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Becoming Human Part 2

  • Posted 11.02.09
  • NOVA

Birth of Humanity: New discoveries reveal how early humans hunted and formed families. Premiers on air and online November 10, 2009.

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Airs November 10, 2009 on PBS.

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Program Description

In "Birth of Humanity," the second part of the three-part series "Becoming Human," NOVA investigates the first skeleton that really looks like us–"Turkana Boy"–an astonishingly complete specimen of Homo erectus found by the famous Leakey team in Kenya. These early humans are thought to have developed key innovations that helped them thrive, including hunting large prey, the use of fire, and extensive social bonds.

The program examines an intriguing theory that long-distance running–our ability to jog–was crucial for the survival of these early hominids. Not only did running help them escape from vicious predators roaming the grasslands, but it also gave them a unique hunting strategy: chasing down prey animals such as deer and antelope to the point of exhaustion. "Birth of Humanity" also probes how, why, and when humans' uniquely long period of childhood and parenting began.

The other programs in the series are [Part 1: "First Steps,"] which looks at how, for millions of years, many species of small-brained human predecessors lived, and [Part 3: "Last Human Standing,"] which examines why, of various human species that once shared the planet, only our kind remains.

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Participants

Jordi Agustí
Catalan Institute of Paleoecology
Susan Antón
New York University www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/anthro/programs/csho/anton.html
Viktor Deak
Paleoartist www.anatomicalorigins.com/www.anatomicalorigins.com/Welcome.html
Christopher Dean
University College London www.cdb.ucl.ac.uk/research/dean/
Ralph Holloway
Columbia University www.columbia.edu/~rlh2/
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
University of California, Davis www.citrona.com/hrdy/index.html
Don Johanson
Institute of Human Origins shesc.asu.edu/johanson
Susan Larson
Stony Brook University www.anat.stonybrook.edu/IDPAS/index.php?page=faculty/larson
Meave Leakey
Nat Geo Explorer-in-Residence www.leakey.com/meave_leakey.htm
Richard Leakey
National Geographic Grantee www.leakey.com/richard_leakey.htm
Dan Lieberman
Harvard University www.fas.harvard.edu/~skeleton/danlhome.html
David Lordkipanidze
Georgian National Museum www.museum.ge/web_page/index.php
Rick Potts
Smithsonian Institution anthropology.si.edu/humanorigins/aop/olorg2004/people/rp.htm
John Shea
Stony Brook University www.sunysb.edu/anthro/staff/jshea.shtml
Mark Stoneking
Max Planck Institute email.eva.mpg.de/~stonekg/
Abesalom Vekua
Georgian National Museum www.museum.ge/web_page/index.php
Richard Wrangham
Harvard University www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/directory/researchers/richard-wrangham

Editors' Picks

  • Becoming Human Part 1

    First Steps: Six million years ago, what set our ancestors on the path from ape to human?

  • Becoming Human Part 3

    Last Human Standing: Many human species once shared the globe. Why do we alone remain?

  • Building Faces From Fossils

    Paleoartist Viktor Deak works from casts of fossil skulls to put faces to Turkana Boy and other ancient hominids.

  • Depicting Our Ancestors

    In this audio slide show, filmmaker Graham Townsley describes what it takes to bring ancient hominids to life.

  • Evolution in Your Life

    From flu to food—hear five researchers discuss how evolution affects your day-to-day life.

  • The Evolution of Motherhood

    Anthropologist Sarah Hrdy talks about how shared infant-rearing made all the difference in early human evolution.

  • Jared Diamond on the Hobbit

    The evolutionary biologist explains why the little people shrunk, how they got to Flores, and more.