Part 5 of 5 - The Day We Learned to Think - BBC Horizon

Understanding of humans' earliest past often comes from studying fossils. They tell us much of what we know about the people who lived before us. There is one thing fossils cannot tell us; at what point did we stop living day-to-day and start to think symbolically, to represent ideas about our environment and how we could change it? At a dig in South Africa the discovery of a small piece of ochre pigment, 70,000 years old, has raised some very interesting questions.

"We see features that are almost identical to living humans"

Prof Jeffrey Laitman, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) emerged in Africa roughly 100,000 years ago. We know from fossil evidence that Homo sapiens replaced other hominids around them and moved out of Africa into Asia and the Middle East, reaching Europe 40,000 years ago.

Prof Richard Klein believes art is a landmark in human evolution. Unquestionable art that's widespread and common suggests you're dealing with people just like us. No other animals, after all, are able to define a painting as anything other than a collection of colours and shapes. This ability is unique to humans.

Other scientists agree. They believe art defines humans as behaviourally modern, and its beginning must coincide with the ability to speak and use language. If someone has the imagination to devise a shared way to describe their environment using art then it seems inconceivable that they could not possess language and speech. The search for the moment our ancestors became behaviourally just like us is also the hunt for the first evidence of art.

Full Description: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/learnthink.shtml

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• BBC
• Horizon
• Language
• Art
• Think
• Human
• Evolution
• Science
• Revolution
• Paintings
• Ochre
• Vocal
• Intelligence

[playtoyx]

I like the theory that we interbred with some nethanderthals.

[ffincoree]

Great series... Thanks for posting... has me rethinking...

[napolean308]

@playtoyx It's pretty much fact now. We have 2.8 percent of our DNA made of neandrathal DNA.

[Dathinkingman]

we learned to think on the day when God blessed adam with that power and taught him the names of all the objects and things in the world. stop going for these secular propaganda. come back to Jesus. salvation comes only through Lord Jesus.

[Maper555]

@nighrage dont you have a church to pray at or wat

i dont even know wat you are talking about wat wat i am evolving? wat i dont even

[nighrage]

@Maper555 Sadly stupid folks have the right to voice their opinions as well. You are clearly evolving I believe.. ..

[Maper555]

@ffincoree you....are.....very...welcome.­..i...mean...i didnt make...the video...but...ya...your...welc­ome...faggot

[Maper555]

@playtoyx i like the theory of a magical wizard that greatest humans from bone and dirt

[masterchiefer123]

@jduplechin

haaahhhahah wtf

[jduplechin]

Definitely Neanderthal in some human genes. Spend one day in Seattle and you'll see plenty of guys that look like ya boy on the escalator...he'll have the roast duck and the mango salsa...

[zarolhovski]

Michael Phelps is probably fruit from neanthertal interbred!

[Dathinkingman]

all this is not possible cos the universe is only 6000 years old