Alan Alda travels to a French cave called Roc de Marsal, where archaeologists are becoming experts on Neanderthal life.

Pyroengineering. A big word for what early modern humans learned to do with silcrete at least 72,000 years ago, according to researchers.

Just ten years ago, the prevailing view was that the modern human mind suddenly gelled in Europe some 35,000 years ago. Alison Brooks and her colleague Sally McBrearty have challenged that notion.

Gustavus Adolphus College hosted a conference last October focused squarely on the idea of “The Human Spark.” We've met with many of the speakers.

Here are some additional behind-the-scenes photos of the "Human Spark" nighttime campfire shoot with archaeologist Curtis Marean.

From the discovery of painted caves in Altamira, Spain to the recent discovery of Chauvet in France, what can researchers learn from these ancient artists?

How can we preserve prehistoric artworks like those in southern France's Lascaux caves while still allowing modern visitors to experience them in some way?

Graham Chedd tells the story of what happened at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, where researchers were examining Neanderthal teeth with a high-power x-ray.

How long did it take Neanderthals to grow up? Graham Chedd meets with researchers who are using a giant particle accelerator to find an answer to this question.