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-For more than
a century and a half,

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00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:15,200
{\an1}experts have been uncovering and
analyzing ancient human remains

3
00:00:15,233 --> 00:00:17,466
{\an1}on a quest to understand
the story

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00:00:17,500 --> 00:00:21,266
{\an1}of the earliest members
of our Homo sapiens species

5
00:00:21,300 --> 00:00:23,900
{\an1}who migrated from Africa
to Eurasia

6
00:00:23,933 --> 00:00:26,500
{\an1}around 45,000 years ago.

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00:00:26,533 --> 00:00:29,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

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00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:34,366
{\an1}The typical image of early man
is a strong spear-throwing hero

9
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,100
{\an1}who ensured the very survival
of the species...

10
00:00:37,133 --> 00:00:39,200
{\an1}[ Woolly mammoth roars ]

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00:00:39,233 --> 00:00:42,700
{\an1}...while the study of
early woman has been limited,

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00:00:42,733 --> 00:00:45,366
{\an1}emphasizing her role as a mother

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and preventing
a full understanding of her.

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{\an1}But brand-new discoveries
and cutting-edge science

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00:00:52,666 --> 00:00:56,633
{\an1}are painting a whole new
portrait of early woman.

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{\an1}-We operate under the assumption
that it's the prime-age males

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00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:04,833
{\an1}that are the be-all and end-all
of Ice Age lifeways,

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00:01:04,866 --> 00:01:06,366
and they're not.

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00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:12,166
{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an1}-Now the true story
of prehistoric woman

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00:01:15,566 --> 00:01:17,500
{\an1}is being brought to light.

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{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an1}Archaeology, DNA analysis,
the study of prehistoric art,

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00:01:26,833 --> 00:01:28,300
{\an1}and other research

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00:01:28,333 --> 00:01:32,266
is introducing us
to a much more complex woman.

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{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an1}So, what
<i>is</i> 
her story?

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00:01:45,300 --> 00:01:48,633
{\an1}Who were the Lady Sapiens?

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{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an7}- "Secrets of the Dead"
was made possible in part by

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00:02:02,866 --> 00:02:07,166
{\an7}contributions to your PBS
station from viewers like you.

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00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,700
{\an8}Thank you.

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{\an8}♪♪♪

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{\an8}-Caviglione cave.
Northern Italy.

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00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:25,766
{\an8}♪♪♪

37
00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,066
{\an1}Here, French archaeologists

38
00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:31,766
{\an1}uncovered a 24,000-year-old
human skeleton...

39
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,400
{\an1}from a time when the earliest
members of our species

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00:02:34,433 --> 00:02:38,066
roamed this land
in small hunter-gatherer groups.

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00:02:38,100 --> 00:02:44,866
{\an8}♪♪♪

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00:02:44,900 --> 00:02:51,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

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00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:58,466
{\an8}♪♪♪

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00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:02,000
{\an1}The remains show signs
that this ancient being

45
00:03:02,033 --> 00:03:03,966
{\an1}had strong muscles

46
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,500
and a wide and imposing stature.

47
00:03:07,533 --> 00:03:09,500
And the artifacts
around the body

48
00:03:09,533 --> 00:03:12,666
{\an1}suggest an elaborate
horse-themed burial.

49
00:03:12,700 --> 00:03:14,533
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

50
00:03:14,566 --> 00:03:17,566
{\an7}-Interpreter: She was buried
with a sense of grandeur.

51
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,333
{\an7}Not everyone was buried
in this royal fashion,

52
00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:22,800
{\an1}with a very elaborate
funeral rite

53
00:03:22,833 --> 00:03:26,566
{\an1}based around the horse figure.

54
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,366
{\an1}A pin made of horse bone
was placed in front of her face.

55
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,833
A pendant carved
into the shape of a horse

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00:03:32,866 --> 00:03:34,900
{\an1}was placed atop of the grave.

57
00:03:34,933 --> 00:03:37,733
And engraved
on the exterior wall,

58
00:03:37,766 --> 00:03:39,600
{\an1}five feet from the ground,

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00:03:39,633 --> 00:03:42,200
this magnificent
horse engraving.

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00:03:42,233 --> 00:03:48,033
{\an8}♪♪♪

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00:03:48,066 --> 00:03:50,566
{\an1}-The body had been covered
in red ochre

62
00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,533
{\an1}and given an intricate headdress
made of Mediterranean shellfish

63
00:03:54,566 --> 00:03:58,000
{\an1}and more than a hundred
stag teeth.

64
00:03:58,033 --> 00:04:00,766
The grave held
other astonishing objects,

65
00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,866
{\an1}including two fine blades
of flint used for hunting.

66
00:04:04,900 --> 00:04:07,133
{\an1}-[ Speaking Italian ]

67
00:04:07,166 --> 00:04:09,000
{\an8}-Interpreter:
This tells us indirectly

68
00:04:09,033 --> 00:04:10,966
{\an7}that there existed
a spirituality

69
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,433
{\an7}in these prehistoric communities

70
00:04:13,466 --> 00:04:16,566
{\an7}to the point of providing
their most valued members

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00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,366
{\an1}the essentials needed for
their journey to the afterlife.

72
00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,166
{\an1}-[ Speaking Italian ]

73
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,466
-When the remains
were found in 1872,

74
00:04:26,500 --> 00:04:30,733
{\an1}experts were quick to label
the skeleton as male.

75
00:04:30,766 --> 00:04:33,433
Their assumption
was typical of the time,

76
00:04:33,466 --> 00:04:37,500
when scientists
were almost exclusively men.

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00:04:37,533 --> 00:04:41,800
{\an1}For more than a century,
the assumption remained fact.

78
00:04:41,833 --> 00:04:43,300
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

79
00:04:43,333 --> 00:04:45,500
{\an7}-Interpreter: We have to
think back to a society

80
00:04:45,533 --> 00:04:47,600
{\an7}in the 19th century,

81
00:04:47,633 --> 00:04:50,066
{\an8}when women
were not highly regarded.

82
00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:51,733
{\an7}The women were at home,

83
00:04:51,766 --> 00:04:56,033
{\an1}and men played all the important
economic and social roles.

84
00:04:56,066 --> 00:04:57,666
{\an1}So, naturally, it was assumed

85
00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:01,000
{\an1}that roles were similar
in the Paleolithic era,

86
00:05:01,033 --> 00:05:05,100
{\an1}that it was solely the male
hunter who advanced society.

87
00:05:05,133 --> 00:05:09,566
{\an1}The female was simply forgotten.
We did not talk about her.

88
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,600
{\an1}And if she was mentioned,

89
00:05:11,633 --> 00:05:16,366
{\an1}she was simply the homebody
who took care of the children.

90
00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:21,100
{\an1}-But in 1995, scientist
Marie-Antoinette de Lumley

91
00:05:21,133 --> 00:05:25,233
{\an1}took a closer look
at the pelvic bone.

92
00:05:25,266 --> 00:05:28,766
{\an1}Usually quite delicate
and rarely found intact,

93
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,166
{\an1}this one was well-preserved...

94
00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,300
{\an1}and led to an astonishing
realization.

95
00:05:35,333 --> 00:05:37,600
{\an1}-Interpreter: My wife,
Marie-Antoinette de Lumley,

96
00:05:37,633 --> 00:05:39,066
{\an1}while clearing the skeleton,

97
00:05:39,100 --> 00:05:41,400
which was kept
at the Musée de l'Homme,

98
00:05:41,433 --> 00:05:44,633
{\an1}noticed that the iliac bone
had an enlarged cavity

99
00:05:44,666 --> 00:05:47,866
{\an1}and that this was, in fact,
a woman.

100
00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:52,066
{\an1}-This curve indicates the width
of the human pelvis.

101
00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:54,733
A woman's pelvis
is larger than a man's

102
00:05:54,766 --> 00:05:57,100
{\an1}to facilitate childbirth.

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00:05:57,133 --> 00:05:58,966
{\an1}The specific shape of the pelvis

104
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,500
of this strong,
seemingly important person

105
00:06:02,533 --> 00:06:05,866
{\an1}indicated it belonged
to a woman.

106
00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:09,966
{\an1}The discovery stunned
the world of paleontology.

107
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,600
{\an1}It defied long-standing
presumptions that hunter men

108
00:06:13,633 --> 00:06:16,466
{\an1}were the sole leaders
of prehistoric societies...

109
00:06:16,500 --> 00:06:20,266
{\an1}and the belief that they were
their tribes' primary providers,

110
00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:23,833
{\an1}to whom we owe the survival
of our species.

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00:06:23,866 --> 00:06:25,942
{\an7}-Interpreter: What is implied
here is that if hominization

112
00:06:25,966 --> 00:06:27,666
{\an7}is based on hunting,
then that means

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00:06:27,700 --> 00:06:29,633
{\an7}the male was solely responsible.

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00:06:29,666 --> 00:06:31,800
{\an7}In other words, that the female
did not have a role

115
00:06:31,833 --> 00:06:35,533
{\an1}in the evolution of humanity.

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00:06:35,566 --> 00:06:37,933
-Can science lead
to a better understanding

117
00:06:37,966 --> 00:06:40,333
of prehistoric
Homo sapiens women?

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00:06:40,366 --> 00:06:47,233
{\an8}♪♪♪

119
00:06:47,266 --> 00:06:49,133
{\an1}[ Drill whirring ]

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00:06:49,166 --> 00:06:53,400
{\an1}The most reliable indicator
of biological sex is DNA.

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00:06:53,433 --> 00:06:56,133
{\an8}♪♪♪

122
00:06:56,166 --> 00:07:00,000
{\an1}But extracting a quality sample
is deeply invasive

123
00:07:00,033 --> 00:07:03,933
{\an1}and limited to fossils
less than 100,000 years old.

124
00:07:03,966 --> 00:07:08,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

125
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,766
{\an1}But at the Paul Sabatier
University in Toulouse,

126
00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,133
{\an1}José Braga is developing
a whole new technique

127
00:07:15,166 --> 00:07:18,133
{\an1}to determine the sex
of ancient remains,

128
00:07:18,166 --> 00:07:21,133
{\an1}even those that are
several million years old.

129
00:07:21,166 --> 00:07:22,533
[ Beeping ]

130
00:07:22,566 --> 00:07:27,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

131
00:07:27,433 --> 00:07:30,800
{\an1}Using state-of-the-art
X-ray microtomography,

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00:07:30,833 --> 00:07:35,166
{\an1}he can access a special clue
in an ancient ear.

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{\an8}♪♪♪

134
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,266
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

135
00:07:45,300 --> 00:07:48,300
{\an1}-Interpreter: We can observe
miniscule details

136
00:07:48,333 --> 00:07:51,900
{\an1}in a fossilized skull.

137
00:07:51,933 --> 00:07:55,500
{\an7}This allows us access
to the interior structure

138
00:07:55,533 --> 00:08:00,433
{\an7}to reveal what is invisible
to the human eye.

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00:08:00,466 --> 00:08:03,433
{\an1}-From the data collected,
Braga can then create

140
00:08:03,466 --> 00:08:07,033
{\an1}a virtual 3-D model
of the internal ear

141
00:08:07,066 --> 00:08:08,566
{\an1}with accuracy that's finer

142
00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,033
than a quarter
of the thickness of a hair.

143
00:08:12,066 --> 00:08:15,733
{\an1}-Interpreter: Microtomography
enables me to see this series

144
00:08:15,766 --> 00:08:17,200
of images here.

145
00:08:17,233 --> 00:08:19,233
The interior
of this bone appears,

146
00:08:19,266 --> 00:08:21,666
{\an1}which we see here in white,
a void...

147
00:08:21,700 --> 00:08:25,833
{\an1}more notably, a particular shape
that corresponds to a void

148
00:08:25,866 --> 00:08:28,233
left by an organ
that has since disappeared

149
00:08:28,266 --> 00:08:30,233
{\an1}since the individual's death.

150
00:08:30,266 --> 00:08:32,366
And this organ
is the hearing organ,

151
00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:34,033
the cochlea,

152
00:08:34,066 --> 00:08:39,766
{\an1}which is shaped like the shell
of a snail, a spiral form.

153
00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,033
-The ear's spiral-shaped cochlea

154
00:08:42,066 --> 00:08:45,866
{\an1}rotates in a way that's
distinctive to every individual,

155
00:08:45,900 --> 00:08:49,066
as unique
as a person's fingerprints.

156
00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:52,800
{\an1}There is also a difference in
the cochlea's form between sexes

157
00:08:52,833 --> 00:08:55,666
that allows women
to hear higher frequencies

158
00:08:55,700 --> 00:08:57,600
better than men.

159
00:08:57,633 --> 00:08:59,766
-Interpreter:
We had good reasons to think

160
00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,366
{\an1}that there could be
differences here,

161
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,333
{\an1}because when we measure
the precision

162
00:09:04,366 --> 00:09:07,000
with which humans
hear high frequencies,

163
00:09:07,033 --> 00:09:09,500
we see that women
have a better sensibility

164
00:09:09,533 --> 00:09:13,400
{\an1}to high frequencies
compared to men.

165
00:09:13,433 --> 00:09:16,533
{\an1}Using this method,
we are able to determine,

166
00:09:16,566 --> 00:09:19,800
{\an1}with 95% accuracy,

167
00:09:19,833 --> 00:09:24,700
the correct sex
of that individual.

168
00:09:24,733 --> 00:09:27,300
{\an1}-Exciting new techniques
like this one

169
00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:29,033
{\an1}allow for a more precise study

170
00:09:29,066 --> 00:09:33,066
{\an1}of Homo sapiens female
fossil remains.

171
00:09:33,100 --> 00:09:35,933
{\an1}In turn, scientists
are learning more

172
00:09:35,966 --> 00:09:40,633
{\an1}about how these women
spent their days.

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00:09:40,666 --> 00:09:42,133
{\an1}First and foremost,

174
00:09:42,166 --> 00:09:45,533
{\an1}did women participate
in the hunt for large game?

175
00:09:45,566 --> 00:09:53,566
{\an8}♪♪♪

176
00:09:54,733 --> 00:10:02,733
{\an8}♪♪♪

177
00:10:03,866 --> 00:10:06,033
{\an1}[ Woolly mammoth roars ]

178
00:10:06,066 --> 00:10:10,033
{\an8}♪♪♪

179
00:10:10,066 --> 00:10:11,733
{\an1}To find out, scientists

180
00:10:11,766 --> 00:10:14,700
{\an1}have turned to one particular
Olympic sport.

181
00:10:14,733 --> 00:10:18,700
{\an8}♪♪♪

182
00:10:18,733 --> 00:10:20,600
When it comes
to weight and size,

183
00:10:20,633 --> 00:10:23,166
spears used by
prehistoric hunters

184
00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,733
{\an1}have often been compared
to the javelin.

185
00:10:25,766 --> 00:10:32,266
{\an8}♪♪♪

186
00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:33,966
{\an1}Hunting with spears engages

187
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,566
{\an1}very similar muscle groups
to javelin throwing.

188
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,100
{\an1}It's an action that leaves
its mark on muscle joints.

189
00:10:41,133 --> 00:10:46,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

190
00:10:46,700 --> 00:10:50,833
{\an1}French javelin champion
Jona Aigouy knows far too well

191
00:10:50,866 --> 00:10:53,366
{\an1}the toll her sport
can take on a body.

192
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:54,766
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

193
00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,633
{\an1}-Interpreter: Javelin throwing
is a high-intensity sport.

194
00:10:57,666 --> 00:11:01,566
{\an7}The most common injuries are
in the shoulder or elbow areas.

195
00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,833
{\an7}When it comes to the elbow,
the stretching movement

196
00:11:03,866 --> 00:11:05,566
{\an8}will cause internal constraints,

197
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,100
which in turn
will cause tendonitis.

198
00:11:08,133 --> 00:11:11,166
{\an1}It can also cause a nerve
to pop out of its place,

199
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,866
which we call
a dislocated nerve.

200
00:11:14,900 --> 00:11:16,833
{\an1}-At the University of Bordeaux,

201
00:11:16,866 --> 00:11:18,733
{\an1}Dr. Sébastien Villotte

202
00:11:18,766 --> 00:11:21,766
{\an1}has been investigating
a range of European fossils

203
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:23,866
{\an1}from the Paleolithic era,

204
00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:27,600
{\an1}like these Elbow joints
found in northern Italy.

205
00:11:27,633 --> 00:11:31,300
{\an8}♪♪♪

206
00:11:31,333 --> 00:11:34,700
{\an1}Time and again, he's found signs
of muscle trauma

207
00:11:34,733 --> 00:11:38,566
{\an1}that can only be caused
by a specific dynamic motion.

208
00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:43,266
{\an8}♪♪♪

209
00:11:43,300 --> 00:11:46,333
{\an1}-Interpreter: In this area,
we see a small remodeling,

210
00:11:46,366 --> 00:11:49,166
{\an1}which seems to be the healing
of a tiny bone tear.

211
00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,133
{\an7}-[ Speaking French ]

212
00:11:51,166 --> 00:11:53,766
{\an7}-This is something that I have
observed in other individuals

213
00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,333
{\an7}of the Upper Paleolithic.

214
00:11:56,366 --> 00:11:58,366
I have also seen
this similar tear

215
00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,033
{\an1}in many prehistoric
European collections...

216
00:12:01,066 --> 00:12:03,533
{\an1}and often only in men.

217
00:12:03,566 --> 00:12:06,733
{\an8}♪♪♪

218
00:12:06,766 --> 00:12:08,866
This lesion
is usually only caused

219
00:12:08,900 --> 00:12:10,766
{\an1}by the gesture of the throw.

220
00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,933
{\an1}Obviously, the first idea
that comes to mind

221
00:12:12,966 --> 00:12:16,433
{\an1}when we talk about this gesture
is the javelin throw,

222
00:12:16,466 --> 00:12:20,366
{\an1}a projectile used in hunting.

223
00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,133
{\an1}-Evidence of close-range,
high-energy impact...

224
00:12:24,166 --> 00:12:26,833
{\an1}but found exclusively
on male fossils.

225
00:12:26,866 --> 00:12:29,066
{\an1}[ Creature growls ]

226
00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:31,333
{\an1}Villotte's analysis
seems to confirm

227
00:12:31,366 --> 00:12:35,833
the long-standing
"man the hunter" hypothesis.

228
00:12:35,866 --> 00:12:38,066
{\an1}[ Hunter whistling ]

229
00:12:38,100 --> 00:12:41,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

230
00:12:41,533 --> 00:12:45,300
{\an1}But one discovery,
high in the Andes in Peru,

231
00:12:45,333 --> 00:12:47,966
{\an1}tells a completely different
story.

232
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,566
{\an8}♪♪♪

233
00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,700
{\an1}Archaeologist Randy Haas

234
00:12:52,733 --> 00:12:55,100
{\an1}from the University
of California, Davis,

235
00:12:55,133 --> 00:12:57,133
{\an1}uncovered an impressive set

236
00:12:57,166 --> 00:13:00,133
{\an1}of six stone projectile points
and blades

237
00:13:00,166 --> 00:13:05,933
{\an1}in the 9,000-year-old
burial tomb of a woman.

238
00:13:05,966 --> 00:13:09,033
{\an1}The find led experts
to re-examine

239
00:13:09,066 --> 00:13:11,733
{\an1}other ancient burials
in the Americas

240
00:13:11,766 --> 00:13:16,800
{\an1}and identify 10 more women
buried with projectile points,

241
00:13:16,833 --> 00:13:22,366
{\an1}a sign that ancient women here
may also have been hunters.

242
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,866
{\an1}Perhaps gender roles varied

243
00:13:24,900 --> 00:13:29,266
{\an1}from one prehistoric
Homo sapiens group to another.

244
00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:31,900
{\an1}-Interpreter: Many, many studies
of the Paleolithic era

245
00:13:31,933 --> 00:13:33,500
{\an1}show a diversity of cultures.

246
00:13:33,533 --> 00:13:35,666
Perhaps in some
Paleolithic societies

247
00:13:35,700 --> 00:13:37,233
{\an1}there were women who hunted.

248
00:13:37,266 --> 00:13:41,633
{\an1}Perhaps in other societies there
were women who did not hunt.

249
00:13:41,666 --> 00:13:43,466
{\an1}[ Woolly mammoth groans ]

250
00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:47,766
{\an8}♪♪♪

251
00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,100
{\an1}[ Indistinct shouting ]

252
00:13:50,133 --> 00:13:52,166
{\an1}-Interpreter: It's rather
simplistic to think

253
00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,100
{\an1}that there are activities
that are exclusively male

254
00:13:55,133 --> 00:13:58,000
and activities
that are exclusively female.

255
00:13:58,033 --> 00:14:02,333
{\an1}Even if it's true that big-game
hunting is often done by men,

256
00:14:02,366 --> 00:14:06,000
{\an1}we have ethnographic examples
to the contrary.

257
00:14:06,033 --> 00:14:08,500
{\an1}In the Philippines,
among the Agtas,

258
00:14:08,533 --> 00:14:11,500
{\an1}women hunted with machetes
and bow and arrow.

259
00:14:11,533 --> 00:14:16,966
{\an8}♪♪♪

260
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,466
{\an7}-Whether or not women
actually chased down

261
00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:21,333
{\an7}large prey themselves,

262
00:14:21,366 --> 00:14:24,200
{\an8}one discovery
in the Parisian suburbs

263
00:14:24,233 --> 00:14:28,200
{\an1}has shed light on the vital role
they played during a hunt.

264
00:14:28,233 --> 00:14:30,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

265
00:14:30,433 --> 00:14:33,666
{\an1}Dr. Michèle Julien
and Claudine Karlin

266
00:14:33,700 --> 00:14:37,000
{\an1}from the French National Centre
for Scientific Research

267
00:14:37,033 --> 00:14:39,500
have spent years
excavating a prairie

268
00:14:39,533 --> 00:14:42,266
{\an1}that, 13,000 years ago,

269
00:14:42,300 --> 00:14:45,833
{\an1}was seasonally occupied
by reindeer hunters.

270
00:14:45,866 --> 00:14:50,166
{\an8}♪♪♪

271
00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:51,966
{\an1}Judging by the number and scale

272
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,266
of hunting camps
found at the site,

273
00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:58,633
{\an1}it seems around 30 people...
Men, women, and children...

274
00:14:58,666 --> 00:15:01,866
{\an1}ambushed migrating herds
of reindeer here.

275
00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:04,300
{\an8}♪♪♪

276
00:15:04,333 --> 00:15:07,266
{\an1}A casting of one of the camps
is preserved

277
00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:10,600
{\an1}at the Ile-de-France
Prehistory Museum.

278
00:15:10,633 --> 00:15:15,566
{\an1}One single layer of strata
represents one hunting season

279
00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:20,100
{\an1}and holds precious insight into
the daily life of this group

280
00:15:20,133 --> 00:15:23,333
{\an1}and the sheer volume of meat
they butchered.

281
00:15:23,366 --> 00:15:26,966
{\an1}-Interpreter: We found a very
large quantity of reindeer bones

282
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,766
{\an7}which, after analysis,
totaled to about 76 animals.

283
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,766
{\an7}They weren't all killed
at the same time,

284
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,233
{\an1}but probably over a period
of one to two weeks

285
00:15:35,266 --> 00:15:37,866
{\an1}because they traveled
in small herds.

286
00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:42,533
-76 reindeer.
Roughly three tons of meat.

287
00:15:42,566 --> 00:15:44,266
{\an1}According to the analysis,

288
00:15:44,300 --> 00:15:46,966
{\an1}men of the group could never
have killed so many animals

289
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,466
{\an1}in such a short amount of time
without help.

290
00:15:51,500 --> 00:15:53,500
{\an1}Comparing this evidence
with observations

291
00:15:53,533 --> 00:15:55,866
{\an1}of today's modern hunting tribes

292
00:15:55,900 --> 00:16:00,900
{\an1}suggests hunts must have
involved the entire community.

293
00:16:00,933 --> 00:16:03,033
-Interpreter:
The men did the hunting,

294
00:16:03,066 --> 00:16:06,066
{\an7}and the women and children
and the men who didn't hunt

295
00:16:06,100 --> 00:16:09,533
{\an8}led the herd
to where the hunters awaited.

296
00:16:09,566 --> 00:16:13,900
{\an1}And so the whole group
participated in the hunt.

297
00:16:13,933 --> 00:16:16,733
{\an1}-Once the carcasses
were brought back to the camp,

298
00:16:16,766 --> 00:16:19,066
{\an1}processing such a high volume
of meat

299
00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:21,600
{\an1}was extremely labor-intensive.

300
00:16:21,633 --> 00:16:24,066
Every adult
would have been needed.

301
00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:28,266
{\an1}-The principal work included
cutting up the carcasses,

302
00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:30,900
treating the meat
by either drying it,

303
00:16:30,933 --> 00:16:33,066
{\an1}or perhaps by other means,

304
00:16:33,100 --> 00:16:35,533
{\an1}in order to create reserves
for the winter.

305
00:16:35,566 --> 00:16:38,700
{\an1}And the animal furs
then needed to be treated.

306
00:16:38,733 --> 00:16:40,900
{\an8}♪♪♪

307
00:16:40,933 --> 00:16:43,533
-There was
a real complementarity,

308
00:16:43,566 --> 00:16:48,000
{\an1}and this allowed the group
to function.

309
00:16:48,033 --> 00:16:50,366
{\an1}-Karlin and Julien
also uncovered

310
00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:53,500
{\an1}the remains of wild hare.

311
00:16:53,533 --> 00:16:56,900
{\an1}They believe that if the men
were busy hunting large game,

312
00:16:56,933 --> 00:16:59,533
{\an1}trapping smaller animals
like hare

313
00:16:59,566 --> 00:17:02,200
might have been
the work of women.

314
00:17:02,233 --> 00:17:04,533
-There were hares
inside the camps.

315
00:17:04,566 --> 00:17:07,366
{\an1}This animal demands
different hunting techniques.

316
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,800
{\an1}And all the skeleton pieces
from the hares

317
00:17:09,833 --> 00:17:11,766
{\an1}were found in one single space.

318
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,200
{\an1}They were not shared
like the larger animals were.

319
00:17:14,233 --> 00:17:17,000
{\an1}One can therefore assume
that women were the ones

320
00:17:17,033 --> 00:17:19,233
{\an1}who hunted the hares.

321
00:17:19,266 --> 00:17:24,133
{\an8}♪♪♪

322
00:17:24,166 --> 00:17:28,200
{\an1}-Women also hunted
and trapped small game.

323
00:17:28,233 --> 00:17:32,633
{\an8}We have numerous
ethnographic examples of this.

324
00:17:32,666 --> 00:17:37,800
{\an7}This type of hunt provided
a much more stable food supply,

325
00:17:37,833 --> 00:17:42,766
{\an7}much more reliable
than hunting large animals.

326
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:47,666
{\an1}So about 70% of the food supply
came from either small game,

327
00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:52,600
from fishing,
or the harvesting of plants.

328
00:17:52,633 --> 00:17:54,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

329
00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,300
{\an1}Evidence clearly demonstrates
the roles prehistoric women

330
00:17:58,333 --> 00:18:01,933
played in hunting
both large and small game.

331
00:18:01,966 --> 00:18:03,633
{\an8}♪♪♪

332
00:18:03,666 --> 00:18:05,700
{\an1}Ethnographic studies
of gender roles

333
00:18:05,733 --> 00:18:08,000
in today's
hunter-gatherer tribes

334
00:18:08,033 --> 00:18:13,033
{\an1}suggest women supervised the
gathering of plants, as well.

335
00:18:13,066 --> 00:18:16,100
{\an1}At an archaeological site
in Northern Israel,

336
00:18:16,133 --> 00:18:20,100
{\an1}inside a brush hut
from 22,000 years ago,

337
00:18:20,133 --> 00:18:24,900
{\an1}experts have found seeds from
thousands of medicinal plants.

338
00:18:24,933 --> 00:18:26,833
{\an1}Mallow to treat wounds,

339
00:18:26,866 --> 00:18:30,500
{\an1}milk thistle to cure liver
inflammation and poisoning,

340
00:18:30,533 --> 00:18:34,300
and sweet clover
to stop bleeding.

341
00:18:34,333 --> 00:18:37,433
-We can assume
that since it was mainly women

342
00:18:37,466 --> 00:18:39,700
{\an1}who collected plants,

343
00:18:39,733 --> 00:18:42,700
{\an1}then they must have known
their properties...

344
00:18:42,733 --> 00:18:47,633
{\an1}not just nutrition and taste,
but also as medicine.

345
00:18:47,666 --> 00:18:51,933
{\an1}Therefore, woman is perhaps
the founder of medicine.

346
00:18:51,966 --> 00:18:55,433
{\an1}[ Children shouting playfully ]

347
00:18:55,466 --> 00:18:59,500
{\an1}-Small-game hunters.
Botanical experts.

348
00:18:59,533 --> 00:19:02,700
{\an1}Early Homo sapiens women
were crucial members

349
00:19:02,733 --> 00:19:06,500
{\an1}of their hunter-gatherer
societies.

350
00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:08,966
{\an1}But did they resemble
one of the most common

351
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,600
{\an1}and iconic depictions of women
from the time...

352
00:19:12,633 --> 00:19:15,700
{\an1}the Paleolithic Venus?

353
00:19:15,733 --> 00:19:18,000
Hundreds of these
small figurines

354
00:19:18,033 --> 00:19:21,133
have been found
across Europe and Asia,

355
00:19:21,166 --> 00:19:27,033
{\an1}all produced between
38,000 and 14,000 years ago.

356
00:19:27,066 --> 00:19:30,000
{\an1}Carved from a variety
of materials,

357
00:19:30,033 --> 00:19:34,700
{\an1}the Venus generally depicts
round women with wide hips.

358
00:19:34,733 --> 00:19:36,300
{\an8}♪♪♪

359
00:19:36,333 --> 00:19:39,300
[ Beeping ]

360
00:19:39,333 --> 00:19:41,566
{\an1}Thanks to DNA analysis,
we do know

361
00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:43,733
{\an1}that the prehistoric
women and men who lived

362
00:19:43,766 --> 00:19:47,166
{\an1}when these figurines
were created had dark skin.

363
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,966
{\an8}♪♪♪

364
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,566
{\an7}-Interpreter: The first
Europeans to arrive in Europe

365
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,000
{\an7}are Black in skin color.

366
00:19:53,033 --> 00:19:56,266
{\an7}We expected that because
sapiens originated in Africa.

367
00:19:56,300 --> 00:19:59,000
{\an7}So when they leave Africa
for the European continent,

368
00:19:59,033 --> 00:20:00,466
{\an1}they are dark-skinned.

369
00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:02,633
{\an1}But the remarkable fact
is that the populations

370
00:20:02,666 --> 00:20:04,933
of Western Europe
remain dark-skinned color

371
00:20:04,966 --> 00:20:06,633
{\an1}for quite a long time.

372
00:20:06,666 --> 00:20:09,933
{\an1}That is to say, we arrive
in Europe 40,000 years ago,

373
00:20:09,966 --> 00:20:12,400
{\an1}but ancient DNA extracted
from an individual

374
00:20:12,433 --> 00:20:16,266
{\an1}who is 6,000 years old
or 8,000 years old, for example,

375
00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:19,033
{\an1}shows that he still carries
the genetic code variant

376
00:20:19,066 --> 00:20:21,966
{\an1}for dark skin color.

377
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,000
{\an1}-And the genetic studies
have also revealed

378
00:20:24,033 --> 00:20:25,700
{\an1}a surprising mutation

379
00:20:25,733 --> 00:20:27,900
that occurred
after Homo sapiens tribes

380
00:20:27,933 --> 00:20:32,066
{\an1}arrived in Europe... blue eyes.

381
00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:34,000
-Why blue eyes?

382
00:20:34,033 --> 00:20:37,000
{\an1}We think that this is a
phenomenon of sexual selection.

383
00:20:37,033 --> 00:20:40,733
{\an1}That is, the fact that one
has personal preferences.

384
00:20:40,766 --> 00:20:43,000
{\an1}So, one prefers a partner
who, for example,

385
00:20:43,033 --> 00:20:44,533
{\an1}has lighter eye color,

386
00:20:44,566 --> 00:20:46,966
and that trait
will reproduce better.

387
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,200
{\an1}Generation after generation
of this preference

388
00:20:49,233 --> 00:20:51,266
{\an1}will result in this mutation,

389
00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:54,033
{\an1}and it will spread
within the population.

390
00:20:54,066 --> 00:20:59,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

391
00:20:59,433 --> 00:21:02,833
{\an1}-It seems unlikely,
but did the women of prehistory

392
00:21:02,866 --> 00:21:06,833
{\an1}have round, voluptuous bodies
like the Venus figurines?

393
00:21:06,866 --> 00:21:13,866
{\an8}♪♪♪

394
00:21:13,900 --> 00:21:17,566
{\an7}Dr. Nicholas Conard
offers some insight.

395
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,533
{\an1}In 2004, he and his team
unearthed a Venus

396
00:21:21,566 --> 00:21:25,666
dating from
roughly 40,000 years ago.

397
00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:29,600
{\an1}It's the oldest such statue
ever found in Europe.

398
00:21:29,633 --> 00:21:30,733
{\an1}-That's where it's from.

399
00:21:30,766 --> 00:21:32,476
{\an1}And all the pieces
were very close together,

400
00:21:32,500 --> 00:21:34,966
{\an1}right around here,
in about this position

401
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,233
{\an1}at the base of the Aurignacian.

402
00:21:37,266 --> 00:21:39,800
{\an1}-Carved from the ivory
of a woolly mammoth,

403
00:21:39,833 --> 00:21:44,733
{\an1}the statuette stands
just over 2 inches tall.

404
00:21:44,766 --> 00:21:46,433
{\an1}Today, it's carefully preserved

405
00:21:46,466 --> 00:21:49,166
at the Museum
of Prehistory Blaubeuren,

406
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,133
where Conard
has analyzed it in detail.

407
00:21:52,166 --> 00:21:53,933
{\an1}-What really is noticeable
at the beginning

408
00:21:53,966 --> 00:21:55,176
{\an1}are the sexual characteristics.

409
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,533
{\an1}The very full breast,
the pubic triangle

410
00:21:57,566 --> 00:22:00,866
{\an8}are unmistakably
the center of the depiction.

411
00:22:00,900 --> 00:22:02,633
{\an7}The legs are hardly there
at all, right?

412
00:22:02,666 --> 00:22:04,933
{\an7}Locomotion was not important
for this find.

413
00:22:04,966 --> 00:22:07,333
{\an7}And perhaps most importantly
there's no head,

414
00:22:07,366 --> 00:22:09,633
{\an7}there's no face at all.

415
00:22:09,666 --> 00:22:12,700
{\an7}Real people living a mobile
hunter-gatherer lifestyle

416
00:22:12,733 --> 00:22:14,466
{\an7}would not have physiques
like this.

417
00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:17,133
{\an8}This is in no way
a realistic depiction.

418
00:22:17,166 --> 00:22:21,000
{\an1}It's a depiction of an idea
of strength, fertility,

419
00:22:21,033 --> 00:22:25,300
{\an1}but it's certainly not
a realistic depiction.

420
00:22:25,333 --> 00:22:28,566
{\an1}-With their simplified features
and abundant curves,

421
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,066
Venus statues
aren't faithful depictions

422
00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:33,900
{\an1}of early woman's physicality.

423
00:22:33,933 --> 00:22:35,633
{\an1}Rather, they're tributes

424
00:22:35,666 --> 00:22:38,700
{\an1}to her all-important ability
to bear children.

425
00:22:38,733 --> 00:22:40,800
[ Baby cooing ]

426
00:22:40,833 --> 00:22:48,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

427
00:22:49,566 --> 00:22:51,433
{\an1}[ Children shouting playfully ]

428
00:22:51,466 --> 00:22:59,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

429
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,200
{\an1}But in prehistoric times,

430
00:23:01,233 --> 00:23:03,633
when it came
to a woman's partner,

431
00:23:03,666 --> 00:23:05,700
{\an1}who did she pair up with?

432
00:23:05,733 --> 00:23:08,066
{\an1}[ Indistinct conversation ]

433
00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:16,100
{\an8}♪♪♪

434
00:23:16,966 --> 00:23:20,933
{\an1}By comparing DNA samples
from an extensive database,

435
00:23:20,966 --> 00:23:22,866
Evelyne Heyer and her colleagues

436
00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:25,166
have found
that early man and woman

437
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,566
were seemingly
already well-aware

438
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,766
{\an1}of the dangers of inbreeding.

439
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:36,100
{\an1}-Interpreter: What we see in
European Paleolithic populations

440
00:23:36,133 --> 00:23:38,633
is that there is
no incestuous marriage.

441
00:23:38,666 --> 00:23:42,800
{\an1}There is no marriage between
brother/sister, father/child.

442
00:23:42,833 --> 00:23:46,866
{\an1}So it's a system that has
existed for a very long time,

443
00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:49,066
at least in
the Paleolithic period.

444
00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,666
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

445
00:23:51,700 --> 00:23:54,433
{\an1}-But when it comes
to ancient mating patterns,

446
00:23:54,466 --> 00:23:57,733
genetic code
can reveal much more.

447
00:23:57,766 --> 00:23:59,066
{\an1}For certain regions,

448
00:23:59,100 --> 00:24:01,566
{\an1}Heyer has actually managed
to map out

449
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,900
{\an1}who belonged to which group

450
00:24:03,933 --> 00:24:08,066
{\an1}and who left their group to mate
with a member of another.

451
00:24:08,100 --> 00:24:11,700
{\an1}The results are very clear.

452
00:24:11,733 --> 00:24:15,233
{\an1}-Data available from
Paleolithic era studies suggests

453
00:24:15,266 --> 00:24:18,100
{\an1}that there are no differences
between males and females

454
00:24:18,133 --> 00:24:20,066
{\an1}in terms of migration patterns.

455
00:24:20,100 --> 00:24:22,733
In other words,
both males and females

456
00:24:22,766 --> 00:24:25,066
{\an1}married and changed tribes.

457
00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:27,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

458
00:24:27,433 --> 00:24:31,033
{\an1}-Ancient men and women were
equally transient and mobile

459
00:24:31,066 --> 00:24:33,233
when it came
to searching for partners.

460
00:24:33,266 --> 00:24:35,466
{\an8}♪♪♪

461
00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:38,300
All these clues
give us precious insight

462
00:24:38,333 --> 00:24:42,766
{\an1}into early woman's relationship
with her mate 40,000 years ago.

463
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,566
{\an8}♪♪♪

464
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,000
{\an1}But does this mean
she fully understood

465
00:24:48,033 --> 00:24:50,466
{\an1}the intricacies of reproduction?

466
00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:58,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

467
00:24:59,533 --> 00:25:02,700
{\an1}Experts long believed
that humans only made

468
00:25:02,733 --> 00:25:05,400
the connection
between sex and procreation

469
00:25:05,433 --> 00:25:08,266
when they adopted
an agrarian lifestyle...

470
00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:10,133
{\an1}growing crops and livestock,

471
00:25:10,166 --> 00:25:12,600
moving away from
hunting and gathering.

472
00:25:12,633 --> 00:25:20,633
{\an8}♪♪♪

473
00:25:21,066 --> 00:25:29,066
{\an8}♪♪♪

474
00:25:29,466 --> 00:25:32,266
But the discovery
of a 15,000-year-old

475
00:25:32,300 --> 00:25:36,233
{\an7}wall engraving in Central France
debunks this theory.

476
00:25:36,266 --> 00:25:44,266
{\an8}♪♪♪

477
00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:49,400
{\an1}Archaeologists Geneviève Pinçon
and Oscar Fuentes

478
00:25:49,433 --> 00:25:52,266
are experts
in prehistoric wall carvings,

479
00:25:52,300 --> 00:25:57,133
{\an1}working to decode the messages
left by ancient nomadic humans.

480
00:25:57,166 --> 00:26:00,433
{\an8}♪♪♪

481
00:26:00,466 --> 00:26:03,466
{\an1}They believe an incredible
prehistoric fresco

482
00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:05,866
{\an1}at the Roc-aux-Sorciers
rock shelter

483
00:26:05,900 --> 00:26:07,766
{\an1}demonstrates the connection

484
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,766
{\an1}prehistoric people made
between sex and reproduction.

485
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:19,800
{\an8}♪♪♪

486
00:26:19,866 --> 00:26:27,866
{\an8}♪♪♪

487
00:26:27,933 --> 00:26:30,333
{\an1}-Interpreter: We are here
in front of the panel of women,

488
00:26:30,366 --> 00:26:32,533
{\an1}which makes Sorcerers' Rock
so important

489
00:26:32,566 --> 00:26:36,000
{\an1}in the study of prehistory.

490
00:26:36,033 --> 00:26:38,200
-Interpreter:
It is an extraordinary site,

491
00:26:38,233 --> 00:26:39,500
{\an7}because you have animals

492
00:26:39,533 --> 00:26:42,633
{\an8}and you have this
magnificent panel of women.

493
00:26:42,666 --> 00:26:47,166
{\an7}Here in the Lascaux cave,
there is nothing else like it.

494
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:48,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

495
00:26:48,866 --> 00:26:51,166
{\an1}-Today this limestone cliff

496
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,033
{\an1}is carefully preserved
under a modern shelter.

497
00:26:54,066 --> 00:26:56,000
{\an1}But 15,000 years ago,

498
00:26:56,033 --> 00:27:00,500
{\an1}it was out in the open
for all to see.

499
00:27:00,533 --> 00:27:03,966
{\an1}The red ochre and charcoal
paintings on white rock,

500
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,733
{\an1}surrounded by low foliage,
were easy to see,

501
00:27:07,766 --> 00:27:09,800
even from afar.

502
00:27:09,833 --> 00:27:12,200
{\an1}-We are not looking
at hidden art,

503
00:27:12,233 --> 00:27:14,266
{\an1}since here we are in symbiosis
with nature.

504
00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:16,100
We are outdoors.
We're in sunlight.

505
00:27:16,133 --> 00:27:17,900
{\an1}And all of a sudden,
there you go.

506
00:27:17,933 --> 00:27:19,966
It's, in fact,
accessible to everyone.

507
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,600
{\an1}-We can share stories.

508
00:27:23,633 --> 00:27:25,533
{\an1}-For Pinçon and Fuentes,

509
00:27:25,566 --> 00:27:29,066
{\an1}one panel tells the story
of three distinct moments

510
00:27:29,100 --> 00:27:33,300
in a woman's childbearing years.

511
00:27:33,333 --> 00:27:35,500
{\an1}First, she is expecting,

512
00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:37,733
{\an1}with that recognizable
pregnancy line

513
00:27:37,766 --> 00:27:41,866
{\an1}carved over her rounded belly.

514
00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:45,466
{\an1}The second image carved
in the rock shows her nursing,

515
00:27:45,500 --> 00:27:47,533
{\an1}having just given birth.

516
00:27:50,166 --> 00:27:52,666
The third scene
appears to be a woman

517
00:27:52,700 --> 00:27:55,233
{\an1}with the potential to procreate,

518
00:27:55,266 --> 00:27:58,166
as symbolized
by the surrounding bison,

519
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,566
{\an1}animals that also have
a nine-month gestation period.

520
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:07,866
{\an8}♪♪♪

521
00:28:07,900 --> 00:28:09,800
{\an1}-On this panel of women,

522
00:28:09,833 --> 00:28:12,700
{\an1}what we see is a myth,
a concept.

523
00:28:12,733 --> 00:28:15,900
{\an7}That is, we want to express
a general concept

524
00:28:15,933 --> 00:28:19,033
{\an7}of the female's essential role
in the survival of the group.

525
00:28:19,066 --> 00:28:21,633
{\an1}Namely, fertility.

526
00:28:24,833 --> 00:28:27,866
{\an1}-And another related image
is nearby...

527
00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:31,100
{\an1}a panel of mountain goats.

528
00:28:31,133 --> 00:28:34,400
{\an1}-The narrative is laid out
like a comic book.

529
00:28:34,433 --> 00:28:37,566
We can add voices
without much explanation.

530
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,166
{\an1}The female, her calf...

531
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,133
{\an1}the male, the males...

532
00:28:43,166 --> 00:28:45,366
then procreation.

533
00:28:49,833 --> 00:28:53,066
{\an1}For me, there is no doubt that
the Magdalenians understood

534
00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:56,600
{\an1}the link between sexuality
and its consequences.

535
00:28:56,633 --> 00:28:58,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

536
00:28:58,866 --> 00:29:00,700
-It's possible
that if early woman

537
00:29:00,733 --> 00:29:03,233
{\an1}knew that sex led to pregnancy

538
00:29:03,266 --> 00:29:05,966
and understood
the reproductive cycle,

539
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,000
she could control
when she became a mother.

540
00:29:09,033 --> 00:29:14,100
{\an8}♪♪♪

541
00:29:14,133 --> 00:29:17,300
But despite this,
when a pregnancy did come,

542
00:29:17,333 --> 00:29:20,066
{\an1}was it always wanted?

543
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:23,300
{\an1}Has the maternal instinct
been engrained in our genes

544
00:29:23,333 --> 00:29:27,233
{\an1}since the days of our earliest
Homo sapiens ancestors?

545
00:29:27,266 --> 00:29:30,966
[ Baby fussing ]

546
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,533
{\an1}At the Max Planck Institute
in Germany,

547
00:29:33,566 --> 00:29:35,233
{\an1}Jean-Jacques Hublin

548
00:29:35,266 --> 00:29:38,300
is an expert
in behavioral evolution,

549
00:29:38,333 --> 00:29:41,333
{\an1}studying what binds a mother
to her child...

550
00:29:41,366 --> 00:29:44,700
{\an1}and how this may have changed
over time.

551
00:29:44,733 --> 00:29:47,733
{\an1}He works closely with
Professor Sarah Hrdy,

552
00:29:47,766 --> 00:29:51,666
{\an1}who is mapping the biological,
social, and cultural factors

553
00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:54,300
{\an1}that have shaped human behavior.

554
00:29:54,333 --> 00:29:56,466
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

555
00:29:56,500 --> 00:29:58,400
-Interpreter:
The work of Sarah Hrdy

556
00:29:58,433 --> 00:30:01,266
{\an1}and other anthropologists
are very important

557
00:30:01,300 --> 00:30:03,866
{\an7}because they have shifted
the spotlight

558
00:30:03,900 --> 00:30:05,233
{\an7}from technical progress

559
00:30:05,266 --> 00:30:09,566
{\an7}to not only social
but also behavioral progress.

560
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,433
{\an7}-[ Speaking French ]

561
00:30:13,466 --> 00:30:16,400
{\an1}-The maternal instinct
to protect,

562
00:30:16,433 --> 00:30:20,066
of attachment,
of caring for newborns...

563
00:30:20,100 --> 00:30:24,733
{\an1}one must understand that this
is not unique to humans.

564
00:30:24,766 --> 00:30:27,300
{\an1}It exists in the animal world.

565
00:30:27,333 --> 00:30:30,533
{\an1}There are biological instincts
at play here,

566
00:30:30,566 --> 00:30:35,966
{\an1}and these instincts are present
in animals and in humans alike.

567
00:30:37,766 --> 00:30:39,433
{\an1}-For millions of years,

568
00:30:39,466 --> 00:30:42,433
{\an1}the human mother/child bond
has thrived,

569
00:30:42,466 --> 00:30:47,966
{\an1}thanks in part to a hormone
that both secrete... oxytocin.

570
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,566
{\an1}But according to Hublin,

571
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,300
{\an1}the precariousness
of nomadic life

572
00:30:52,333 --> 00:30:55,300
meant this bond
may have been compromised

573
00:30:55,333 --> 00:30:58,900
by the mother's
survival instinct.

574
00:30:58,933 --> 00:31:01,466
{\an1}-Depending on the circumstances,

575
00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:04,566
{\an1}this attachment may be,
if not annihilated,

576
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:09,133
at least reduced
under extreme circumstances.

577
00:31:09,166 --> 00:31:13,166
It is conceivable
that situations may exist

578
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,500
that result
in the abandonment of the child

579
00:31:16,533 --> 00:31:21,533
{\an1}or in handing over the child
to other adults.

580
00:31:21,566 --> 00:31:26,300
{\an1}Attachment is just as possible
as detachment.

581
00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:30,066
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

582
00:31:30,100 --> 00:31:32,866
{\an1}-Studies of women from
modern hunter-gatherer tribes

583
00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:36,433
{\an1}reveal that, when the timing
isn't right to have a child,

584
00:31:36,466 --> 00:31:39,666
{\an1}some control births
with sexual abstinence,

585
00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:43,266
{\an1}prolonged nursing,
or abortifacient plants.

586
00:31:43,300 --> 00:31:45,466
{\an1}[ Children shouting playfully ]

587
00:31:45,500 --> 00:31:49,700
{\an1}Despite all this, if a baby
is born during hard times,

588
00:31:49,733 --> 00:31:53,600
{\an1}it can be rejected by the mother
in favor of her own well-being

589
00:31:53,633 --> 00:31:55,100
{\an1}and that of her tribe.

590
00:31:55,133 --> 00:31:56,966
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

591
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,566
-Interpreter:
It is a decision often made
by the women themselves.

592
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:03,366
{\an8}One example
is the Kalahari San women,

593
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,900
{\an8}who give birth
all alone in the desert.

594
00:32:05,933 --> 00:32:08,166
{\an8}They alone
will make these decisions.

595
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:14,033
{\an1}This does not suggest that these
decisions are easy to make.

596
00:32:14,066 --> 00:32:15,800
{\an1}-But according to experts,

597
00:32:15,833 --> 00:32:19,366
{\an1}instances like this would have
been exceptions to the norm.

598
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

599
00:32:21,533 --> 00:32:24,400
If she understood
her reproductive system,

600
00:32:24,433 --> 00:32:29,600
{\an1}early woman could control
her journey to motherhood.

601
00:32:29,633 --> 00:32:33,300
{\an1}Can science also show
how prehistoric women,

602
00:32:33,333 --> 00:32:38,466
{\an1}once they had children,
cared for them, fed them?

603
00:32:38,500 --> 00:32:41,300
{\an1}At the Ecole Normale Supérieure
de Lyon,

604
00:32:41,333 --> 00:32:44,466
archaeologist
Dr. Vincent Balter's research

605
00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:47,066
examines how long
prehistoric women

606
00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:49,133
{\an1}breastfed their children.

607
00:32:49,166 --> 00:32:52,033
{\an8}♪♪♪

608
00:32:52,066 --> 00:32:55,466
{\an1}For Balter, the secret
is hidden in the teeth.

609
00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:57,866
{\an1}[ Drill whirring ]

610
00:32:57,900 --> 00:33:00,300
{\an1}-Interpreter: We can analyze
the amount of milk

611
00:33:00,333 --> 00:33:02,366
{\an1}that we ingest in our diet.

612
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:07,966
{\an7}And we can then see the isotopic
signature of milk in fossils.

613
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:13,266
{\an8}♪♪♪

614
00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:15,366
{\an1}-Balter is then able to estimate

615
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,866
{\an7}when a child began eating
a more varied diet,

616
00:33:18,900 --> 00:33:22,566
{\an7}having reduced or eliminated
its intake of breastmilk.

617
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,766
{\an8}[ Beeping ]

618
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,633
{\an7}These teeth are from the extinct
species Homo erectus,

619
00:33:29,666 --> 00:33:32,733
{\an8}which lived
1.5 million years ago

620
00:33:32,766 --> 00:33:34,266
{\an1}and, it turns out,

621
00:33:34,300 --> 00:33:38,266
{\an1}depended on breastmilk for much
longer than modern humans do.

622
00:33:38,300 --> 00:33:41,100
{\an8}♪♪♪

623
00:33:41,133 --> 00:33:43,400
-These signature
milk characteristics

624
00:33:43,433 --> 00:33:46,066
{\an1}have been found in children
up to the age of four,

625
00:33:46,100 --> 00:33:49,233
{\an1}which shows that young
Homo erectus children

626
00:33:49,266 --> 00:33:52,733
{\an1}were pampered by their parents.

627
00:33:52,766 --> 00:33:54,633
{\an1}-The Homo erectus species,

628
00:33:54,666 --> 00:33:58,266
{\an1}reliant on breastmilk as
its main source of nutrition

629
00:33:58,300 --> 00:34:02,100
{\an1}for a lengthy four years.

630
00:34:02,133 --> 00:34:05,300
{\an1}If we compare this with
hunter-gatherer tribes today,

631
00:34:05,333 --> 00:34:07,366
{\an1}it seems the duration
of breastfeeding

632
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,133
{\an1}shortened as humans evolved...

633
00:34:10,166 --> 00:34:13,666
{\an1}and had important benefits
for the species.

634
00:34:13,700 --> 00:34:15,300
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

635
00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,733
{\an1}-Interpreter: What is
very particular with humans

636
00:34:17,766 --> 00:34:21,500
{\an1}is that development
is quite long.

637
00:34:21,533 --> 00:34:24,800
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

638
00:34:24,833 --> 00:34:28,366
{\an1}-But, paradoxically, the age
at which babies are weaned

639
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,100
{\an1}is getting younger and younger.

640
00:34:31,133 --> 00:34:36,233
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

641
00:34:36,266 --> 00:34:39,066
{\an1}-Once children are able
to eat solid food,

642
00:34:39,100 --> 00:34:42,533
then the mother
can share with other adults

643
00:34:42,566 --> 00:34:44,300
{\an1}the time and energy needed

644
00:34:44,333 --> 00:34:47,033
to ensure
the children's development.

645
00:34:47,066 --> 00:34:51,800
{\an1}This is what makes us
cooperative breeders,

646
00:34:51,833 --> 00:34:55,533
and this behavior
has an extraordinary influence

647
00:34:55,566 --> 00:34:59,300
{\an1}on the organization
of human groups.

648
00:34:59,333 --> 00:35:01,600
[ Baby cooing ]

649
00:35:01,633 --> 00:35:06,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

650
00:35:06,433 --> 00:35:08,500
{\an1}-With pregnancies spaced out

651
00:35:08,533 --> 00:35:11,066
{\an1}and the burden of childcare
shared,

652
00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:14,766
{\an1}it seems prehistoric mothers
may not have been overwhelmed

653
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,033
by the demands
of raising their young.

654
00:35:17,066 --> 00:35:19,633
{\an8}♪♪♪

655
00:35:19,666 --> 00:35:23,400
{\an1}And new evidence now suggests
they may have relied on help

656
00:35:23,433 --> 00:35:27,900
{\an1}from one group of clan members
in particular... grandmothers.

657
00:35:27,933 --> 00:35:31,533
{\an8}♪♪♪

658
00:35:31,566 --> 00:35:33,600
Kristen Hawkes
has studied grandmothers

659
00:35:33,633 --> 00:35:35,800
from modern
hunter-gatherer tribes

660
00:35:35,833 --> 00:35:38,400
and witnessed
the important role they play

661
00:35:38,433 --> 00:35:41,800
{\an1}in the survival of their groups.

662
00:35:41,833 --> 00:35:44,466
She recalls
one particular experience

663
00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:48,266
{\an1}with the Hadza tribe
in Tanzania.

664
00:35:48,300 --> 00:35:52,466
{\an7}-I was spending hours
in the hot sun every day

665
00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:54,500
{\an7}with these old ladies.

666
00:35:54,533 --> 00:35:56,066
{\an7}I mean, with other people,
as well,

667
00:35:56,100 --> 00:35:58,433
{\an7}but with these old ladies
who were doing

668
00:35:58,466 --> 00:36:03,333
{\an1}what is the heaviest kind
of resource acquisition,

669
00:36:03,366 --> 00:36:06,433
{\an1}foraging for these
deeply buried tubers

670
00:36:06,466 --> 00:36:09,733
that can be
more than a meter deep.

671
00:36:09,766 --> 00:36:12,133
{\an1}They were spending
more hours a day

672
00:36:12,166 --> 00:36:16,766
{\an1}doing that particular
energetically expensive thing

673
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:18,433
{\an1}than anybody else,

674
00:36:18,466 --> 00:36:23,500
and our records
were beginning to show

675
00:36:23,533 --> 00:36:26,466
{\an1}that the weaned kids,

676
00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:29,800
{\an1}their weights were correlated

677
00:36:29,833 --> 00:36:33,500
{\an1}with their grandmothers'
foraging effort.

678
00:36:33,533 --> 00:36:36,766
{\an8}♪♪♪

679
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,366
-The older women
collected roughly 30%

680
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,400
of the group's
daily food intake,

681
00:36:41,433 --> 00:36:45,333
{\an1}which was intended
primarily for the children.

682
00:36:45,366 --> 00:36:48,733
{\an1}Hawkes has demonstrated
how the support of grandmothers

683
00:36:48,766 --> 00:36:50,566
{\an1}contributed to the doubling

684
00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,866
{\an1}of the early Homo sapiens
species' lifespan.

685
00:36:53,900 --> 00:36:55,900
-Older females,

686
00:36:55,933 --> 00:37:00,400
{\an1}by subsidizing the fertility
of the younger ones,

687
00:37:00,433 --> 00:37:03,633
allowed them
to have the next baby sooner

688
00:37:03,666 --> 00:37:06,233
{\an1}without the previous one
being left to die

689
00:37:06,266 --> 00:37:08,566
{\an1}because the weaned kids

690
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,933
were subsidized
by their grandmothers.

691
00:37:11,966 --> 00:37:14,700
{\an8}♪♪♪

692
00:37:14,733 --> 00:37:18,200
{\an1}-In addition to assisting with
children's physical well-being,

693
00:37:18,233 --> 00:37:22,133
{\an1}it's believed the elderly women
also passed on their knowledge.

694
00:37:22,166 --> 00:37:24,333
{\an8}♪♪♪

695
00:37:24,366 --> 00:37:26,333
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

696
00:37:26,366 --> 00:37:28,400
-Interpreter:
Human societies are societies

697
00:37:28,433 --> 00:37:32,133
{\an1}that share, that redistribute.

698
00:37:32,166 --> 00:37:36,700
{\an1}They are also societies
that learn and innovate.

699
00:37:36,733 --> 00:37:40,733
{\an1}And this transmission
obviously takes time.

700
00:37:40,766 --> 00:37:45,300
{\an1}It's a factor that weighs in
in terms of natural selection,

701
00:37:45,333 --> 00:37:48,366
basically pushing
human beings towards,

702
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:52,700
for example,
greater and greater longevity.

703
00:37:52,733 --> 00:37:54,933
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

704
00:37:54,966 --> 00:37:57,466
{\an1}-The human species
is one of the few

705
00:37:57,500 --> 00:37:59,600
{\an1}in which postmenopausal females

706
00:37:59,633 --> 00:38:03,333
{\an1}still have a fairly long
life expectancy.

707
00:38:03,366 --> 00:38:04,700
Why?

708
00:38:04,733 --> 00:38:07,566
Because they are
a benefit to the group

709
00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,400
{\an1}and to their descendants.

710
00:38:10,433 --> 00:38:12,500
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

711
00:38:12,533 --> 00:38:14,600
{\an8}♪♪♪

712
00:38:14,633 --> 00:38:16,133
{\an1}-Supported by older women

713
00:38:16,166 --> 00:38:18,866
{\an1}who helped make childrearing
more manageable,

714
00:38:18,900 --> 00:38:21,200
{\an1}prehistoric Homo sapiens women

715
00:38:21,233 --> 00:38:25,066
{\an1}could take on other pivotal
roles within their groups...

716
00:38:25,100 --> 00:38:29,000
{\an1}hunters, gatherers,
managers, and planners.

717
00:38:29,033 --> 00:38:31,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

718
00:38:31,866 --> 00:38:35,500
{\an1}Early Homo sapiens women
did a great deal more

719
00:38:35,533 --> 00:38:39,566
{\an1}than just providing
for their tribes.

720
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,033
-From a study
of about 70 populations

721
00:38:42,066 --> 00:38:44,500
{\an1}of hunter-gatherers,
we determined

722
00:38:44,533 --> 00:38:46,433
{\an8}that the time
that women spend gathering

723
00:38:46,466 --> 00:38:49,600
{\an8}could vary
based on the tribe's needs.

724
00:38:49,633 --> 00:38:52,133
{\an8}If there is a lot
of big-game hunting,

725
00:38:52,166 --> 00:38:54,000
{\an1}there will be less need
for gathering,

726
00:38:54,033 --> 00:38:55,800
and therefore
the women will be able

727
00:38:55,833 --> 00:38:58,166
{\an1}to devote themselves
to other activities.

728
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:02,800
{\an1}At that point, they focus
on more technical activities.

729
00:39:02,833 --> 00:39:04,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

730
00:39:04,866 --> 00:39:07,433
{\an1}-One incredible example
of this craftsmanship

731
00:39:07,466 --> 00:39:09,866
was discovered
on the outskirts of Dordogne

732
00:39:09,900 --> 00:39:12,000
{\an1}in Southwest France...

733
00:39:12,033 --> 00:39:14,500
{\an1}a collection of intricate,
decorative ornaments

734
00:39:14,533 --> 00:39:17,166
{\an1}from around 37,000 years ago.

735
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

736
00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:22,000
Randall White
from New York University

737
00:39:22,033 --> 00:39:25,333
{\an1}has been carefully
re-creating the steps needed

738
00:39:25,366 --> 00:39:28,466
{\an1}to produce these objects.

739
00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:33,733
{\an1}In doing so, he has determined
that they were made by women.

740
00:39:33,766 --> 00:39:37,166
{\an1}-They created a series
of pencil-like rods

741
00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,566
{\an7}that they then split
into segments,

742
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,433
{\an8}which you can see
very clearly here.

743
00:39:42,466 --> 00:39:44,633
{\an1}Those were then thinned
along one end,

744
00:39:44,666 --> 00:39:46,833
{\an1}leaving a bulb at the other.

745
00:39:46,866 --> 00:39:50,400
And finally,
using abrasive tools,

746
00:39:50,433 --> 00:39:54,533
{\an1}they were ground down into
this very characteristic shape

747
00:39:54,566 --> 00:39:56,233
that's known as
"basket shaped."

748
00:39:56,266 --> 00:39:58,566
{\an1}They're absolutely tiny.

749
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:00,333
{\an1}It's rare that you can
actually answer

750
00:40:00,366 --> 00:40:02,866
the question,
"Who made these objects?"

751
00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:06,733
{\an7}I have relatively, I suppose,
normal hands for a man,

752
00:40:06,766 --> 00:40:09,033
{\an1}and I can't make the smallest
of these beads,

753
00:40:09,066 --> 00:40:11,166
but most of
my female graduate students

754
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,033
can get down
to the very smallest ones.

755
00:40:13,066 --> 00:40:16,466
{\an1}So it kind of supports the idea

756
00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:21,066
{\an1}that this might have been
a women's activity.

757
00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:24,866
{\an1}-By analyzing traces
of friction on the pearls,

758
00:40:24,900 --> 00:40:29,900
{\an1}White can even gauge
how these ornaments were worn.

759
00:40:29,933 --> 00:40:32,533
{\an1}-Each of the beads
is sewn onto a garment,

760
00:40:32,566 --> 00:40:34,433
{\an1}probably a skin garment.

761
00:40:34,466 --> 00:40:38,000
{\an1}They shouldn't be seen
as individual ornaments

762
00:40:38,033 --> 00:40:39,866
because they're
almost invisible,

763
00:40:39,900 --> 00:40:42,533
{\an1}but you have to imagine that
they were sewn on in patterns

764
00:40:42,566 --> 00:40:44,900
that were
the visible part of it.

765
00:40:44,933 --> 00:40:51,700
{\an8}♪♪♪

766
00:40:51,733 --> 00:40:53,766
{\an1}-This is just one sample

767
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,366
{\an1}of women's artisanship
and technical abilities.

768
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:05,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

769
00:41:06,666 --> 00:41:09,533
{\an1}Scientists have uncovered
other stunning examples

770
00:41:09,566 --> 00:41:11,800
in the south
of the Czech Republic.

771
00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:17,066
{\an8}♪♪♪

772
00:41:17,100 --> 00:41:22,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

773
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,100
{\an1}Some of the most well-known
pieces of Paleolithic art

774
00:41:25,133 --> 00:41:26,866
{\an1}have been found there,

775
00:41:26,900 --> 00:41:30,766
{\an1}including one from
the Pavlov Archaeological Park,

776
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:34,166
{\an1}a museum built on the site of
a woolly mammoth hunting camp.

777
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:39,200
{\an8}♪♪♪

778
00:41:39,233 --> 00:41:44,433
{\an1}It's the 29,000-year-old
clay Venus of Dolní Vestonice,

779
00:41:44,466 --> 00:41:46,600
evidence that
the prehistoric people here

780
00:41:46,633 --> 00:41:49,666
{\an1}had an astonishing mastery
of clay art.

781
00:41:49,700 --> 00:41:56,233
{\an8}♪♪♪

782
00:41:56,266 --> 00:41:59,866
{\an1}The region is scattered with
a variety of clay remnants that,

783
00:41:59,900 --> 00:42:04,166
{\an1}for archaeologists
Olga Soffer and James Adovasio,

784
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:09,600
{\an1}serve as stunning examples
of plant-based craftsmanship.

785
00:42:09,633 --> 00:42:15,300
{\an7}-These items were preserved
because they had been impressed,

786
00:42:15,333 --> 00:42:19,633
{\an8}pushed into clay,
by the aboriginal inhabitants,

787
00:42:19,666 --> 00:42:22,633
and the clay
was subject to heat.

788
00:42:22,666 --> 00:42:26,000
{\an8}♪♪♪

789
00:42:26,033 --> 00:42:29,366
{\an1}-By studying the clay imprints
under a microscope,

790
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,933
{\an1}Soffer and Adovasio
have spotted evidence

791
00:42:31,966 --> 00:42:34,300
{\an1}of intricate braiding
and knot-making

792
00:42:34,333 --> 00:42:38,333
{\an1}decorating a variety
of day-to-day objects.

793
00:42:38,366 --> 00:42:42,500
{\an1}-They could have been pieces
of floor covering.

794
00:42:42,533 --> 00:42:44,500
{\an1}They could have been
items of clothing.

795
00:42:44,533 --> 00:42:50,200
{\an1}In some cases, they were nets
or bags that had been produced

796
00:42:50,233 --> 00:42:52,200
for the use
of the hunter-gatherers

797
00:42:52,233 --> 00:42:54,266
{\an1}who lived at Vestonice.

798
00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:57,766
{\an8}♪♪♪

799
00:42:57,800 --> 00:42:59,533
{\an1}-Because of their durability,

800
00:42:59,566 --> 00:43:01,666
{\an1}ancient flint weapons
and cutting tools

801
00:43:01,700 --> 00:43:04,300
{\an1}have long overshadowed
the study of other forms

802
00:43:04,333 --> 00:43:06,366
{\an1}of prehistoric craftsmanship,

803
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:08,933
{\an1}likely produced by women.

804
00:43:08,966 --> 00:43:13,233
{\an1}-90% or more of the artifacts
that are produced

805
00:43:13,266 --> 00:43:16,366
{\an1}by hunting and gathering
populations in any environment,

806
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,000
{\an1}whether it's the far north
or the tropical rainforest,

807
00:43:20,033 --> 00:43:22,700
is made of
non-durable materials.

808
00:43:22,733 --> 00:43:25,066
{\an1}These kinds of things,

809
00:43:25,100 --> 00:43:27,866
{\an1}items made of plant fiber,

810
00:43:27,900 --> 00:43:32,666
{\an1}were critical to the survival
of these groups.

811
00:43:32,700 --> 00:43:35,200
{\an1}The majority of the items

812
00:43:35,233 --> 00:43:38,166
that are made of
non-durable materials

813
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:41,233
{\an1}are, in fact, produced by women.

814
00:43:41,266 --> 00:43:43,300
This is based on
archeological evidence,

815
00:43:43,333 --> 00:43:46,133
as well as
ethnographic analogues

816
00:43:46,166 --> 00:43:49,533
{\an1}to living hunting-and-gathering
populations.

817
00:43:49,566 --> 00:43:51,533
{\an1}-And for Soffer and Adovasio,

818
00:43:51,566 --> 00:43:55,300
{\an1}a lack of artifacts,
plus contemporary social biases,

819
00:43:55,333 --> 00:43:59,266
{\an1}have limited the understanding
of prehistoric women's work.

820
00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:02,466
{\an1}-We have tended, both
in Europe and North America,

821
00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:07,500
{\an1}to minimize all the plant
material, all the small animals,

822
00:44:07,533 --> 00:44:10,633
in favor of
the more dramatic image

823
00:44:10,666 --> 00:44:15,266
{\an1}of hunting big animals
with spears.

824
00:44:15,300 --> 00:44:20,000
{\an1}We operate under the assumption
that it's the prime-age males,

825
00:44:20,033 --> 00:44:22,100
{\an1}our age, so to speak,

826
00:44:22,133 --> 00:44:26,033
{\an1}that are the be-all and end-all
of Ice Age lifeways,

827
00:44:26,066 --> 00:44:27,733
and they're not.

828
00:44:27,766 --> 00:44:29,700
Nor is stone.

829
00:44:29,733 --> 00:44:37,233
{\an8}♪♪♪

830
00:44:37,266 --> 00:44:38,633
{\an1}-Plant-based items,

831
00:44:38,666 --> 00:44:41,866
{\an1}from clothing to bedding
to carrier bags,

832
00:44:41,900 --> 00:44:44,266
{\an1}all skillfully produced by women

833
00:44:44,300 --> 00:44:46,566
{\an1}and just as important
as hunting spears

834
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:49,333
and cutting tools
to a group's survival.

835
00:44:49,366 --> 00:44:57,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

836
00:44:58,466 --> 00:45:01,166
These items
may have been lost to time,

837
00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:02,700
{\an1}but there are others,

838
00:45:02,733 --> 00:45:05,600
still with us
40,000 years later,

839
00:45:05,633 --> 00:45:08,566
that illustrate
not just a practical mind-set

840
00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:10,800
{\an1}but also an artistic one.

841
00:45:10,833 --> 00:45:13,466
{\an1}[ Fire crackling ]

842
00:45:13,500 --> 00:45:15,566
Most researchers
have long assumed

843
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:16,966
{\an1}that men were responsible

844
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,966
{\an1}for the mysterious
prehistoric wall paintings

845
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,700
{\an1}found underground and in caves.

846
00:45:22,733 --> 00:45:26,333
{\an1}And they speculate that,
for prehistoric societies,

847
00:45:26,366 --> 00:45:29,700
{\an1}men believed caves
were too dangerous for women.

848
00:45:29,733 --> 00:45:32,000
{\an8}♪♪♪

849
00:45:32,033 --> 00:45:34,733
{\an7}In Southern France,
the Pech Merle cave

850
00:45:34,766 --> 00:45:37,633
{\an8}holds a jewel
of Paleolithic art.

851
00:45:37,666 --> 00:45:42,366
{\an8}♪♪♪

852
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:48,333
{\an1}An extraordinary panel of horses
surrounded by handprints.

853
00:45:48,366 --> 00:45:51,066
{\an1}In many present-day
hunter-gatherer cultures,

854
00:45:51,100 --> 00:45:55,900
the handprint
is an artist's signature.

855
00:45:55,933 --> 00:45:58,500
{\an1}It's possible the ancient people
who stamped their hands

856
00:45:58,533 --> 00:46:02,600
{\an1}around these horses
were the artists...

857
00:46:02,633 --> 00:46:04,733
{\an1}though it's difficult
for experts to say

858
00:46:04,766 --> 00:46:08,166
{\an1}whether the prints
belonged to men or women.

859
00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:10,100
{\an8}♪♪♪

860
00:46:10,133 --> 00:46:13,300
{\an1}-Interpreter: Most of the hands
found from the Paleolithic era

861
00:46:13,333 --> 00:46:14,600
are incomplete.

862
00:46:14,633 --> 00:46:16,733
{\an1}Phalanges are missing,
and so it's difficult

863
00:46:16,766 --> 00:46:20,766
{\an1}to determine whether
they are female or male hands.

864
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,866
{\an1}With the few hands that we were
able to determine gender,

865
00:46:23,900 --> 00:46:26,666
{\an1}we did indeed have female hands.

866
00:46:29,033 --> 00:46:33,000
{\an1}-These handprints may indicate
that women, like men,

867
00:46:33,033 --> 00:46:36,066
{\an1}ventured deep underground
and made art.

868
00:46:36,100 --> 00:46:41,200
{\an8}♪♪♪

869
00:46:41,233 --> 00:46:42,766
{\an1}But there is another piece
of evidence

870
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:46,466
{\an1}that women spent time
underground and in caves...

871
00:46:46,500 --> 00:46:48,433
{\an1}preserved footprints.

872
00:46:48,466 --> 00:46:54,833
{\an8}♪♪♪

873
00:46:54,866 --> 00:46:57,100
{\an7}Dr. Andreas Pastoors
and his team

874
00:46:57,133 --> 00:47:00,366
{\an7}study prehistoric human tracks.

875
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:04,733
{\an7}Their latest analysis is in the
Aldène cave in Southern France.

876
00:47:04,766 --> 00:47:07,433
{\an8}♪♪♪

877
00:47:07,466 --> 00:47:09,866
{\an1}Here, an underground path
is covered

878
00:47:09,900 --> 00:47:14,800
{\an1}with 8,000-year-old footprints
perfectly preserved in clay...

879
00:47:14,833 --> 00:47:18,533
600 of them.

880
00:47:18,566 --> 00:47:20,100
To find out more
about the people

881
00:47:20,133 --> 00:47:21,833
{\an1}who left these footprints,

882
00:47:21,866 --> 00:47:26,033
{\an1}they have joined forces with
contemporary tracking experts.

883
00:47:26,066 --> 00:47:27,833
{\an1}-[ Speaking native language ]

884
00:47:27,866 --> 00:47:30,733
{\an1}- [ Speaking native language ]
- Yeah.

885
00:47:30,766 --> 00:47:32,609
{\an1}- [ Speaking native language ]
- [ Speaking native language ]

886
00:47:32,633 --> 00:47:35,133
{\an8}♪♪♪

887
00:47:35,166 --> 00:47:36,833
{\an8}-Interpreter:
We requested the assistance

888
00:47:36,866 --> 00:47:38,700
{\an7}of trackers from Namibia

889
00:47:38,733 --> 00:47:40,566
{\an8}because they have
a lot of experience

890
00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:44,666
{\an7}in interpreting both animal
and human footprints.

891
00:47:44,700 --> 00:47:47,600
{\an8}♪♪♪

892
00:47:47,633 --> 00:47:50,733
{\an1}-It's a daunting trek
to reach the site.

893
00:47:50,766 --> 00:47:51,966
{\an1}The team must follow

894
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,266
{\an1}a 90-foot-long fault in the rock

895
00:47:54,300 --> 00:47:57,566
{\an1}and a narrow channel
for more than half a mile.

896
00:47:57,600 --> 00:48:04,166
{\an8}♪♪♪

897
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:10,733
{\an8}♪♪♪

898
00:48:10,766 --> 00:48:15,466
{\an1}Inside the chamber, the prints
are spread across 90 feet.

899
00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:18,600
{\an1}The Namibian trackers
get to work.

900
00:48:18,633 --> 00:48:20,900
-Interpreter:
For about two hours

901
00:48:20,933 --> 00:48:24,733
{\an1}or two and a half hours
every day,

902
00:48:24,766 --> 00:48:26,733
{\an7}they observe the soil.

903
00:48:26,766 --> 00:48:29,100
{\an8}They move
from section to section,

904
00:48:29,133 --> 00:48:33,000
{\an8}they observe,
and then they discuss.

905
00:48:33,033 --> 00:48:38,266
{\an1}They will reconstruct the steps
and then explain their findings.

906
00:48:38,300 --> 00:48:44,033
{\an8}♪♪♪

907
00:48:44,066 --> 00:48:48,066
{\an1}The trackers are able to create
what archaeology cannot...

908
00:48:48,100 --> 00:48:51,100
{\an1}the gender and behavior
of these steps.

909
00:48:51,133 --> 00:48:53,033
{\an1}They create a whole scenario.

910
00:48:53,066 --> 00:48:57,533
{\an1}Their observations
bring these footprints to life.

911
00:48:57,566 --> 00:49:00,366
-Back at the lab,
Pastoors is able to illustrate

912
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:05,600
{\an1}the trackers' analysis using
a 3-D scan of the footprints.

913
00:49:05,633 --> 00:49:09,266
Each path
is individually highlighted.

914
00:49:09,300 --> 00:49:11,666
Then, by studying
the footprints' impressions

915
00:49:11,700 --> 00:49:13,966
in the clay,
the team can determine

916
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,766
how many people
left these tracks...

917
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:20,433
{\an1}26, including women
and children.

918
00:49:20,466 --> 00:49:21,766
{\an1}The layout of the tracks

919
00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:25,166
{\an1}helps fill in the details
of the story.

920
00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:27,200
-Interpreter:
As she exited, the woman left

921
00:49:27,233 --> 00:49:31,066
{\an1}a row of three footprints...
A right, a left, and a right.

922
00:49:31,100 --> 00:49:34,900
{\an1}She walks towards the exit.
And something happens here.

923
00:49:34,933 --> 00:49:38,600
{\an1}Here she positions her left foot
a little bit diagonally.

924
00:49:38,633 --> 00:49:40,266
{\an1}Doing so can be interpreted

925
00:49:40,300 --> 00:49:42,866
{\an1}to mean that she adjusted
something on her back

926
00:49:42,900 --> 00:49:45,100
{\an7}and then continued walking.

927
00:49:45,133 --> 00:49:49,200
{\an8}♪♪♪

928
00:49:49,233 --> 00:49:50,566
{\an1}The trackers reasoned

929
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:55,633
{\an1}that she carried a child
or a baby on her back.

930
00:49:55,666 --> 00:49:57,200
{\an1}-According to the trackers,

931
00:49:57,233 --> 00:50:00,466
{\an1}the number of children's
footprints going into the cave

932
00:50:00,500 --> 00:50:03,300
is greater
than the number going out.

933
00:50:03,333 --> 00:50:04,966
{\an1}It suggests that some mothers

934
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:08,400
{\an1}may have felt the need
to carry their young.

935
00:50:08,433 --> 00:50:10,333
-Interpreter:
The analysis was that people

936
00:50:10,366 --> 00:50:12,766
{\an1}were in such a rush to get out
that they carried the children

937
00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:14,766
{\an1}to speed up the pace.

938
00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:17,466
{\an1}We determined they had issues
with lack of lighting,

939
00:50:17,500 --> 00:50:20,733
{\an1}which forced them to turn around
and exit the cave.

940
00:50:20,766 --> 00:50:23,500
{\an1}Using only their visual analysis
of the footprints,

941
00:50:23,533 --> 00:50:27,866
{\an1}the trackers came to
the exact same conclusion.

942
00:50:27,900 --> 00:50:29,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

943
00:50:29,533 --> 00:50:33,066
{\an1}-The study confirms
that, in Paleolithic times,

944
00:50:33,100 --> 00:50:38,800
{\an1}caves and underground chambers
were not exclusive to men.

945
00:50:38,833 --> 00:50:41,266
Women, too,
roamed the underground

946
00:50:41,300 --> 00:50:42,900
{\an1}and may have also contributed

947
00:50:42,933 --> 00:50:46,466
{\an1}to the magnificent cave art
we still see today.

948
00:50:46,500 --> 00:50:48,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

949
00:50:48,700 --> 00:50:50,366
{\an1}Were early Homo sapiens women

950
00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:53,400
{\an1}given special status
because of their many talents

951
00:50:53,433 --> 00:50:56,433
{\an1}and their unique ability
to bear children?

952
00:50:56,466 --> 00:50:58,200
{\an8}♪♪♪

953
00:50:58,233 --> 00:51:01,066
{\an1}The elaborate burial
of the Lady of Caviglione

954
00:51:01,100 --> 00:51:03,733
is one indication
of the esteemed place

955
00:51:03,766 --> 00:51:06,600
women held
in prehistoric societies.

956
00:51:06,633 --> 00:51:08,566
{\an8}♪♪♪

957
00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:12,100
{\an1}And there are other examples.

958
00:51:12,133 --> 00:51:14,866
{\an1}At the Renancourt site
in Northern France,

959
00:51:14,900 --> 00:51:18,166
{\an1}archaeologists have found
fragments of female statues

960
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:22,533
{\an1}that are 27,000 years old.

961
00:51:22,566 --> 00:51:24,733
{\an1}Frost may have broken some,

962
00:51:24,766 --> 00:51:29,300
{\an1}but others were found
mixed with carving waste.

963
00:51:29,333 --> 00:51:31,966
Experts have
an intriguing hypothesis

964
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:34,066
{\an1}as to why they were destroyed.

965
00:51:34,100 --> 00:51:35,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

966
00:51:35,533 --> 00:51:38,166
{\an7}-Interpreter: Another hypothesis
as to the condition

967
00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:40,400
{\an7}of these statuettes
is that they may have been

968
00:51:40,433 --> 00:51:41,833
{\an7}broken intentionally,

969
00:51:41,866 --> 00:51:44,766
{\an8}for example,
during a ritual practice.

970
00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:47,433
{\an8}♪♪♪

971
00:51:47,466 --> 00:51:51,166
{\an1}-These statues could be symbols
of a particular belief,

972
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:53,466
{\an1}a reflection of powers
Paleolithic people

973
00:51:53,500 --> 00:51:56,266
may have invested
in these female depictions.

974
00:51:56,300 --> 00:52:01,066
{\an8}♪♪♪

975
00:52:01,100 --> 00:52:05,600
{\an7}-Interpreter: When we talk about
the power of the statuettes,

976
00:52:05,633 --> 00:52:09,300
{\an7}we imagine powers linked
to motherhood, to fertility,

977
00:52:09,333 --> 00:52:12,133
{\an7}perhaps powers linked
to the group's survival.

978
00:52:12,166 --> 00:52:13,600
{\an1}-[ Speaking French ]

979
00:52:13,633 --> 00:52:16,600
{\an1}-We can also imagine that
they wanted to represent women

980
00:52:16,633 --> 00:52:18,800
{\an1}who beared multiple children

981
00:52:18,833 --> 00:52:20,933
and who therefore
contributed greatly

982
00:52:20,966 --> 00:52:22,666
{\an1}to the longevity of the group

983
00:52:22,700 --> 00:52:25,666
and... why not...
To that of humanity.

984
00:52:25,700 --> 00:52:31,033
{\an8}♪♪♪

985
00:52:31,066 --> 00:52:36,400
{\an8}♪♪♪

986
00:52:36,433 --> 00:52:39,966
{\an1}-But now research suggests
that women may have been

987
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:44,666
at the heart
of humanity's earliest myths.

988
00:52:44,700 --> 00:52:47,900
{\an1}There is a narrow passage in the
rocks at Fontainebleau Forest,

989
00:52:47,933 --> 00:52:49,433
south of Paris,

990
00:52:49,466 --> 00:52:53,300
just large enough
to crawl through.

991
00:52:53,333 --> 00:52:56,233
{\an1}Experts believe that,
for early men and women,

992
00:52:56,266 --> 00:52:58,333
{\an1}it evoked the birth canal.

993
00:52:58,366 --> 00:53:00,566
{\an8}♪♪♪

994
00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,833
And at one end
of the rock tunnel,

995
00:53:02,866 --> 00:53:05,900
{\an1}a remarkable engraving.

996
00:53:05,933 --> 00:53:08,133
Three lines
were purposefully carved

997
00:53:08,166 --> 00:53:11,933
{\an7}to emphasize the naturally
evocative shape of the rock.

998
00:53:11,966 --> 00:53:14,966
{\an8}The domed ceiling
suggests a pregnant belly.

999
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:17,200
{\an8}♪♪♪

1000
00:53:17,233 --> 00:53:20,966
And on each side,
two galloping horses...

1001
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,600
{\an1}carved in a similar style
and technique,

1002
00:53:23,633 --> 00:53:26,466
{\an1}therefore believed to have
been made at the same time...

1003
00:53:26,500 --> 00:53:29,466
{\an1}offer a date stamp.

1004
00:53:29,500 --> 00:53:33,333
{\an1}These engravings were made
around 20,000 years ago.

1005
00:53:33,366 --> 00:53:38,266
{\an8}♪♪♪

1006
00:53:38,300 --> 00:53:40,100
{\an1}During a heavy downpour,

1007
00:53:40,133 --> 00:53:43,433
{\an1}rain naturally flows down
the central channel,

1008
00:53:43,466 --> 00:53:45,966
perhaps to evoke
a mother's water breaking

1009
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:47,833
{\an1}just before childbirth.

1010
00:53:47,866 --> 00:53:52,900
{\an8}♪♪♪

1011
00:53:52,933 --> 00:53:55,000
{\an1}All this is an homage

1012
00:53:55,033 --> 00:53:57,733
to the beginnings
of the prehistoric world.

1013
00:53:57,766 --> 00:54:00,233
{\an8}♪♪♪

1014
00:54:00,266 --> 00:54:02,433
{\an1}Perhaps an origin myth,

1015
00:54:02,466 --> 00:54:05,633
{\an1}a woman birthing the earth
into existence.

1016
00:54:05,666 --> 00:54:13,666
{\an8}♪♪♪

1017
00:54:15,133 --> 00:54:17,300
The latest
archaeological discoveries,

1018
00:54:17,333 --> 00:54:19,600
combined with
cutting-edge science,

1019
00:54:19,633 --> 00:54:22,066
have provided
a new understanding

1020
00:54:22,100 --> 00:54:24,600
of the earliest
Homo sapiens women.

1021
00:54:24,633 --> 00:54:29,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

1022
00:54:29,533 --> 00:54:33,566
{\an1}She played many vital roles
in prehistoric society...

1023
00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:36,233
{\an1}strong, powerful hunter...

1024
00:54:36,266 --> 00:54:38,333
{\an1}medicinal healer...

1025
00:54:38,366 --> 00:54:40,633
{\an1}artisan and artist...

1026
00:54:40,666 --> 00:54:42,033
mother.

1027
00:54:42,066 --> 00:54:50,066
{\an8}♪♪♪

1028
00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:58,500
{\an8}♪♪♪

1029
00:54:58,933 --> 00:55:00,966
{\an8}All of her skills
and accomplishments

1030
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:06,266
{\an7}tell the story of a woman
respected and honored,

1031
00:55:06,300 --> 00:55:08,800
{\an7}responsible for the survival
of her community

1032
00:55:08,833 --> 00:55:11,500
{\an7}as much as any man.

1033
00:55:11,533 --> 00:55:16,766
{\an7}A tale of men and women
united in a common destiny...

1034
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:20,100
{\an7}of which we are the heirs today.

1035
00:55:20,133 --> 00:55:24,700
{\an8}♪♪♪