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-= www.OpenSubtitles.org =-
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You might think this orang-utan
is washing socks
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as some kind of circus trick
for which she's been specially trained.
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But not so. She is doing this
entirely on her own initiative.
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She has seen others doing it and she's copying.
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That ability to imitate as well as to use tools
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is something which started among monkeys
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but has been brought to a much
greater level among the apes.
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Those two talents were ultimately to lead
to the transformation of the world.
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Camp Leakey in Borneo is home
to a special group of orangs
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who have been rescued from captivity
and returned to the wild.
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Because they've lived partly
in our world as well as theirs,
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they can give us an insight
into what we have in common.
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This old lady loves DIY.
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So does her son, who was born in the wild.
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Even her infant is interested.
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It's very striking when you sit
as close to an orang-utan as this
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to see how similar they are to human beings.
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We are both, of course, great apes.
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But look how human her hand is,
the skill with which she picks things up,
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the way that she can grasp a tool like that.
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The way she uses her brain to imitate
what she's seen others doing,
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and oddly enough, the fact
that she is clearly left-handed.
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Great apes share with human beings
a predilection to use
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either the right hand or the left hand,
and she's left-handed.
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But the most important thing
we share is our big brain.
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It's that that has produced
so many of the talents and abilities
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that we have in common.
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All apes have a love of one kind of food - fruit.
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But collecting fruit in these
south-east Asian forests has its problems.
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(DEEP GROWL)
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There are powerful predators on the ground,
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so orangs seldom come down from the trees.
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They're by far the heaviest animal
to live up in the branches,
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but they've worked out an ingenious way
of exploiting their weight.
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They pole-vault.
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Even so, getting around can be quite tiring,
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and as fruiting trees are few
and widely scattered,
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orangs need to take
the most direct path between them.
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But they seldom take wrong turns.
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It seems they have a map
of the forest in their minds.
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They must also have a mental calendar,
for they miraculously appear in a tree
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at exactly the time its fruit is ready for picking.
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It requires a lot of skill
to travel around in this way,
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and youngsters take many years
to match their parents' expertise
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in route-finding and aerial gymnastics.
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Mothers keep a close eye on their young,
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ready when needed to provide
a helping hand, or an arm, or a leg.
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It takes up to thirteen years for a youngster
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to match its mother's knowledge of the forest.
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This may be why young orangs
spend longer with their mothers
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than any other ape does, except humans.
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But eventually, this close tie has to be broken.
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Orang-utan, as adults, are famed as loners.
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But this doesn't mean
that they're necessarily anti-social.
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Back at Camp Leaky...it's feeding time.
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There's a lot of food, and here
a number of orang-utan assemble
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and show that at heart
they're really quite sociable animals.
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Scenes like these suggest
that it's only the scarcity of food
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that compels these apes to live apart.
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A group as big as this would starve
if they tried to live together in the wild.
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But just occasionally, the forest
creates its own food bonanza.
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Every four or five years,
many fruit trees ripen simultaneously,
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producing a brief glut of food
which attracts orangs from miles around.
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Now they show just how sociable
they can be, 20 of them in just one tree.
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The fruit will soon be finished,
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so friends have to make the most
of their time together.
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But some individuals do cause trouble.
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The highly-sexed male clambering
eagerly up the tree is not after fruit.
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He drives off a female's chosen partner
and tries to force himself on her.
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(SCREECHING)
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A bellowing call announces the arrival
of the most powerful orang in the whole forest.
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He hasn't visited this area for many years.
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The others recognise him instantly.
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The mere threat of his presence
sends the smaller male into retreat.
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(BELLOWS)
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He takes up his dominant position in the group
and the rest settle down again.
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In the same way
that we can take up relationships...
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(HE CHUCKLES)
...sometimes after years of separation,
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so orang-utans can slot back quickly
into their own social circle.
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That requires a brain that is able
to keep track of different individuals
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over long periods of time and distances.
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There is one place where interactions
happen between orang-utans
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more frequently than anywhere else,
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and that has produced some extraordinary
examples of their intelligence.
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The swamp forests of northern Sumatra.
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This is a paradise for orang-utan.
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It floods regularly, and the waters
bring in a rich supply of nutrients,
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so there's a great deal of food to be had.
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Here orangs can travel and feed
together in groups throughout the year.
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They eat insects as well as fruit.
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Termites are a particular favourite.
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Collecting them from a rotten trunk
doesn't need much ingenuity.
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Extracting something from a hole
in a living tree is a different matter,
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even for a powerful male like this one.
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But the orangs here have solved
such problems - they make tools.
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First they select a twig.
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Next they trim it to length.
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Then they whittle it into shape...
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..and carefully insert it into the tree
to reach what they want from inside.
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This ingenious male is probing into a bees' nest
with a double-ended instrument
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which enables him to lick honey from one end
while collecting more with the other.
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Younger members of the group watch and learn.
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So a tradition grows that will
be passed on to new generations.
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If there's an abundance of food,
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orang-utan can live in high densities
and so form a community.
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And within a community,
if one individual gets a bright idea,
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others will copy it and so form a culture.
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To see an ape culture that's even more complex,
we have to go to another continent.
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This is Africa, a mangrove-covered
island near the mouth of the Congo.
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It's home to a remarkable
and very revealing community
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of a different great ape, chimpanzees.
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(SCREECHING)
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These chimps are orphans.
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Their parents were killed
for the bush-meat trade,
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and many were pets kept
in very unsuitable conditions.
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Now they're part of an unique experiment
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in which they're taught the skills they'll need
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in order that they may survive
by themselves in the wild.
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(SCREECHING AND CALLING)
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Several of them, as youngsters, acquired
a number of skills by watching humans.
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Some know how to crack nuts.
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But it takes a chimp
a number of years to work out
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how to place the nut in a socket
and then how to wield a hammer.
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This chimp, Balinga, is an expert.
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His companion, Flo, watches attentively.
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Puck is really struggling.
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He only started watching nuts
being cracked when he was six.
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That's two years too late
for a chimp to learn new skills.
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You really can't teach an old ape new tricks.
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What about this? Do you want one of these?
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Mind your fingers!
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Of course, there are many
different ways of cracking a nut.
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And, come to that, there are
many different kinds of nuts.
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So different groups of chimps have developed
different ways of dealing with the problem.
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That is the beginning of a culture,
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and a culture has many things in it,
apart from cracking nuts.
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These rainforests lie 1,000 miles away
east of the Congo, in Uganda.
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There are chimps here, too,
but they have a very different culture
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and they have never been filmed before.
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Their communities are the biggest known
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and contain by far the most
adult males known anywhere.
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As elsewhere, their cultural traditions
extend to details of social etiquette.
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Here they practice a style of grooming
known as the grooming hand-clasp.
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Most of the time, life is peaceful.
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But the males, although they live
alongside one another, are rivals,
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and occasionally tempers flare.
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(AGGRESSIVE SCREECHING)
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These displays are ways by which
males establish their dominance
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without physically wounding others
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who would be needed as comrades-in-arms
were the group to be attacked.
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After a quarrel, they embrace one another
to re-establish their bonds of friendship.
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But sometimes rivalries become more serious.
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Suddenly, a gang of males
will pick on an individual
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and attack him with frightening violence.
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A young male called Grapelli
is being ferociously beaten
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by an unusually large gang of adult males.
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(DIN OF SCREECHING)
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Battles between rival groups
from neighbouring communities
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have occasionally been seen elsewhere in Africa,
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but attacks like this on a single male
within the group are very rare indeed.
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This is the last that was seen of Grapelli.
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He was very seriously wounded
and it is almost certain that he died.
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His body has not yet been found.
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What is happening at Ngogo
that causes these savage attacks?
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One theory is that young males
find it particularly hard
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to establish a place within such
a large group of powerful adult males,
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whose lives are regulated by social
relationships we have yet to understand.
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Even these apparently simple acts of grooming
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can have great social significance.
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Grooming, of course, is important for health.
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It's a service that males often perform
for their relatives,
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as these two brothers are doing.
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It's also a way of creating and maintaining
good social relationships
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between allies and males
in the same peer group.
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This young male, Pork Pie,
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seems to be more successful socially
than Grapelli was.
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But these males have other things
than grooming on their mind.
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Their attention has turned
to the tree tops. It's time to hunt.
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A large group of like-minded
males are assembling.
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One of them drums, a signal telling others
nearby that the hunt is about to start.
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Chimps elsewhere hunt
when they see a good opportunity,
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but here in Ngogo, hunts often start
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whether or not suitable prey has been spotted.
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The males set off through the forest.
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They travel for up to four hours
at a time, searching for likely victims.
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Pork Pie tags along.
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He's not yet an accepted member
of the hunting group.
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This is what they're looking for,
a troop of red colobus monkeys.
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The hunters take up their positions
in the surrounding trees,
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ready to pounce on any monkeys
that try to escape.
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They're closing in on the most vulnerable,
a female with her young.
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(WILD SCREECHING FROM BOTH SIDES)
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The colobus males do their best to fight back,
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but the chimps are much bigger and stronger.
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Some of the infants have been
separated from their mothers.
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They're now easy prey.
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(DIN OF SCREECHING AND SQUEALING)
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But it's not over yet. The male colobus
fight to defend their families.
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But they couldn't save this infant.
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The hunters crowd round the kill.
The rest of the group join them.
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The males are the first to eat.
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They supplement the flesh with a few leaves,
just as humans take vegetables with their meat.
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Some of the male hunters now share their kill
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with other members of the group,
including the females.
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Do they get anything in exchange?
Sex, for example?
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This male is certainly mating
with one of the females.
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But then he allows a different female
to take some of his meat.
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Perhaps the meat is given
to those who beg the hardest.
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Pork Pie is certainly trying his luck
with one hunter after another.
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Time after time he's spurned.
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Eventually his persistence pays off.
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But the Ngogo chimps have another
possible motive for meat-sharing.
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Males give meat more frequently
to their allies than to others.
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It seems they're using meat
as a way of strengthening such bonds.
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The hope of collecting a share of meat
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may well be a reason for others
joining in the hunt in the first place.
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Chimpanzees have much
in common with humans.
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They are, after all, thought to be
our closest living relatives.
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They're clever, social, political creatures,
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and apparently they even dream.
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Way back in prehistory,
the dreams and ambitions of the ape
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whose descendants would
eventually take over the planet
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must have taken a very different direction.
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More discoveries about that creature have been
made here at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania,
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than anywhere else in the world.
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Perhaps here we can find clues as to why
our ancestors took such a different path.
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Three and a half million years ago,
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the volcano behind me was belching out ash
which covered the entire landscape,
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and it was in that ash that the most
evocative discovery of all was made.
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These are the fossilised tracks
of ancient rhino and antelope,
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here at Laetoli in Tanzania.
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Among them are the footprints
of an ape, a very remarkable ape.
234
00:23:39,847 --> 00:23:43,840
Scientists maintain that they
can deduce from the shape of bones
235
00:23:44,007 --> 00:23:47,761
the posture of the living animal,
but there will always be arguments.
236
00:23:47,927 --> 00:23:52,762
Here, however, is proof positive
that three and a half million years ago
237
00:23:52,927 --> 00:23:56,966
mankind's ancestors were walking
on two feet, upright.
238
00:23:57,127 --> 00:24:01,917
Here's the dent made by the heel
as it hit the ground, the raised instep,
239
00:24:02,087 --> 00:24:05,966
and the big toe, instead of
pointing outwards from the foot
240
00:24:06,127 --> 00:24:12,077
as is needed to climb trees, is aligned
forward to give the final push-off.
241
00:24:12,487 --> 00:24:15,763
But the exciting thing about Laetoli
242
00:24:15,927 --> 00:24:21,081
is that there is a whole track way
of prints and they have fossilised behaviour
243
00:24:21,247 --> 00:24:26,241
and revealed family life in a way
that is almost disturbingly familiar.
244
00:24:29,607 --> 00:24:32,883
Two individuals,
one slightly larger than the other,
245
00:24:33,047 --> 00:24:34,605
perhaps male and female,
246
00:24:34,767 --> 00:24:38,555
appear to have been walking beside
one another, maybe even arm in arm.
247
00:24:38,727 --> 00:24:42,766
The male's footprints are scuffed
by a smaller set of prints,
248
00:24:42,927 --> 00:24:47,045
perhaps made by a child walking
through the newly-fallen volcanic ash
249
00:24:47,207 --> 00:24:49,926
and treading in the steps of its father.
250
00:24:51,607 --> 00:24:55,316
The big question is why did they stand upright?
251
00:24:55,487 --> 00:24:57,557
There have been a number of suggestions.
252
00:24:57,727 --> 00:25:00,719
One is that it was to get
a better view of the surroundings,
253
00:25:00,887 --> 00:25:02,878
to spot for danger or for prey.
254
00:25:03,047 --> 00:25:06,517
Maybe it was to release the hands to use tools,
255
00:25:06,687 --> 00:25:09,076
or pick up food or hold a baby.
256
00:25:09,247 --> 00:25:13,035
And there's a third,
rather more controversial suggestion.
257
00:25:13,567 --> 00:25:19,403
Six million years ago, the climate
of the earth became very erratic.
258
00:25:23,607 --> 00:25:26,405
The great African forests began to die back.
259
00:25:26,727 --> 00:25:30,720
The blanket of trees became broken
by patches of scrub and grassland.
260
00:25:30,887 --> 00:25:34,197
There's some evidence too that
slow movements in the earth's crust
261
00:25:34,367 --> 00:25:37,120
caused areas of East Africa to flood.
262
00:25:37,287 --> 00:25:40,165
A new habitat had appeared for the apes.
263
00:25:40,807 --> 00:25:43,605
Using their long chimp-like arms,
264
00:25:43,767 --> 00:25:47,760
these early creatures were still climbing trees
in order to find their food.
265
00:25:47,927 --> 00:25:49,918
But as the forests diminished,
266
00:25:50,087 --> 00:25:52,965
so they had to travel farther
from one tree to the next,
267
00:25:53,127 --> 00:25:58,565
and that involved crossing open spaces
covered with grass or even water.
268
00:25:58,727 --> 00:26:03,278
To do that, they travelled
upright on two feet, as I am doing.
269
00:26:55,527 --> 00:27:01,363
Suddenly, an image from our remote past
comes vividly to light -
270
00:27:01,527 --> 00:27:05,884
the time when our distant ancestors, in order
to keep up with the changing environment,
271
00:27:06,047 --> 00:27:11,519
had to wade and keep their heads
above water in order to find food;
272
00:27:11,687 --> 00:27:15,885
that crucial moment
when our far distant ancestors
273
00:27:16,047 --> 00:27:21,246
took a step away from being apes
and a step towards humanity.
274
00:27:25,447 --> 00:27:29,076
Apes are primarily adapted
for a life in the trees,
275
00:27:29,247 --> 00:27:32,205
which is why they waddle
if they try to walk upright.
276
00:27:32,367 --> 00:27:36,360
It's tiring for them to stand on two feet
for any length of time.
277
00:27:37,087 --> 00:27:39,840
But when they wade,
the water supports their bodies
278
00:27:40,007 --> 00:27:42,475
and takes some of the strain
off their leg muscles,
279
00:27:42,647 --> 00:27:45,559
so that they can stay upright for much longer.
280
00:27:56,807 --> 00:28:01,244
Maybe a life at the water's edge
encouraged anatomical change.
281
00:28:01,407 --> 00:28:05,719
At about this time, the hip bones
of these early ape-men altered
282
00:28:05,887 --> 00:28:09,436
and our ancestors adopted
an upright existence.
283
00:28:15,207 --> 00:28:19,405
There are places in the forest
of the Congo which can give us a clue
284
00:28:19,567 --> 00:28:23,719
as to the sort of thing that ape-men
might have found to eat in the swamps.
285
00:28:26,687 --> 00:28:29,838
These are lowland gorillas.
286
00:28:37,807 --> 00:28:40,685
They're collecting marsh plants.
287
00:28:42,007 --> 00:28:46,717
Our ancestors might have come
to such places to feed in a similar way.
288
00:28:48,167 --> 00:28:52,206
We know from other evidence
that nutritious roots and tubers
289
00:28:52,367 --> 00:28:55,120
were indeed eaten by early humans.
290
00:28:59,887 --> 00:29:04,563
There was another kind of food
that our ancestors might have found here.
291
00:29:04,727 --> 00:29:09,243
Gorillas today are exclusively vegetarian,
but our ancestors,
292
00:29:09,407 --> 00:29:13,559
judging from their teeth,
also ate meat, as chimps do.
293
00:29:15,847 --> 00:29:21,001
Although gorillas ignore other animals
visiting these swamps,
294
00:29:21,167 --> 00:29:26,116
the presence of such creatures might not
have gone unnoticed by early ape-men.
295
00:29:28,807 --> 00:29:32,436
But to kill such fast and wary prey,
which so easily take to flight
296
00:29:32,607 --> 00:29:36,964
and can run faster than any ape,
would require the skill to follow their tracks.
297
00:29:40,207 --> 00:29:46,442
Linking marks in the earth with an animal
that may have passed hours, if not days before,
298
00:29:46,607 --> 00:29:50,566
requires a profound leap of the imagination,
and as far as we know,
299
00:29:50,727 --> 00:29:53,480
only human beings have ever done that.
300
00:29:53,647 --> 00:29:55,558
But once it's been done,
301
00:29:55,727 --> 00:29:58,958
identifying the tracks,
in the simplest terms, is not difficult.
302
00:29:59,167 --> 00:30:02,557
Even I know that those
are the tracks of an eland.
303
00:30:02,767 --> 00:30:07,966
There are some people who can interpret
even the faintest of marks on the ground.
304
00:30:10,367 --> 00:30:12,722
They hunt in silence.
305
00:30:12,887 --> 00:30:17,722
The hand-sign indicates that one of them
has found the track of a group of kudu.
306
00:30:18,607 --> 00:30:22,077
These are the San people of the Kalahari Desert,
307
00:30:22,247 --> 00:30:25,284
the last tribe on Earth to use what some believe
308
00:30:25,447 --> 00:30:30,316
is the most ancient hunting technique of all,
the ''persistence hunt''.
309
00:30:30,487 --> 00:30:33,524
They run down their prey.
310
00:30:39,607 --> 00:30:42,724
They start to feel the rhythm
of the animal's movements
311
00:30:42,887 --> 00:30:46,926
from the spacing of the tracks.
The group is not moving fast.
312
00:30:56,447 --> 00:30:58,915
The animals have taken fright.
313
00:31:03,607 --> 00:31:05,598
They will concentrate on the bull.
314
00:31:05,847 --> 00:31:10,875
He will be carrying a heavy set of horns
and will tire more quickly.
315
00:31:12,487 --> 00:31:15,604
To do that, they must
separate him from the herd
316
00:31:15,767 --> 00:31:19,442
so that his tracks won't
be confused by those of others.
317
00:31:23,847 --> 00:31:26,486
The sun is directly overhead
318
00:31:26,647 --> 00:31:31,038
and the men sense a change
in the kudu's pace - he's slowing.
319
00:31:34,367 --> 00:31:36,358
After hours of tracking,
320
00:31:36,527 --> 00:31:40,202
they've entered an almost
trance-like state of concentration.
321
00:31:45,367 --> 00:31:49,042
At times it's impossible to see
any sign of the kudu's tracks,
322
00:31:49,207 --> 00:31:52,597
and the hunters must imagine
the path it will have taken.
323
00:32:01,607 --> 00:32:05,202
The heat is hard on the hunters,
but they're now close enough
324
00:32:05,367 --> 00:32:08,564
for the next stage in the hunt, the chase.
325
00:32:16,607 --> 00:32:19,440
This is the signal for it to begin.
326
00:32:26,607 --> 00:32:31,397
Only one man will undertake it,
Karohe, the runner.
327
00:32:45,887 --> 00:32:48,321
He must be relentless.
328
00:32:54,247 --> 00:32:57,000
It's now a test of endurance.
329
00:32:57,167 --> 00:33:00,716
Who will collapse first, the man or the animal?
330
00:33:05,087 --> 00:33:08,204
This was how men hunted
before they had weapons,
331
00:33:08,367 --> 00:33:12,326
when a hunter had nothing more
than his own physical endurance
332
00:33:12,487 --> 00:33:14,921
with which to gain his prize.
333
00:33:16,567 --> 00:33:22,324
Running on two feet is more efficient
over long distances than running on four.
334
00:33:25,007 --> 00:33:29,285
A man sweats from glands
all over his body and so cools himself.
335
00:33:29,847 --> 00:33:34,841
A kudu sweats much less and has
to find shade if it's to cool down.
336
00:33:39,847 --> 00:33:43,157
A man has hands with which to carry water,
337
00:33:43,327 --> 00:33:48,196
so, during the chase,
he can replenish the liquid he loses as sweat.
338
00:34:13,447 --> 00:34:17,076
Hours pass and Karohe is getting closer.
339
00:34:18,207 --> 00:34:21,279
But then the kudu runs into thick cover.
340
00:34:25,887 --> 00:34:28,276
The tracks have disappeared.
341
00:34:33,607 --> 00:34:37,646
Karohe tries to put himself
into the mind of the kudu,
342
00:34:37,807 --> 00:34:41,402
and re-enacts the moment
when it heard him approaching
343
00:34:41,567 --> 00:34:44,206
as it tried to rest in the shade.
344
00:34:50,527 --> 00:34:56,602
He deduces the direction in which
it must have fled. It's close by.
345
00:35:10,287 --> 00:35:12,676
The chase has lasted eight hours.
346
00:35:12,847 --> 00:35:15,998
Hunter and hunted are both
at the end of their strength.
347
00:35:16,167 --> 00:35:18,556
Neither can go on much longer.
348
00:35:32,847 --> 00:35:38,877
Then the kudu collapses...
from sheer exhaustion.
349
00:35:45,207 --> 00:35:47,516
It's close to death.
350
00:35:53,607 --> 00:35:59,204
Karohe's spear-throw now
is scarcely more than a symbolic gesture.
351
00:36:25,887 --> 00:36:30,802
The hunter pays tribute
to his quarry's courage and strength
352
00:36:30,967 --> 00:36:35,404
with ceremonial gestures
that ensure its spirit returns
353
00:36:35,567 --> 00:36:37,956
to the desert sands from which it came.
354
00:36:42,727 --> 00:36:45,241
While it was alive, he lived and breathed with it
355
00:36:45,407 --> 00:36:48,843
and felt its every movement in his own body.
356
00:36:51,927 --> 00:36:55,840
At the moment of its death, he shared its pain.
357
00:36:59,167 --> 00:37:04,241
He rubs its saliva into his own legs
to relieve the agony of his burning muscles.
358
00:37:04,407 --> 00:37:07,558
He gives thanks for the life he has taken,
359
00:37:07,727 --> 00:37:10,924
so that he may sustain the lives of his family
360
00:37:11,087 --> 00:37:13,726
waiting for him back in their settlement.
361
00:37:17,687 --> 00:37:22,283
While the men were away, the women
have collected tubers and roots.
362
00:37:22,447 --> 00:37:28,397
Now Karohe has brought them the much more
nutritious and energy-giving meat.
363
00:37:28,567 --> 00:37:30,797
(TALK IN DIALECT)
364
00:37:36,487 --> 00:37:39,160
The dogs are given a share.
365
00:37:39,327 --> 00:37:44,321
Wild dogs must have followed human
hunters for scraps since prehistory.
366
00:37:44,487 --> 00:37:48,685
Men selected pups that were
the least savage to help with tracking.
367
00:37:48,847 --> 00:37:51,919
The character of their dogs began to change.
368
00:37:53,247 --> 00:37:57,001
Cattle were domesticated by a similar process,
369
00:37:57,167 --> 00:38:00,364
choosing the most docile calves
and hand-rearing them.
370
00:38:01,287 --> 00:38:05,599
The Fulani people of Mali
lay claim to the half-wild herds
371
00:38:05,767 --> 00:38:09,362
that roam the savannahs,
and mark them accordingly.
372
00:38:19,567 --> 00:38:22,604
But grazing animals, wild or tame,
373
00:38:22,767 --> 00:38:27,124
may have to migrate with the seasons
to find pasture.
374
00:38:27,287 --> 00:38:30,199
And then the people must follow.
375
00:38:36,767 --> 00:38:40,203
People all over the world
have tried to domesticate animals.
376
00:38:40,367 --> 00:38:43,962
In fact, very few species are actually suitable.
377
00:38:44,127 --> 00:38:47,517
To be any good, an animal has,
first of all, to be docile.
378
00:38:47,687 --> 00:38:50,565
Secondly, to eat a food that's easily available.
379
00:38:50,727 --> 00:38:54,242
Thirdly, to breed easily in captivity.
380
00:38:54,407 --> 00:38:59,276
Fourthly, to live in packs or herds,
groups in which individuals recognise
381
00:38:59,447 --> 00:39:03,565
that just one is the dominant animal
to which all the rest are submissive.
382
00:39:03,727 --> 00:39:07,845
Then a human being can take over
the place of that dominant animal
383
00:39:08,007 --> 00:39:10,680
and so control his flocks and herds.
384
00:39:10,847 --> 00:39:12,838
(LOUD BANG)
385
00:39:13,007 --> 00:39:15,885
A gunshot drives the cattle forward.
386
00:39:20,727 --> 00:39:24,037
The herds must be guided
if they're to survive this,
387
00:39:24,207 --> 00:39:27,005
the most challenging part
of their long annual journey.
388
00:39:28,807 --> 00:39:33,244
Every year grazing animals,
both domesticated and wild,
389
00:39:33,407 --> 00:39:38,197
have to risk their lives in treacherous waters
to reach food on the other side.
390
00:39:41,047 --> 00:39:43,356
(CATTLE BELLOW)
391
00:39:52,127 --> 00:39:54,925
The tamed and subservient cattle, however,
392
00:39:55,087 --> 00:39:57,521
are guided and protected by the men.
393
00:40:02,767 --> 00:40:06,885
If the animals don't stay together,
they may be swept away by currents.
394
00:40:11,527 --> 00:40:14,678
Herding cattle is by no means the easy option.
395
00:40:14,847 --> 00:40:18,237
Just keeping them alive is full of difficulties.
396
00:40:18,407 --> 00:40:20,523
But in spite of all the problems,
397
00:40:20,687 --> 00:40:23,679
human beings have become
so good at it that today
398
00:40:23,847 --> 00:40:28,318
domesticated cattle
far outnumber their wild relatives.
399
00:40:42,007 --> 00:40:45,682
Relying on herds that must migrate
in search of pasture
400
00:40:45,847 --> 00:40:50,045
makes it impossible for people
to settle permanently in one place.
401
00:40:50,487 --> 00:40:54,878
But in more fertile areas, cattle can be confined,
402
00:40:55,047 --> 00:40:59,325
and then they can provide
not only milk and meat but power.
403
00:40:59,487 --> 00:41:03,321
Once people settle down, they can plant crops.
404
00:41:03,487 --> 00:41:05,478
They can become farmers.
405
00:41:06,487 --> 00:41:10,685
All over the world, woodlands
and grasslands began to disappear,
406
00:41:10,847 --> 00:41:15,762
to be replaced by fields in which
to grow crops of domesticated plants.
407
00:41:17,647 --> 00:41:21,003
People began to select those plants
that gave good yields,
408
00:41:21,167 --> 00:41:25,524
and so plants also changed,
just as animals have done.
409
00:41:27,247 --> 00:41:33,243
In Africa, in Europe, in Asia,
people started to settle down in villages.
410
00:41:33,927 --> 00:41:37,363
Hitherto, the population
of every species of animal on Earth
411
00:41:37,527 --> 00:41:40,837
was limited by the amount
of food available to it.
412
00:41:41,687 --> 00:41:44,759
But human beings now changed that.
413
00:41:44,927 --> 00:41:47,236
They'd learned how to increase
the supply of food
414
00:41:47,407 --> 00:41:50,604
far beyond that which occurred naturally.
415
00:41:52,967 --> 00:41:57,199
It was a crucial moment
in the history of this planet.
416
00:41:57,367 --> 00:42:00,882
The number of human beings began to increase.
417
00:42:05,527 --> 00:42:08,439
This strange miniature house
418
00:42:08,607 --> 00:42:11,679
wasn't built for occupation by human beings.
419
00:42:11,847 --> 00:42:15,556
Instead it shelters the commodity
that is most important
420
00:42:15,727 --> 00:42:18,161
in this Dogon village in Mali, West Africa.
421
00:42:18,327 --> 00:42:21,364
It's a granary. It contains millet.
422
00:42:23,727 --> 00:42:26,958
Millet is the most important thing in Dogon life.
423
00:42:27,127 --> 00:42:30,756
The year revolves around
planting it and harvesting it.
424
00:42:30,927 --> 00:42:36,877
There are more houses to contain it in a village
than there are houses for human beings.
425
00:42:37,047 --> 00:42:41,245
The first music a baby
in Dogonland is likely to hear
426
00:42:41,407 --> 00:42:44,160
is the sound of its mother pounding millet.
427
00:42:44,327 --> 00:42:46,318
(THUDDING)
428
00:42:54,727 --> 00:42:59,198
Now that people were no longer
compelled to be permanently on the move
429
00:42:59,367 --> 00:43:03,565
in order to find food, they had
more time to spend on other things.
430
00:43:03,727 --> 00:43:07,197
Ritual and the arts flourished as never before.
431
00:43:07,367 --> 00:43:09,801
(THUDDING, BANGING, CLAPPING)
432
00:43:22,927 --> 00:43:26,966
For the Dogon, harvest is finished.
The granaries are full.
433
00:43:27,367 --> 00:43:29,642
It's time to celebrate.
434
00:43:44,527 --> 00:43:50,045
As more food became more easily available,
so the human population continued to increase.
435
00:43:50,207 --> 00:43:56,123
Villages grew into towns. Towns became cities.
436
00:44:08,047 --> 00:44:12,916
This immense low mound may look
as though it's covered with gravel,
437
00:44:13,087 --> 00:44:19,435
but if you look closely, you'll see
it's composed of tiny fragments of pottery.
438
00:44:19,607 --> 00:44:23,566
I'm standing on the site of the oldest city
in Africa below the Sahara,
439
00:44:23,727 --> 00:44:30,599
and this is the remains of 2,000 years
of continuous human occupation.
440
00:44:30,767 --> 00:44:36,603
Even more remarkable, the city itself
is still flourishing over there.
441
00:44:37,967 --> 00:44:40,435
This is Djenne.
442
00:44:40,607 --> 00:44:46,398
In its heart stands the mosque, the oldest
and largest mud building in the world.
443
00:44:49,567 --> 00:44:54,561
Around it, a market that has been
held here since medieval times.
444
00:44:56,967 --> 00:45:01,961
Djenne's growth was closely tied
to that of a neighbouring city,
445
00:45:02,127 --> 00:45:06,359
the fabulous Timbuktu
that lay further up the Niger.
446
00:45:06,527 --> 00:45:10,805
Between them, the two dominated
the trade across the Sahara.
447
00:45:10,967 --> 00:45:14,516
Into these markets came traders
from North Africa
448
00:45:14,687 --> 00:45:20,603
who crossed the Sahara by camel caravan
to look for slaves, gold and ivory.
449
00:45:20,767 --> 00:45:23,679
And trade still dominates this city.
450
00:45:28,487 --> 00:45:31,285
(BARTERING IN DIALECT)
451
00:45:34,927 --> 00:45:38,840
Great numbers living together
made it possible for some of them
452
00:45:39,007 --> 00:45:42,795
to avoid the daily chore
of having to produce food.
453
00:45:43,527 --> 00:45:48,043
They could become craftsmen
and exchange what they made for food.
454
00:45:48,207 --> 00:45:51,517
So it became possible
for technologies to develop,
455
00:45:51,687 --> 00:45:58,081
for arts and sciences to flourish
and for people to put up huge buildings.
456
00:46:07,887 --> 00:46:12,836
This is Tikal, the capital of the Maya people
457
00:46:13,007 --> 00:46:17,159
who built the tallest constructions
in the whole of the New World,
458
00:46:17,327 --> 00:46:22,117
until skyscrapers were put up in New York
at the beginning of the 20th century.
459
00:46:27,567 --> 00:46:32,357
At the height of Tikal's glory,
about 1,300 years ago,
460
00:46:32,527 --> 00:46:34,961
the city covered a vast area.
461
00:46:35,127 --> 00:46:38,722
It was at least double the size of ancient Rome.
462
00:46:40,087 --> 00:46:44,842
The city centre was filled
by thousands of temples and houses,
463
00:46:45,007 --> 00:46:47,646
only a fraction of which can be seen today.
464
00:46:50,687 --> 00:46:54,999
The inhabitants excelled
at every form of civilised activity.
465
00:46:55,167 --> 00:47:00,366
Not only accomplished builders,
they were superb sculptors and painters.
466
00:47:00,527 --> 00:47:05,647
They were expert astronomers and measured
the solar cycle with great precision.
467
00:47:10,207 --> 00:47:15,884
They constructed complex calendars to which
their religious beliefs were closely tied.
468
00:47:16,047 --> 00:47:18,197
And they devised a system of writing
469
00:47:18,367 --> 00:47:22,326
that was, in its time,
the most advanced in all the Americas.
470
00:47:24,767 --> 00:47:27,156
Having achieved such skills and knowledge,
471
00:47:27,327 --> 00:47:30,876
when and why were their cities abandoned?
472
00:47:32,207 --> 00:47:37,361
Fortunately, we do have some clues,
certainly as to date.
473
00:47:37,527 --> 00:47:43,238
The Maya recorded their history
in great detail on stones like this one.
474
00:47:43,407 --> 00:47:47,002
The latest inscription to be found
in the ruins of the city
475
00:47:50,687 --> 00:47:55,522
After that, the city falls silent,
the inhabitants disappear,
476
00:47:55,687 --> 00:47:59,282
and classic Maya civilisation
is coming to an end.
477
00:48:01,007 --> 00:48:05,637
The explanation of why Tikal
and all the other Maya cities collapsed
478
00:48:05,807 --> 00:48:07,877
is the subject of hot debate.
479
00:48:08,047 --> 00:48:10,402
But now new evidence has been found.
480
00:48:10,767 --> 00:48:14,396
To see it, you need to get above the city.
481
00:48:25,767 --> 00:48:28,679
From there, you can see hints of occupation
482
00:48:28,847 --> 00:48:33,398
that extend far beyond
the jungle-covered ruins that survive today.
483
00:48:33,567 --> 00:48:37,355
Cameras in space have revealed
aqueducts, canals
484
00:48:37,527 --> 00:48:40,564
and a dense network of fields
buried under the soil -
485
00:48:40,727 --> 00:48:43,844
evidence that by the time
the temples were built,
486
00:48:44,007 --> 00:48:46,396
the surrounding forest
had already been felled
487
00:48:46,567 --> 00:48:50,242
and replaced by a great expanse
of cultivated fields.
488
00:48:52,127 --> 00:48:57,121
As the population of the city grew,
probably to about 60,000,
489
00:48:57,287 --> 00:49:00,120
the farmers struggled to produce enough food.
490
00:49:00,287 --> 00:49:05,964
The fertility of the fields was exhausted.
Soon the people were starving.
491
00:49:06,127 --> 00:49:10,245
They drifted away from the city
and gradually the jungle returned.
492
00:49:11,647 --> 00:49:15,606
But how is the fate of Tikal
relevant to us today?
493
00:49:18,207 --> 00:49:20,437
When the Maya built their cities,
494
00:49:20,607 --> 00:49:24,202
there were only about 50 million
people on the entire planet.
495
00:49:26,607 --> 00:49:30,441
But the Maya were unable
to sustain their population
496
00:49:30,607 --> 00:49:35,601
with the technology that they had
developed, sophisticated though it was.
497
00:49:37,167 --> 00:49:39,681
Then, a few centuries later,
498
00:49:39,847 --> 00:49:43,681
human beings elsewhere,
with newly-developed techniques,
499
00:49:43,847 --> 00:49:49,444
began to build on a scale that dwarfed
even the skyscrapers of Tikal.
500
00:50:07,767 --> 00:50:15,117
Today, there are not just 50 million,
but 6,000 million people on Earth.
501
00:50:15,287 --> 00:50:20,759
Nearly half of that vast number live
in cities which are still growing fast.
502
00:50:20,927 --> 00:50:23,885
And all these people need food.
503
00:50:24,807 --> 00:50:26,877
We have long since utilised
504
00:50:27,047 --> 00:50:30,676
the most suitable fertile places
on the earth to grow our food.
505
00:50:30,847 --> 00:50:34,396
Now we are having to try to do so elsewhere.
506
00:50:41,047 --> 00:50:44,084
In a desert like this one in Arizona,
507
00:50:44,247 --> 00:50:47,364
trying to cultivate anything
would seem to be futile.
508
00:50:47,527 --> 00:50:53,045
With just a few centimetres of rain a year,
there is no use for a thing like this
509
00:50:53,207 --> 00:50:58,725
and little enough water for thirsty plants,
but appearances can be deceptive.
510
00:50:59,807 --> 00:51:04,642
With the right technology,
even the desert can yield edible crops.
511
00:51:06,047 --> 00:51:09,244
These lush fields can only exist
512
00:51:09,407 --> 00:51:14,197
because of humanity's unique capacity
to innovate and to learn.
513
00:51:14,367 --> 00:51:20,078
Our big brains have enabled us
to discover how to add fertiliser to poor soil,
514
00:51:20,247 --> 00:51:25,844
to deal with pests with insecticides
and even bring rain to the desert.
515
00:51:30,087 --> 00:51:34,319
This ''rain'' has been pumped
along hundreds of miles of pipes
516
00:51:34,487 --> 00:51:37,047
from a far distant water supply.
517
00:51:37,407 --> 00:51:42,401
Every year, human beings displace
the equivalent of entire rivers
518
00:51:42,567 --> 00:51:44,876
in order to water their crops.
519
00:51:46,047 --> 00:51:50,245
In just a few thousand years,
the revolution of agriculture
520
00:51:50,407 --> 00:51:53,479
has spread to virtually all human societies.
521
00:51:53,647 --> 00:51:56,878
Today, over a third of the surface of the land
522
00:51:57,047 --> 00:52:00,562
is devoted to producing food for human beings.
523
00:52:00,727 --> 00:52:04,925
That has changed some landscapes
in the most dramatic way.
524
00:52:14,407 --> 00:52:17,319
The rich variety of the world's
natural ecosystems
525
00:52:17,487 --> 00:52:19,921
has been replaced by uniformity.
526
00:52:20,727 --> 00:52:25,243
Complex communities have been eliminated
and changed to monocultures.
527
00:52:25,407 --> 00:52:27,716
The intricate embroideries of nature
528
00:52:27,887 --> 00:52:32,483
have been replaced by a geometric
landscape of straight lines.
529
00:52:34,087 --> 00:52:38,205
All this was made possible
by the technological revolution
530
00:52:38,367 --> 00:52:44,397
which started when our hands were freed
and we could manipulate our surroundings.
531
00:52:47,087 --> 00:52:50,841
Our ingenuity has now enabled us to utilise
532
00:52:51,007 --> 00:52:54,477
the most unlikely and unpromising
corners of the earth.
533
00:52:54,647 --> 00:52:57,764
We're even beginning to farm the oceans.
534
00:53:05,207 --> 00:53:08,483
The changes we have wrought
on the surface of our planet
535
00:53:08,647 --> 00:53:12,162
are so wholesale that they
are now visible from space.
536
00:53:12,327 --> 00:53:18,163
As our numbers increase, there is
less land for other animals and plants.
537
00:53:18,327 --> 00:53:22,206
But humanity can't expand
its numbers indefinitely.
538
00:53:22,367 --> 00:53:26,519
Will our civilisation then crumble,
as did that of the Maya?
539
00:53:29,527 --> 00:53:33,964
This has been the launch pad
for humanity's greatest,
540
00:53:34,127 --> 00:53:37,676
most complex achievements and highest hopes,
541
00:53:37,847 --> 00:53:40,680
from space shuttles to space stations.
542
00:53:40,847 --> 00:53:48,322
It's from here, in 2020, our species may
launch its most ambitious project yet -
543
00:53:48,487 --> 00:53:53,561
to settle on another planet,
to send a mission to Mars.
544
00:53:54,567 --> 00:54:00,676
6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1.
545
00:54:00,847 --> 00:54:04,283
- (EXPLOSION)
- Lift off.
546
00:54:11,567 --> 00:54:17,756
The ape that stood up on its two hind legs
now seems to have outgrown its planet.
547
00:54:17,967 --> 00:54:22,882
Now it seeks to travel through space,
to look for another.
548
00:54:29,087 --> 00:54:32,477
Could it really add Mars to its empire?
549
00:54:33,767 --> 00:54:38,716
Conditions there could hardly be more hostile
for forms of life that evolved on Earth.
550
00:54:38,887 --> 00:54:42,675
There the energy-giving sunlight
is only half as intense,
551
00:54:42,847 --> 00:54:47,284
and the temperatures fall to more
than 100 degrees below freezing.
552
00:54:49,087 --> 00:54:53,205
Will our technology be able
to meet this challenge?
553
00:55:00,007 --> 00:55:04,922
Colonising another planet
might sound like science fiction.
554
00:55:05,087 --> 00:55:09,205
But in fact, work on solving
the problems of living on Mars
555
00:55:09,367 --> 00:55:13,440
is going on right now, here on Earth.
556
00:55:18,287 --> 00:55:20,926
The first problem for those
that seek to settle there
557
00:55:21,087 --> 00:55:23,965
will be, as always, to find food.
558
00:55:24,127 --> 00:55:29,076
To do that, they will have to grow plants,
the basis of all our food.
559
00:55:30,127 --> 00:55:34,678
On Earth, we're beginning to realise
that we may now be over-reliant
560
00:55:34,847 --> 00:55:38,806
on the few species of plant
which have provided us with food
561
00:55:38,967 --> 00:55:40,958
for the past 10,000 years.
562
00:55:41,127 --> 00:55:44,915
We are at last taking steps
to conserve the wild species
563
00:55:45,087 --> 00:55:48,875
that we have been destroying
so carelessly for centuries.
564
00:55:51,887 --> 00:55:57,041
Giant greenhouses like this are
astonishing technical achievements,
565
00:55:57,207 --> 00:56:01,519
but they are also proof that we have
the skill and the knowledge
566
00:56:01,687 --> 00:56:04,281
to create artificial environments
almost anywhere,
567
00:56:04,447 --> 00:56:06,324
even on the surface of Mars.
568
00:56:08,887 --> 00:56:12,516
If we did build such structures
on another planet,
569
00:56:12,687 --> 00:56:16,362
might we then contemplate
spreading our species still further,
570
00:56:16,527 --> 00:56:19,405
to other more distant worlds?
571
00:56:24,047 --> 00:56:29,679
This new era of exploration began
when human beings landed on the moon.
572
00:56:30,007 --> 00:56:33,920
Will that be as far as our species
will ever reach or should reach?
573
00:56:34,087 --> 00:56:39,286
Or will our incurable urge to explore,
and our still growing numbers,
574
00:56:39,447 --> 00:56:43,520
lead us to print our feet
on yet more new worlds?
575
00:56:47,007 --> 00:56:50,317
- ..the eagle has landed.
- (BEEP)
576
00:56:52,047 --> 00:56:59,237
That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.
577
00:57:03,087 --> 00:57:07,080
Three and a half million years
separate the individual
578
00:57:07,247 --> 00:57:11,035
who left these footprints in the sands of Africa
579
00:57:11,207 --> 00:57:13,675
form the one who left them on the moon.
580
00:57:13,847 --> 00:57:16,759
A mere blink in the eye of evolution.
581
00:57:17,087 --> 00:57:21,478
Using his burgeoning intelligence,
this most successful of all mammals
582
00:57:21,647 --> 00:57:26,562
has exploited the environment to produce food
for an ever-increasing population.
583
00:57:26,727 --> 00:57:31,278
In spite of disasters when civilisations have
over-reached themselves,
584
00:57:31,447 --> 00:57:35,838
that process has continued,
indeed accelerated, even today.
585
00:57:36,007 --> 00:57:41,127
Now mankind is looking for food,
not just on this planet but on others.
586
00:57:41,287 --> 00:57:45,644
Perhaps the time has come
to put that process into reverse.
587
00:57:45,807 --> 00:57:50,278
Instead of controlling the environment
for the benefit of the population,
588
00:57:50,447 --> 00:57:56,397
perhaps it's time we control the population
to allow the survival of the environment.
589
00:57:57,305 --> 00:58:03,480
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