245 with everybody else. 676 00:47:48,407 --> 00:47:51,479 However, there is something that could settle this debate 677 00:47:51,567 --> 00:47:55,606 of where the Chinese come from once and for all. 678 00:47:56,087 --> 00:47:57,156 After that... 679 00:47:57,247 --> 00:48:01,479 ROBERTS: I'm meeting Professor Jin Li, one of China's leading geneticists. 680 00:48:01,927 --> 00:48:06,000 Recently he led a project that set out to prove that the Chinese evolved 681 00:48:06,087 --> 00:48:08,237 independently from everyone else, 682 00:48:08,567 --> 00:48:11,604 from Homo erectus, here in China. 683 00:48:13,887 --> 00:48:17,641 Before the project started, I was hoping that I could identify 684 00:48:17,727 --> 00:48:19,843 or could be able to find the evidence 685 00:48:19,927 --> 00:48:24,239 that support independent origin of Chinese in China. 686 00:48:24,327 --> 00:48:27,797 Because I'm a Chinese, I came from China, 687 00:48:27,887 --> 00:48:29,798 and through the education process 688 00:48:29,887 --> 00:48:33,846 I always believed that there is something special about Chinese. 689 00:48:37,527 --> 00:48:40,121 ROBERTS: He's singled out a male genetic marker, 690 00:48:40,207 --> 00:48:43,882 which only appeared about 80,000 years ago in Africa. 691 00:48:43,967 --> 00:48:48,961 So any man who carries that marker must have recent African ancestors 692 00:48:49,047 --> 00:48:53,837 and can't be descended from the more ancient Asian Homo erectus. 693 00:48:55,207 --> 00:49:00,201 Jin took DNA from over 1 60 ethnic groups around East Asia. 694 00:49:01,247 --> 00:49:03,363 over 1 2,000 samples. 695 00:49:10,687 --> 00:49:12,359 And so, what did you find? 696 00:49:12,447 --> 00:49:17,475 We did not see any... even one single individual 697 00:49:17,567 --> 00:49:21,606 that could be considered as the descendant 698 00:49:21,687 --> 00:49:23,882 of the Homo erectus in China. 699 00:49:23,967 --> 00:49:30,520 Rather, everybody was a descendant of our ancestors from Africa. 700 00:49:30,647 --> 00:49:33,115 ROBERTS: The result couldn't have been any clearer. 701 00:49:33,527 --> 00:49:36,564 ROBERTS: How does that make you feel, as a Chinese person? 702 00:49:37,527 --> 00:49:42,647 After I saw the evidences that we generate in my laboratory, 703 00:49:43,287 --> 00:49:46,882 I think we should all be happy with that, because after all, 704 00:49:47,447 --> 00:49:50,007 modern humans from different part of the world 705 00:49:50,087 --> 00:49:54,000 are not so different from each other and we are very close relatives. 706 00:49:54,087 --> 00:49:55,759 ROBERTS: That's great. Thank you. 707 00:49:57,967 --> 00:50:01,357 ROBERTS: So Africa is the home of the Chinese. 708 00:50:01,887 --> 00:50:06,039 Jin Li's research confirms that their ancestors, too, 709 00:50:06,127 --> 00:50:09,802 were part of that tiny group that left the continent 710 00:50:09,887 --> 00:50:12,321 around 70,000 years ago. 711 00:50:13,487 --> 00:50:16,320 And genetics is also helping us understand 712 00:50:16,407 --> 00:50:18,398 how people spread through Asia. 713 00:50:18,967 --> 00:50:22,164 our ancestors reached Siberia very early on. 714 00:50:22,607 --> 00:50:25,724 But there was another even earlier migration route, 715 00:50:25,807 --> 00:50:28,480 spreading along the coast of southern Asia 716 00:50:28,567 --> 00:50:31,127 and eventually reaching China. 717 00:50:36,567 --> 00:50:40,685 one day, as we push forward the frontiers of genetic research, 718 00:50:40,767 --> 00:50:44,806 we may even discover the origin of those Chinese features. 719 00:50:45,447 --> 00:50:48,723 So, if they weren't a result of adaptation to cold, 720 00:50:48,807 --> 00:50:50,638 where might they have come from? 721 00:50:51,087 --> 00:50:56,115 It could simply be chance, or it could be down to sex. 722 00:50:56,207 --> 00:50:59,643 If particular features are considered attractive in a population, 723 00:50:59,727 --> 00:51:01,445 then people with those features 724 00:51:01,527 --> 00:51:05,440 are much more likely to pass their genes on to the next generation. 725 00:51:05,527 --> 00:51:08,166 And if that group then goes on to flourish, 726 00:51:08,247 --> 00:51:11,796 those features could become very widespread. 727 00:51:15,167 --> 00:51:17,362 ROBERTS: And the handful of people with these features 728 00:51:17,447 --> 00:51:19,358 certainly did flourish. 729 00:51:20,367 --> 00:51:24,042 Their descendants filled the vast spaces of Asia. 730 00:51:25,727 --> 00:51:29,276 And eventually they would move on from hunting and gathering 731 00:51:29,367 --> 00:51:33,485 to build one of the greatest civilizations of the world. 732 00:51:38,887 --> 00:51:43,802 In this city, the hub of the world's second-largest economy, 733 00:51:43,887 --> 00:51:45,684 it feels like I'm on a different planet 734 00:51:45,767 --> 00:51:48,600 to the one inhabited by those hunter-gatherers. 735 00:51:48,687 --> 00:51:52,157 But is it possible to look back into prehistory 736 00:51:52,247 --> 00:51:57,401 and find those early steps, the seeds of civilisation in China? 737 00:52:07,327 --> 00:52:11,843 ROBERTS: What was it that turned hunter-gatherers into empire builders? 738 00:52:15,447 --> 00:52:20,680 I'm travelling through the awe-inspiring landscape of Guilin, in South China, 739 00:52:20,767 --> 00:52:23,645 in search of the key to their success. 740 00:52:42,207 --> 00:52:44,801 This is the Tsung Pien cave. 741 00:52:44,887 --> 00:52:48,880 Excavations here tell us it was once lived in by hunter-gatherers. 742 00:52:51,327 --> 00:52:55,002 And in 2001, a wonderful discovery was made. 743 00:53:03,767 --> 00:53:08,716 These fragments are so precious that I'm not even allowed to touch them. 744 00:53:09,247 --> 00:53:13,559 They are what remains of one of the oldest pots in China. 745 00:53:13,647 --> 00:53:17,401 In fact, one of the oldest pots in the world. 746 00:53:27,727 --> 00:53:29,365 So, who made this pot? 747 00:53:29,447 --> 00:53:33,725 Well, the people living in this cave so many thousands of years ago 748 00:53:33,807 --> 00:53:36,116 would have been nomadic hunter-gatherers, 749 00:53:36,207 --> 00:53:39,404 still living an ancient lifestyle in many ways. 750 00:53:39,847 --> 00:53:43,726 But those insignificant-looking crude pieces of pot 751 00:53:43,807 --> 00:53:48,358 mark a great technological leap forward. 752 00:53:49,007 --> 00:53:52,079 ROBERTS: So prehistoric pottery's has also been found in this cave? 753 00:53:52,167 --> 00:53:54,886 ROBERTS: Pots are something we take for granted. 754 00:53:54,967 --> 00:53:57,276 But for those ancient hunter-gatherers, 755 00:53:57,367 --> 00:54:01,042 pottery was a part of a completely new way of life. 756 00:54:04,047 --> 00:54:05,844 So how did they do it? 757 00:54:10,407 --> 00:54:13,319 I'm meeting a team of experimental archaeologists, 758 00:54:13,407 --> 00:54:15,762 who think they might have the answer. 759 00:54:16,527 --> 00:54:18,324 The first breakthrough must have been 760 00:54:18,407 --> 00:54:21,524 finding out how to stop the pots cracking when they were fired, 761 00:54:21,607 --> 00:54:25,361 tempering them by mixing calcite rock with the clay. 762 00:54:25,847 --> 00:54:29,044 And they even have an idea how the pots might have been shaped, 763 00:54:29,127 --> 00:54:32,597 thousands of years before the invention of the potter's wheel. 764 00:54:33,927 --> 00:54:35,918 This is very clever. They've dug a pit here 765 00:54:36,007 --> 00:54:39,079 to basically give us the form of the pot, almost like a mould. 766 00:54:39,407 --> 00:54:42,763 And then we're pressing this clay in little slabs down into the... 767 00:54:42,847 --> 00:54:43,996 (SPEAKING IN MANDARIN) 768 00:54:44,087 --> 00:54:45,361 ROBERTS: ...pre-formed pit. 769 00:54:45,447 --> 00:54:46,721 (SPEAKING IN MANDARIN) 770 00:54:46,807 --> 00:54:49,367 ROBERTS: Transforming clay into hard pottery 771 00:54:49,447 --> 00:54:52,041 requires firing at a high temperature. 772 00:54:52,127 --> 00:54:55,836 Today, this is done at 1,000 degrees Celsius in a kiln - 773 00:54:55,927 --> 00:54:58,760 way beyond the capabilities of those hunter-gatherers. 774 00:55:05,287 --> 00:55:07,243 They would've had open fires, 775 00:55:07,327 --> 00:55:11,366 which only produce temperatures of about 250 degrees. 776 00:55:11,447 --> 00:55:13,961 I'm quite doubtful this is going to be enough. 777 00:55:19,247 --> 00:55:21,044 So how's our pot? 778 00:55:21,607 --> 00:55:23,916 (ExCLAIMS) I think that's it. 779 00:55:24,007 --> 00:55:27,124 I think that's our pot there, and it looks okay! 780 00:55:27,207 --> 00:55:29,482 (SPEAKING IN MANDARIN) 781 00:55:34,167 --> 00:55:35,566 ROBERTS: Fantastic. 782 00:55:38,807 --> 00:55:40,479 There are many different theories about 783 00:55:40,567 --> 00:55:43,400 why the Chinese hunter-gatherers might have started making pots. 784 00:55:43,487 --> 00:55:46,320 Some people say it was a symbol of prestige. 785 00:55:46,407 --> 00:55:48,318 But the Chinese archaeologists think 786 00:55:48,407 --> 00:55:51,558 that the explanation is much more simple - cooking. 787 00:55:53,967 --> 00:55:58,677 ROBERTS: Pots meant that a wider range of food could be cooked and stored, 788 00:55:58,767 --> 00:56:01,042 vital in hard times. 789 00:56:01,767 --> 00:56:05,601 And by 9,000 years ago, there was another innovation - 790 00:56:06,007 --> 00:56:07,281 farming. 791 00:56:08,167 --> 00:56:12,319 One of the things that those early Chinese potters would have been eating 792 00:56:12,407 --> 00:56:13,965 was wild rice. 793 00:56:14,047 --> 00:56:16,242 Now, it certainly wouldn't have been the main source of food, 794 00:56:16,327 --> 00:56:18,079 because it was hard to collect 795 00:56:18,167 --> 00:56:20,681 and actually didn't give much energy in return. 796 00:56:20,767 --> 00:56:23,645 But despite the availability of other vegetables, 797 00:56:23,727 --> 00:56:27,163 it was rice that became more and more important 798 00:56:27,247 --> 00:56:30,523 and even crucial to the early success of the Chinese. 799 00:56:31,767 --> 00:56:33,280 ROBERTS: This looks good, doesn't it? 800 00:56:33,367 --> 00:56:36,598 ROBERTS: But wild rice doesn't produce much grain. 801 00:56:36,687 --> 00:56:40,362 So how was such an unpromising plant changed into the food 802 00:56:40,447 --> 00:56:42,085 that would feed a continent? 803 00:56:48,167 --> 00:56:51,682 Well, one of those early farmers must have stumbled 804 00:56:51,767 --> 00:56:53,917 on a way of tricking nature. 805 00:57:00,207 --> 00:57:01,959 Rice needs plenty of water, 806 00:57:02,047 --> 00:57:04,607 so I'm helping the farmers irrigate their paddy field, 807 00:57:04,687 --> 00:57:07,804 creating the type of watery, marshy environment 808 00:57:07,887 --> 00:57:09,400 that rice naturally grows in. 809 00:57:10,047 --> 00:57:13,642 But when rice is deprived of water, it does something rather interesting. 810 00:57:13,727 --> 00:57:16,321 It starts to produce masses of seeds. 811 00:57:16,407 --> 00:57:17,886 So what the early farmers hit on 812 00:57:17,967 --> 00:57:21,562 was a cunning plan to get rice to do just that, 813 00:57:21,647 --> 00:57:24,639 by creating an artificial drought. 814 00:57:29,967 --> 00:57:34,279 ROBERTS: Someone came up with the idea of filling paddy fields up with water 815 00:57:34,367 --> 00:57:36,198 and then allowing it to evaporate. 816 00:57:36,887 --> 00:57:41,085 It's as though the rice plants expect a drought and panic, 817 00:57:41,167 --> 00:57:43,044 producing many more seeds. 818 00:57:43,567 --> 00:57:44,841 Grains of rice. 819 00:57:46,927 --> 00:57:49,157 Probably one of the things which made rice so appealing 820 00:57:49,247 --> 00:57:51,477 to hunter-gatherers and made them want to grow it 821 00:57:51,567 --> 00:57:54,957 was that you could store the seeds for food during the winter. 822 00:57:56,327 --> 00:57:59,046 ROBERTS: once there was more food and it could be relied on, 823 00:57:59,127 --> 00:58:00,924 populations boomed. 824 00:58:01,007 --> 00:58:02,440 Families settled down. 825 00:58:02,527 --> 00:58:06,884 They started to build villages, towns, and eventually cities. 826 00:58:09,047 --> 00:58:13,086 These humble plants represent the end of the journey 827 00:58:13,167 --> 00:58:14,805 for Chinese hunter-gatherers, 828 00:58:14,887 --> 00:58:17,321 and the beginnings of something new, 829 00:58:17,647 --> 00:58:20,002 farming and civilisation. 830 00:58:20,647 --> 00:58:23,320 It's no exaggeration to say that this development 831 00:58:23,407 --> 00:58:26,558 was the foundation of the most successful 832 00:58:26,647 --> 00:58:28,922 group of humans living today. 833 00:58:29,007 --> 00:58:31,157 And the rest is history.