The Human Spark : Becoming Us (PBS) Part 1/4 HD

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Broadcast (2010) In the caves and rock shelters of the Dordogne region of France, Alan Alda witnesses the spectacular paintings and carvings that date back some 30,000 years, artwork that archeologists once thought to be the first record of people with minds like our own. When this art was created, Europe had already been peopled for hundreds of thousands of years -- and thousands of lifetimes -- by humans we call Neanderthals. Alan discovers, from visits to sites where Neanderthals once lived, that Neanderthals were tenacious and resourceful. But they appear to have lived in and of the moment; certainly they produced no art, and employed a stone tool technology that changed little over millennia. The people who painted the caves, our ancestors, were strikingly different, possessed of what we are calling the Human Spark, capable not only of art but of innovative technology and symbolic communication. The questions Alan explores: Where and when did the Human Spark first ignite? In these caves, as archeologists have long believed? Or at a much earlier time -- and on another continent?

What is the nature of human uniqueness? Where did "The Human Spark" ignite, and when? And perhaps most tantalizingly, why? In this three-part series, Alan Alda takes these questions personally, visiting with dozens of scientists on three continents, and participating directly in many experiments -- including the detailed examination of his own brain. Bringing his trademark humor and curiosity to face-to-face conversations with leading researchers, he seeks "The Human Spark" -- from archaeologists finding clues in the fossilized bones and tools of our ancestors; to primatologists studying our nearest living relatives to explore what we have in common and what sets us apart; to neuroscientists peering into his mind with the latest brain scanning technologies.

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[nilbud]

Eating cooked meat

[buffyjosmom]

This dude is a liar. Neanderthals were NOT dumb brutes, they actually made flutes out of bone for music, they were the first to bury their dead, etc. It has also been proven that we didn't shoulder them into oblivion, we BRED them out of existence. It has been proven that all NON-AFRICANS(non blacks) have from 1%-4% Neanderthal DNA in us.

[straffsats]

@CylindricalWhistle And, oh, yeah I agree. There's no special spark. It's just biology,

[straffsats]

@CylindricalWhistle But neanderthals were smart (they made spears, buried their dead, etc) but never traded between tribes (beause all remains of their stuff were made from local materials). So I don't think that intelligence and the trust needed to trade instead of fighting your neighbour necessarily go hand in hand.

[CylindricalWhistle]

@straffsats However, isn't trade something that developed naturally from intelligence? Or, perhaps it's a natural consequence of environment or instinct. In any case, this doesn't have anything to do with a special 'spark'--which I take by the video to mean something beyond pure biology.

[straffsats]

@CylindricalWhistle Check out Matt Ridley. He's arguing that it is not only intelligence. Because neanderthals were intelligent too. What we, homo sapiens sapiens, did and still do, and that no other animals do, is trading with one another. Women gathered roots and men hunted and then they shared. This grew into trade between tribes, over continents and so on. I'm writing this on a computer that not a single human knows how to produce from raw materials. Trade kicks ass!

[libo211]

NICE

[libo211]

@nilbud imagine how they discovered it

maybe it was something like uhh what will happen if i put this in the fire uhh it smells so good aaaaaaaaaa damn this is HOT but its tasty aaaaaaaaaa its steal hot but its steal tasty

[jackrazalas]

Not only is Alan alda a good actor, he's an accomplished radio and broadcast guy. Just listen to that

[MrHabs1993]

Love ya HawkEye

[CylindricalWhistle]

"What makes humans different from animals?"

Well, obviously just our intelligence. I'm not sure why he's constantly searching for this 'spark' or whatever.