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January 11th, 2010

 
Web-Exclusive Video: The South African Spark
Was the area that is now the coast of South Africa once an important site of innovation for early humans?
January 8th, 2010

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Belgian Neanderthals
Take a look at the excavations at Scladina, a deep cave only recently discovered outside Liege, Belgium, where Neanderthals lived 100,000 years ago.
January 7th, 2010

 
Program One: Becoming Us: Video: Full Episode
Alan Alda confronts the puzzle of why our ancestors got the Spark and evolved into us, while the first humans to leave Africa for Europe--the Neanderthals--never did.
January 7th, 2010

 
Web-Exclusive Video: First Neanderthal Find, Before Its Time
In this video, archaeologist Michel Toussaint describes how the first discovery of a Neanderthal skull in 1829 was ahead of its time.
January 4th, 2010

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Managing Archaeological Finds
Have you ever wondered about how archaeologists keep track of the tiny shards of bone or ancient tools they uncover at their dig sites?
January 3rd, 2010

 
Program Two: So Human, So Chimp: Video Excerpt: Monkey Business
Alan Alda visits Yale University’s Laurie Santos at a small Caribbean island where she is studying rhesus monkeys’ ability to steal grapes…and read minds.
December 30th, 2009

 
Program Two: So Human, So Chimp: Video Excerpt: Chimps vs. Children
Alan Alda finds out how children will help—and like it, while chimps are less inclined to offer enthusiastic assistance.
December 30th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: You + Me = We
All our shared values that allow us to cooperate and collaborate lend a “we-ness” to the human species that is certainly lacking in our primate relatives.
December 29th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Neanderthal Burial?
Alan Alda learns that what had been believed to be a purposeful burial of a Neanderthal child now isn’t looking like such solid proof of ritualistic behavior.
December 28th, 2009

 
Program One: Becoming Us: Video Excerpt: Wearing Grandma’s Teeth
Alan Alda vists the rock shelter of Abri Castanet in Southwest France where he is shocked to learn about some of our ancestors’ early behaviors.
WHAT IS THE HUMAN SPARK?
Alan Alda
What is the nature of human uniqueness?
In a three-part series originally brodcast on PBS in January 2010, Alan Alda takes this question personally, visiting with dozens of scientists on three continents -- even undergoing an examination of his own brain.
» Learn More
TOPICS
Neuroscience
Primates
Human Evolution
Child Development
Behind the Scenes
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Major funding for The Human Spark is provided by the National Science Foundation, and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Additional funding is provided by the John Templeton Foundation, the Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, and The Winston Foundation.
National Science Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Foundation John Templeton Foundation

Produced by THIRTEEN    ©2021 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.