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NARRATOR: Deep
inside the labyrinth
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of a flooded cave system.
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ALBERTO: All of a sudden,
the floor just drops.
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NARRATOR: Divers come
across human remains.
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ALBERTO: You can see
these dark eye sockets
kinda looking back at us.
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NARRATOR: And the bones of
giant prehistoric creatures.
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DOMINIQUE: Saber-tooth cats,
bears, giant ground sloths.
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NARRATOR: Discoveries that
could revolutionize our
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understanding of how the first
humans came to the Americas.
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LOREN: They must have
come here another way.
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(theme music plays)
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ALBERTO (off-screen): We have
800 miles of underwater tunnels
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that have been mapped.
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We think there's another
half still to be discovered.
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NARRATOR: A team of divers is
exploring the world's largest
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underground flooded
cave system.
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
It's like a labyrinth
of tunnels everywhere,
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almost like a Swiss
cheese in the ground,
full with, with water.
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NARRATOR: Their aim,
to survey this lost world,
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sealed off from humanity
since the Ice Age.
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
The Yucatán is special,
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because all the cave
here were once dry.
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We know this because of
the stalagmites and the
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stalactites which only
form in a dry cave.
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About 12,000 years ago,
at the end of the Ice Age,
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the ice sheet melted and
the cave began to flood.
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NARRATOR: Now,
these flooded caves
pose grave risks
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to the divers.
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ALBERTO: Caves can
be very dangerous.
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
You have, you know,
going in an environment where,
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if you have a problem,
you cannot ascend.
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The tunnel that
you're traveling is,
is totally dark.
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Your lights now not
have a way to see.
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If you go in a small area,
you could get trapped
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inside the cave,
so there's a lot of risk.
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NARRATOR: The team's goal is
to map this complex network.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): When
we go into these tunnels,
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we do a very simple
map of the cave.
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Then we bring the camera,
and then what we do
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is we take a lot of images.
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NARRATOR: It's taken 150 hours
to map as far as this point,
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and now the divers stop.
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ALBERTO: All of a sudden
the floor just drops.
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
We have these really
powerful underwater lights,
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and all you can
see was darkness.
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So, like, the biggest, darkest
hole we've seen on the cave.
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NARRATOR: Using the divers'
own data and imagery,
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the scale of the
abyss becomes clear.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): If we
were to drain the water,
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we would see these
bell-shaped structure,
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maybe, like a football
field stadium kinda size.
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NARRATOR: They name the
vast cave "Hoyo Negro";
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"Black Hole."
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ALBERTO (off-screen): As
we descended into the pit,
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we were moving our lights,
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trying to figure out
what was down there.
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NARRATOR: Anything Alberto and
his team find here will come
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from pre-history,
when the abyss
was a dry cave.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): And then,
then we saw a bone.
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It was a really long,
tall bone.
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We moved around it, and
then we saw another bone.
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We started noticing
that there were,
there were remains
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all over the place on the floor.
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Whatever they were,
it has to have been
a really big animal.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): We
knew we had found something
really important here,
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so we mapped
everything in the cave,
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recorded the exact locations
of the bones and took photos,
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and then we sent all
our data to our
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colleagues in California.
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DOMINIQUE: Our goal is
to capture these places,
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these wild places,
using our
visualization systems.
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VID: Okay, I'm just gonna go
through the different views.
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So, we're now just kinda
reliving the dive paths.
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NARRATOR: In 2014,
Dominique Rissolo
and his team
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begin to process the divers'
mapping data and images.
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Their aim is to create a 3D
digital replica of Hoyo Negro,
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which they can
explore from dry land.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
The divers have tremendous
experience in doing
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different kinds of
documentation underwater,
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and we're able to take
all of those images, and,
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through computer
vision algorithms,
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translate them
into a 3D model.
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And it's really, essentially,
a, a point cloud,
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a cloud of points.
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VID (off-screen): So far
we have around 15 billion
reconstructed points.
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The exciting thing is
it grows every year,
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so every time they go diving,
take pictures,
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we run new reconstructions.
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We just add to the set.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen): The way
that we can create maybe a more
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photo-realistic 3D model is by
then texturing those points
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with the original photographs.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen): So,
these are high-resolution
images that can be essentially
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draped on to this
3D point cloud.
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Wow! So, here we are at
the bottom of Hoyo Negro.
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JOEL (off-screen): This
is one of the most
powerful virtual reality
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systems in the world.
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Being inside the SunCAVE
is similar to being on
the dive itself,
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with the exception that
you're able to be well lit.
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You're able to see everything
that you can't see.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
This is essentially an
interactive digital twin
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that enables us to come
here and do virtual dives,
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and sometimes even
find new animals.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
Finding new animals in
a virtual cave, right?
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So, exploring a real cave
by using a virtual one.
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The first big animal that the
divers came upon was right
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here at this gomphothere.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
It wasn't as if it was
just this proboscidean,
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this relative of the elephant.
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It's such an incredible
diversity of Ice Age fauna.
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Bears, saber-tooth cats,
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giant ground sloths.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
Just amazing!
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So, Joel, if you take us
sort of on to the wall
of the cave here,
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we can see this
saber-tooth cat emerge,
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smilodon fatalis.
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Clinging to the wall we see,
you know, another scapula,
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of course, the scapula over
here of the giant ground sloth,
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it's ribs.
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NARRATOR: By
examining the bones,
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Dominique's colleagues
identify at least 16
Ice Age species.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen): Whether
they were looking for water,
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or to build a den,
or even to hunt,
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these are massive animals
that were walking through
these passageways,
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coming to the edge of this,
this precipice and
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making their way to
the bottom of this pit.
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It's a really wonderful view
into what the planet was like
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at a time thousands
of years ago.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
As incredible as those
discoveries were,
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that wasn't the only thing
they found that day.
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♪ ♪
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
We were swimming at the
bottom of the site,
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looking at the animal remains,
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and then all of a
sudden my friend,
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Alex, just moved his
light and he pointed in
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a particular direction.
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NARRATOR: Within
touching distance,
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at the bottom of the vast,
flooded cave system,
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dive, Alberto Nava and his
team are about to make
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the discovery of a lifetime.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): We see
these just beautiful cranium,
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its just sitting,
sitting upside down.
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You can see these dark
eye sockets kinda,
kinda looking
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back at us.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
My, my, my blood ran cold.
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I mean, my, the
hairs stood on end.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): I
don't think I'll find
anything like that in my
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exploration life.
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This is probably the
best it's ever gonna get.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen): All
these things come to mind.
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Who was this person?
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You know, how did
they come to be here?
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When did they arrive at
the bottom of this pit?
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HELENA: Let's remember,
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we are a prestigious project
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and a great team.
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NARRATOR: To help
find the answers,
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the team consults experts
from around the world,
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led by Mexico's National
Institute of Anthropology
and History.
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DOMINIQUE: We have now
over 30 scientists
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and engineers involved.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
The paleontologists,
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the archaeologists
and anthropologists,
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who are all helping to put
together this puzzle.
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JAMES (over computer):
We have a fairly
consistent 3,000-year
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offset between.
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
As a project, we made the
decision to reach out
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to Jim Chatters, who
had the experience
and expertise we
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really needed to understand
the significance of the site
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of Hoyo Negro and
everything it contained.
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JAMES: Well, you
just don't see this,
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this kind of preservation,
so it's just unbelievable
quality.
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NARRATOR: The first question
on the team's mind,
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"Who is this person at
the bottom of the cave?"
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DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
I shared photographs of
the discoveries,
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and his eyes lit up.
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I could see his hands
trembling a little bit.
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JAMES: And here's our human.
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The skeleton, is,
it's a diary of
someone's life, okay,
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and it's especially a
diary of their early years.
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This is a really
good picture here.
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JAMES (off-screen):
Here's the telling piece.
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I can see, first of all, that
a feature in the base of the
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skull called the "basilar
suture" was still open,
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and that tends to close
somewhere around the 20s.
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And it was not only
a full-size skull,
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but the, the third molars
had already erupted.
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JAMES (off-screen): So,
it's a fully formed tooth,
or nearly fully formed,
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which puts this more
than 15 years old.
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JAMES (off-screen): In looking
at this right away I'm thinking,
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16 to 19 years is the
most likely age of
this individual.
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JAMES (off-screen): To
determine the sex of a skull,
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you're looking at how
rugged it is, mainly.
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In this case, what I did was I
look at the mastoid processes,
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and that's the position on the
skull here where the large
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neck muscles attach,
and they tend to be
large in males
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and small in females.
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And in this case,
they were very small.
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JAMES (off-screen): I asked
Dominique if anyone had told
him what he had there,
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and he said,
"No, they hadn't."
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And I said,
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00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,240
"Well, what you've got
here is, is the bones
of a teenage girl,
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and a bunch of really
large megafauna."
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This is the first time
we have a human skull
in direct association
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with the skeleton of an extinct
animal in the Americas, period.
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That's really exciting.
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NARRATOR: Over
successive dives,
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00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,200
the team finds and scans
more bones belonging
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to the teenage girl.
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By 2013, they've documented
her near complete skeleton,
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and she has become more than
simply an archaeological find.
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DOMINIQUE: Here we
are in Hoyo Negro.
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JAMES: Yeah.
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00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:35,800
Wow!
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00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,240
I've always wanted
to dive this.
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JAMES (off-screen): This
is about the closest I'm
ever gonna come, I think.
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00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,200
She's spread over about
a 16 feet span here.
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00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:57,440
What I stressed with the
divers was that basically they
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00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,880
needed to remember the
personhood of these bones.
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ALBERTO (off-screen):
If you give it a name,
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you, you become more caring
about this skeleton,
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and it goes from a skeleton
to becoming a person.
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ALBERTO (off-screen): We had a
lot of candidates for names.
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We decided to call it "Naia."
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JAMES: Naiads were water
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00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,320
spirits in Greek mythology.
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00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,240
They were the, the female
spirits that watched over
small bodies
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of water, so it seemed a
very fitting name for her.
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NARRATOR: Naia's
remains are found close
to Ice Age mammals,
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00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,880
but that isn't enough to
prove that Naia herself
231
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,320
is prehistoric.
232
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,400
JAMES: Our goal with Naia was
to collect a specimen from the
233
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,560
skeleton to use for
radiocarbon dating.
234
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,760
JAMES (off-screen): We chose
to do one third molar,
235
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,840
because third molars are
often very simply rooted and
236
00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:05,720
therefore easy to take
out of a skeleton.
237
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,000
DOMINIQUE: There are a
number of problems inherent
in, in carbon dating,
238
00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,120
and those can
include contamination.
239
00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,160
DOMINIQUE (off-screen): It
was not a foregone conclusion
that we were going
240
00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,640
to get a viable
date from Naia.
241
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,680
JAMES (off-screen): We
ran dates independently
in two laboratories,
242
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,480
fully expecting
the dates to be completely
243
00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,080
different from each other, and
it came back within 15 years.
244
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,600
And between those,
those translate to
245
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:41,120
close to 12,900 years ago.
246
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,520
JAMES (off-screen): It was
pretty exciting to find out,
247
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,360
because only one other
skeleton at that time had
248
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,960
dated that old, and all that
there was of that individual
249
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,800
was one bone.
250
00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:55,280
Not even a complete bone.
251
00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,520
JAMES (off-screen) :The fact
that Naia's skeleton was so
complete makes her an
252
00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,480
incredibly rare find.
253
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,840
NARRATOR: And, as the oldest
near complete skeleton ever
254
00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,240
found in the Americas,
Naia could provide answers
255
00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:13,360
about early humans living here,
but to protect her remains,
256
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,320
the team must first
remove her from the cave.
257
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,080
ALBERTO: So, it's been,
you know, six, seven
years of adventure,
258
00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,520
and although we
didn't really
259
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,400
wanna take any human remains,
we have to do it to protect it,
260
00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,360
and that's kind of
what the day is all about,
261
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,360
protecting Naia
and her remains.
262
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,880
NARRATOR: The operation
to recover Naia's fragile
263
00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,480
skeleton begins
with her skull.
264
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,120
It is fraught with risk.
265
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:51,640
JAMES: Well, we're doing
a pre-dive practice,
266
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,120
or the, the procedures drill.
267
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,200
NARRATOR: Jim rehearses the
recovery with a replica skull.
268
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,280
JAMES: My endeavor was
designing how Naia's bones
269
00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,240
were gonna be safely removed.
270
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,720
JAMES (off-screen): Your
strongest part is here.
271
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:08,960
SUSAN (off-screen): Mm-hmm.
272
00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:10,720
JAMES: Your weakest
points are here and here,
273
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,320
so we must protect them.
274
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,280
JAMES (off-screen):
This was a big deal.
275
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:18,160
I mean, imagine, I'm the one
responsible for making sure
276
00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,760
that thing doesn't get
destroyed in the
collection process,
277
00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,320
so I was just a little
on the nervous side.
278
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,840
And just gently, chin first.
279
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:29,400
SUSAN (off-screen): Okay.
280
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:30,880
JAMES (off-screen): And release.
281
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,600
The reason Susan was the one
to handle the bones had in
282
00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,520
part to do with the fact that
she had very steady hands,
283
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:44,800
but she also felt a
linkage to the young woman
who was in the cave.
284
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,600
SUSAN: And I just feel very
connected with her spirit.
285
00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:53,360
I feel like she's been there
a long time and is ready
286
00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:54,760
to go home.
287
00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,280
ALBERTO: There was one chance
and we had to get it right.
288
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:17,960
ALBERTO (off-screen): The moment
Susan picked up the skull,
289
00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,600
everybody's breathing stopped.
290
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:35,240
JAMES (off-screen):
That was a really tense
three hours of waiting,
291
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,240
waiting to see if what would
be in the box when it came up?
292
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,520
Was it a complete skull or a
whole pile of bone fragments?
293
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:50,440
Here they come!
294
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,160
My, oh, my.
295
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,440
JAMES (off-screen):
Okay, Susan's on the
left, Beto's on the right.
296
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,840
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
She comes to the surface,
and you know that,
297
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,760
as an archaeologist,
you're never gonna
have another
298
00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:08,960
experience like this.
299
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,520
I mean, this is it.
300
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,040
Okay, go ahead.
Okay, she's fine in there.
301
00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:22,360
Nice!
302
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,880
JAMES (off-screen): I
remember getting down and
peeking in the end and seeing
303
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,920
a whole skull there,
and tremendous elation
304
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,640
that came from that.
305
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:32,920
Welcome, Naia!
306
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:34,720
We got her out and
we got her out whole.
307
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:36,880
ALBERTO: Jim Chatters,
it's good to meet you.
308
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:38,880
JAMES: Gracias! Gracias!
Good job, man.
309
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,840
JAMES (off-screen): I've been
at this for 60-plus years,
310
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,040
and that was the top
moment in all that time.
311
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,360
SUSAN: Hey!
312
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,000
JAMES (off-screen): We cried.
313
00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,240
NARRATOR: Naia's remains give
the team an unprecedented
314
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,920
opportunity to learn about
America's early humans.
315
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,400
A key question is whether
Naia is a direct ancestor to
316
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,360
modern Native Americans?
317
00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:17,320
In a replica of her skeleton,
Jim looks for clues.
318
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,440
JAMES (off-screen): The
characteristics that
jumped out at me was the
319
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,040
very distinct angularity
to the back of her skull,
320
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,920
and the tendency for her
face to project forward.
321
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,440
NARRATOR: These are not
common features of modern
322
00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:33,320
Native Americans.
323
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,840
JAMES: The contrast with more
recent Native American skulls
324
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,640
represented by
these casts here.
325
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:38,920
Here's a female.
326
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,480
You can see a much
more rounded skull.
327
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,200
The face, in a
similar position,
328
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,240
is much more
straight up and down.
329
00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:50,240
NARRATOR: When the team
turns to facial
reconstruction technology,
330
00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:52,360
the mystery deepens.
331
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,240
JAMES: What we got, we went
from the printed skull here,
332
00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,880
and then this is
how she turned out.
333
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,400
DOMINIQUE: Wow!
334
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,240
JAMES (off-screen): I didn't
expect her to look like she did.
335
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:15,320
She almost looks like a
South African busman from
the Kalahari Desert,
336
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,320
or someone outta
South East Asia.
337
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,880
Her eyes are wider set,
her nose is broader,
338
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:27,840
so those are all things
that were different
from what I'm used to.
339
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:30,560
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
There's a mystery then,
340
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:35,520
if she appears to be so
different from the ancestors
341
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,040
of modern Native Americans,
where did she come from?
342
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:46,040
NARRATOR: To find out,
the team tests Naia's DNA.
343
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,040
JAMES: When I got
the result back,
344
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:53,520
I was very happy
that we got a result,
345
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,920
but as happy as I was
to get the result,
346
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,720
it was not the
result I expected.
347
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:04,000
JAMES (off-screen): What it
showed was that although
Naia's skull seemed
348
00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:05,960
different from modern
Native Americans,
349
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,280
they still shared a
genetic background.
350
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,680
They shared the same heritage.
351
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,520
NARRATOR: So, Naia is
an ancestor of modern
352
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,600
Native Americans.
353
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,640
Now, the age of her skeleton,
dated to the very end of the
Ice Age,
354
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:25,280
propels her into the center
of one of the hottest
355
00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:27,920
controversies in science.
356
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,800
How did she and her people get
to the American continent?
357
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,560
JAMES: So, part of the
question about Naia was can
358
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,760
she help contribute to an
answer to that question?
359
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,800
(waves crashing)
360
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,840
NARRATOR: For decades,
experts agreed on how
the first humans
361
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,560
migrated to the Americas.
362
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,640
DELGADO: In school,
studying archaeology,
363
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,800
I heard a great deal about
the Bering Land Bridge.
364
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,280
DELGADO (off-screen):
During the last Ice Age,
huge ice sheets blocked
365
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,360
the land route from
Siberia to Alaska,
366
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,880
but when the ice thaws
around 13,000 years ago,
367
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,000
which is when Naia is
living in the Yucatán,
368
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:34,360
it becomes possible for humans
to walk into America,
369
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,280
and a group previously
known as the
370
00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:39,160
"Clovis people" do just that.
371
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,680
LOREN (off-screen): The
Clovis First model is
that people came into the
372
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,160
Americas by way of migrating
through an ice-free corridor,
373
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,680
exiting south of the ice,
hunting megafauna like
374
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:56,480
mammoths and bison,
using a very specific kind
375
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,600
of technology known as
a "Clovis spear point."
376
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,160
DELGADO (off-screen): That
view that this Clovis
group were the people
377
00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,240
that had come across
the Bering Straits,
378
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:08,840
and were the ancestors of modern
379
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:14,080
Native Americans became
so fixed in
archaeological orthodoxy,
380
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,760
that to suggest
an earlier date and other
381
00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,600
migrations was
scientific heresy.
382
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,360
NARRATOR: The question is,
do Naia's people travel
383
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,160
to the Yucatán through the
opening ice-free corridor,
384
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:32,680
or some other way?
385
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,520
LOREN (off-screen): The
problem with explaining
everything as an
386
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,520
interior migration, that's
just not an explanation that
387
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,680
accounts for the facts,
and the facts are that
people are south
388
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,960
of the ice before this
ice-free corridor opens.
389
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,600
The earliest sites,
for example,
390
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,040
are actually in South America.
391
00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:58,560
So, there's one in Peru
called "Huaca Prieta,"
392
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,440
and there's another one in
Chile known as "Monte Verde."
393
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:07,280
Stone tools, bones and
charcoal from these sites show
394
00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:09,320
that humans were in the
Americas at least
395
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,480
14 and a half
thousand years ago,
396
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,320
more than 1,000 years
before the ice melts.
397
00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:20,480
NARRATOR: So, if ice is
blocking the land route,
398
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,880
how do these earliest
Americans arrive?
399
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:25,680
LOREN (off-screen): They must
have come here another way,
400
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,880
so that's why we're interested
in looking on the coast,
401
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,120
cause that is the easiest
explanation to explain how we
402
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,440
can get people south of the
ice before this ice-free
403
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:36,800
corridor opens up.
404
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:43,600
NARRATOR: In 1997,
scientists begin to
uncover evidence of
405
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,920
very early human habitation in
this remote valley in Idaho.
406
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,680
LOREN (off-screen): As
people were migrating
south along the coast,
407
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,200
they would have had ice
to their left and the
ocean to their right,
408
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,520
and they would have encountered
the Columbia River eventually.
409
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:00,760
They may have decided to just
simply take a left-hand turn
410
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,880
south of the ice, and
penetrate into North America
411
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,320
at that point,
and if they kept
going upriver,
412
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,560
they would have made their
way here, to Cooper's Ferry.
413
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,760
NARRATOR: Loren and his
students search for stone
414
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,320
tools that migrating humans
may have left behind.
415
00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:21,520
LOREN (off-screen): Well,
if this site was old enough,
416
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,080
we might actually find
evidence of Clovis peoples,
417
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:28,840
but, sorta to my surprise,
we didn't see that at all.
418
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,240
LOREN (off-screen):
Do you see this thing?
419
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,280
What we did find instead
were these other kind of
spear points,
420
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,440
and these are known
as "stemmed points."
421
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:44,160
Stemmed points look very
different than Clovis points.
422
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,520
LOREN (off-screen): They have
a little, small rectangular
tab at the bottom.
423
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,600
That just made it very clear
that we have some other kind
424
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,800
of cultural pattern that's
present at the site,
425
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,240
at the same time people were
making Clovis artifacts
426
00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,400
somewhere else.
427
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,960
When we first found these, I
really didn't have any idea
428
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,720
how old they were,
so that was a big question.
429
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,960
Radiocarbon dating showed us
that points like these are
430
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,200
13,000 years old.
431
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,200
LOREN (off-screen): Some of them
were older, 14,000, 14,500.
432
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,480
And it just blew our minds
that this technology could
433
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,000
actually be as old as Clovis,
and then even earlier.
434
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:29,320
NARRATOR: Some
challenged this,
435
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:30,680
but if those dates are
correct,
436
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,720
that's 1,000 years before
the ice-free corridor,
437
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,640
and at least 2,000
before Naia's time.
438
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,920
How might these
people arrive?
439
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,200
Are the stemmed
points a clue?
440
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:42,880
LOREN: The only other place
that we find artifacts that
441
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:45,880
look like this during the end
of the last Ice Age are in the
442
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,640
northern part of Japan,
on the island of Hokkaido.
443
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,920
NARRATOR: Loren believes
this shows how early people
444
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,200
traveled into the Americas
from the Far East,
445
00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:00,160
via the Ice Age
coastline and rivers.
446
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,480
LOREN (off-screen): If
we imagine that people
might have been able to
447
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,920
come along the coastline,
along the Northern Pacific,
448
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,680
into the Americas,
we don't really need
to look much farther
449
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,920
than Japan,
the Russian Far East,
450
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,440
and they show us that there's
a population already in place.
451
00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,960
They are on the doorstep,
waiting to migrate their way
452
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:21,840
into the Americas.
453
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,680
DELGADO (off-screen): It
didn't mean that you'd have
454
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:25,920
to sail all the way
455
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,880
across the Pacific or
across the Atlantic.
456
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:33,480
You just island-hopped
from bay to bay,
making your way,
457
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,160
sometimes over a generation.
458
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,280
LOREN (off-screen): As new
sites are being discovered
that show us that
459
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,400
people are south of the
ice before an ice-free
corridor opens,
460
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,200
that requires us to
really rethink things.
461
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,440
NARRATOR: To truly
understand human migration,
462
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:54,880
Loren needs to explore
the Ice Age coastline.
463
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:59,760
The problem is, it's now more
than 400 feet underwater.
464
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:01,640
LOREN: How can we find the
evidence out there where it
465
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:03,240
likely exists?
466
00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:04,960
And that takes us offshore,
467
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,240
and we need to look
beneath the waves.
468
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,160
LOREN: It's important to
understand the coast from an
archaeological perspective,
469
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:19,520
because it could be the place
470
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,320
that holds evidence for
the earliest peoples to
471
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:23,560
come into the Americas.
472
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:28,560
NARRATOR: Loren Davis is
searching for evidence that
473
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:32,880
early settlers use a coastal
route into the Americas,
474
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,280
but he's not looking
at today's coastline
475
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:38,560
for a very good reason.
476
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,440
LOREN (off-screen):
During the Ice Age, the
coast of the continent
477
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,520
looked very different
to how it does now.
478
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:51,000
When the ice melted,
all that trapped water
raised sea levels
479
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,280
by over 400 feet,
so any evidence of
early peoples
480
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,720
living on the coast are
now deep underwater.
481
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:02,320
NARRATOR: And that means
searching below the waves,
482
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,960
30 miles out to sea.
483
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,320
LOREN (off-screen):
Getting on this ship was a
real breakthrough for us,
484
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,840
cause it allowed us to
then go out and then ground
485
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:15,880
truth our theoretical ideas.
486
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,520
WOMAN (over radio):
We are off the north
east of Heceta Bank,
487
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,240
which is off the
central coast of Oregon.
488
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,240
LOREN: We went out to the very
edge of the ancient coastline,
489
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,440
so these are areas that
are about 130 meters
490
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,480
below modern sea level.
491
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:33,920
LOREN (over radio): Oh, man!
492
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,400
We went off a cliff!
493
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,080
NARRATOR: Loren one day
hopes to find evidence of
494
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,080
prehistoric human settlements
on this ancient coastline.
495
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:50,000
The first step is to build an
accurate picture of the hidden
496
00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:53,800
Ice Age landscape
below the waves.
497
00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,120
LOREN (off-screen): As sea
level comes up, it brings
a lotta sediment with it,
498
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:02,040
and it will bury the
ancient landscape that
was once there,
499
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,560
so this obscures our view.
500
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,480
We really need a
technique that allows us
to see into the sea floor,
501
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,280
and one of the tools that
we use is called a
"sub-bottom profiler,"
502
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,200
and what this does
is it sends a
503
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,920
sound pulse into the sea floor,
and it will reflect back an
504
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,000
acoustic signal that it
then turns into sort
505
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:23,480
of a depth map.
506
00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:29,800
MAN (off-screen): Could
we track a line bearing
317 at Point Four?
507
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,880
NARRATOR: Merging the deep sea
scans with data from computer
508
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,080
models reveals a world
not seen for millennia,
509
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:43,960
the shoreline of
Ice Age America.
510
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:49,520
LOREN: Is we were to
lower the ocean down to
about 13,000 years ago,
511
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:50,840
the position
where it was then,
512
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:53,000
we would see a really
different coastline.
513
00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,240
LOREN (off-screen): We would be
able to see river valleys,
514
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:01,200
we would see embayment's,
515
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,280
we would see a low
mountain range.
516
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,800
It would be a broad coastal
plain that looks really
517
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:09,520
different than the rugged,
mountainous coastline of
518
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:11,800
today's central coast.
519
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:18,880
DELGADO (off-screen): That's
a landscape with estuaries
full of marine life,
520
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,680
as well as sea
birds and animals.
521
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,840
And with that,
we would see
this lost world,
522
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:32,480
the Americas as they
were at the time of
523
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,040
initial human settlement.
524
00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,440
LOREN: This story of ancient
coastlines under lower sea
525
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,680
level associated with
the last Ice Age is not
just an Oregon story.
526
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,120
This is a story that
happens everywhere.
527
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:52,080
NARRATOR: Similar
investigations are
being conducted
528
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,040
all along the Pacific coast.
529
00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:58,600
LOREN (off-screen): As
you go farther south,
530
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,680
San Francisco would have been
an area that isn't on the
531
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,000
coast in the past,
that it's lowered sea
level would have
532
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,920
taken it much farther away
from its modern position,
533
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,920
so San Francisco would
have been really sort of
534
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,960
an inland valley.
535
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:25,120
NARRATOR: Having accurate
mapping of North America's
Ice Age coastline
536
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,600
now allows Loren to narrow
his search for signs
537
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:30,880
of early human habitation.
538
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,080
LOREN (off-screen): So, if I'm a
traditional hunter-gatherer or
539
00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:37,840
fisher person, you know,
I'm living on an ancient
coastline,
540
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,160
where are the hot spots?
541
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:43,160
Where are the places that
are gonna take care of
542
00:34:43,240 --> 00:34:44,720
me the best?
543
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,200
And the estuaries are really,
really important
544
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:48,920
places for people.
545
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,080
I mean, there's more calories
per square meter in an estuary
546
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:53,160
than almost any other
place on the coast.
547
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,160
NARRATOR: What really
happened remains unclear,
548
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,280
but Loren and others
continue to explore,
549
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,400
debate and seek new clues.
550
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:07,240
LOREN (off-screen): Archaeology
works by making discoveries.
551
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,440
In time, my bet is on that
these discoveries are going to
552
00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:14,680
be made up and down the
Pacific coast of the Americas.
553
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,840
JAMES: This is more
anatomical position here.
554
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,400
NARRATOR: When Naia dies,
13,000 years ago,
555
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:27,840
early humans are arriving
in North America via the
ice-free corridor,
556
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,360
and the place she is found
in the Yucatán is only a
557
00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:34,040
few miles from the
Ice Age coastline.
558
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,440
So, which route to
Naia's people take?
559
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:44,720
Jim hopes to find clues
in Naia's remains.
560
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,480
JAMES: Here we're looking
at a micro-CT scan.
561
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:51,960
You see one little
stress line right there.
562
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:53,400
See that little
line right along,
563
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:57,280
right near the junction
with the dentine?
564
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:01,360
NARRATOR: He's looking for
telltale signs of stress from
565
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,320
her lifestyle and environment.
566
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,320
JAMES: The other place we
look is in the long bones
567
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:08,600
and how they grow.
568
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,600
Here we're looking
at Naia's thigh bone,
569
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:14,920
which is the longest bone and
therefore the one that's gonna
570
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:16,800
give us the most detail.
571
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,200
JAMES (off-screen):
See these lines?
572
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,000
These are the places where
growth has been interrupted,
573
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,400
and then begun again.
574
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:31,560
One, two, three,
four, five, six.
575
00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,000
Two, three, four, five,
six years we can see,
576
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:40,000
and the spacing of those lines
in Naia suggest that she had a
577
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,520
protein deficiency during
one season of every year.
578
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:49,160
DOMINIQUE: And so she lived a
kind of feast and famine life.
579
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:56,880
JAMES (off-screen): Seeing
that Naia had protein
deficiency during some
580
00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:00,400
times of the year raises
the question of why was she
581
00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,800
protein deficient if she
lived so close to the sea?
582
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:08,760
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
There's fish, there are
crustaceans.
583
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,440
The sea is a plentiful place.
584
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:15,560
JAMES (off-screen): Nothing
we're seeing in the
evidence for her diet is
585
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:17,400
consistent with being
marine-adapted.
586
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,640
It is quite consistent with
being strictly terrestrial.
587
00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:24,840
Her people were not
adapted to the coast.
588
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,400
DOMINIQUE: Really what it
suggests is that she was among
589
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:33,280
these highly mobile
hunter-gatherers who were
590
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:36,160
heavily reliant on
a successful hunt,
591
00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:41,120
their ability to hunt and to
kill and to consume megafauna.
592
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:44,240
DOMINIQUE (off-screen): And
the fact that she appears
unable to fish or make use of
593
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,360
marine proteins,
that really doesn't
make sense if her
594
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,120
people had traveled
to the Americas
595
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:51,280
via a coastal highway.
596
00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:55,520
DELGADO: The most dangerous
thing in science is to be
597
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,400
disappointed when the evidence
doesn't support your theory,
598
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:01,400
so when Naia was found, given
her age, it was, like,
599
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:03,120
"Wow! She had to be
a coastal person."
600
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,160
Well, that doesn't
show up in her bones.
601
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:10,400
JAMES (off-screen): While
she doesn't disprove the
coastal migration theory,
602
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:12,440
she certainly
does not support it.
603
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:16,600
NARRATOR: But that doesn't
rule out others coming via the
604
00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:21,600
coastal route at least 2,000
years before her time.
605
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,760
DELGADO (off-screen): It's just
the most fascinating puzzle.
606
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:28,480
I think it's likely that there
were multiple migrations,
607
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:32,080
following different routes,
over thousands of years.
608
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,160
NARRATOR: As for Naia,
we are still finding out
609
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:39,000
more about her life and death.
610
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,000
JAMES (off-screen): The
hardest ones to work with
are the young people.
611
00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:44,040
You think about
a life not lived,
612
00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:47,920
but you also think about
the impact of the loss
of that individual
613
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,440
on their parents,
their siblings,
614
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:53,640
their, their young spouses.
615
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:56,400
NARRATOR: Now they want to
piece together the clues to
616
00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,440
understand what may have
happened to Naia in the
617
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,480
Yucatán cave system,
13,000 years ago.
618
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,680
JAMES (off-screen): When
we're working with
ancient human skeletons,
619
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:18,840
we're dealing with the
ultimate cold cases.
620
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,640
NARRATOR: Jim Chatters'
forensic examinations reveal
621
00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:27,640
an injury from which Naia
would not have recovered.
622
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,600
JAMES (off-screen):
We know from her pelvis,
623
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,000
she struck the front
of her pelvis here,
624
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,680
and it broke away the
pubic bones on both sides.
625
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,280
JAMES (off-screen):
These jagged, jagged
breaks that you see here
626
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:41,920
are green bone fractures.
627
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,720
They're the kinda breaks that
fresh bone gets, not old,
628
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:46,080
dead bone gets.
629
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:47,760
This was a serious accident.
630
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:49,520
It is not easy to
break your pelvis,
631
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,280
not to shatter it like that.
632
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:58,200
NARRATOR: To determine
would could have caused
Naia's fatal injury,
633
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:01,880
Dominique Rissolo and
Jim attempt to retrace her
634
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,880
footsteps in the 3D
replica of the cave.
635
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,520
DOMINIQUE: It's impossible
not to wonder why Naia
636
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:09,640
was in the cave.
637
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:14,600
JAMES (off-screen):
Hoyo Negro had a pool
of water in the bottom.
638
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,360
Was she there for water?
639
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,240
DOMINIQUE: This would
have been the route that
she would have walked.
640
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,080
JAMES: This is the most
likely way she came in.
641
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,440
The closest entrance is
about 2,000 feet behind us.
642
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:34,440
(Naia breathing heavily)
643
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:40,800
Imagine she is deep in the
cave and she's lost her way,
644
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,000
which would have been
easy in these caverns.
645
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,400
These tunnels,
they join and
they separate,
646
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,240
and join and separate,
and getting lost would be
647
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:51,480
a very easy thing to do.
648
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:56,880
You can turn to the left,
649
00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:59,720
and work your way
over some boulders.
650
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,360
DOMINIQUE: Was she being
pursued by another animal
651
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:05,640
inside the cave?
652
00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,120
JAMES (off-screen): She
knows there are large,
dangerous animals there.
653
00:41:16,240 --> 00:41:18,800
DOMINIQUE: So, kinda
climbing over these rocks
and close to the edge.
654
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:20,400
JAMES: Yeah.
655
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,600
DOMINIQUE: You know, maybe
trying to find a way around
656
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,480
the pit?
657
00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,720
JAMES (off-screen):
Otherwise we can't get her
over to where she fell.
658
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,200
Eventually her
light's gonna go out
659
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:32,840
and she's wandering in the dark.
660
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,280
(Naia breathing heavily)
661
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,160
JAMES (off-screen): And suddenly
she takes one final step,
662
00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:40,640
and the bottom falls away.
663
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:43,120
Whoa!
664
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:50,680
From the floor of that tunnel
to the surface of the water
665
00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:56,160
below was right about
100 feet, 30 meters.
666
00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:57,600
JAMES (off-screen): And if you
look straight down the rim here.
667
00:41:57,680 --> 00:41:58,880
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
Yeah, that's the rim, yeah.
668
00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:00,160
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
669
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:01,360
JAMES (off-screen):
She's right down there.
670
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,080
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
Oh my goodness!
671
00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:04,120
JAMES: So you fall.
Okay, now, Joel, just
swing straight down.
672
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,600
From where her body was,
it looks like she probably
went through the water
673
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:09,560
and smacked the
rocks down below it.
674
00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:13,200
JAMES (off-screen): I imagine
she was knocked unconscious
and didn't know a
675
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,000
thing after that.
676
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:19,520
NARRATOR: What happens
next sets in motion an
677
00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:21,880
extraordinary
series of events,
678
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:27,640
which preserved Naia's remains
for the next 13,000 years.
679
00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:31,080
DOMINIQUE (off-screen):
And what we see, of course,
680
00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:35,040
is global sea level rise,
and those rising sea levels
681
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,720
are pushing the fresh water that
lies under the Peninsula up.
682
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,080
And this chamber is flooding,
683
00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:44,000
and it's flooding
surprisingly fast.
684
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:48,280
Over a few thousand
years we see a, a dry cave,
685
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,640
to a completely flooded one.
686
00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:54,160
It's a really rapid and
incredible transformation.
687
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,800
JAMES (off-screen):
That sealed the cave off,
688
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:02,680
and it became absolutely
isolated from the
689
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:03,920
rest of the world.
690
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:10,120
JAMES (off-screen): It
wasn't until cave divers,
just exploring for the sheer
691
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:14,200
joy of it,
happened upon this
huge black hole.
692
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:21,120
NARRATOR: For Dominique
and the team of
scientists studying her,
693
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,360
Naia's story is
not yet complete.
694
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:29,200
JAMES (off-screen): She
comes to us forward in
time as a messenger,
695
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:33,640
and tells us of the life of
people lost so long ago.
696
00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,160
DOMINIQUE (off-screen): We know
very little about her culture.
697
00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:41,440
We certainly don't know
what language she spoke.
698
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:45,000
We don't have stone tools,
we don't have artifacts.
699
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:47,680
DOMINIQUE (off-screen): Those
have yet to be discovered.
700
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,320
LOREN (off-screen): One
of these days I hope
that we actually find
701
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,520
artifacts that are a
very clear human origin.
702
00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:58,880
I hope that we find
information about the foods
703
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:00,440
that they're eating.
704
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:02,520
We may even get as lucky as to
find something that reflects
705
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,920
the personal life of somebody.
706
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,440
LOREN (off-screen): To me,
it's only a matter of time.
707
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:08,680
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.