1 00:00:01,033 --> 00:00:03,600 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,376 ♪ ♪ 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:10,842 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: Here in Southern England, 4 00:00:10,866 --> 00:00:16,242 {\an1}the remains of ice age mammoths have just been discovered. 5 00:00:16,266 --> 00:00:19,109 ♪ ♪ 6 00:00:19,133 --> 00:00:21,442 {\an1}The bones reveal a species of mammoth 7 00:00:21,466 --> 00:00:25,309 that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. 8 00:00:25,333 --> 00:00:28,842 {\an1}Must've been rather enchanting. 9 00:00:28,866 --> 00:00:30,442 {\an8}♪ ♪ 10 00:00:30,466 --> 00:00:32,109 {\an7}And carefully crafted stone tools 11 00:00:32,133 --> 00:00:35,076 {\an7}show that early humans were here, too. 12 00:00:35,100 --> 00:00:37,876 {\an8}Really beautiful, actually. 13 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:39,276 ♪ ♪ 14 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:40,876 {\an1}A team of archaeologists 15 00:00:40,900 --> 00:00:44,142 {\an1}is carrying out a forensic investigation of the site. 16 00:00:44,166 --> 00:00:45,776 ♪ ♪ 17 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,576 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: It's like a time travel 18 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,342 through the gravel. (laughs) 19 00:00:49,366 --> 00:00:50,909 ♪ ♪ 20 00:00:50,933 --> 00:00:53,376 ATTENBOROUGH: Why were the mammoths here, 21 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,076 {\an1}and how did they die? 22 00:00:55,100 --> 00:00:56,740 It's like a really big whodunit, isn't it? 23 00:00:57,766 --> 00:01:01,476 ATTENBOROUGH: Could ancient humans have hunted them? 24 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:04,676 {\an1}This is very typical of early Neanderthals. 25 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:05,976 ♪ ♪ 26 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,276 ANNEMIEKE MILKS: This shows their technology 27 00:01:08,300 --> 00:01:09,542 {\an1}was capable of distance hunting. 28 00:01:09,566 --> 00:01:11,709 {\an1}BEN GARROD: Oh! MILKS: Brilliant. 29 00:01:11,733 --> 00:01:16,309 ATTENBOROUGH: What can this remarkable site reveal about life and death 30 00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:19,109 in ice age Britain? 31 00:01:19,133 --> 00:01:22,442 ♪ ♪ 32 00:01:22,466 --> 00:01:27,442 {\an1}"Great Mammoth Mystery," right now, on "NOVA." 33 00:01:27,466 --> 00:01:32,133 ♪ ♪ 34 00:01:50,133 --> 00:01:54,109 ♪ ♪ 35 00:01:54,133 --> 00:01:56,976 ATTENBOROUGH: You might expect to travel to remote parts 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,242 {\an1}of Siberia or South Dakota 37 00:01:59,266 --> 00:02:01,742 to uncover bones of ice age beasts. 38 00:02:01,766 --> 00:02:05,342 {\an8}♪ ♪ 39 00:02:05,366 --> 00:02:07,776 {\an1}But 90 miles west of my home in London, 40 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,142 {\an1}two of Britain's most prolific 41 00:02:10,166 --> 00:02:14,142 {\an1}amateur fossil hunters have made the discovery of a lifetime. 42 00:02:14,166 --> 00:02:15,609 {\an8}(doorbell rings) 43 00:02:15,633 --> 00:02:18,542 {\an7}I've come to meet Sally and Neville Hollingworth. 44 00:02:18,566 --> 00:02:21,209 Hello! (laughs) 45 00:02:21,233 --> 00:02:23,276 {\an5}ATTENBOROUGH: Nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you! 46 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:24,642 {\an1}NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: Absolute pleasure to meet you. 47 00:02:24,666 --> 00:02:26,009 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: Come on in! 48 00:02:26,033 --> 00:02:28,642 {\an1}This is our humble home. 49 00:02:28,666 --> 00:02:31,042 Gosh! 50 00:02:31,066 --> 00:02:33,676 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Sally and Neville 51 00:02:33,700 --> 00:02:35,876 {\an1}both have office jobs, 52 00:02:35,900 --> 00:02:39,009 {\an1}but they spend their weekends hunting for fossils. 53 00:02:39,033 --> 00:02:40,942 ♪ ♪ 54 00:02:40,966 --> 00:02:45,342 {\an1}Like me, they have a passion for doing so. 55 00:02:45,366 --> 00:02:48,309 {\an1}But theirs went rather farther. 56 00:02:48,333 --> 00:02:51,609 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: When we went on fossil hunts and Nev would invite me, 57 00:02:51,633 --> 00:02:56,542 {\an1}and he passed me half a vertebrae. 58 00:02:56,566 --> 00:02:58,142 It's Jurassic, 59 00:02:58,166 --> 00:02:59,542 it's marine reptile. Yeah. 60 00:02:59,566 --> 00:03:02,842 A couple of weeks later, he texts me to say, 61 00:03:02,866 --> 00:03:05,809 {\an7}"I think I might've found the other half of that vertebrae. 62 00:03:05,833 --> 00:03:07,776 {\an7}"Do you fancy meeting for a drink and we'll see if they 63 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,142 join together?" (laughs) 64 00:03:10,166 --> 00:03:11,176 It's a good line, isn't it? 65 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,109 This is true! (laughs) 66 00:03:13,133 --> 00:03:15,542 {\an4}Well, of course. And so we met, for a drink. 67 00:03:15,566 --> 00:03:18,309 {\an4}And ...they joined together! NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: They joined together. 68 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,176 {\an7}I thought, "Well, there we go, it's a match made in heaven... SALLY: And we clicked. 69 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:21,143 {\an1}...then, isn't there?" 70 00:03:21,167 --> 00:03:22,442 {\an1}Not a dry eye in the house! 71 00:03:22,466 --> 00:03:24,142 {\an5}(laughs) NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: No, no, not at all, no! 72 00:03:24,166 --> 00:03:26,809 ♪ ♪ 73 00:03:26,833 --> 00:03:28,542 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: We've got some in the kitchen. 74 00:03:28,566 --> 00:03:30,242 {\an5}More fossils? SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: Finds. 75 00:03:30,266 --> 00:03:32,409 {\an5}More finds. I thought for a moment it was going to be sandwiches! 76 00:03:32,433 --> 00:03:33,676 ♪ ♪ 77 00:03:33,700 --> 00:03:35,142 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): These are the finds 78 00:03:35,166 --> 00:03:38,976 I've come to see... Mammoth bones. 79 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,476 Wow, gosh. 80 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:44,076 {\an1}And this is our kitchen dino. 81 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:46,042 (laughing) 82 00:03:46,066 --> 00:03:49,276 {\an6}Yes. Well, and I know it's a leg bone, isn't it? 83 00:03:49,300 --> 00:03:50,277 {\an3}Yes. Yes. 84 00:03:50,301 --> 00:03:51,509 Where was it? 85 00:03:51,533 --> 00:03:52,609 NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: It was actually literally 86 00:03:52,633 --> 00:03:54,176 just sticking out of some gravel 87 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:56,309 {\an5}on the floor of a working quarry. Which end? 88 00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:58,876 This end. So that bit... 89 00:03:58,900 --> 00:03:59,976 So that was the... was all you could see? 90 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,509 That's all you could see. 91 00:04:01,533 --> 00:04:03,476 {\an1}We thought there might be a bit more of it. 92 00:04:03,500 --> 00:04:05,009 So we started to excavate, 93 00:04:05,033 --> 00:04:06,509 and as we started digging, 94 00:04:06,533 --> 00:04:08,542 {\an1}we found that it was actually a complete 95 00:04:08,566 --> 00:04:10,109 {\an1}humerus of a mammoth. 96 00:04:10,133 --> 00:04:13,542 {\an1}This pelvis bone has actually gone through 97 00:04:13,566 --> 00:04:14,909 the processing plant 98 00:04:14,933 --> 00:04:16,442 and it dropped out 99 00:04:16,466 --> 00:04:18,933 {\an8}in the, in the reject pile of the quarry. 100 00:04:20,533 --> 00:04:23,409 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Two years ago, Neville and Sally 101 00:04:23,433 --> 00:04:28,209 {\an7}asked for permission to look for fossils in a freshly dug quarry. 102 00:04:28,233 --> 00:04:30,242 {\an7}They never expected to find pieces of bones 103 00:04:30,266 --> 00:04:33,776 {\an8}of several mammoths. 104 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,142 {\an8}Cup of tea for you, David. Thank you very much. 105 00:04:35,166 --> 00:04:36,842 {\an8}There we are. ATTENBOROUGH: Oh, hang on. 106 00:04:36,866 --> 00:04:39,009 {\an7}(laughs) Mammoth cake, yeah! 107 00:04:39,033 --> 00:04:41,609 {\an8}Yeah, so, mammoth cupcakes. 108 00:04:41,633 --> 00:04:42,543 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH: Do you have one? 109 00:04:42,567 --> 00:04:44,142 {\an7}Yes... (laughing) (mumbling) 110 00:04:44,166 --> 00:04:45,143 {\an8}I'm gonna have one. 111 00:04:45,167 --> 00:04:46,376 {\an8}I'm gonna have a chocolate one. 112 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:47,809 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): But there's one find 113 00:04:47,833 --> 00:04:50,109 {\an1}that raises intriguing questions 114 00:04:50,133 --> 00:04:52,876 {\an1}about how the mammoths died: 115 00:04:52,900 --> 00:04:58,409 {\an1}a stone tool, a hand axe, made by an ancient human. 116 00:04:58,433 --> 00:04:59,942 {\an1}There was a small glint, and I thought, 117 00:04:59,966 --> 00:05:01,642 {\an1}"Mmm, that looks a bit interesting, 118 00:05:01,666 --> 00:05:03,376 {\an4}a bit different." ATTENBOROUGH: You saw this? 119 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,809 {\an1}I just, yeah. Well, the main thing is 120 00:05:05,833 --> 00:05:07,909 {\an1}that it was made by man. 121 00:05:07,933 --> 00:05:09,442 {\an1}Yes. NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: Yeah. 122 00:05:09,466 --> 00:05:13,276 {\an1}And it was that feeling that I was the first human to touch 123 00:05:13,300 --> 00:05:16,542 {\an1}this stone tool in 124 00:05:16,566 --> 00:05:18,409 hundreds of thousands of years. 125 00:05:18,433 --> 00:05:20,309 {\an1}It's a great thrill, isn't it? It is, yeah. 126 00:05:20,333 --> 00:05:21,900 {\an1}Yes. The whole of this business. 127 00:05:23,666 --> 00:05:27,742 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Finding a stone tool near mammoth bones is extremely rare. 128 00:05:27,766 --> 00:05:30,609 {\an1}But we don't yet know if it was left by humans 129 00:05:30,633 --> 00:05:34,409 {\an1}from a more recent time in prehistory. 130 00:05:34,433 --> 00:05:38,409 {\an4}Well, you could certainly cut things with that, I'm sure. SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: Mm. 131 00:05:38,433 --> 00:05:40,709 Yeah, we did. We did. 132 00:05:40,733 --> 00:05:42,809 You did? We cut our wedding cake. 133 00:05:42,833 --> 00:05:45,276 (laughing) 134 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:47,876 {\an1}You cut your wedding cake? Yes. 135 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:48,976 (laughs) 136 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:50,176 {\an3}Yeah. Really?! 137 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,276 There we are. (laughing) 138 00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:56,909 We cut our wedding cake, got married, and... 139 00:05:56,933 --> 00:05:58,276 {\an1}And had a mammoth meal. 140 00:05:58,300 --> 00:05:59,509 And had a mammoth meal, a mammoth event. 141 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:00,909 {\an3}Yeah. (laughing) 142 00:06:00,933 --> 00:06:04,842 {\an3}Yeah. 143 00:06:04,866 --> 00:06:08,466 ♪ ♪ 144 00:06:12,233 --> 00:06:14,542 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Mammoths roamed the plains 145 00:06:14,566 --> 00:06:16,542 of Europe, Asia, and North America 146 00:06:16,566 --> 00:06:21,109 {\an1}until the climate warmed at the end of the last ice age. 147 00:06:21,133 --> 00:06:25,776 {\an1}These extinct cousins of elephants had huge curving tusks 148 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,409 {\an1}and thrived during the ice age. 149 00:06:29,433 --> 00:06:33,833 {\an1}Their remains are usually tens of thousands of years old. 150 00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:38,742 {\an1}But Sally and Neville's finds could be far older. 151 00:06:38,766 --> 00:06:40,809 ♪ ♪ 152 00:06:40,833 --> 00:06:43,542 {\an1}They could offer an extremely rare glimpse 153 00:06:43,566 --> 00:06:45,476 {\an1}of life deep in the ice age, 154 00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:47,942 {\an1}a time we know little about, 155 00:06:47,966 --> 00:06:51,776 {\an1}when early humans lived alongside mammoths. 156 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,776 ♪ ♪ 157 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,442 {\an1}But how did these mammoths die? 158 00:06:58,466 --> 00:07:02,342 {\an1}Was it from natural causes 159 00:07:02,366 --> 00:07:06,909 {\an1}or could they have been hunted? 160 00:07:06,933 --> 00:07:11,076 {\an7}The quarry where Sally and Neville made their discovery 161 00:07:11,100 --> 00:07:14,509 {\an7}lies just ten miles north of their home in Swindon, 162 00:07:14,533 --> 00:07:16,733 {\an7}near the village of Cerney Wick. 163 00:07:18,766 --> 00:07:22,576 {\an1}Groundwater was deliberately allowed to flood the site 164 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,576 {\an1}to prevent any bones in the ground from drying out. 165 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:31,009 ♪ ♪ 166 00:07:31,033 --> 00:07:34,076 {\an1}Now, two years after they made their first find, 167 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:38,176 {\an1}that water is being pumped out, 168 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,942 {\an1}ready for a team to begin investigating. 169 00:07:41,966 --> 00:07:45,109 ♪ ♪ 170 00:07:45,133 --> 00:07:48,676 {\an1}Leading the dig is another husband-and-wife duo, 171 00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:53,742 Brendon Wilkins and Lisa Westscott Wilkins. 172 00:07:53,766 --> 00:07:55,609 {\an8}WESTSCOTT WILKINS: Those ducks must hate us. 173 00:07:55,633 --> 00:07:57,042 {\an7}They had this place filled with water 174 00:07:57,066 --> 00:07:58,376 {\an7}and now they've got nothing! 175 00:07:58,400 --> 00:07:59,709 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): The team starts 176 00:07:59,733 --> 00:08:02,633 by mapping the site from the air. 177 00:08:06,733 --> 00:08:08,342 ♪ ♪ 178 00:08:08,366 --> 00:08:11,809 (camera clicking) 179 00:08:11,833 --> 00:08:14,009 WESTSCOTT WILKINS: It's so important to record this 180 00:08:14,033 --> 00:08:15,642 {\an1}from the instant that we're doing anything 181 00:08:15,666 --> 00:08:18,542 {\an7}so that we can build that exact picture 182 00:08:18,566 --> 00:08:22,909 {\an1}of how it was before we came along and disturbed it. 183 00:08:22,933 --> 00:08:27,742 ATTENBOROUGH: The drone images provide a detailed map of the site 184 00:08:27,766 --> 00:08:31,666 {\an1}so that the exact location of each find can be plotted. 185 00:08:34,566 --> 00:08:38,342 The team searches for fragments of bone. 186 00:08:38,366 --> 00:08:40,242 Biologist Ben Garrod 187 00:08:40,266 --> 00:08:42,342 {\an1}has been helping coordinate the dig. 188 00:08:42,366 --> 00:08:44,276 {\an7}That, we think, is mammoth bone, 189 00:08:44,300 --> 00:08:46,409 {\an7}because it's so thick. Yeah. 190 00:08:46,433 --> 00:08:49,042 Well, it's definitely mammoth. 191 00:08:49,066 --> 00:08:51,876 ATTENBOROUGH: Ben was the first on the team to hear about the site 192 00:08:51,900 --> 00:08:54,809 {\an1}and quickly realized its significance. 193 00:08:54,833 --> 00:08:55,942 GARROD: Sally and Neville got in touch. 194 00:08:55,966 --> 00:08:57,942 {\an7}And I'd never met them, and they said, 195 00:08:57,966 --> 00:08:59,176 {\an7}"Ben, we found some fossils 196 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:00,676 {\an7}that I think you might be interested in." 197 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:02,376 {\an7}And I said, "Yeah, that's great, send some photos across." 198 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,609 {\an8}And they did, and I was here the next day. 199 00:09:06,633 --> 00:09:08,809 I jumped on a train 200 00:09:08,833 --> 00:09:10,576 {\an1}and dropped everything and came to the site, 201 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,476 {\an1}and it was like someone 202 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:13,809 {\an1}had sprinkled mammoth bones everywhere, 203 00:09:13,833 --> 00:09:14,942 {\an1}which I'd, I'd never seen. 204 00:09:14,966 --> 00:09:16,833 {\an1}I thought I had to go to Siberia to see that. 205 00:09:18,333 --> 00:09:21,676 By looking at this in a forensic level of detail, 206 00:09:21,700 --> 00:09:24,742 {\an1}that'll give us this really in-depth understanding 207 00:09:24,766 --> 00:09:26,742 {\an1}of, of what was going on here whilst these animals 208 00:09:26,766 --> 00:09:28,566 {\an1}and these people were walking around. 209 00:09:30,333 --> 00:09:32,442 ATTENBOROUGH: What intrigued Ben, and me, 210 00:09:32,466 --> 00:09:35,809 {\an1}is why there are so many mammoth bones here 211 00:09:35,833 --> 00:09:39,976 {\an1}from at least four different animals, 212 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,742 {\an1}and the tantalizing mystery of who left that stone tool. 213 00:09:44,766 --> 00:09:48,042 ♪ ♪ 214 00:09:48,066 --> 00:09:52,176 (motor running) 215 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,076 {\an1}So what did the landscape look like 216 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:56,442 {\an1}when the mammoths were here? 217 00:09:56,466 --> 00:09:58,900 (tool shuts off) 218 00:10:00,633 --> 00:10:03,009 {\an1}KEITH WILKINSON: Okay, up. 219 00:10:03,033 --> 00:10:05,709 ATTENBOROUGH: To find out, geoarchaeologist Keith Wilkinson 220 00:10:05,733 --> 00:10:09,642 {\an1}extracts samples of the underlying sediment. 221 00:10:09,666 --> 00:10:13,442 WILKINSON: So the very bottom, we've got these blue sands. 222 00:10:13,466 --> 00:10:15,042 So they are probably 223 00:10:15,066 --> 00:10:18,009 {\an7}the layer with the, the mammoth fossils in. 224 00:10:18,033 --> 00:10:20,309 {\an1}We've got these river gravels. 225 00:10:20,333 --> 00:10:23,676 {\an8}And then these silts and sands 226 00:10:23,700 --> 00:10:26,209 {\an1}at the top of the same ancient river channel. 227 00:10:26,233 --> 00:10:28,109 ♪ ♪ 228 00:10:28,133 --> 00:10:30,776 ATTENBOROUGH: The layers of sediment beneath the surface 229 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,709 reveal the bed of a prehistoric river. 230 00:10:34,733 --> 00:10:39,276 {\an1}This is probably the ancient route of the River Thames, 231 00:10:39,300 --> 00:10:42,942 {\an1}which today lies nearly two miles away. 232 00:10:42,966 --> 00:10:45,809 {\an1}Could the mammoths have died further upstream 233 00:10:45,833 --> 00:10:50,642 {\an1}and their bones have been washed here when the river flooded? 234 00:10:50,666 --> 00:10:53,009 To find out, 235 00:10:53,033 --> 00:10:56,642 {\an1}the team plots target areas for excavation. 236 00:10:56,666 --> 00:10:59,342 ♪ ♪ 237 00:10:59,366 --> 00:11:02,342 {\an1}And the digging begins. 238 00:11:02,366 --> 00:11:06,000 {\an8}♪ ♪ 239 00:11:09,566 --> 00:11:12,409 {\an1}They sieve every shovelful of soil 240 00:11:12,433 --> 00:11:14,976 {\an1}in their search for fragments of bone 241 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,176 or stone tools. 242 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:23,542 ♪ ♪ 243 00:11:23,566 --> 00:11:26,542 {\an1}When the trenches start to reveal new finds, 244 00:11:26,566 --> 00:11:29,909 {\an1}I can't resist stopping by to see how they're doing. 245 00:11:29,933 --> 00:11:33,076 ♪ ♪ 246 00:11:33,100 --> 00:11:34,442 {\an1}Welcome! 247 00:11:34,466 --> 00:11:35,709 Thank you very much. 248 00:11:35,733 --> 00:11:37,176 What do you think? 249 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:38,542 {\an1}Well, I haven't seen it yet! 250 00:11:38,566 --> 00:11:39,742 (laughing) 251 00:11:39,766 --> 00:11:41,542 {\an1}Even I can see that's a tusk! 252 00:11:41,566 --> 00:11:43,042 (laughing) 253 00:11:43,066 --> 00:11:44,576 ATTENBOROUGH: Well, let me get it right, where was the head? 254 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,942 So this is our proximal end. 255 00:11:46,966 --> 00:11:48,142 {\an1}That's the head there. That's the one, yep. 256 00:11:48,166 --> 00:11:49,709 {\an5}And that's the tip of the tusk. Yeah. 257 00:11:49,733 --> 00:11:51,709 {\an1}So coming round to the tip here. 258 00:11:51,733 --> 00:11:53,009 {\an1}So it's curving backwards. Yes. 259 00:11:53,033 --> 00:11:54,809 {\an1}Exactly. Exactly, yes. 260 00:11:54,833 --> 00:11:57,609 WESTSCOTT WILKINS: This is possibly a bit of a mandible, this was just found. 261 00:11:57,633 --> 00:11:59,842 {\an1}So it's a left mandible? Yep, well, yes. 262 00:11:59,866 --> 00:12:03,642 {\an1}And, and because we think that might be a left tusk, you know, 263 00:12:03,666 --> 00:12:05,909 {\an1}it's possible that these belonged to the same animal. 264 00:12:05,933 --> 00:12:11,376 {\an8}WILKINS: You can see bones running into the section there and here, 265 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,076 and you can also see 266 00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:15,009 {\an5}a rib bone here. ATTENBOROUGH: Yeah. 267 00:12:15,033 --> 00:12:16,709 WESTSCOTT WILKINS: One of the things that we wondered 268 00:12:16,733 --> 00:12:18,842 {\an1}with so many of these tusks around, 269 00:12:18,866 --> 00:12:20,909 {\an4}could it have been, did they all fall into the river somewhere... Oh, I see. 270 00:12:20,933 --> 00:12:22,742 {\an1}...and then get washed down in one big event? 271 00:12:22,766 --> 00:12:25,476 {\an1}But what we're looking at is not a high-energy environment. 272 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,009 {\an1}If, if it was a washout, you would expect to see 273 00:12:28,033 --> 00:12:29,442 {\an1}more debris in the channel, 274 00:12:29,466 --> 00:12:31,842 {\an1}more debris in the sediment around the tusks. 275 00:12:31,866 --> 00:12:34,909 {\an1}But this is basically lying in, in, where it fell. 276 00:12:34,933 --> 00:12:36,509 {\an1}And the same with the tusk over there. 277 00:12:36,533 --> 00:12:37,642 {\an1}So we think, you know, 278 00:12:37,666 --> 00:12:39,242 {\an1}they could have just died and fallen. 279 00:12:39,266 --> 00:12:41,200 But it's, it's a bit of a coincidence, really. 280 00:12:47,266 --> 00:12:48,776 ATTENBOROUGH: This pit has been 281 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,576 {\an7}dug out by excavators because 282 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:56,676 {\an7}until just recently, it was full of gravel down to about 283 00:12:56,700 --> 00:12:58,676 {\an8}this level. 284 00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:02,142 {\an7}But here is much more solid. 285 00:13:02,166 --> 00:13:03,242 {\an8}It's not gravel. 286 00:13:03,266 --> 00:13:07,176 {\an8}It's, it's mud, sticky mud at that, 287 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:08,609 {\an1}and it's in this undisturbed mud 288 00:13:08,633 --> 00:13:12,542 {\an1}that these bones are now being discovered. 289 00:13:12,566 --> 00:13:15,909 {\an1}And because it's been undisturbed, 290 00:13:15,933 --> 00:13:20,876 {\an1}very careful excavation can reveal a lot of details 291 00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:24,942 {\an1}about the circumstances in which these animals got here 292 00:13:24,966 --> 00:13:27,142 {\an1}and left their bones. 293 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:29,242 ♪ ♪ 294 00:13:29,266 --> 00:13:30,642 {\an8}(voiceover): The most complete bones 295 00:13:30,666 --> 00:13:34,076 {\an7}seem to be lying in the riverbed. 296 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:36,442 {\an7}And they've been covered by the fine sediment 297 00:13:36,466 --> 00:13:38,309 {\an7}of slow-moving water, 298 00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:42,742 {\an1}not pounded by fast-moving floodwater. 299 00:13:42,766 --> 00:13:47,666 {\an1}So perhaps the mammoth died where the bones are lying now. 300 00:13:49,666 --> 00:13:53,600 {\an1}Spectacular fossils like these have always fascinated us. 301 00:13:55,166 --> 00:13:56,776 {\an1}Hundreds of years ago, 302 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:58,609 it was thought that mammoth tusks 303 00:13:58,633 --> 00:14:00,509 {\an1}belonged to mythical beasts. 304 00:14:00,533 --> 00:14:03,476 ♪ ♪ 305 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:07,309 {\an1}In Siberia, mammoth remains were once thought 306 00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:10,876 {\an1}to be from huge underground burrowing creatures. 307 00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:13,176 {\an1}In 17th-century Europe, 308 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,276 {\an1}mammoth bones were said to be those of giants, 309 00:14:16,300 --> 00:14:19,642 {\an8}or unicorns. 310 00:14:19,666 --> 00:14:22,576 By the 19th century, 311 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,976 {\an1}mammoths were described as prehistoric animals, 312 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,966 {\an1}but they were thought to have existed long before humans. 313 00:14:31,233 --> 00:14:34,442 {\an7}Then, in 1864 in France, 314 00:14:34,466 --> 00:14:36,676 {\an7}a piece of mammoth ivory was found 315 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:39,842 {\an7}with an engraving so accurate, it was clear 316 00:14:39,866 --> 00:14:42,666 {\an7}that the artist had seen a living mammoth. 317 00:14:44,633 --> 00:14:48,709 The engraving shows a woolly mammoth, 318 00:14:48,733 --> 00:14:52,666 {\an1}the most recent species on the mammoth family tree. 319 00:14:54,033 --> 00:14:57,876 {\an1}We now know that early mammoths first evolved in Africa 320 00:14:57,900 --> 00:15:01,176 {\an1}around five million years ago, 321 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,866 {\an1}and then spread into Europe and Asia. 322 00:15:05,733 --> 00:15:08,842 {\an1}Around 1.7 million years ago, 323 00:15:08,866 --> 00:15:12,776 {\an1}steppe mammoths evolved that grazed the grassy plains. 324 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,776 {\an1}They then moved into Europe and North America, 325 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,609 {\an1}where Columbian mammoths later appeared. 326 00:15:20,633 --> 00:15:23,176 {\an1}The famous woolly mammoths developed 327 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,909 {\an1}around 700,000 years ago, adapted for colder climates, 328 00:15:27,933 --> 00:15:30,376 {\an1}and they eventually spread first into Europe, 329 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,109 {\an1}and then North America. 330 00:15:34,133 --> 00:15:38,809 {\an1}So which kind of mammoth lived in Britain at our site? 331 00:15:38,833 --> 00:15:43,309 ♪ ♪ 332 00:15:43,333 --> 00:15:45,009 To find out, 333 00:15:45,033 --> 00:15:48,509 {\an1}mammoth evolution expert Steven Zhang 334 00:15:48,533 --> 00:15:51,076 {\an1}is examining the remains found at the site. 335 00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:54,009 {\an1}The teeth have given him a crucial clue. 336 00:15:54,033 --> 00:15:57,476 ZHANG: Looking at a mammoth tooth is like 337 00:15:57,500 --> 00:15:59,809 {\an1}looking into a barcode for the mammoth itself. 338 00:15:59,833 --> 00:16:04,809 {\an1}We start by counting the number of enamel ridges, so... 339 00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:06,909 {\an1}This one has about 18, 340 00:16:06,933 --> 00:16:11,976 {\an1}which is a very typical number for a steppe mammoth. 341 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,576 {\an1}Looking at this piece of tooth, 342 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,709 {\an7}we know that it's a last molar or a wisdom tooth. 343 00:16:17,733 --> 00:16:20,176 So we know this was a fully grown adult, 344 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:21,409 except 345 00:16:21,433 --> 00:16:24,542 {\an1}this is one of the smallest steppe mammoth teeth 346 00:16:24,566 --> 00:16:26,542 {\an1}there probably is in existence. 347 00:16:26,566 --> 00:16:28,776 It's like 348 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,876 {\an1}finding a German shepherd the size of a Westie. 349 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:33,642 ♪ ♪ 350 00:16:33,666 --> 00:16:36,809 ATTENBOROUGH: These teeth appear to be from a population of small 351 00:16:36,833 --> 00:16:38,809 steppe mammoths. 352 00:16:38,833 --> 00:16:41,342 {\an1}Their reduced size could be a consequence 353 00:16:41,366 --> 00:16:44,709 {\an1}of food becoming less abundant. 354 00:16:44,733 --> 00:16:47,509 If a steppe mammoth was here now, 355 00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:50,876 you would see that it wasn't particularly hairy, 356 00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:54,576 {\an1}a sign that the climate must have been quite temperate. 357 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:59,076 {\an1}And as for size, well, the female was about my size, 358 00:16:59,100 --> 00:17:02,109 male a bit bigger, and the baby, 359 00:17:02,133 --> 00:17:04,942 {\an1}well, I guess, like that. 360 00:17:04,966 --> 00:17:07,242 {\an1}Must've been rather enchanting. 361 00:17:07,266 --> 00:17:11,809 {\an7}(baby elephant squeals, adult lowing) 362 00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:16,276 ATTENBOROUGH: There are also remains of another type of mammoth. 363 00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:22,342 ZHANG: Over here, I would say this is a typical woolly mammoth. 364 00:17:22,366 --> 00:17:24,742 {\an1}So these two different kind of beasts 365 00:17:24,766 --> 00:17:27,042 {\an1}were occurring at the same site. 366 00:17:27,066 --> 00:17:30,109 {\an1}One possibility was that this site 367 00:17:30,133 --> 00:17:34,942 {\an1}was a habitat shared by both steppe and woolly mammoths, 368 00:17:34,966 --> 00:17:39,442 {\an1}or, as woolly mammoths migrated westward 369 00:17:39,466 --> 00:17:41,509 {\an1}from Siberia into Europe, 370 00:17:41,533 --> 00:17:45,476 {\an1}they started to mingle with local steppe mammoths. 371 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:47,476 This is interesting, 372 00:17:47,500 --> 00:17:51,976 {\an1}because not often do we see a snapshot like this. 373 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,742 It's exciting! 374 00:17:53,766 --> 00:17:55,742 ♪ ♪ 375 00:17:55,766 --> 00:18:00,542 ATTENBOROUGH: Our site could be rare evidence of a transitional stage, 376 00:18:00,566 --> 00:18:04,809 {\an1}when woolly mammoths are taking over from steppe mammoths. 377 00:18:04,833 --> 00:18:06,809 {\an1}These bones could have belonged 378 00:18:06,833 --> 00:18:11,000 {\an1}to some of the last surviving steppe mammoths in Britain. 379 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,009 ♪ ♪ 380 00:18:17,033 --> 00:18:18,776 Back at the dig, 381 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,576 {\an1}Sally and Neville have ringside seats 382 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,576 {\an1}as the professionals continue their meticulous search. 383 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,509 ♪ ♪ 384 00:18:28,533 --> 00:18:30,542 {\an1}NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: There is almost a forensic examination 385 00:18:30,566 --> 00:18:32,342 of the sediment and everything else. 386 00:18:32,366 --> 00:18:33,642 But that's so they... That's good, though. 387 00:18:33,666 --> 00:18:34,543 {\an1}So they don't miss anything. 388 00:18:34,567 --> 00:18:36,942 {\an1}NEVILLE HOLLINGWORTH: Yeah. 389 00:18:36,966 --> 00:18:39,542 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: It's like a time travel through the gravel! 390 00:18:39,566 --> 00:18:44,276 ♪ ♪ 391 00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:47,242 {\an1}I'd like them to solve the story. 392 00:18:47,266 --> 00:18:49,309 Was it hunted? 393 00:18:49,333 --> 00:18:51,176 That's the big question, isn't it? 394 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,476 {\an1}Yeah, one of the questions. 395 00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:55,109 {\an1}What was the climate like? Yeah. 396 00:18:55,133 --> 00:18:56,300 {\an1}What was the vegetation like? 397 00:18:57,666 --> 00:19:00,309 {\an1}And also, what else was here? 398 00:19:00,333 --> 00:19:03,342 {\an1}Not just mammoths, but were there early humans, 399 00:19:03,366 --> 00:19:05,509 {\an1}hominins, wandering about? Hm. 400 00:19:05,533 --> 00:19:06,876 {\an1}Were there groups of people, because of the hand axe? 401 00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:09,140 Yes, there were, because we know that there's a hand axe. 402 00:19:11,133 --> 00:19:13,142 ATTENBOROUGH: You have established 403 00:19:13,166 --> 00:19:16,576 {\an1}that there were mammoths here, 404 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,176 {\an1}and there were human beings 405 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,042 alongside them, 406 00:19:20,066 --> 00:19:21,942 a human being wielding that axe? 407 00:19:21,966 --> 00:19:24,676 {\an7}I can say at this particular site, 408 00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:26,942 {\an7}there were definitely mammoths, there were definitely 409 00:19:26,966 --> 00:19:29,509 {\an1}human beings... early human beings, admittedly, 410 00:19:29,533 --> 00:19:30,909 but I don't know yet 411 00:19:30,933 --> 00:19:32,109 if they were here at the exact same time. 412 00:19:32,133 --> 00:19:35,009 {\an1}Now, the issue is, it could be like you or I 413 00:19:35,033 --> 00:19:36,942 {\an1}walking on a Viking settlement and dropping a crisp packet. 414 00:19:36,966 --> 00:19:38,676 {\an1}That's not from the same time period, obviously. 415 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:39,976 {\an1}Now, that might have happened here. 416 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,142 {\an1}I'll let you know in a few months. 417 00:19:42,166 --> 00:19:46,876 ♪ ♪ 418 00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:50,809 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Ben's "few months" becomes two years 419 00:19:50,833 --> 00:19:54,376 {\an1}as COVID lockdowns keep the team away from the site. 420 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,776 ♪ ♪ 421 00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:59,276 But in 2021, 422 00:19:59,300 --> 00:20:01,842 {\an1}they pick up where they left off, 423 00:20:01,866 --> 00:20:05,733 this time with some mechanical help. 424 00:20:07,233 --> 00:20:11,709 ♪ ♪ 425 00:20:11,733 --> 00:20:13,376 {\an7}If only we'd had this last time, 426 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,142 {\an7}it would have just made it so much easier! 427 00:20:16,166 --> 00:20:17,942 ♪ ♪ 428 00:20:17,966 --> 00:20:21,942 {\an1}The idea at the moment is just to plane down to that level 429 00:20:21,966 --> 00:20:23,909 {\an1}where we've got material that hasn't been disturbed. 430 00:20:23,933 --> 00:20:25,376 ♪ ♪ 431 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,942 ATTENBOROUGH: They clear down to the undisturbed layers 432 00:20:28,966 --> 00:20:31,876 {\an1}and dig new trenches. 433 00:20:31,900 --> 00:20:33,542 {\an8}♪ ♪ 434 00:20:33,566 --> 00:20:35,909 {\an7}Mammoth bones soon begin to appear. 435 00:20:35,933 --> 00:20:37,866 Oh, wow! 436 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:40,876 {\an1}That looks good, doesn't it? 437 00:20:40,900 --> 00:20:42,300 Look at that! 438 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:46,609 GARROD: Wow! 439 00:20:46,633 --> 00:20:48,476 So you got this wonderful 440 00:20:48,500 --> 00:20:49,742 little tusk here. 441 00:20:49,766 --> 00:20:51,476 {\an1}Beautiful, isn't it? 442 00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:54,609 ATTENBOROUGH: To determine the age of these finds, 443 00:20:54,633 --> 00:20:58,976 {\an1}they send sediment samples from the trenches 444 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,609 to a specialist lab. 445 00:21:00,633 --> 00:21:02,709 ♪ ♪ 446 00:21:02,733 --> 00:21:04,376 {\an1}In darkroom conditions, 447 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:08,709 {\an1}grains of quartz from deep within the sediment 448 00:21:08,733 --> 00:21:11,909 {\an1}are placed in a machine that records tiny levels 449 00:21:11,933 --> 00:21:15,809 of radiation. 450 00:21:15,833 --> 00:21:16,976 (machine whirring) 451 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,576 {\an1}The amount of radiation 452 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:20,809 {\an1}emitted by the grains 453 00:21:20,833 --> 00:21:24,042 {\an1}reveals when they were last exposed to sunlight, 454 00:21:24,066 --> 00:21:26,442 {\an1}and allows the team to estimate the age 455 00:21:26,466 --> 00:21:30,176 {\an1}of the ancient river channel. 456 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,266 {\an7}Here we've got our distribution of age within our sample. 457 00:21:35,233 --> 00:21:37,009 {\an1}So, these three age estimates indicate 458 00:21:37,033 --> 00:21:40,433 {\an1}that the channel was formed about 215,000 years ago. 459 00:21:42,366 --> 00:21:43,976 ♪ ♪ 460 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,909 ATTENBOROUGH: Our site dates to a period deep in the ice age. 461 00:21:48,933 --> 00:21:51,942 But the ice age wasn't always icy. 462 00:21:51,966 --> 00:21:53,442 ♪ ♪ 463 00:21:53,466 --> 00:21:56,476 Over the last two-and-a-half million years, 464 00:21:56,500 --> 00:22:00,909 {\an1}huge ice sheets traveled down from the north 465 00:22:00,933 --> 00:22:04,533 {\an1}and then retreated during warmer spells. 466 00:22:06,100 --> 00:22:08,576 {\an1}The advancing and retreating ice 467 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:13,042 {\an1}changed the sea level and the coastlines. 468 00:22:13,066 --> 00:22:15,042 {\an1}But for most of this period, 469 00:22:15,066 --> 00:22:19,442 {\an1}Britain was connected to mainland Europe. 470 00:22:19,466 --> 00:22:21,909 215,000 years ago, 471 00:22:21,933 --> 00:22:24,809 {\an1}when the mammoths were living at our site, 472 00:22:24,833 --> 00:22:29,142 {\an1}conditions were only slightly cooler than today, 473 00:22:29,166 --> 00:22:33,442 {\an1}ideal for a variety of animals. 474 00:22:33,466 --> 00:22:36,176 {\an1}And evidence of tiny creatures at the site 475 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,242 {\an1}enables us to piece together a portrait 476 00:22:38,266 --> 00:22:41,733 of what was growing on this land back then. 477 00:22:43,266 --> 00:22:47,109 JOSH HOGUE: There's loads of small shell fragments throughout this. 478 00:22:47,133 --> 00:22:48,776 ♪ ♪ 479 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,542 {\an1}We've got this little snail in here. 480 00:22:52,566 --> 00:22:54,809 ♪ ♪ 481 00:22:54,833 --> 00:22:58,742 ATTENBOROUGH: Environmental archaeologist Matt Law 482 00:22:58,766 --> 00:23:00,142 {\an1}carefully identifies samples 483 00:23:00,166 --> 00:23:03,709 of tiny, but perfectly preserved, shells. 484 00:23:03,733 --> 00:23:05,342 ♪ ♪ 485 00:23:05,366 --> 00:23:07,909 LAW: We have one land snail in there, 486 00:23:07,933 --> 00:23:09,842 {\an1}so that's a very common species 487 00:23:09,866 --> 00:23:14,576 of short grassland snail, and the rest are 488 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,776 {\an7}looking like they're coming from a, a river-type setting. 489 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,742 Well-vegetated, well-oxygenated water, and, 490 00:23:20,766 --> 00:23:22,709 {\an1}but not too much flow, either. 491 00:23:22,733 --> 00:23:26,042 {\an1}What's really remarkable is the level of preservation. 492 00:23:26,066 --> 00:23:27,242 Not just the snails, 493 00:23:27,266 --> 00:23:30,576 {\an7}but things like beetle remains, seeds, 494 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,209 {\an8}and bits of wood that we don't often see 495 00:23:33,233 --> 00:23:36,409 {\an8}with the level of detail that they are here. 496 00:23:36,433 --> 00:23:40,209 ATTENBOROUGH: The discovery of these species of animals and plants 497 00:23:40,233 --> 00:23:42,742 {\an1}enables us to get a quite detailed picture 498 00:23:42,766 --> 00:23:44,709 {\an1}of what the landscape here was like 499 00:23:44,733 --> 00:23:47,542 {\an1}when the mammoths were roaming around. 500 00:23:47,566 --> 00:23:50,176 {\an1}This stretch of the ancient Thames 501 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,876 {\an1}was flowing through an open, grassy landscape, 502 00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:56,876 {\an1}a perfect place for large herbivores to feed 503 00:23:56,900 --> 00:23:58,976 and find water. 504 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,576 ♪ ♪ 505 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,509 Back at the site, 506 00:24:03,533 --> 00:24:05,576 {\an1}after weeks of searching for more hand axes 507 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,409 or stone tools among the mammoth bones, 508 00:24:08,433 --> 00:24:12,442 {\an1}there's been a breakthrough: 509 00:24:12,466 --> 00:24:14,642 {\an1}the telltale signs of humans. 510 00:24:14,666 --> 00:24:19,009 I think this may be a flint artifact. 511 00:24:19,033 --> 00:24:22,142 ATTENBOROUGH: Ben is eager to see the new finds. 512 00:24:22,166 --> 00:24:25,009 {\an1}It's really over in this area 513 00:24:25,033 --> 00:24:28,200 {\an1}where we're starting to find the really exciting stuff. 514 00:24:29,533 --> 00:24:34,109 Hiding in this sand we have a relatively large 515 00:24:34,133 --> 00:24:38,409 {\an1}piece of mammoth bone sticking from the surface. 516 00:24:38,433 --> 00:24:39,776 {\an1}And just in the last few days, 517 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:43,109 {\an1}we've started to pick out just a couple of flints, so, 518 00:24:43,133 --> 00:24:45,976 {\an1}little bits of stone which had been worked by humans. 519 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,309 {\an1}And they're next door, just 50 centimeters away 520 00:24:49,333 --> 00:24:50,376 {\an1}from this lovely bit 521 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,133 {\an1}of what looks to be a leg bone of a mammoth. 522 00:24:55,333 --> 00:24:57,342 {\an1}And you can see they'd been taking little chips 523 00:24:57,366 --> 00:25:01,576 {\an1}out of the edge to create a sharp cutting surface, 524 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,909 {\an1}which they could scrape along bones, 525 00:25:03,933 --> 00:25:05,342 {\an1}or along hides, to remove fat. 526 00:25:05,366 --> 00:25:09,576 {\an7}Something as simple as this starts to connect those, 527 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,109 {\an7}those dots, starts to bring the human story 528 00:25:12,133 --> 00:25:13,409 {\an1}together with the mammoths. 529 00:25:13,433 --> 00:25:16,509 {\an1}And, and that's really quite special. 530 00:25:16,533 --> 00:25:20,366 {\an8}♪ ♪ 531 00:25:23,700 --> 00:25:25,142 {\an8}ATTENBOROUGH: The presence of these tiny fragments 532 00:25:25,166 --> 00:25:27,309 {\an8}alongside the bone 533 00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:30,733 {\an7}suggests people were here at the same time as the mammoths. 534 00:25:32,766 --> 00:25:35,242 {\an7}The tool Sally and Neville found 535 00:25:35,266 --> 00:25:38,976 {\an7}could also have been made by the same people. 536 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,642 {\an8}♪ ♪ 537 00:25:41,666 --> 00:25:43,142 {\an8}To find out how 538 00:25:43,166 --> 00:25:46,209 {\an7}these early tools were made, Ben and I arrange 539 00:25:46,233 --> 00:25:49,909 {\an1}to meet Karl Lee, an expert flintknapper. 540 00:25:49,933 --> 00:25:51,709 LEE: So here we go. 541 00:25:51,733 --> 00:25:56,309 {\an7}(rock clinking, shattering) 542 00:25:56,333 --> 00:25:57,742 {\an8}♪ ♪ 543 00:25:57,766 --> 00:26:02,276 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Flint is a hard, glassy rock, 544 00:26:02,300 --> 00:26:04,242 {\an7}often found near rivers and beaches. 545 00:26:04,266 --> 00:26:08,142 {\an8}♪ ♪ 546 00:26:08,166 --> 00:26:09,242 {\an8}To shape it, 547 00:26:09,266 --> 00:26:11,809 {\an7}Karl uses a rounded stone 548 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:15,676 {\an7}and then a piece of antler, just as early humans did. 549 00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:17,333 There we go. 550 00:26:19,533 --> 00:26:24,276 That is amazing. 551 00:26:24,300 --> 00:26:25,876 Thank you very much. (chuckles) 552 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:27,242 GARROD: What do you reckon, David? 553 00:26:27,266 --> 00:26:29,642 {\an1}Could you take down a mammoth with one of those? 554 00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:31,009 {\an1}I should certainly cut up a deer. 555 00:26:31,033 --> 00:26:34,109 {\an4}They're around here. LEE: Yes. 556 00:26:34,133 --> 00:26:35,142 {\an1}If you killed it with a spear, 557 00:26:35,166 --> 00:26:36,933 {\an1}that's for the butcher. 558 00:26:37,933 --> 00:26:41,109 {\an1}And, and you butcher it in half-an-hour. 559 00:26:41,133 --> 00:26:44,576 {\an1}So I have, completely normally, 560 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,176 brought a piece of meat on the bone. 561 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,166 {\an1}LEE: Okay. 562 00:26:51,033 --> 00:26:53,576 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH: Gosh. 563 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,176 {\an7}Huh. 564 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,142 {\an7}Mind your fingers. 565 00:26:57,166 --> 00:26:59,286 {\an7}LEE: Yes, mind your fingers. (chuckles): Thanks, David. 566 00:26:59,633 --> 00:27:00,642 {\an8}Oh, yeah. 567 00:27:00,666 --> 00:27:03,166 {\an8}That's gone straight through. 568 00:27:07,266 --> 00:27:08,942 {\an7}(flint cutting) 569 00:27:08,966 --> 00:27:11,942 {\an8}ATTENBOROUGH: No problem at all. 570 00:27:11,966 --> 00:27:16,542 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Karl also shows us a second method of making stone tools, 571 00:27:16,566 --> 00:27:19,776 {\an7}in which thin shards of flint, 572 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,142 {\an7}known as Levallois flakes, 573 00:27:22,166 --> 00:27:24,942 {\an7}are knocked away from a large flint core. 574 00:27:24,966 --> 00:27:27,600 {\an8}♪ ♪ 575 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:35,066 {\an8}I have to prepare a platform... 576 00:27:36,533 --> 00:27:39,576 {\an7}...at the base of the core, 577 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,009 {\an8}and then try and take a nice flake. 578 00:27:43,033 --> 00:27:44,976 {\an8}Using this method, 579 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,242 {\an7}they're actually planning exactly 580 00:27:46,266 --> 00:27:47,809 {\an7}what that flake's going to look like. 581 00:27:47,833 --> 00:27:50,276 {\an8}So I'm going to be striking right at the base 582 00:27:50,300 --> 00:27:53,442 {\an8}of the core here, and the flake will hopefully 583 00:27:53,466 --> 00:27:56,009 {\an7}come off on the underside. 584 00:27:56,033 --> 00:27:59,076 {\an7}That's a brave thing to say. (chuckles) 585 00:27:59,100 --> 00:28:02,109 {\an8}♪ ♪ 586 00:28:02,133 --> 00:28:03,809 {\an8}(flint cracks) 587 00:28:03,833 --> 00:28:07,009 {\an8}That is a Levallois flake. 588 00:28:07,033 --> 00:28:08,509 {\an8}Now, do watch your fingers on that one, 589 00:28:08,533 --> 00:28:10,876 {\an8}because it's... 590 00:28:10,900 --> 00:28:13,009 {\an8}(blows): It's going to be sharp. 591 00:28:13,033 --> 00:28:16,642 (clears throat) 592 00:28:16,666 --> 00:28:18,276 {\an1}Yes, it's razor-sharp. Yeah. 593 00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:19,809 Razor-sharp. 594 00:28:19,833 --> 00:28:22,876 {\an1}Where the edge is so thin, 595 00:28:22,900 --> 00:28:25,342 {\an1}it's translucent... It looks as though 596 00:28:25,366 --> 00:28:27,942 {\an1}it's all got a halo all around it. 597 00:28:27,966 --> 00:28:31,176 {\an7}Really beautiful, actually. 598 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,742 {\an8}LEE: This is a very versatile technology. 599 00:28:33,766 --> 00:28:36,476 {\an7}It's portable, very lightweight, 600 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:38,709 {\an8}rather than carrying around something 601 00:28:38,733 --> 00:28:40,742 {\an7}four or five times the weight. 602 00:28:40,766 --> 00:28:42,642 I can't imagine you teaching me this 603 00:28:42,666 --> 00:28:45,442 without a really good grasp of language. 604 00:28:45,466 --> 00:28:49,642 {\an7}Teaching this without language would be, 605 00:28:49,666 --> 00:28:51,476 {\an7}in my opinion, impossible. 606 00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:54,942 {\an7}And I, my guess would be that children, 607 00:28:54,966 --> 00:28:57,642 {\an8}just as they mimic their parents today, 608 00:28:57,666 --> 00:28:59,542 {\an7}would have been mimicking 609 00:28:59,566 --> 00:29:00,809 {\an8}their parents back then, as well. 610 00:29:00,833 --> 00:29:02,966 {\an8}(chuckles) 611 00:29:04,700 --> 00:29:06,476 {\an7}So, try and catch it about 612 00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,376 {\an7}two millimeters back from the edge, 613 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,842 {\an7}so we... Oh, I've got it, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 614 00:29:11,866 --> 00:29:14,100 {\an7}That's it, you're away. 615 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,442 {\an7}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): For hundreds of thousands of years, 616 00:29:18,466 --> 00:29:21,776 {\an1}human beings have passed on that sort of skill, 617 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,042 that sort of insight into the materials 618 00:29:25,066 --> 00:29:27,442 {\an1}that lay around them. 619 00:29:27,466 --> 00:29:30,642 ♪ ♪ 620 00:29:30,666 --> 00:29:33,209 Of course, they had to be fortunate to find 621 00:29:33,233 --> 00:29:35,942 such marvelous material as flint, 622 00:29:35,966 --> 00:29:37,676 {\an8}but once they did, 623 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:40,809 {\an8}what fabulous things they created with it. 624 00:29:40,833 --> 00:29:44,242 ♪ ♪ 625 00:29:44,266 --> 00:29:48,642 So who were the flint-workers at Cerney Wick? 626 00:29:48,666 --> 00:29:53,076 We know very little about prehistoric people. 627 00:29:53,100 --> 00:29:56,842 {\an1}Most evidence of their existence has decomposed 628 00:29:56,866 --> 00:30:02,076 {\an1}and disappeared long ago, but their stone tools remain. 629 00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:05,209 {\an1}They reveal the remarkable story 630 00:30:05,233 --> 00:30:07,176 {\an1}of early species of humans 631 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,942 {\an1}spreading from Africa throughout Northern Europe. 632 00:30:10,966 --> 00:30:15,009 {\an1}To find out which type of human was living 633 00:30:15,033 --> 00:30:19,742 {\an1}at Cerney Wick, I've come to a secure facility in London. 634 00:30:19,766 --> 00:30:22,709 It holds one of the largest collections 635 00:30:22,733 --> 00:30:26,176 of prehistoric artifacts in the world. 636 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,142 Curator Nick Ashton is a renowned expert 637 00:30:30,166 --> 00:30:31,909 {\an1}on these ancient tools. 638 00:30:31,933 --> 00:30:36,209 {\an1}He begins by showing me simple flint tools found 639 00:30:36,233 --> 00:30:39,209 {\an7}near Happisburgh on the east coast of England. 640 00:30:39,233 --> 00:30:41,642 {\an8}ASHTON: We know that in Africa they'd been making 641 00:30:41,666 --> 00:30:44,376 {\an7}these tools for some two to three million years. 642 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,642 {\an7}But this is the earliest evidence that we have 643 00:30:46,666 --> 00:30:50,209 {\an7}in Northern Europe of humans reaching this far north. 644 00:30:50,233 --> 00:30:52,642 {\an1}Dates to an astonishing 900,000 years ago. 645 00:30:52,666 --> 00:30:53,842 {\an1}So it's... How much? 646 00:30:53,866 --> 00:30:54,942 {\an1}900,000 years ago. 647 00:30:54,966 --> 00:30:56,476 Really? 648 00:30:56,500 --> 00:30:57,942 {\an1}So it's the earliest evidence 649 00:30:57,966 --> 00:31:00,066 {\an1}for humans in Northern Europe. 650 00:31:01,833 --> 00:31:05,142 {\an8}ATTENBOROUGH: In 2013, Nick's team made 651 00:31:05,166 --> 00:31:08,542 {\an7}a truly extraordinary discovery at Happisburgh. 652 00:31:08,566 --> 00:31:12,242 {\an8}A storm washed away sand on a beach 653 00:31:12,266 --> 00:31:15,809 {\an7}and revealed ancient footprints set in hardened mud. 654 00:31:15,833 --> 00:31:19,442 {\an7}They were the oldest human footprints ever documented 655 00:31:19,466 --> 00:31:23,209 outside of Africa, but within two weeks, 656 00:31:23,233 --> 00:31:27,900 they had vanished, washed away by incoming tides. 657 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:32,976 {\an1}It's thought that early humans spread out of Africa 658 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,376 {\an1}around two million years ago. 659 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,642 {\an1}A million years later, 660 00:31:37,666 --> 00:31:40,766 {\an1}some of their descendants reached Britain. 661 00:31:42,466 --> 00:31:45,009 What sort of people was it who did this? 662 00:31:45,033 --> 00:31:47,476 {\an1}I mean, did they have clothes of any kind? 663 00:31:47,500 --> 00:31:49,609 {\an1}Were they covered in hair? 664 00:31:49,633 --> 00:31:51,976 {\an1}I mean, do we, how, do we know what they looked like? 665 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:53,609 {\an1}We, we actually know very little, 666 00:31:53,633 --> 00:31:55,676 {\an1}but the species of human 667 00:31:55,700 --> 00:31:58,042 {\an7}in Europe at that time was Homo antecessor. 668 00:31:58,066 --> 00:32:00,242 {\an7}They would have looked very similar to ourselves, 669 00:32:00,266 --> 00:32:01,909 {\an7}apart from slightly different facial... 670 00:32:01,933 --> 00:32:03,276 {\an8}But it's a guess whether they were hairy or not. 671 00:32:03,300 --> 00:32:05,609 {\an4}It's a guess as to whether they're hairy... (laughs) 672 00:32:05,633 --> 00:32:07,476 {\an1}...or had extra body fat to cope 673 00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:08,733 {\an1}with these cold winters. Yeah. 674 00:32:09,866 --> 00:32:12,942 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): By 500,000 years ago, 675 00:32:12,966 --> 00:32:15,309 {\an1}humans in Britain were capable of crafting hand axes 676 00:32:15,333 --> 00:32:18,809 like the one found at Cerney Wick. 677 00:32:18,833 --> 00:32:21,309 ASHTON: We know that they're hunting by this point, 678 00:32:21,333 --> 00:32:23,976 {\an1}and they're certainly butchering a range of different 679 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,842 deer, and probably larger animals, as well. 680 00:32:26,866 --> 00:32:28,576 {\an1}And one of the important things is, if you're a hunter, 681 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:30,542 {\an1}you get to the carcass first. 682 00:32:30,566 --> 00:32:31,909 The hide is intact. 683 00:32:31,933 --> 00:32:34,009 {\an1}It hasn't been chewed to bits by the hyenas 684 00:32:34,033 --> 00:32:37,042 {\an1}or the other carnivores or the big cats. 685 00:32:37,066 --> 00:32:39,409 {\an1}And that hide you would almost certainly use 686 00:32:39,433 --> 00:32:41,542 {\an1}for either clothing or shelter 687 00:32:41,566 --> 00:32:44,409 {\an1}to help you cope with those cold winters. 688 00:32:44,433 --> 00:32:48,242 ♪ ♪ 689 00:32:48,266 --> 00:32:52,176 ATTENBOROUGH: Humans first used fire in Africa, 690 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,476 {\an1}and by 400,000 years ago, 691 00:32:54,500 --> 00:32:57,342 {\an1}they were using it in Northern Europe, as well. 692 00:32:57,366 --> 00:33:00,009 ♪ ♪ 693 00:33:00,033 --> 00:33:01,376 ASHTON: This is burnt flint. 694 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,342 {\an1}It's a block of flint that shattered under heat. 695 00:33:05,366 --> 00:33:08,476 {\an1}What we think we're dealing with is a small campfire, 696 00:33:08,500 --> 00:33:10,676 which has all kinds of benefits. 697 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:12,042 It's not just warm, 698 00:33:12,066 --> 00:33:16,100 {\an1}it's not just keeping away big cats. 699 00:33:18,700 --> 00:33:21,442 {\an1}It's also a hub for social life. 700 00:33:21,466 --> 00:33:24,876 {\an1}It extends your daylight hours into the night. 701 00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:27,876 ♪ ♪ 702 00:33:27,900 --> 00:33:30,442 It means you begin to tell stories. 703 00:33:30,466 --> 00:33:33,276 It's all part of the development of language 704 00:33:33,300 --> 00:33:36,709 {\an1}and those all-important social bonds that make us human. 705 00:33:36,733 --> 00:33:40,133 ♪ ♪ 706 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,076 {\an1}You paint a very, very convincing picture, actually, 707 00:33:48,100 --> 00:33:50,476 {\an1}and anyone who's sat by a fire 708 00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:53,176 {\an1}knows how hypnotic it can be. 709 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,376 {\an5}ASHTON: Yes. ATTENBOROUGH: Just sitting there watching the flames. 710 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:56,842 ASHTON: Yeah, yeah. 711 00:33:56,866 --> 00:33:58,609 ATTENBOROUGH: That's a very exciting picture. 712 00:33:58,633 --> 00:34:01,833 ♪ ♪ 713 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,842 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): By 250,000 years ago, Levallois flakes 714 00:34:08,866 --> 00:34:12,776 appear like the ones that Karl had shown us. 715 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:17,009 ASHTON: Here we have these carefully crafted points. 716 00:34:17,033 --> 00:34:19,966 {\an1}And this is a massive step forward in terms of technology. 717 00:34:22,666 --> 00:34:26,366 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): So where does our site fit in? 718 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:32,066 I've brought Sally and Neville's stone tool. 719 00:34:34,266 --> 00:34:36,842 {\an1}Now, this, which I know you haven't seen before... 720 00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:39,509 {\an1}What... was found 721 00:34:39,533 --> 00:34:41,042 {\an1}alongside this mammoth 722 00:34:41,066 --> 00:34:43,576 which we have been excavating. 723 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,976 What does that tell you about dating, 724 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,242 or indeed anything else? 725 00:34:48,266 --> 00:34:50,909 {\an1}Well, it's undoubtedly a hand axe, 726 00:34:50,933 --> 00:34:54,076 {\an1}and very typical of early Neanderthals, 727 00:34:54,100 --> 00:34:55,709 {\an1}quite similar to some of these. 728 00:34:55,733 --> 00:34:58,276 {\an1}I gather that the site dates to roughly 729 00:34:58,300 --> 00:34:59,776 {\an1}about 200,000 years ago. 730 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,842 {\an1}So it would actually be contemporary 731 00:35:01,866 --> 00:35:03,776 {\an1}with these Levallois points. 732 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:05,076 {\an1}But it's very different. 733 00:35:05,100 --> 00:35:08,542 {\an1}Here we have a traditional hand axe. 734 00:35:08,566 --> 00:35:10,076 {\an1}So what's going on? 735 00:35:10,100 --> 00:35:13,042 {\an1}One idea is that you've got different populations 736 00:35:13,066 --> 00:35:15,309 {\an1}coming in from different parts of Europe 737 00:35:15,333 --> 00:35:16,876 {\an1}with different technologies. 738 00:35:16,900 --> 00:35:19,709 {\an1}Another idea might be that maybe you've got 739 00:35:19,733 --> 00:35:23,276 {\an1}a residual population in Britain, in Western Britain, 740 00:35:23,300 --> 00:35:24,809 {\an1}who are still making hand axes. 741 00:35:24,833 --> 00:35:26,342 {\an1}We're still talking about Neanderthals? 742 00:35:26,366 --> 00:35:28,042 We're still talking about Neanderthals. 743 00:35:28,066 --> 00:35:31,200 ♪ ♪ 744 00:35:35,166 --> 00:35:37,109 {\an1}ATTENBOROUGH (voiceover): Stone tools like these, 745 00:35:37,133 --> 00:35:39,709 together with rare fragments of human bone, 746 00:35:39,733 --> 00:35:44,100 {\an1}reveal that four species of human have occupied Britain. 747 00:35:45,900 --> 00:35:49,042 {\an1}The stone tools and the dating of our site both suggest 748 00:35:49,066 --> 00:35:51,242 that the humans who were living here 749 00:35:51,266 --> 00:35:53,676 {\an1}were, in fact, Neanderthals. 750 00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:55,876 {\an1}To find out more about them, 751 00:35:55,900 --> 00:36:00,776 {\an1}Ben is meeting anthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi. 752 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,776 {\an7}So our ancestors and the ancestors of Neanderthals 753 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,642 {\an8}were in Africa, and then at some point, 754 00:36:05,666 --> 00:36:07,409 {\an7}a group of them left, 755 00:36:07,433 --> 00:36:09,042 {\an7}and we don't know where and we don't know when. 756 00:36:09,066 --> 00:36:10,976 {\an7}But they became Neanderthals. 757 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:12,909 {\an7}We have sites all the way 758 00:36:12,933 --> 00:36:14,142 {\an1}as far as Siberia, 759 00:36:14,166 --> 00:36:17,509 {\an1}and then we have a whole pile of sites in Europe. 760 00:36:17,533 --> 00:36:19,276 {\an1}Doesn't mean that they are a European species. 761 00:36:19,300 --> 00:36:20,409 {\an1}It just means 762 00:36:20,433 --> 00:36:21,876 that a lot of the archaeologists are actually 763 00:36:21,900 --> 00:36:24,476 {\an1}in Europe and were digging in their own backyards. 764 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:26,442 We've got this massive array, actually, 765 00:36:26,466 --> 00:36:28,742 of Neanderthals in this whole region. 766 00:36:28,766 --> 00:36:30,676 And if you look at that region, 767 00:36:30,700 --> 00:36:32,742 that's a number of different environments, 768 00:36:32,766 --> 00:36:34,576 and a number of different climates, as well. 769 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:36,676 And do we know what they looked like? 770 00:36:36,700 --> 00:36:39,976 Yeah, so Neanderthals were very similar to us, 771 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,342 but there were crucial differences. 772 00:36:42,366 --> 00:36:44,509 So, for example, we know that Neanderthals, on average, 773 00:36:44,533 --> 00:36:47,176 {\an1}were, well, they were shorter. 774 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,076 So male Neanderthals would have come in at about 775 00:36:49,100 --> 00:36:51,242 five foot four, five foot five. 776 00:36:51,266 --> 00:36:53,009 {\an1}They were also really stocky. 777 00:36:53,033 --> 00:36:55,309 But, you know, people have said, 778 00:36:55,333 --> 00:36:56,809 {\an1}"Well, if you got a Neanderthal, 779 00:36:56,833 --> 00:36:58,976 "you gave him a shave, and you give him a bowler hat, 780 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,909 {\an1}you put him on the New York subway, would anyone notice?" 781 00:37:01,933 --> 00:37:04,076 And then somebody else obviously said, 782 00:37:04,100 --> 00:37:06,142 {\an1}"Well, that probably says more about the New York subway 783 00:37:06,166 --> 00:37:07,609 {\an5}than it does about Neanderthals." (laughs) 784 00:37:07,633 --> 00:37:09,442 {\an1}But the point stands, you know. 785 00:37:09,466 --> 00:37:13,342 How different were they, really? 786 00:37:13,366 --> 00:37:17,500 ♪ ♪ 787 00:37:19,466 --> 00:37:21,142 ATTENBOROUGH: Back at the site, 788 00:37:21,166 --> 00:37:24,842 {\an1}the team is finding that nearly all the tusks and bones 789 00:37:24,866 --> 00:37:27,276 are lying in a single layer of sediment, 790 00:37:27,300 --> 00:37:32,242 {\an1}suggesting the mammoths all died around the same time. 791 00:37:32,266 --> 00:37:34,442 {\an1}What could have killed a group 792 00:37:34,466 --> 00:37:37,042 of mammoths in such a short period? 793 00:37:37,066 --> 00:37:40,642 WILKINSON: And we can trace this layer pretty much all the way around 794 00:37:40,666 --> 00:37:43,142 {\an7}to the tusk on the far side, now. 795 00:37:43,166 --> 00:37:44,676 {\an7}So it's, they're all... 796 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:47,176 {\an7}It's all the, formed at the same time. 797 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:48,609 And we can't see flooding? 798 00:37:48,633 --> 00:37:49,942 'Cause I'm just trying to think what's, 799 00:37:49,966 --> 00:37:52,009 what's forcible enough to move a tusk. 800 00:37:52,033 --> 00:37:53,476 {\an1}No, there's nothing, I mean... 801 00:37:53,500 --> 00:37:55,876 This is, this is weird, 'cause there's not enough mud. 802 00:37:55,900 --> 00:37:58,142 There's not enough, there's no flood. No. 803 00:37:58,166 --> 00:38:00,366 {\an5}They just died in this area for some reason. Yeah. 804 00:38:01,866 --> 00:38:04,976 ATTENBOROUGH: Ben is doubtful that the mammoth got stuck in the mud. 805 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,909 GARROD: The mud's deep, but it's not 806 00:38:06,933 --> 00:38:10,476 {\an1}up to a mammoth's armpits deep. 807 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:12,809 {\an8}Disease? I mean, there's nothing, really, 808 00:38:12,833 --> 00:38:14,609 {\an7}in terms of, of modern relatives, that... 809 00:38:14,633 --> 00:38:15,876 {\an8}the elephants... 810 00:38:15,900 --> 00:38:17,576 {\an7}that would kill a whole group that quickly in one site 811 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:19,542 {\an1}at one time to explain this. 812 00:38:19,566 --> 00:38:21,442 And we've got adults and juveniles, as well. 813 00:38:21,466 --> 00:38:23,976 {\an1}So it's not the classic elephant graveyard 814 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,609 all, all being left in one site, either. 815 00:38:25,633 --> 00:38:28,642 {\an1}And it leaves this idea, this possibility, 816 00:38:28,666 --> 00:38:30,076 that it was people. 817 00:38:30,100 --> 00:38:31,476 {\an1}So were they chasing them in? 818 00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,942 Were they corralling them somehow? 819 00:38:33,966 --> 00:38:36,209 {\an1}Were they... I, I don't know. 820 00:38:36,233 --> 00:38:40,009 {\an1}But that's almost weirder, because I can't imagine 821 00:38:40,033 --> 00:38:42,609 {\an1}quite early Neanderthal people 822 00:38:42,633 --> 00:38:44,509 bringing down a bunch of mammoths. 823 00:38:44,533 --> 00:38:46,809 {\an1}Because these things were tons 824 00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:48,976 {\an1}of anger and intelligence. 825 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,133 ♪ ♪ 826 00:39:03,533 --> 00:39:06,142 ATTENBOROUGH: Evidence suggesting that 827 00:39:06,166 --> 00:39:07,976 {\an1}Neanderthals could successfully 828 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,909 hunt mammoths is extremely rare. 829 00:39:10,933 --> 00:39:14,476 But this is the island of Jersey, 830 00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:18,176 {\an7}and here, at La Cotte de St. Brelade, 831 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,109 {\an8}piles of mammoth bones have been found 832 00:39:21,133 --> 00:39:24,109 {\an8}that suggest that Neanderthals may indeed 833 00:39:24,133 --> 00:39:27,376 {\an7}have been killing mammoths here. 834 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,576 {\an7}Archaeologist Matt Pope 835 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,642 {\an8}has been studying the site for years. 836 00:39:31,666 --> 00:39:35,376 POPE: Our first glimpse of La Cotte de St. Brelade, 837 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:37,809 towering up above us. 838 00:39:37,833 --> 00:39:39,342 GARROD: Oh, wow, 839 00:39:39,366 --> 00:39:41,442 {\an1}It's like this huge cathedral fortress, isn't it? 840 00:39:41,466 --> 00:39:43,642 It's beautiful. 841 00:39:43,666 --> 00:39:45,566 {\an8}♪ ♪ 842 00:39:47,933 --> 00:39:50,142 {\an8}POPE: We can see a lot of the site from here, 843 00:39:50,166 --> 00:39:51,676 {\an7}the main granite structure, 844 00:39:51,700 --> 00:39:54,309 {\an1}the arch that takes you through to the north ravine, 845 00:39:54,333 --> 00:39:55,442 and in front of us, 846 00:39:55,466 --> 00:39:58,933 {\an1}the west ravine, the main open space. 847 00:40:01,066 --> 00:40:05,442 ATTENBOROUGH: The site has been investigated since 1881. 848 00:40:05,466 --> 00:40:08,476 And over the years, archaeologists excavated 849 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:10,509 {\an1}down into the ravine. 850 00:40:10,533 --> 00:40:13,642 {\an1}At two levels, they discovered 851 00:40:13,666 --> 00:40:18,376 heaps of bones of butchered mammoths. 852 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:21,466 The mystery is how these bones got there. 853 00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:25,642 {\an8}POPE: An original explanation, and a very good one, 854 00:40:25,666 --> 00:40:28,642 {\an8}was that the mammoth were all herded together, 855 00:40:28,666 --> 00:40:30,376 {\an7}by Neanderthal hunters, 856 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,042 {\an8}and driven over the cliffs to their death. 857 00:40:32,066 --> 00:40:33,576 {\an5}So you imagine... GARROD: From right up there? 858 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:34,909 {\an1}POPE: From right up there. 859 00:40:34,933 --> 00:40:36,876 I mean, that's quite a thought, to think of 860 00:40:36,900 --> 00:40:39,076 {\an1}a whole herd of mammoths coming cascading 861 00:40:39,100 --> 00:40:40,542 {\an7}over the edge right there. 862 00:40:40,566 --> 00:40:42,642 {\an8}POPE: It's a good theory, but it's not a very good 863 00:40:42,666 --> 00:40:44,876 {\an7}headland for actually concentrating a herd. 864 00:40:44,900 --> 00:40:47,109 {\an7}There is simply no way 865 00:40:47,133 --> 00:40:49,209 {\an8}you could funnel the mammoth into this ravine. 866 00:40:49,233 --> 00:40:51,742 {\an1}They'd be splitting off into all different directions. 867 00:40:51,766 --> 00:40:55,109 We've been recently relooking at those bone heaps 868 00:40:55,133 --> 00:40:56,642 {\an1}and looking at the evidence, 869 00:40:56,666 --> 00:40:59,076 and we put forward an alternative idea. 870 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:01,209 And that idea is that these bone heaps 871 00:41:01,233 --> 00:41:02,909 {\an1}didn't form in one go... Mm-hmm. 872 00:41:02,933 --> 00:41:04,776 In mass kills. 873 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:07,309 {\an1}But actually, they formed over a long period of time, 874 00:41:07,333 --> 00:41:09,542 and the hunting was taking place out here 875 00:41:09,566 --> 00:41:11,776 on the surrounding landscapes. 876 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,542 They were bringing these bones back, 877 00:41:13,566 --> 00:41:15,009 and then over time, 878 00:41:15,033 --> 00:41:17,576 they put these heaps of bone together. 879 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:19,576 And this whole area, as we look at it now, 880 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:21,076 {\an1}it's this beautiful coastline 881 00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:23,142 that stretches out to the, the Channel here. 882 00:41:23,166 --> 00:41:25,509 {\an1}But this would have all been one big grassy plain. 883 00:41:25,533 --> 00:41:29,376 POPE: We've got the seabed landscape mapped. 884 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,742 {\an7}There's little cul-de-sacs where you get dead ends, 885 00:41:31,766 --> 00:41:33,342 {\an7}and you could control game. 886 00:41:33,366 --> 00:41:35,276 {\an7}And we know from other Neanderthal sites where 887 00:41:35,300 --> 00:41:37,909 {\an7}hunting is taking place, they love landscapes 888 00:41:37,933 --> 00:41:39,676 {\an7}in which they control game. 889 00:41:39,700 --> 00:41:41,076 {\an1}Probably the whole Neanderthal community 890 00:41:41,100 --> 00:41:42,709 {\an1}would be involved in hunting, 891 00:41:42,733 --> 00:41:45,442 {\an1}corralling, controlling, 892 00:41:45,466 --> 00:41:49,476 moving, isolating particular members of a herd. 893 00:41:49,500 --> 00:41:52,376 ♪ ♪ 894 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,776 ATTENBOROUGH: Most archaeologists now think that the Neanderthals 895 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,009 {\an1}were capable of hunting large prey like mammoths, 896 00:41:59,033 --> 00:42:02,242 as they seem to have done in Jersey. 897 00:42:02,266 --> 00:42:04,376 But it would be much harder to trap them 898 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:07,309 {\an1}on the flat grasslands of Cerney Wick. 899 00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:12,142 {\an1}Perhaps the river might have slowed the mammoths down. 900 00:42:12,166 --> 00:42:15,442 But how would the Neanderthals have killed them? 901 00:42:15,466 --> 00:42:19,176 Wooden spears may well have been used. 902 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,642 Wood, of course, rots away quickly, 903 00:42:21,666 --> 00:42:24,642 {\an8}so we're very unlikely to find one. 904 00:42:24,666 --> 00:42:27,709 {\an8}But there are some. 905 00:42:27,733 --> 00:42:30,209 ♪ ♪ 906 00:42:30,233 --> 00:42:32,509 In 1911, in Essex, 907 00:42:32,533 --> 00:42:36,266 {\an1}a wooden spear tip was found in waterlogged soil. 908 00:42:37,900 --> 00:42:39,742 And in 1948, 909 00:42:39,766 --> 00:42:43,076 {\an1}stronger evidence of spear hunting was uncovered. 910 00:42:43,100 --> 00:42:45,942 {\an1}A spear was found within the fossilized ribs 911 00:42:45,966 --> 00:42:48,633 {\an1}of a straight-tusked elephant. 912 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:52,342 Then, in 1995, 913 00:42:52,366 --> 00:42:55,209 at a mine in Schöningen in Germany, 914 00:42:55,233 --> 00:42:58,742 {\an1}ten miraculously well preserved Neanderthal spears 915 00:42:58,766 --> 00:43:01,342 were found lying among the skeletons 916 00:43:01,366 --> 00:43:05,342 of around 50 horses, the oldest complete 917 00:43:05,366 --> 00:43:10,542 prehistoric hunting weapons ever found. 918 00:43:10,566 --> 00:43:14,342 {\an1}Archaeologists had assumed these early hunters 919 00:43:14,366 --> 00:43:16,842 thrust their spears into the flanks 920 00:43:16,866 --> 00:43:20,309 {\an1}of prey at close range. 921 00:43:20,333 --> 00:43:22,576 {\an1}But could spears like this have been thrown 922 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:26,233 at mammoths from a longer distance? 923 00:43:27,166 --> 00:43:30,042 To find out, we asked a wood carver 924 00:43:30,066 --> 00:43:35,309 {\an1}to make exact replicas of the Schöningen spears from spruce, 925 00:43:35,333 --> 00:43:36,942 {\an1}the same shape, weight, and type of wood 926 00:43:36,966 --> 00:43:39,042 {\an1}as the ancient spears. 927 00:43:39,066 --> 00:43:40,342 MILKS: Hi, guys. 928 00:43:40,366 --> 00:43:43,042 GARROD: We've brought you some spears. 929 00:43:43,066 --> 00:43:45,242 ATTENBOROUGH: Annemieke Milks is an investigator 930 00:43:45,266 --> 00:43:47,276 {\an1}of Neanderthal hunting methods. 931 00:43:47,300 --> 00:43:49,909 She wants to see how well these replica 932 00:43:49,933 --> 00:43:52,176 {\an1}Neanderthal spears will perform in the hands 933 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,742 {\an1}of Bekah Walton and Harry Hughes, 934 00:43:54,766 --> 00:43:58,442 two of Britain's leading javelin throwers. 935 00:43:58,466 --> 00:44:00,676 {\an1}I'm really curious to see what 936 00:44:00,700 --> 00:44:03,476 {\an1}an experienced thrower makes of how they feel. 937 00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:05,176 WALTON: They are the right length, 938 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:06,509 {\an1}compared to a normal spear. 939 00:44:06,533 --> 00:44:07,976 Yeah, the balance is really good. 940 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:09,309 {\an1}Yeah, they're surprisingly similar 941 00:44:09,333 --> 00:44:11,166 {\an1}to a normal javelin, actually. Yeah. 942 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:15,009 ATTENBOROUGH: Annemieke wants to test how 943 00:44:15,033 --> 00:44:17,409 the spears fly, and if they can be 944 00:44:17,433 --> 00:44:19,709 used accurately, to hit a target. 945 00:44:19,733 --> 00:44:21,042 GARROD: We want to know, 946 00:44:21,066 --> 00:44:23,242 can you two kill 947 00:44:23,266 --> 00:44:24,976 {\an1}that mammoth silhouette for us, please? 948 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,242 {\an1}HUGHES: Okay, right, should we give it a go? 949 00:44:26,266 --> 00:44:27,466 {\an1}WALTON: Let's go. 950 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:31,442 {\an4}(Garrod chortling) WALTON: Oh, my gosh. 951 00:44:31,466 --> 00:44:33,309 First time. 952 00:44:33,333 --> 00:44:38,500 ♪ ♪ 953 00:44:51,133 --> 00:44:53,842 MILKS: Up until fairly recently, 954 00:44:53,866 --> 00:44:56,776 {\an7}most people were arguing that Neanderthals were 955 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,942 {\an7}only capable of hunting at immediate distances. 956 00:44:59,966 --> 00:45:03,309 {\an8}And this shows that their technology 957 00:45:03,333 --> 00:45:05,842 {\an7}was capable of distance hunting. 958 00:45:05,866 --> 00:45:10,533 ♪ ♪ 959 00:45:14,766 --> 00:45:16,842 {\an4}(Garrod chortles) MILKS: Brilliant. 960 00:45:16,866 --> 00:45:19,109 ♪ ♪ 961 00:45:19,133 --> 00:45:20,642 GARROD: Okay, big question of the day. 962 00:45:20,666 --> 00:45:23,809 Our site, is there any chance that our Neanderthals 963 00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:25,442 could have been hunting mammoths, do you think? 964 00:45:25,466 --> 00:45:28,676 {\an7}Given the fact that we have a whole load of evidence 965 00:45:28,700 --> 00:45:30,909 {\an8}that the spears are functional weapons... 966 00:45:30,933 --> 00:45:34,276 {\an1}both as thrusting weapons and as throwing weapons... 967 00:45:34,300 --> 00:45:36,876 {\an1}and that we see this evidence 968 00:45:36,900 --> 00:45:40,476 {\an1}of exploitation of mammoth, I think it's very much 969 00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:43,309 {\an1}in the realm of possibility that mammoths were being 970 00:45:43,333 --> 00:45:45,909 {\an1}hunted by Neanderthals with spears like these. 971 00:45:45,933 --> 00:45:49,066 ♪ ♪ 972 00:46:01,733 --> 00:46:05,409 {\an8}ATTENBOROUGH: So Neanderthals could possibly have hunted mammoths 973 00:46:05,433 --> 00:46:08,776 {\an8}at Cerney Wick over 200,000 years ago. 974 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:12,876 {\an8}♪ ♪ 975 00:46:12,900 --> 00:46:15,276 But in the millennia that followed, 976 00:46:15,300 --> 00:46:19,442 {\an1}both the Neanderthals and the steppe mammoths disappeared. 977 00:46:19,466 --> 00:46:22,242 ♪ ♪ 978 00:46:22,266 --> 00:46:26,109 {\an1}Neanderthals resettled in Britain around 60,000 years ago. 979 00:46:26,133 --> 00:46:28,809 But our own species, Homo sapiens, 980 00:46:28,833 --> 00:46:31,509 {\an1}arrives soon after that, 981 00:46:31,533 --> 00:46:35,376 {\an1}and evidence of the presence of Neanderthals vanishes. 982 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,676 AL-SHAMAHI: It might be 983 00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:40,109 that we out-competed them, right? 984 00:46:40,133 --> 00:46:44,042 {\an7}We were just better at using the landscape and resources. 985 00:46:44,066 --> 00:46:46,276 One of the things that we know is that they 986 00:46:46,300 --> 00:46:49,309 lived in small, isolated populations. 987 00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:51,542 {\an4}That is not going to do your gene pool any good. Hm. 988 00:46:51,566 --> 00:46:52,576 At all. 989 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:53,876 There's even an argument 990 00:46:53,900 --> 00:46:55,476 that they're still with us today. 991 00:46:55,500 --> 00:46:57,209 {\an1}Me and you will have about 992 00:46:57,233 --> 00:46:59,376 two percent Neanderthal DNA in us. 993 00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,576 {\an1}And that's because our ancestors... 994 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:03,642 Multiple times, it seems... 995 00:47:03,666 --> 00:47:05,109 {\an1}interbred with Neanderthals. 996 00:47:05,133 --> 00:47:06,776 So actually, the end of the story 997 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:08,476 isn't completely tragic, 998 00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:10,776 because it turns out that there's a little bit of them... 999 00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:13,242 {\an1}Still here. In us, yeah. 1000 00:47:13,266 --> 00:47:15,809 ♪ ♪ 1001 00:47:15,833 --> 00:47:17,742 ATTENBOROUGH: Back at the site at Cerney Wick, 1002 00:47:17,766 --> 00:47:20,309 there's excitement as they assess 1003 00:47:20,333 --> 00:47:22,176 {\an1}their haul of flint tools. 1004 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:24,876 (laughing): Are you okay? Are you okay? 1005 00:47:24,900 --> 00:47:26,442 Breathe... I think he forgot to breathe. 1006 00:47:26,466 --> 00:47:28,242 {\an1}Wow, wow. This, this lovely little flake. 1007 00:47:28,266 --> 00:47:30,342 So you can see it's got a little point 1008 00:47:30,366 --> 00:47:32,809 where they hit it with a stone hammer to remove it. 1009 00:47:32,833 --> 00:47:35,009 {\an1}WESTSCOTT WILKINS: It's perfect. 1010 00:47:35,033 --> 00:47:37,442 WILKINS: Wow, and that was the first hint that you found? 1011 00:47:37,466 --> 00:47:39,242 {\an4}That was the first one, yeah. WILKINS: So there was a party straight after that? 1012 00:47:39,266 --> 00:47:41,276 And then the next one we found... 1013 00:47:41,300 --> 00:47:43,209 {\an1}WILKINS: Oh, my goodness. 1014 00:47:43,233 --> 00:47:44,876 Is this beautiful scraper edge. 1015 00:47:44,900 --> 00:47:46,442 {\an1}Typically we think, you know, you would have held it 1016 00:47:46,466 --> 00:47:47,676 {\an5}like this. WESTSCOTT WILKINS: Look how it fits. 1017 00:47:47,700 --> 00:47:50,509 {\an1}They would have pulled the fat off of the hide. 1018 00:47:50,533 --> 00:47:53,076 It's really quite impressive. 1019 00:47:53,100 --> 00:47:55,976 {\an7}We've got these five flint tools all from the same area, 1020 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:58,542 all finely worked, all really, really clear. 1021 00:47:58,566 --> 00:48:01,042 And that's quite exciting and quite rare. 1022 00:48:01,066 --> 00:48:03,109 I mean, it's really easy to say, "Oh, five things. 1023 00:48:03,133 --> 00:48:04,276 That's not many." 1024 00:48:04,300 --> 00:48:05,876 But actually, when we're talking about 1025 00:48:05,900 --> 00:48:07,509 200,000 years ago, 1026 00:48:07,533 --> 00:48:10,642 {\an1}we might only be finding one or two things in a site 1027 00:48:10,666 --> 00:48:12,576 which has been excavated for decades. 1028 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:14,676 ATTENBOROUGH: On the mammoth leg bone 1029 00:48:14,700 --> 00:48:17,742 {\an1}they found next to the flints, they've seen scratch marks 1030 00:48:17,766 --> 00:48:21,509 that could provide evidence of butchery. 1031 00:48:21,533 --> 00:48:23,242 HOGUE: We see little marks and nicks... 1032 00:48:23,266 --> 00:48:25,042 {\an4}WILKINS: Yeah. in the top. 1033 00:48:25,066 --> 00:48:26,809 {\an1}HOGUE: Two lovely parallel lines. 1034 00:48:26,833 --> 00:48:28,542 {\an4}There's one slightly longer. WILKINS: Yeah. 1035 00:48:28,566 --> 00:48:30,776 {\an4}There's another one, just a short one, just in beside it. Yeah. 1036 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:33,276 {\an1}And it's really tempting to call them cut marks, 1037 00:48:33,300 --> 00:48:34,942 {\an1}but we'll have to get it back into the lab 1038 00:48:34,966 --> 00:48:37,176 {\an1}to actually determine. Yeah. 1039 00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:39,176 {\an5}It's like a really big whodunit, isn't it? Mm-hmm. 1040 00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:41,242 So, did they all die of a disease? 1041 00:48:41,266 --> 00:48:43,309 {\an1}Was there a massive flood that came in? 1042 00:48:43,333 --> 00:48:44,742 {\an1}Or were we hunting them? 1043 00:48:44,766 --> 00:48:46,342 Having worked with elephants in the wild, 1044 00:48:46,366 --> 00:48:49,376 {\an1}I think possibly, a juvenile, very, very young one 1045 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:50,976 might have just got stuck in the mud. 1046 00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:52,409 {\an1}It panicked the group. 1047 00:48:52,433 --> 00:48:55,109 {\an1}Things went really badly really quickly, 1048 00:48:55,133 --> 00:48:57,476 and we came along as scavengers and possibly found 1049 00:48:57,500 --> 00:48:59,309 {\an1}the world's biggest buffet lying there for us. 1050 00:48:59,333 --> 00:49:01,276 {\an1}We're just opportunists, is what you're saying. 1051 00:49:01,300 --> 00:49:02,709 {\an8}GARROD: I think we were opportunists. 1052 00:49:02,733 --> 00:49:05,242 {\an8}HOGUE: Well, I just love the idea that the, you know, 1053 00:49:05,266 --> 00:49:07,442 {\an1}Neanderthals are sitting on the ridge over the far end, 1054 00:49:07,466 --> 00:49:11,409 {\an1}hiding amongst the tall grass. 1055 00:49:11,433 --> 00:49:13,009 And then mammoths are coming down 1056 00:49:13,033 --> 00:49:15,942 to the water and they're panicking them. 1057 00:49:15,966 --> 00:49:17,909 Neanderthals come in and they take advantage 1058 00:49:17,933 --> 00:49:20,409 of, of the mammoths, they sort of start butchering 1059 00:49:20,433 --> 00:49:24,200 and taking away the nice meat for meals. 1060 00:49:26,100 --> 00:49:28,142 GARROD: Isn't it wonderful to think that the last time 1061 00:49:28,166 --> 00:49:30,376 {\an1}someone sat exactly on this spot 1062 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,142 {\an1}in a little group with that stone tool in their hands 1063 00:49:33,166 --> 00:49:35,176 {\an8}was 200,000 years ago, 1064 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:37,542 {\an8}as a mammoth lying just over there? WILKINS: Wow. 1065 00:49:37,566 --> 00:49:39,042 {\an8}And here we are talking about it... 1066 00:49:39,066 --> 00:49:40,476 {\an7}Yeah, they were about to have their lunch. 1067 00:49:40,500 --> 00:49:41,909 {\an8}...hundreds of thousands of years later. Yeah. 1068 00:49:41,933 --> 00:49:43,342 It's quite poignant, isn't it? 1069 00:49:43,366 --> 00:49:44,809 {\an4}WILKINS: Yeah, absolutely. It really is. 1070 00:49:44,833 --> 00:49:48,542 ♪ ♪ 1071 00:49:48,566 --> 00:49:50,142 ATTENBOROUGH: The evidence paints 1072 00:49:50,166 --> 00:49:52,976 {\an1}a tantalizing picture of ice age Britain: 1073 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:55,376 {\an1}an ancient River Thames 1074 00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:58,476 {\an1}flowing through grassland; 1075 00:49:58,500 --> 00:50:02,776 {\an1}a group of some of the last steppe mammoths in Britain; 1076 00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:05,542 {\an8}and Neanderthals using flint tools 1077 00:50:05,566 --> 00:50:08,176 {\an1}to butcher mammoth meat. 1078 00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:11,476 Whether or not they hunted the mammoths 1079 00:50:11,500 --> 00:50:13,742 {\an1}requires more evidence, 1080 00:50:13,766 --> 00:50:15,442 {\an7}but at this site, it certainly looks 1081 00:50:15,466 --> 00:50:18,309 {\an8}as if something extraordinary happened: 1082 00:50:18,333 --> 00:50:21,309 {\an8}Neanderthals feasting on mammoth 1083 00:50:21,333 --> 00:50:24,076 {\an8}on the banks of the River Thames. 1084 00:50:24,100 --> 00:50:26,576 {\an1}At the end of the dig 1085 00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:29,176 and before the area is flooded again, 1086 00:50:29,200 --> 00:50:32,309 {\an1}we invite Sally and Neville to return to the site 1087 00:50:32,333 --> 00:50:34,942 so that we can show them what the scene 1088 00:50:34,966 --> 00:50:36,709 {\an1}might once have looked like. 1089 00:50:36,733 --> 00:50:38,009 {\an4}SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: Okay. GARROD: We've prepared something 1090 00:50:38,033 --> 00:50:39,242 where... 1091 00:50:39,266 --> 00:50:41,576 {\an1}(exhales): You don't have to use 1092 00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:44,976 {\an1}your imagination to, to visualize this area. 1093 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:45,977 {\an1}If I give these to you... 1094 00:50:46,001 --> 00:50:47,242 Okay, cool. Thank you. 1095 00:50:47,266 --> 00:50:49,576 {\an1}Put them on, make sure they're comfy, and enjoy. 1096 00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:51,376 Righty-ho. 1097 00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:54,700 ♪ ♪ 1098 00:50:59,033 --> 00:51:01,776 {\an5}(squeals): Mammoth! (laughing) 1099 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:05,409 ♪ ♪ 1100 00:51:05,433 --> 00:51:07,009 {\an1}Oh, that is just incredible. 1101 00:51:07,033 --> 00:51:09,809 ♪ ♪ 1102 00:51:09,833 --> 00:51:12,276 SALLY HOLLINGWORTH: Oh, my God, that's amazing. 1103 00:51:12,300 --> 00:51:15,042 ♪ ♪ 1104 00:51:15,066 --> 00:51:18,209 ATTENBOROUGH: The finds at this remarkable site 1105 00:51:18,233 --> 00:51:22,476 have given us a rare glimpse of early Britain. 1106 00:51:22,500 --> 00:51:25,142 ♪ ♪ 1107 00:51:25,166 --> 00:51:28,642 {\an1}A time when humans were fully immersed in the wild, 1108 00:51:28,666 --> 00:51:31,142 {\an1}living as part of nature. 1109 00:51:31,166 --> 00:51:34,509 ♪ ♪ 1110 00:51:34,533 --> 00:51:37,209 {\an1}It's thought that Neanderthals may have been around 1111 00:51:37,233 --> 00:51:40,276 {\an1}for some 400,000 years. 1112 00:51:40,300 --> 00:51:43,742 {\an1}Their survival relied on their 1113 00:51:43,766 --> 00:51:46,766 understanding of the natural world. 1114 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:52,109 Whether our own species can thrive 1115 00:51:52,133 --> 00:51:56,842 for quite as long remains to be seen. 1116 00:51:56,866 --> 00:52:00,066 ♪ ♪ 1117 00:52:27,033 --> 00:52:32,200 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1118 00:52:42,500 --> 00:52:46,609 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: To order this program on DVD, visit ShopPBS 1119 00:52:46,633 --> 00:52:49,709 {\an7}or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1120 00:52:49,733 --> 00:52:52,942 {\an7}Episodes of "NOVA" are available with Passport. 1121 00:52:52,966 --> 00:52:56,609 {\an7}"NOVA" is also available on Amazon Prime Video. 1122 00:52:56,633 --> 00:53:02,800 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1123 00:53:14,033 --> 00:53:19,766 {\an8}♪ ♪