Symphony of Science - "Children of Africa" (The Story of Us)

http://symphonyofscience.com A musical celebration of humanity, its origins, and achievements, contrasted with a somber look at our environmentally destructive tendencies and deep similarities with other primates. Featuring Jacob Bronowski, Alice Roberts, Carolyn Porco, Jane Goodall, Robert Sapolsky, Neil deGrasse Tyson and David Attenborough.

"Children of Africa" is the tenth installment in the ongoing Symphony of Science music video series. Materials used in the creation of this video are from:

BBC Incredible Human Journey
BBC Ascent of Man
BBC Life of Mammals
BBC Human Planet
BBC Walking With Cavemen
Carolyn Porco: Hollywood
Quest for Fire
Hubblecast 29A
What Makes Us Human (Leakey Foundation)
What Separates Us from Chimps (Sapolsky)
Chimpanzee
Neil Tyson - Human Intelligence
Gemini Observatory Time-lapse

mp3: http://symphonyofscience.com

Rights to use Carl Sagan have been put on hold for the time being. Please be patient if you wish to see more Carl!

Special thanks to everybody who's donated to keep the project alive and to those who helped track down the materials used in this video.

To download and watch more videos visit http://symphonyofscience.com.

Enjoy!

~John
john@symphonyofscience.com

Lyrics:

[Jacob Bronowski]
Man is a singular creature;
He has a set of gifts which make him unique among the animals
So that unlike them, he is not a figure in the landscape
He is the shaper of the landscape

[Alice Roberts]
We are all children of Africa
They say this is where it all began

[Bronowski]
In a parched African landscape
Man first put his foot to the ground

[Roberts]
Africa was our only home
for tens of thousands of years
until a small handful of people made their way
out of Africa

[Carolyn Porco]
These beings with soaring imagination
Eventually flung themselves and their machines
Into interplanetary space

[Roberts]
We are all children of africa
This landscape has been home to humans
Two hundred thousand years

[Porco]
We have come so far
All of this is cause for great celebration
We have come so far
This is a story about us

[Roberts]
Those early Europeans
Were people like you and me
But it is humbling
When you see the challenges they faced

People like you and me
Overcame the Neanderthals
People like you and me
Made it through the ice age

[Refrain]

[Jane Goodall]
We are not the only beings
With personalities, minds, and feelings
Chimpanzees have very clear personalities

[Robert Sapolsky]
Take a chimp brain foetally
And let it go two or three more rounds of division
And out comes symphonies and ideology

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]
Everything that we are
That distinguishes us from chimps
Emerges from that one percent
Difference in DNA

[Roberts]
People like you and me
Overcame the Neaderthals
People like you and me
Made it through the ice age

[Refrain]

[David Attenborough]
Using his burgeoning intelligence,
This most successful of all mammals
Has exploited the environment to produce food
For an ever increasing population.

Instead of controlling the environment
For the benefit of the population
Perhaps it's time we controlled the population
To allow the survival of the environment

• Category

  Music

[Isaac Horn]

There is enough food to feed the human population, but when you have to rely on money to acquire it, and there isn't enough money in the world, that's where you run into problems, not with Governments. Now this doesn't mean I don't agree with preservation of the environment, because I very much do. And since when is the Bible correct? I would much rather follow scientific data that has statistics and facts that have been measured than listen to a book written thousands of years ago.

[ligitmuffin]

The Bible also clearly says to burn gays and witches. Next time don't turn to the Bible for any sort of real answer.

[Leprechraun]

LOL@ the people voting our comments down.

[Michael Hutchison]

You are jumping to the wrong conclusion.

It's not advocating killing but common sense family planning. Have one or two kids only. Use birth control.

[Michael Hutchison]

No it isn't. It's not advocating killing but common sense family planning. Have one or two kids only. Use birth control.

[Joe Iacovino]

That is a great answer and that's pretty much what I told him but I remember the video I noted really illustrating it nicely (I just can't remember the name of the show). Cheers!

[SphincterOfDoom]

You have to recognize the mechanism that produced that food. If you're suggesting we forcibly take so much to give it away, you force those people producing food to take losses, which threatens the solvency of the very means producing that food.

[Wanderer359]

It seems to refer to the fact that humans were hunter gathers for most of our history. Romanticized views aside, HGs have a tough existence - especially in marginal environments (either desert or cold). Consider the following:

- unlike farmers or mixed groups, pure HGs do not a lot of stored food

- HGs move in clan groups (30-50 people). . coordinating activities between clans is hard. Each clan is pretty much on their own.

- Ice age is especially hard. It costs calories to simply stay warm

[Joe Iacovino]

My kids sing along to this. My 7 yr old wanted to know more about "the challenges they faced" so I'm trying to figure out what video is used at 3:17 as I remember it to be good. HELP!

[Daniel Joly]

Can i stop seeing arguements in the top comments and can we all accept that this is an awesome song?! thanks melodysheep, love the music!

[Quintinohthree]

Hybrids with what? And how the hell would entirely unrelated species, not even related through the universal common ancestor of earthly life, be capable of reproducing to produce fertile offspring? Horses and donkeys can't even do that, and they're pretty decently related. If you're serious you're wrong on so many levels.

[Tammy Joyce Woodring]

@Leprechraun it does sound scary. I hope ethics and morals discredit what was said at the end. We live in a cruel world and how would he feel if someone said, that's the way you feel, let's start with you and your family.