English subtitles for clip: File:Jean-Jacques Hublin on human evolution-VPRO-The Mind of the Universe.ogv
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1 00:00:00,00 --> 00:00:07,12 Do you remember what you described me first for from the first for size. 2 00:00:07,2 --> 00:00:16,2 I I found was found behind apartment building where I lived when I was about eleven years old 3 00:00:17,2 --> 00:00:30,22 and I was interested in naturally story in this period of my life I was a big reader of books about nature of animals 4 00:00:30,22 --> 00:00:34,74 plans butterflies or stuff things like that and. 5 00:00:34,75 --> 00:00:39,66 I had the chance to visit the Natural History Museum in Paris with my cousin. 6 00:00:40,34 --> 00:00:49,34 And my cousin offered me a little book about fossils and I was I was very enthusiastic about finding fossils myself. 7 00:00:49,88 --> 00:00:57,25 And so using this little book I am I scouted around the house in the neighborhood and like E.T. 8 00:00:57,25 --> 00:01:00,33 Well by the way nothing very surprising. 9 00:01:00,36 --> 00:01:09,76 I found a mollusc on a piece of ham stone and so I was happy to connect that with what had been this book 10 00:01:09,76 --> 00:01:15,57 and that was my first fossil really what you were twelve years old something that your father and I have 11 00:01:16,95 --> 00:01:25,16 and what what what what what is you find so fascinating. Of course. Well it's a complicated story. 12 00:01:26,3 --> 00:01:34,6 I was born in Geria and I grew up there until I was like eight years old. 13 00:01:35,65 --> 00:01:40,61 And and I do have a very I would say unstable 14 00:01:40,61 --> 00:01:51,04 and violent environment because it was a clearly you know war there a colonial war that turned to be a civilian war 15 00:01:51,04 --> 00:02:02,66 actually I didn't. And so my my childhood was surrounded by a very I would say. Scary and Darren and somehow. 16 00:02:02,68 --> 00:02:07,49 And then I was deported I would side of the country with my family 17 00:02:07,49 --> 00:02:18,4 and I lived in France around Paris in not so nice neighborhoods for some years. And I think probably to me. 18 00:02:19,51 --> 00:02:30,63 Naturally story was a sort of escape into a world that was much nicer somehow is rather grim or a scary environment 19 00:02:30,63 --> 00:02:38,58 and I when I discovered probably ontology when I discovered fossils. 20 00:02:38,59 --> 00:02:47,52 In this natural history museum I realize that beyond the nature of today there was another nature. 21 00:02:47,59 --> 00:02:54,03 They were natures and it was like a geisha of these this world 22 00:02:54,03 --> 00:02:59,71 and it was even more fascinating because we did not know everything about these past worlds 23 00:02:59,71 --> 00:03:03,4 and there was a lot to discover. 24 00:03:03,42 --> 00:03:14,03 And so that's where it when it started where you went all looking into the fossils what they find useful. 25 00:03:14,22 --> 00:03:25,07 Well I was I think I was a little bit obsessed by fossils. In this time period of my life and so. 26 00:03:25,08 --> 00:03:33,67 I had the chance at the middle school where I was to meet a professor who was also interested in fossils 27 00:03:33,67 --> 00:03:44,03 and probably ontology and supported me and pushed me to persevere in these in these in this topic 28 00:03:44,03 --> 00:03:55,44 and so I had a lot of activities that were either at school or with this professor and that was around tautology. 29 00:03:55,7 --> 00:04:05,32 We created a little call geology class and we. A lot of excursions to find fossils with other kids. 30 00:04:05,61 --> 00:04:12,23 I know I was the most which evaded of all of them I was the president of the association 31 00:04:12,23 --> 00:04:19,91 and the chief editor of the draw and all the probably the only reader of The Journal and then yeah. 32 00:04:20,25 --> 00:04:28,04 So basically I think at this stage of my life I decided what I wanted to be what I wanted to do 33 00:04:28,04 --> 00:04:34,39 and I just continued throughout the years to work in this direction and I never really. 34 00:04:34,95 --> 00:04:44,69 Deviated much still what is so fascinating for you without this about it. Well I yeah. 35 00:04:44,91 --> 00:04:48,77 Now it becomes something a little bit different. 36 00:04:48,81 --> 00:04:56,97 I would say because now I'm awfully interested about human fossils and not just reconstructing nature and Vironment 37 00:04:57,83 --> 00:05:03,83 but I'm working on humans lived a long time before us 38 00:05:03,83 --> 00:05:12,95 and this Humans are not exactly like us they share a lot of features they somehow belong to human kind but 39 00:05:12,95 --> 00:05:21,11 but they are so different in many aspects and so they are a little bit like to see Aryans somehow 40 00:05:21,92 --> 00:05:30,99 and I found this extremely fascinating to think on humans which are not completely humans like us the other thing is 41 00:05:32,53 --> 00:05:35,22 and this also probably connects with my childhood. 42 00:05:36,59 --> 00:05:44,88 I think there is something about saving something from death and oblivion 43 00:05:45,79 --> 00:05:59,38 and the fate of all living creatures is to disappear completely. But by chance when we have a fossil of a human. 44 00:06:00,00 --> 00:06:02,35 Lived Alpha million year ago. 45 00:06:02,37 --> 00:06:11,46 So suddenly we we save something of this of this life somehow we we received hate a part of his existence 46 00:06:12,69 --> 00:06:20,82 and we can learn things about even e is or her in daily life. So to me it's not just a piece of bone it. 47 00:06:21,82 --> 00:06:23,55 It's somehow it's a person. 48 00:06:24,17 --> 00:06:30,22 And of course it's said the communication is very limited with this person but there is something like that. 49 00:06:30,31 --> 00:06:35,46 So it's a bit like travelling through time and connecting with a lost world. 50 00:06:36,11 --> 00:06:42,15 And discovering things that are somehow unknown to others 51 00:06:42,15 --> 00:06:51,03 or unknown to us until we are about to unveil something of their own past reality and what kind of humans. 52 00:06:51,49 --> 00:06:58,11 What we're talking about. Well today we live in a world where there is only one kind of humans. 53 00:06:58,67 --> 00:07:09,35 And we have we are what we call what poly ontology stand biology is called modern humans and modern humans are. 54 00:07:09,36 --> 00:07:16,87 Laid off a species that we call almost happy and and today this is the only species of humans on Earth but 55 00:07:16,87 --> 00:07:21,3 when we moved back in time. It was always almost never like that. 56 00:07:21,33 --> 00:07:22,48 So in past that was 57 00:07:22,48 --> 00:07:30,16 or always several groups of humans we don't know if we should call them specious also observations 58 00:07:30,16 --> 00:07:37,22 but what is clear is that we had groups of humans in the past that were much more different one from the Other than any 59 00:07:37,22 --> 00:07:44,82 kind of differences that you can see today between modern humans living in different parts of the world so. 60 00:07:44,84 --> 00:07:54,13 An order of magnitude higher and so just moving on years ago. 61 00:07:54,15 --> 00:07:59,32 We know that we have the ancestor of modern humans living in Africa. 62 00:08:00,00 --> 00:08:03,96 But on the other continents we have the underdogs in Europe 63 00:08:03,96 --> 00:08:12,2 and part of Asia is a group living in the Far East that we call Denisova ants and it's a group that has been done. 64 00:08:12,3 --> 00:08:21,47 She filed by the recently we also know that in some islands off Indonesia unlike fluoresce we have another kind of 65 00:08:21,47 --> 00:08:30,72 creator which is probably the descendants of local or more rectors are very anxious and harmony in 66 00:08:30,72 --> 00:08:42,72 and this humans living in Flores they are very Minuit create yours. They are being called Hobbit. 67 00:08:42,74 --> 00:08:46,34 And all these groups they are there are quite different one from the other 68 00:08:46,34 --> 00:08:59,19 but what happened at some point is that our ancestors the modern humans who lived in Africa started to expand outside 69 00:08:59,19 --> 00:09:04,84 of their graphical domain. And they expanded first in Southwest Asia. 70 00:09:06,33 --> 00:09:09,98 Maybe they entered a large portion of Asia rather early 71 00:09:11,78 --> 00:09:18,73 and then about as I would say fifty thousand years ago their expansion accelerated a lot 72 00:09:18,73 --> 00:09:26,49 and so they started moving into the domain of the Neanderthal of the New York they went to Australia are they moved 73 00:09:26,49 --> 00:09:31,78 further east in the place where Denise of once lived. 74 00:09:32,25 --> 00:09:39,79 Eventually did the and heard in the higher latitudes the past in America as. 75 00:09:39,81 --> 00:09:48,63 Bearing straits and and they went to all the most remote islands to me off oceans. 76 00:09:48,94 --> 00:09:52,81 What made them or a section or ancestor source so successful. 77 00:09:54,36 --> 00:09:59,98 That's a big mystery actually that's the question we tried to two hundred stand to read. 78 00:10:00,00 --> 00:10:03,59 Dissolve and what's in what's fascinating 79 00:10:03,59 --> 00:10:12,99 when one compares modern humans Neanderthals other harmonies of the time period around Say hundred to fifty thousand 80 00:10:12,99 --> 00:10:21,42 years ago that we see that all these harmonies are sort of evolving in the same direction and they have bigger 81 00:10:21,42 --> 00:10:25,25 and bigger brains and they have more and more complex behaviors 82 00:10:25,25 --> 00:10:31,24 and probably they are sort of we spawning the same kind of pressure of selection. 83 00:10:32,71 --> 00:10:40,97 But something happened with one of these groups are incest stores that gradually mad I would say extremely successful 84 00:10:41,92 --> 00:10:43,9 as a species and 85 00:10:43,91 --> 00:10:55,85 when we say successful for a species it means that this species of how your reproductive success than others. And so. 86 00:10:55,87 --> 00:11:00,06 This is this human start to replace all the others. 87 00:11:00,18 --> 00:11:11,28 We know now that there was a certain level of admit your local population and that's an idea that the. 88 00:11:11,79 --> 00:11:24,12 The media and public like very much. But the truth is that this admixture was very reduced in fact very late on. 89 00:11:25,23 --> 00:11:31,01 A couple of percent not more. And so it's primarily a replacement of creation. 90 00:11:31,08 --> 00:11:39,08 So there is something which is with all species which is new. At the scale of harmony and evolution. 91 00:11:39,76 --> 00:11:41,61 And this something new. 92 00:11:42,08 --> 00:11:49,93 Could be related to technology for example people some people have believed that these modern humans had some kind of 93 00:11:49,93 --> 00:11:59,66 new tools weapons some kind of new cognitive abilities. Maybe something related to the complexity. 94 00:12:00,00 --> 00:12:06,99 Language for example or it could also be something related to. 95 00:12:07,74 --> 00:12:15,00 The complexity of the social networks of these people in what way. Well. 96 00:12:15,89 --> 00:12:25,1 Humans are extremely good at creating connections with other humans and not just humans in there are direct 97 00:12:25,1 --> 00:12:31,22 and Vironment but even humans living far away. And so. 98 00:12:31,24 --> 00:12:32,42 So in other words the 99 00:12:32,42 --> 00:12:41,7 when we speak about a group of humans we don't speak about families we talk about networks that covers a very large 100 00:12:41,7 --> 00:12:44,58 portion of a continent. 101 00:12:44,6 --> 00:12:53,85 And and so we don't know exactly when this developed in the course of human evolution but it's very likely that. 102 00:12:53,87 --> 00:13:00,5 Belonging to such a large network is a is a considerable strengths. 103 00:13:00,77 --> 00:13:11,49 If you compete with other hominy who are basically organize in the form of local groups which are can be very 104 00:13:11,49 --> 00:13:19,6 successful but with. The size of the social network more result. This is one idea but there are many others. 105 00:13:19,69 --> 00:13:29,5 There are also many I would say psychological traits of modern humans which of course are very difficult to investigate 106 00:13:29,5 --> 00:13:39,86 in the fossil record but things like if you think on things like altruism or heroism 107 00:13:39,87 --> 00:13:52,56 or things like that it's you know the ability of a individual to lose something for the benefit of others 108 00:13:52,56 --> 00:14:02,97 or even to sacrifice himself for a self for the survival of others. This also. It's a remarkable feature of humans. 109 00:14:03,02 --> 00:14:09,51 Again we don't know exactly when in the course of human evolution these develop but we can easily imagine that. 110 00:14:11,05 --> 00:14:18,42 One group having these kind of behaviors that would compete with another group that does not have these kind of 111 00:14:18,42 --> 00:14:26,55 features. Well that's would be also a big advantage and not so nice for the competition I suppose. 112 00:14:26,57 --> 00:14:30,94 Yeah but of course today we. 113 00:14:30,96 --> 00:14:39,28 We like to think on humans of the past with I would say we spin classes and so we like to think on 114 00:14:39,28 --> 00:14:47,79 and talk gatherers of the past Neanderthals or early modern humans as peaceful 115 00:14:47,8 --> 00:14:57,85 and to gather others that lived in equilibrium with nature and not over explode the environment and were nice. 116 00:14:57,86 --> 00:15:03,34 With others. I'm not so convinced that humans I've ever been so good. 117 00:15:05,18 --> 00:15:12,92 Again I think maybe it's a memory of my own childhood or life but I know that humans get here. 118 00:15:12,95 --> 00:15:18,23 B D N A terrible with others especially others from a different group 119 00:15:19,41 --> 00:15:25,28 and so you can love your family your children your friends your neighbors and. 120 00:15:26,00 --> 00:15:28,34 And other people who have a different language 121 00:15:28,34 --> 00:15:35,88 or a different kind of culture where humans are dangerous as a species for other species. 122 00:15:36,06 --> 00:15:42,43 Well humans are actually humans have been dangerous not just for other humans 123 00:15:42,43 --> 00:15:45,43 but they have been dying for was in general or for other species 124 00:15:46,5 --> 00:15:55,68 and there is something that could be related to the expansion of modern humans. Showing that. 125 00:15:55,7 --> 00:16:06,76 Let's say after fifty thousand. We see. The signs of a direct impact of the human expansion. 126 00:16:07,31 --> 00:16:08,25 On the environment 127 00:16:08,25 --> 00:16:18,79 and it's especially on the the phone now of course there are already signs of that further back in the past we see for 128 00:16:18,79 --> 00:16:21,36 example when humans start to hunt. 129 00:16:21,38 --> 00:16:27,65 Other animals they compete with carnivores and in this competition sometimes carnivores are very good 130 00:16:27,65 --> 00:16:29,22 but sometimes humans are better. 131 00:16:29,25 --> 00:16:37,7 So we have reducing of the number of carnivores in Africa already between two and one million years ago but 132 00:16:37,7 --> 00:16:43,64 when modern humans started to expand out of Africa is specially 133 00:16:43,64 --> 00:16:52,72 when they're going to reach areas where humans never lived before places where there was no Neanderthals no Denise of 134 00:16:52,72 --> 00:16:56,35 and nothing places like Australia for example or Americans. 135 00:16:57,3 --> 00:17:05,76 So then the impact of these groups is going to be rather terrible on the on the fall 136 00:17:05,76 --> 00:17:09,37 and we see a lot of large animals disappearing 137 00:17:09,37 --> 00:17:17,99 and we think that the predation of humans is for something so a lot of what is it that makes it so they. 138 00:17:18,86 --> 00:17:23,84 Well I think probably the difference between modern humans recent modern humans. 139 00:17:24,2 --> 00:17:36,87 And other hominids is that we have a way to explode the resource which is much more intense somehow For example we know 140 00:17:36,87 --> 00:17:45,56 that Neanderthals in Europe co-existed with a number of species that are going to disappear 141 00:17:45,56 --> 00:17:49,72 when modern humans arrived and replaced Neanderthals. 142 00:17:49,74 --> 00:17:58,43 By the way in a rather provocative way I could say Neanderthals were just like another species of predators that has 143 00:17:58,43 --> 00:18:09,65 been eliminated by. The Newmans I know it's politically incorrect but how we do that. Well for the phono. 144 00:18:10,8 --> 00:18:20,69 It's quite easy to understand it it looks like the number of praise that we extract from the environment is for some 145 00:18:20,69 --> 00:18:22,54 species is to too high. 146 00:18:24,48 --> 00:18:31,89 Very large animals like say elephants for example they have a rather slow reproduction rate 147 00:18:33,03 --> 00:18:40,91 and so if you start taking too many young individuals at some point it becomes not sustainable for the for the species 148 00:18:42,28 --> 00:18:45,59 carnivores Well you can hand them directly. 149 00:18:45,73 --> 00:18:51,77 You can also compete with them for the praise and then the result is more or less the same. 150 00:18:51,79 --> 00:18:58,72 Now for humans is difficult to say because you have many ways one group of humans can replace another 151 00:18:59,45 --> 00:19:09,52 and I think in the case of Neanderthals. We have a competition for the occupation of the European territory. 152 00:19:10,67 --> 00:19:12,73 Between Neanderthals and modern humans. 153 00:19:13,3 --> 00:19:21,23 I don't think these groups they quit existed anywhere for a long time I think at the scale of the continent Snick Wiggs 154 00:19:21,23 --> 00:19:32,87 listed but locally in one region one valley. I don't think so and and so you can you can have a direct. 155 00:19:33,49 --> 00:19:35,24 I would say conflict. 156 00:19:35,25 --> 00:19:38,04 You know and to gather dust off to I mean recent 157 00:19:38,04 --> 00:19:45,03 and together as they they go at war against other groups especially when they compete for a resource. 158 00:19:45,13 --> 00:19:50,92 So you know you kill them and you take the woman you do things not very nice 159 00:19:52,85 --> 00:19:59,67 but then of course there are other factors that can add on that you can be more. 160 00:20:00,00 --> 00:20:05,89 Active in exploiting the environment which means in the end you're going to have more children 161 00:20:05,89 --> 00:20:09,78 and these children have a higher chance of survival 162 00:20:10,82 --> 00:20:20,84 and you can have also a long higher longevity higher chance of survival as a young girl not all these put together 163 00:20:21,65 --> 00:20:27,45 especially if you're dealing with groups that are represented by spall numbers 164 00:20:28,85 --> 00:20:32,09 and this is something we it's difficult to imagine for us but 165 00:20:32,09 --> 00:20:40,79 when we speak about early modern humans on the underdogs in Europe we're talking about population size of that 166 00:20:40,8 --> 00:20:44,22 and Sauza and twenty thousand something like that maybe a bit more 167 00:20:44,22 --> 00:20:47,65 but not we're not talking about hundreds of thousands or millions. 168 00:20:48,82 --> 00:20:58,95 So for groups of a I would say a few thousand individual if you have a difference in demographic success clearly one's 169 00:20:58,95 --> 00:21:05,06 going to replace another and then you have other things like G. and Things like that so. 170 00:21:06,23 --> 00:21:12,75 Finally it's a it's a complex process including absorption of some individuals in the group 171 00:21:12,75 --> 00:21:15,45 but in the end what is clear is that. 172 00:21:16,61 --> 00:21:23,97 Let's say after forty thousand years ago in in Europe in most of Europe you have only modern humans maybe there are 173 00:21:23,97 --> 00:21:31,35 some Neanderthals surviving in a corner in the south and I bury our places like that but not for a very long time. 174 00:21:31,65 --> 00:21:39,43 And if you look at the genome of. This. Modern humans in Europe in this time period. 175 00:21:41,08 --> 00:21:44,35 We had something like about four percent of Neanderthal D.N.A. 176 00:21:45,05 --> 00:21:54,51 In there are in their genome and this four percent are going to gradually decrease because there is a selection 177 00:21:54,51 --> 00:21:58,99 and natural selection against this part of the genome and today. 178 00:22:00,00 --> 00:22:07,83 And African humans carry about two percent of the under thought you know and we're not sure that in this two person 179 00:22:07,83 --> 00:22:11,38 and there are much D.N.A. 180 00:22:11,39 --> 00:22:18,33 Coding for important features which is another aspect of the problem and why if you choose to. 181 00:22:20,06 --> 00:22:29,17 To to go in this centerfield I mean looking into humans in other species wide here shows that. Well. 182 00:22:31,17 --> 00:22:38,06 Well first of all I continue to be interested in other creators than than humans. 183 00:22:39,52 --> 00:22:48,85 But what I like with human evolution is that the Lord need to combine also an interest for archaeology. 184 00:22:48,87 --> 00:22:58,28 And archaeology is the science investigating the matter on cultural of humans 185 00:22:58,28 --> 00:23:06,26 and trying to understand what is going on in terms of technical it Lucian or other behaviors for humans 186 00:23:06,26 --> 00:23:12,76 and what is really peculiar with harmony in general 187 00:23:12,76 --> 00:23:24,11 and especially more with modern humans is that it's impossible to disentangle cultural evolution 188 00:23:24,97 --> 00:23:35,84 and biological evolution and saw the the whole story of human evolution is an interaction between culture. 189 00:23:36,49 --> 00:23:44,68 And social organization and biology and looking at one without looking at the other is sort of. 190 00:23:45,3 --> 00:23:58,46 I would say meaningless. And what makes you you're interested so good in this. For me I guess it's much easier. 191 00:23:58,61 --> 00:23:59,92 Like for every. 192 00:24:00,00 --> 00:24:05,65 Thing in life you have to be very motivated in what you do what I've tried to do 193 00:24:05,65 --> 00:24:15,25 when I moved to Leipzig was to create a department where there was these different aspects of human evolution that 194 00:24:15,25 --> 00:24:19,86 could be investigated and not just with I would say. 195 00:24:20,19 --> 00:24:26,52 Classical methods of human probably ontology and politique archaeology. 196 00:24:26,8 --> 00:24:27,39 But putting 197 00:24:27,39 --> 00:24:37,45 or saw on top of that many methods coming from what is called archaeological sciences which basically means physics 198 00:24:37,45 --> 00:24:49,81 and chemistry applied to the kind of questions we can address. For human evolution and so this this. 199 00:24:49,83 --> 00:24:58,16 This concept is something that I did not really invent myself because there are other people who had this idea that 200 00:24:58,16 --> 00:25:01,85 basically we had to look at all these aspects of human evolution 201 00:25:02,61 --> 00:25:08,83 but as a matter of fact there are very few places on earth. 202 00:25:08,85 --> 00:25:18,28 If there are any beside here in Leipsic where all these aspects are studied. By one department. 203 00:25:19,17 --> 00:25:25,49 Going into all these directions. When I was a young scientist I. 204 00:25:25,5 --> 00:25:34,88 I was invited to teach at Berkeley University where there was a professor was just getting retired. 205 00:25:35,58 --> 00:25:37,41 Francis Clark Howard 206 00:25:38,44 --> 00:25:49,24 and Francis Clark how well had a very strong influence on me he was it was the one who basically proposed this concept 207 00:25:49,24 --> 00:25:51,62 of what is called G. 208 00:25:51,63 --> 00:25:59,92 Which is putting together all sort of fields including things like and Vironment all the sciences pile climate all. 209 00:26:00,00 --> 00:26:09,28 Gee looking at many other aspects of the surroundings of coming in to try to deceive for human evolution. 210 00:26:09,93 --> 00:26:25,68 And and CLARKE I would say develop his career in a academy can Vironment in the U.S. Where there was no Department of G. 211 00:26:25,68 --> 00:26:34,49 Where they was for example a car trying to apology and palaeontology together and with other things like linguistics 212 00:26:34,49 --> 00:26:41,08 or genetics all these in one big Department today this is gone. 213 00:26:41,26 --> 00:26:46,36 Mostly there now it's only here like here it's not only here but it's mostly here 214 00:26:46,36 --> 00:26:56,35 and so I was I was extremely I would say fortunate to be offered to create this department in this institute because 215 00:26:56,35 --> 00:27:07,91 this institute already. Addresses the question of what makes humans different. And to address this question. 216 00:27:09,66 --> 00:27:18,64 There were already in this institute departments like linguistics genetics primatology the study of foreign. 217 00:27:20,51 --> 00:27:28,43 Direct relatives African apes and Asian apes people also working on. 218 00:27:28,45 --> 00:27:32,5 The development of psychology in children and apes 219 00:27:32,5 --> 00:27:42,31 and to me I thought it looked to me like that was like the best place to develop my my my department with people coming 220 00:27:42,31 --> 00:27:44,75 with these different disciplines. 221 00:27:45,44 --> 00:27:52,39 And with the modern techniques of course you are able to this got the discover and understand more 222 00:27:52,39 --> 00:27:59,48 and more of its human evolution. We become much more ambitious today in. 223 00:28:01,28 --> 00:28:10,45 When I was when I started to do when I was let's say this little boy for fossils are even when I was a student 224 00:28:10,45 --> 00:28:12,02 and doing my Ph D. 225 00:28:12,02 --> 00:28:20,02 Studying the fossils were mostly looking at bumps and holes on bones and making measurements 226 00:28:20,02 --> 00:28:30,14 and trying to describe the shape of different fossils and basically grouping them in different species 227 00:28:31,04 --> 00:28:39,38 and trying to built up a tree of human evolution and connecting that with a chronology and some still not a fact 228 00:28:39,38 --> 00:28:52,2 but today we try to investigate things like. Diet like mobility. Accessing the genome of fossils. 229 00:28:52,22 --> 00:28:58,16 It's something we even did not think of when I was a beginner in the field 230 00:28:58,16 --> 00:29:03,7 and now we can say things about you know how connected were the father 231 00:29:03,7 --> 00:29:12,37 and the mother of a Neanderthal we lived forty five thousand years ago and we can see all of this bad the mother 232 00:29:12,37 --> 00:29:18,25 and the father they could have been maybe I'll see Billings or Cozzens 233 00:29:18,25 --> 00:29:25,8 or things like that we can say things about the mobility of humans and the landscape. 234 00:29:25,87 --> 00:29:30,64 We can save and things about the way they explode the phone 235 00:29:30,64 --> 00:29:38,86 or what kind of the animals they are hunting are coming from far away 236 00:29:38,86 --> 00:29:45,00 or there are local animals so we can really say a lot of things about I would say their daily life. 237 00:29:46,36 --> 00:29:55,00 In the meantime of course there is a sort of straight in limit. That seems still impossible. 238 00:29:56,89 --> 00:29:59,77 Sometime and I ask what what would you like to know. 239 00:30:00,00 --> 00:30:02,8 About Neanderthals for example 240 00:30:02,8 --> 00:30:08,66 and as a joke a couple of time I already said Oh I would like to know what kind of relationship 241 00:30:08,66 --> 00:30:12,62 and hand it all had with his brother in law. 242 00:30:12,64 --> 00:30:20,02 And I think yeah this is really where it would be really important for example to figure out what could have been a 243 00:30:20,02 --> 00:30:27,25 difference between Neanderthals and modern humans. I'm not sure we know that ever. But it is immature. 244 00:30:27,58 --> 00:30:31,61 You would like to cross. Yeah sure sure. 245 00:30:31,85 --> 00:30:40,86 I think there is a difficulty in our field and and the difficulty comes from the fact that it's a paradox 246 00:30:40,86 --> 00:30:53,68 but there is a great interest of the public for Origins people want to know about origins they want to know about 247 00:30:53,68 --> 00:30:56,28 Neanderthals and modern humans 248 00:30:56,28 --> 00:31:07,3 and it's incredibly popular somehow it's great because I guess this is how I could make a job of these interest in the 249 00:31:07,3 --> 00:31:22,15 meantime it results in the construction of mythology and would say that is a sort of scientific methodology. 250 00:31:22,17 --> 00:31:30,51 That we placed a religious believe in the past. So all human societies have their myth for region. 251 00:31:30,7 --> 00:31:35,44 Western societies they have a pretty story and plantar apology 252 00:31:35,44 --> 00:31:46,72 and so the result of that is that there is a lot of storytelling for basically to compensate for the lack of 253 00:31:46,72 --> 00:31:54,13 information we have with many aspects of the nature and the life of humans. 254 00:31:54,54 --> 00:32:04,14 And so we tend to a sort of pressure of the end virus. The public the media for us to tell stories. 255 00:32:04,15 --> 00:32:11,7 And so there are many topics for which we have to use our imagination to basically fill the gaps 256 00:32:12,4 --> 00:32:21,31 and so this is where it's a bit problematic because I think we feel the gap with conceptions out are mostly depending 257 00:32:21,31 --> 00:32:28,46 on. The ideology of the historical period where we we believe. 258 00:32:28,48 --> 00:32:40,92 And and so I always wonder students about even scientific papers about separating the evidence. 259 00:32:40,93 --> 00:32:46,85 The scientific results and the storytelling and there is always a little bit of storytelling. 260 00:32:47,24 --> 00:32:59,54 What kind of storytelling. Should i think about. Oh I it's quite obvious that for example this this question of. 261 00:32:59,56 --> 00:33:07,33 The difference between Neanderthals and modern humans or the replacement process of Neanderthals by modern humans 262 00:33:07,33 --> 00:33:15,49 and things like that are are deeply influenced by. Scenarios that we have in mind. 263 00:33:16,07 --> 00:33:26,01 And which are not always just a deduction from the empirical evidence that we have from sites. And if you. 264 00:33:26,02 --> 00:33:33,78 For example if you like to think that and engine and sort of gatherers worse. You know. 265 00:33:35,06 --> 00:33:39,84 As I said peaceful and together as were procured by by ecology 266 00:33:39,85 --> 00:33:47,97 and not discriminate discriminating these poor Neanderthals you are going to built up stories around that. 267 00:33:48,34 --> 00:33:57,79 And so I think of our field is easily. Here with this kind of thing. And as you move further back in time. 268 00:34:00,00 --> 00:34:09,46 I think we have a fundamental misunderstanding of what harmonies were because the natural trend for humans is to 269 00:34:09,46 --> 00:34:17,58 project themselves in the past. So when we speak about hominids living a million and and our years ago. 270 00:34:20,05 --> 00:34:29,8 Rather naturally we see them as. Humans of today that would not have all the technology that we have. 271 00:34:29,82 --> 00:34:31,76 And maybe a smaller brain 272 00:34:31,76 --> 00:34:36,8 but basically it would be very close to where they would be in better health a bit stronger 273 00:34:37,55 --> 00:34:42,79 but they would see the world like we see it and they would see each other as we see each other 274 00:34:42,79 --> 00:34:48,42 and I think this is completely wrong. In fact but. 275 00:34:48,43 --> 00:34:56,57 For millennia humans they have built up this vision of the world where they are there is us 276 00:34:57,59 --> 00:35:05,78 and the rest of the world for example we see us as completely separated from animals. 277 00:35:05,8 --> 00:35:15,83 When in fact if you look at many of the human features. That have been for a long time believed to be proper to humans. 278 00:35:15,88 --> 00:35:26,08 You will find out that you find all these things in many other species of course not with the degree of complexity of 279 00:35:26,08 --> 00:35:33,03 the degree of intensity that you seem humans but you will find it so in other words. 280 00:35:34,73 --> 00:35:40,68 There is not a very well cut limit between the humans and the others. 281 00:35:40,8 --> 00:35:51,64 And so there is grays own where we have a common names which I think to me again I found it absolutely fascinating. 282 00:35:51,67 --> 00:35:59,45 But for many people including in my field of science. Yeah there is this. 283 00:36:00,00 --> 00:36:11,13 Sort of tendency to separate what is the real humans and something more much more different and primitive before. 284 00:36:11,51 --> 00:36:18,19 And so we in other words which we we have a tendency to human eyes as much as possible. 285 00:36:18,77 --> 00:36:21,8 Everything which is close to us in time 286 00:36:21,8 --> 00:36:32,46 and then beyond a certain point then we basically see everything like very primitive very different. 287 00:36:33,87 --> 00:36:37,49 And so this border has been moving through time and so. 288 00:36:37,5 --> 00:36:44,94 For some people humans start with the genius homo for other the human start with modern humans 289 00:36:45,89 --> 00:36:57,64 and you have almost everything in between and of course the reality is much more complex. There is a sentence in. 290 00:36:58,64 --> 00:37:04,85 A book by fame was French writer called TOG wrote a book about. 291 00:37:04,87 --> 00:37:16,47 Democracy in America and and in in this book talk of he'll say somewhere that any wrong idea 292 00:37:17,68 --> 00:37:26,13 but that would be very simple and very clear would be always much more successful than a complicated. But true. 293 00:37:27,56 --> 00:37:37,97 Concept and I think it is true also in science and in my science especially also actually when you think about that. 294 00:37:40,54 --> 00:37:48,97 It's what we can learn form from your center field can help us also to understand what will happen to the human species 295 00:37:49,83 --> 00:38:03,3 in the future. I think yes. Somehow we can see the field of human evolution lie. A sort of substitute for. 296 00:38:03,32 --> 00:38:11,39 A mythology a myth of or a chain and it's it's of course it's a science but it has this might if a logical dimension 297 00:38:11,39 --> 00:38:15,51 or so but recently I think there is another 298 00:38:15,51 --> 00:38:21,55 or sort of aspect that has been developing a lot which is trying to understand. 299 00:38:21,57 --> 00:38:32,53 The way humans evolve in the past and the way humans interacted with other specious and with the plan that in general. 300 00:38:32,54 --> 00:38:42,6 Give us a sort of deeper perspective on what could be the future of human evolution and. 301 00:38:42,61 --> 00:38:50,62 And this is a rather new I would say procreation for humans. 302 00:38:51,69 --> 00:38:55,53 Humans have been always procured by that was going to happen in the future. 303 00:38:56,62 --> 00:39:03,35 But for example the notion that humans are changing the climate. 304 00:39:04,27 --> 00:39:10,00 The notion that humans are pushing to extinction so many species something rather new. 305 00:39:10,02 --> 00:39:17,34 At the scale of human and I would say. So it's really a new story called process that is just very close to us. 306 00:39:18,75 --> 00:39:27,04 So many people worry about the fact that since the global warming has been discovered. We don't do much. 307 00:39:27,06 --> 00:39:32,09 Well as a matter of fact if you if you again if you think on D.P. 308 00:39:32,09 --> 00:39:40,58 Story I found remarkable that so soon after finding out something is going on that we are already trying to find 309 00:39:40,58 --> 00:39:48,8 solution and somehow I'm rather optimistic I think humans will find solutions and try to change that but 310 00:39:48,8 --> 00:39:59,78 but again to to sort of have an influence of. This interaction between humans and Vironment is very important too to. 311 00:40:00,00 --> 00:40:07,4 The background to understand what was before and how humans have already atter of the planet. 312 00:40:07,43 --> 00:40:15,09 There is another aspect which is the biological and even social inclusion of humans. 313 00:40:15,14 --> 00:40:18,31 There are many practical things like for example our diet. 314 00:40:19,15 --> 00:40:27,12 You know the way we eat we feed our bodies something today that become. 315 00:40:27,14 --> 00:40:35,54 Is becoming a problem for a lot of obese people why. Well there is a evolutionary X. 316 00:40:35,54 --> 00:40:42,19 Explanation for that we have adaptation that were designed somehow for a different style of life. 317 00:40:42,86 --> 00:40:53,28 And so the fact that humans have developed very peculiar features in the past to be successful is very important to 318 00:40:53,28 --> 00:41:00,22 figure out why we are where we are today. And even going deeper into for example. 319 00:41:03,75 --> 00:41:15,24 Questions that are become really I would say dramatically important like acting on our own genome. 320 00:41:16,26 --> 00:41:22,12 Again it's dramatically important to understand what has been the past evolution of humans 321 00:41:22,12 --> 00:41:25,01 and what you know how selection worked on humans 322 00:41:25,01 --> 00:41:35,39 and why humans are what they are before we started to play with our own genes. It's a new chapter of life. 323 00:41:35,51 --> 00:41:45,4 Evolution starting because it never happened before that one species living species could take the control of the 324 00:41:45,4 --> 00:41:48,5 genome of other species. 325 00:41:49,61 --> 00:41:52,93 To this extent in a sort of deliberate way 326 00:41:53,7 --> 00:42:00,24 and then started to somehow take the control of its own genome that we think. But. 327 00:42:00,6 --> 00:42:05,4 But that made Also you want to be so successful that we were always able to. 328 00:42:06,00 --> 00:42:13,51 Yeah but I would say we are we are we are successful and dangerous 329 00:42:14,34 --> 00:42:21,66 and it's because well then drugs that we have been successful somehow. But now we have to be caught for with. 330 00:42:21,67 --> 00:42:35,08 This notion of that juror and success because. Maybe there is a level of danger or that mentally hurt our success. 331 00:42:35,1 --> 00:42:42,81 So in the. In other words we have to think a lot on and I think we do it. 332 00:42:42,86 --> 00:42:49,91 Actually I think I found it somehow admirable somehow of course we don't do it as much as we should 333 00:42:49,91 --> 00:42:52,72 but did that at least there are people doing it. 334 00:42:53,87 --> 00:43:00,51 Again if you think on the past history of humans for the last millennia. 335 00:43:00,69 --> 00:43:06,34 It's something we knew somehow and we create new species technical species. 336 00:43:07,48 --> 00:43:12,9 Yeah we owe you know something really amazing. 337 00:43:12,94 --> 00:43:15,46 There are many things amazing about human evolution 338 00:43:15,46 --> 00:43:27,65 but there is one thing that I like to think of is the way humans have external ised biological function. 339 00:43:28,42 --> 00:43:37,24 In they are a technical or social environment. And that there would be we could speak for hours about these but. 340 00:43:37,26 --> 00:43:43,66 This is really something fascinating and by the way it explains why cultural 341 00:43:43,67 --> 00:43:56,32 and social evolution is so basically into wind with the biological evolution. And humans have this very peculiar. 342 00:43:56,34 --> 00:43:59,95 In each in nature that they create. 343 00:44:00,00 --> 00:44:09,33 It complex societies they create artefacts they have this trend to more and more behavioral complexity 344 00:44:09,33 --> 00:44:15,42 and to do that they need a big brain and not just a big brain but a very good big brain 345 00:44:15,42 --> 00:44:23,16 and this big brain is is fantastic. We can do amazing things with with our brain. No need to detail that. 346 00:44:24,07 --> 00:44:36,28 But this big brain has a cost. And the cost is very high. It is very high in terms of energy supply. 347 00:44:36,33 --> 00:44:39,46 It's very high in terms of a Manton 348 00:44:40,57 --> 00:44:48,35 or sort of things it has a very high price in terms of producing other humans babies and children etc. 349 00:44:48,36 --> 00:44:57,82 And so we had to change a lot of things. In our biology. To accommodate this very costly organ. 350 00:44:58,25 --> 00:44:58,84 And 351 00:44:58,84 --> 00:45:06,1 when we say we had to change it isn't It was not a deliberate decision of humans it's it's natural selection that pushed 352 00:45:06,1 --> 00:45:07,81 us into this direction 353 00:45:08,73 --> 00:45:19,63 and so we have reorganized a lot of things in our biology physiology to make this possible this evolution things like 354 00:45:19,63 --> 00:45:26,5 our diet. Again the way we reproduce things like that in the meantime. 355 00:45:26,52 --> 00:45:36,21 This has been made possible because of the technical environment that we created. If you think for example on diet. 356 00:45:37,12 --> 00:45:50,11 We can extract much more calories from our food to fuel our cost costly brain because we have weapons that in the past 357 00:45:51,00 --> 00:45:59,37 were used to kill animals a distance we had tools to dispatch the carcasses of these animals we were airborne to. 358 00:46:00,00 --> 00:46:06,85 Later we have learned how to cook food to prepare the food we eat etc 359 00:46:07,87 --> 00:46:11,1 and so in other words things that were basically 360 00:46:11,11 --> 00:46:19,46 and all by our organism in the past had been delegated to things which are extra knowledge to our body 361 00:46:20,63 --> 00:46:23,42 and this is true for other aspects. 362 00:46:23,44 --> 00:46:36,6 Not just in the technique or matter of your domain but also in the social domain like for example. 363 00:46:37,9 --> 00:46:44,93 The the brain is very costly for an adult is even more costly for a child. And it's a big issue. 364 00:46:45,44 --> 00:46:52,16 If you think on that for a mother to be able to fuel and maintain their own brain 365 00:46:52,16 --> 00:46:57,34 and in the meantime to develop a baby with a brain that is also very costly 366 00:46:58,42 --> 00:47:06,08 and so we gradually we started to have a very peculiar way to to give birth to children 367 00:47:07,14 --> 00:47:12,89 and we gave birth to children with a brain which is and finished. I mean all. 368 00:47:13,1 --> 00:47:16,34 I mean for most mammals the brain isn't finished at birth. 369 00:47:16,37 --> 00:47:23,76 But our brain is really just and so most of the growth of the brain. OK yours. 370 00:47:25,91 --> 00:47:31,13 Afterburners especially the wiring of the brain and so these wiring develop 371 00:47:31,13 --> 00:47:36,67 when you are interacting with the environment which by the way makes it even more efficient 372 00:47:36,67 --> 00:47:38,69 and complex a little bit like you would. 373 00:47:40,19 --> 00:47:44,47 Remodel a computer that you would be using for different tasks you know 374 00:47:45,52 --> 00:47:54,07 but then there is another sort of layer on that is that by winning our children very early and making them. 375 00:47:55,14 --> 00:47:59,94 Ample to eat solid food before their brain became. 376 00:48:00,00 --> 00:48:09,55 To be it became possible for the females to share the burden of fueling the brain of the developing children with other 377 00:48:09,55 --> 00:48:18,69 adults of the group. So we became co-parent you breeders and so the you know the. 378 00:48:18,71 --> 00:48:23,92 Raising children is a collective venture. 379 00:48:23,94 --> 00:48:29,6 For humans but now we're also able to externalize the brain we make artificial brain Exactly. 380 00:48:29,88 --> 00:48:41,37 So now we we continue to externalize we externalize memory and this started already with coding things. 381 00:48:41,77 --> 00:48:43,22 The writing is already. 382 00:48:43,51 --> 00:48:53,57 I mean just we presenting pictures symbols was already a way to externalize something out of our brain then a second 383 00:48:54,65 --> 00:49:03,17 major step was writing because then writing was you know you could store as many as almost as much as information 384 00:49:03,17 --> 00:49:08,34 you're wanted without having to all that in your brain. You know when when writing was invented. 385 00:49:09,29 --> 00:49:12,1 There were people and still the engine Greeks 386 00:49:13,11 --> 00:49:20,5 or the drilled in Europe worried about writing because they had this feeling that people would lose their eye teeth to 387 00:49:20,5 --> 00:49:29,21 remember things because they had this easy way to record things. I mean engine with some ancient Greeks. 388 00:49:30,63 --> 00:49:38,00 But now of course we go much further with digital storage of information 389 00:49:38,91 --> 00:49:49,28 and by the way extending this I mentioned already this ability and this need are of humans for building up networks. 390 00:49:50,64 --> 00:49:57,74 Now these networks are planetary networks and again it's through technology that we have been able to do that. 391 00:49:57,99 --> 00:50:10,95 But I think the. Following step would be a sort of really internalization of what we have as external eyes as devices. 392 00:50:11,29 --> 00:50:22,17 So in other words. Well this is a bit of sense fiction but people worries a lot about. 393 00:50:23,38 --> 00:50:31,87 Intelligent machines robots basically computer should between humans and. Artificial intelligence. 394 00:50:33,18 --> 00:50:40,26 I think we internalized artificial intelligence or it would be it would not be any more X. 395 00:50:40,26 --> 00:50:45,37 Than all but Internet and somehow and people have tried already to implant. 396 00:50:45,39 --> 00:50:52,78 Chips electronic chips in part of the brain of a new morals and there are some attempts with humans or so. 397 00:50:52,95 --> 00:50:56,68 So I don't know if we will be about. 398 00:50:57,93 --> 00:51:07,85 Memory but could be for other functions and basically we are very far from being cyborgs but I think. 399 00:51:07,86 --> 00:51:14,01 The notion that we can sort of end. 400 00:51:14,03 --> 00:51:25,18 Some human capabilities in an artificial way it's on the table and it's something which is more and more considered 401 00:51:25,18 --> 00:51:30,26 and I think it will be together with our Turing or Juno 402 00:51:30,26 --> 00:51:34,24 and the way we interact with the environment the genome of other creators. 403 00:51:34,93 --> 00:51:42,69 These are big attic all issues for for humans not for the future for today and 404 00:51:43,69 --> 00:51:50,91 and again I think it's dramatically important to have a person about where we come from. 405 00:51:52,61 --> 00:51:56,8 And why we are here to basically be able to handle these questions. 406 00:51:56,87 --> 00:52:04,62 Many of these question that today are discussed like you. You think on that for example artificial procreation or the. 407 00:52:04,88 --> 00:52:09,46 You know basically externalizing reproduction. 408 00:52:09,48 --> 00:52:14,63 So people think it's something completely you know crazy 409 00:52:14,63 --> 00:52:24,09 and something that develops in past modern societies with people doing sort of crazy experiences. 410 00:52:24,11 --> 00:52:29,97 Experiments and things like that as as a planter apologist I have a different view. 411 00:52:30,05 --> 00:52:36,88 I think it's just a continuation of things we have been doing for a long time already in the course of our evolution of 412 00:52:36,88 --> 00:52:46,68 course is very spectacular is very extreme but somehow if you if you think on that especially regarding reproduction. 413 00:52:47,29 --> 00:52:57,49 Our reproduction as Bonna numinous is is is has been made possible because we created an artificial environment around 414 00:52:57,49 --> 00:53:01,46 reproduction and when I say we created an artificial environment. 415 00:53:01,88 --> 00:53:05,9 I'm not talking about medical progress in the in the twentieth century. 416 00:53:06,27 --> 00:53:11,92 I'm talking about parity times but basically the way. 417 00:53:12,98 --> 00:53:21,39 I mean the possibility to have these so even imagine their own AIDS. 418 00:53:22,24 --> 00:53:32,22 Surviving and developing all these cognitive skills and being maintained for twenty years before they become adults 419 00:53:33,63 --> 00:53:41,99 and reproduce and be part of the society has been made possible only because with our big brain. 420 00:53:42,03 --> 00:53:46,8 We created a technical environment and a social environment for that. 421 00:53:47,89 --> 00:53:54,35 And so again what we see in modern societies is just like the continuation of this trend. 422 00:53:54,36 --> 00:54:00,67 Now of course it's up to us to decide what is good or bad and how far I mean when I. Good or bad. 423 00:54:00,74 --> 00:54:02,8 I'm not talking about religious belief 424 00:54:02,8 --> 00:54:13,8 but I'm talking about what is what could be counterproductive for us as as as a species which you tell me what what are 425 00:54:13,8 --> 00:54:14,31 the questions. 426 00:54:14,84 --> 00:54:24,57 You are looking for answers the addresses many questions and this is due to the fact that harmony 427 00:54:24,58 --> 00:54:32,42 and Lucian cover several millions of years and have all of our unity of species that existed during this time period 428 00:54:33,24 --> 00:54:38,31 and is one thing that is important to realize is that we know only a portion 429 00:54:38,31 --> 00:54:46,17 and maybe only a small portion of these groups are forming needs that existed in the past there are time periods 430 00:54:46,17 --> 00:54:50,28 and regions for which we have no information at all 431 00:54:50,98 --> 00:54:54,4 and does not mean that there was nothing there just means we don't know. 432 00:54:55,76 --> 00:55:04,73 So basically we have a pile of cut branches and we try to build a tree but we don't have all the branches 433 00:55:05,54 --> 00:55:14,41 and so somehow the tree will be able to he's not so all I can write. We think it is. So that's one part of the story. 434 00:55:14,42 --> 00:55:24,07 She's basically looking for fossils finding new harmony and completing these big puzzle. 435 00:55:24,09 --> 00:55:30,89 Again remember that out of these complex Bush today there is just one. 436 00:55:31,45 --> 00:55:39,11 Branch that sticks out and gave birth to all species. 437 00:55:39,87 --> 00:55:48,28 So beside that there are many questions about What are humans and how different they are from other creators. 438 00:55:48,5 --> 00:55:51,87 So in other words we have. 439 00:55:51,89 --> 00:55:59,89 A part of the field which is not really looking at the past but is more looking at humans of. 440 00:56:00,00 --> 00:56:10,11 Today and I know lies in for example all the differences that we can detect or study between apes 441 00:56:10,11 --> 00:56:18,19 and humans we know that African and apes and especially chimpanzees are very close very closely related to us. 442 00:56:20,36 --> 00:56:29,79 And so somehow studying living primality is very important or so and then after we don T. 443 00:56:29,79 --> 00:56:39,00 Fight some key aspects of humans for example all things about there are of course there are not to me they're a big 444 00:56:39,00 --> 00:56:52,56 brain. There are reduced and things like that to our diet. But also aspects of their social organization. Reproduce. 445 00:56:53,81 --> 00:56:57,93 The development patterns psychology. 446 00:56:58,14 --> 00:57:05,06 So that the game is to go into the tree that is I remind you an incomplete tree 447 00:57:05,06 --> 00:57:15,15 and try to find out where these different features give lop and why and how along these different branches 448 00:57:15,96 --> 00:57:27,88 and what's emerging today is this picture that in fact all these branches somehow achieved a certain kind of humankind 449 00:57:27,88 --> 00:57:34,85 somehow. But but but not completely like us and so they have some of these features not others. 450 00:57:34,96 --> 00:57:46,49 And we are just at the beginning of understanding that and trying to deceive for the complexity of the submission 451 00:57:46,49 --> 00:58:05,61 and recently what happened in the field is that we had a very fast never meant of plywood genetic studies.. 452 00:57:57,17 --> 00:58:04,55 And there is this other way. To Duke at the past which is I would say a more like you know way. Through D.N.A. 453 00:58:05,63 --> 00:58:10,95 Also those who ensured proteins not people study proteins and try to make you know Jenny 454 00:58:10,95 --> 00:58:19,46 and all these more like you know information provide us with or sort of other or. 455 00:58:20,06 --> 00:58:28,8 Information but also many new questions that we never envisioned before. What kind of questions. 456 00:58:28,82 --> 00:58:34,89 Well so far part of the genetics as been mostly dealing with. 457 00:58:36,44 --> 00:58:41,21 What we call it which is basically the construction of the tree. 458 00:58:41,23 --> 00:58:47,77 So how one group is related to another when was there a split point in the past. 459 00:58:49,94 --> 00:58:57,39 Information about the demography of these groups large or small Did they suffer 460 00:58:57,39 --> 00:59:01,69 or demographic crashes bottlenecks for example. 461 00:59:03,77 --> 00:59:14,65 And then we have discovered that the level of admitting children between all these groups is more is higher 462 00:59:14,65 --> 00:59:26,71 and more consistent that we we think it was I actually this is nothing profound to humans. Now that we are able to do. 463 00:59:26,72 --> 00:59:37,26 Highways Russian sequence of many many creators we see that the story of species is intermixing a little bit. 464 00:59:37,38 --> 00:59:45,35 It's common it exists among problem as among elephants among horses carnivores I'm everywhere. 465 00:59:45,58 --> 00:59:53,68 Basically all all species that were not separated for more than say five million years they can more 466 00:59:53,68 --> 00:59:59,91 or less interbreed. There is one thing that part of the genetics engine. 467 01:00:00,00 --> 01:00:11,58 So far it is not really a board to address or start to question is what we call expression. 468 01:00:11,59 --> 01:00:15,13 So in other words when we find a difference in the genome. 469 01:00:15,42 --> 01:00:24,57 What does it mean in terms of features of it is it is it something first of all we know that some differences have no 470 01:00:24,57 --> 01:00:32,82 effect on the phenotype So nothing we can detect as a difference in the meantime sometimes a small difference can 471 01:00:32,82 --> 01:00:46,75 result in a mad jerk major effect in the in the final type so I'm only three billions and out of of nuclear D.N.A. 472 01:00:47,76 --> 01:00:57,00 We know some mutation that just change one out of more than three billions can have a dramatic effect on how one 473 01:00:57,01 --> 01:00:58,5 individual looks like 474 01:00:58,5 --> 01:01:08,54 and so we have we are now the stage where we know that a certain number of good in genes that are present in all modern 475 01:01:08,54 --> 01:01:13,56 humans are absent in Neanderthals or other arcade humans 476 01:01:14,79 --> 01:01:20,26 and converse LEE There are some versions of some genes which are not found in modern humans 477 01:01:20,26 --> 01:01:31,48 but on the Neanderthal What does it mean in terms of anatomy biology behavior our brain development whatever we don't 478 01:01:31,48 --> 01:01:33,25 we don't know it's always for striking 479 01:01:33,25 --> 01:01:38,78 when you as you know you find this gene so what does it mean in general is it we don't know. 480 01:01:39,53 --> 01:01:47,76 And we are that's a few of that. Also developing now people are trying to find ways to resolve that. 481 01:01:49,24 --> 01:01:59,38 And there is a lot of work so I think there are going to manage in the near future to bring some questions. 482 01:02:00,00 --> 01:02:10,04 Some answers. It's a great time to be what you are. Yes where when I was when I was a peerage the student. 483 01:02:10,06 --> 01:02:14,94 I was a bit depressed I mean that's probably no more best to me of a Ph D. 484 01:02:14,94 --> 01:02:22,08 Student I guess but I had this feeling that I was born too late in a world too old 485 01:02:22,8 --> 01:02:31,45 and that many issues about what I was interested in almost. 486 01:02:31,47 --> 01:02:42,29 As been already investigated by a very bright scientist I could not be more wrong than that because one fact. 487 01:02:42,32 --> 01:02:44,12 First of all. 488 01:02:45,14 --> 01:02:53,28 Since I was a student there is a number of new groups of hominid that has been found incredible sag on her. 489 01:02:53,63 --> 01:02:59,07 There are many aspects of biology and behavior 490 01:02:59,07 --> 01:03:08,8 or of hominids that we could not conceive to be accessible to scientific investigation. 491 01:03:08,87 --> 01:03:14,02 So the methodologies been developing at an incredible speed. 492 01:03:14,28 --> 01:03:26,04 So in other words what I'm saying is that probably I witness more progresses in my field since I was a student until 493 01:03:26,04 --> 01:03:29,95 today and probably in the previews I've century. 494 01:03:31,11 --> 01:03:33,39 So I think it's a very exciting time 495 01:03:33,39 --> 01:03:42,24 and I don't think there is reasons why this would stop you know I tell the young students scientist I say you know. 496 01:03:42,26 --> 01:03:44,38 Is going to continue. 497 01:03:44,4 --> 01:03:52,23 And of course there are some issues with the development of all these new methodologies because sometimes they are very 498 01:03:52,23 --> 01:03:58,48 costly or very sophisticated even at a personal level they may demand. 499 01:04:00,00 --> 01:04:09,93 A lot of investment from the scientists in the in the way that in order to master of these methodologies you're hard to 500 01:04:09,93 --> 01:04:15,99 become very specialized sometime I fear that we are going to miss. 501 01:04:18,81 --> 01:04:28,74 People who are more generally some how I see myself as a as a generalist it was always my my my problem. 502 01:04:28,76 --> 01:04:33,69 I was interested in too many things that read. 503 01:04:34,68 --> 01:04:40,98 Somehow it was a great chance that I was given this possibility to build up a department where I can 504 01:04:40,98 --> 01:04:46,14 and can hire people who do all the things I will never do this. I cannot do. 505 01:04:46,14 --> 01:04:52,69 Everything's I basically delegating all these projects to other people and. 506 01:04:52,71 --> 01:04:59,33 But but again I think it's always important when you when you do science and when you study 507 01:05:00,21 --> 01:05:07,6 and you are very good very expert in a narrow field. You can be the best. 508 01:05:08,03 --> 01:05:12,86 Is very important to step back and know and the stand. 509 01:05:12,87 --> 01:05:20,57 What is the big picture and where you little piece of the puzzle fits into this big picture. 510 01:05:22,01 --> 01:05:26,61 What are you afraid of nothing. 511 01:05:28,13 --> 01:05:37,9 You mean for my field for in general is there is there something you can lay awake in bed about. 512 01:05:41,41 --> 01:05:53,29 Not much in fact I of course am anxious about details. I would say. Sometime we have a paper we want to publish. 513 01:05:53,5 --> 01:05:59,73 It's very important to us and it fails for some reason that it's Try seeing. 514 01:06:00,00 --> 01:06:10,88 It's like seeing all there are projects we would like to do and it does not work sometimes for. 515 01:06:10,9 --> 01:06:12,72 I would say political reasons. 516 01:06:13,69 --> 01:06:20,02 In the broad sense interaction with others competition with other groups but 517 01:06:20,94 --> 01:06:30,55 but in general this issues are much more I would say problematic for young scientist. Starting in the field. 518 01:06:31,89 --> 01:06:41,46 For me I would say I suffer for them. But I don't take it personally. Too much at art. 519 01:06:42,59 --> 01:06:55,83 In fact the only thing I'm I fear. Is not working anymore. Basically getting We tied and not being able to. 520 01:06:57,08 --> 01:07:01,87 To do what I'm doing every day and I think this is not a very original. 521 01:07:02,21 --> 01:07:08,29 But I think it's a few know that many scientists have and. 522 01:07:08,31 --> 01:07:19,25 Clearly today I won't have any more capability to develop all these projects to follow them to support students 523 01:07:19,25 --> 01:07:20,41 or young scientist. 524 01:07:21,52 --> 01:07:29,28 It's a great things to be able to work every day with young people a lot of great ideas and basically to play well. 525 01:07:29,33 --> 01:07:32,39 Let's do it and Ab them to do it. 526 01:07:32,39 --> 01:07:40,01 So yeah this is the yeah I'm Sherri that little bit of jury history dalliance about it. 527 01:07:40,06 --> 01:07:44,58 Problems apology has been all misused also. 528 01:07:44,6 --> 01:07:56,28 Or political taken idealistically story from a I don't watch from point to certain level of issue that. 529 01:07:56,36 --> 01:08:15,7 Yeah I think the. Only is strongly influenced by the ideology of. The time digesting or or so by the. 530 01:08:16,98 --> 01:08:24,71 Sometimes by by political power by I would say nationalism for example. 531 01:08:24,73 --> 01:08:35,6 So there are many stories about how people have been biased in the way they interpreted the archaeological evidence 532 01:08:35,6 --> 01:08:44,92 and particularly are based on nationalist issues and so. 533 01:08:44,93 --> 01:08:53,01 I would say rarely I mean speaking about political curage is not true for archaeology of more recent periods 534 01:08:53,01 --> 01:09:03,81 but speaking of apology. There are a few examples where where we can say there is a major or misuse of the flag. 535 01:09:03,9 --> 01:09:18,46 I see more of this as a I would say a pollution of the scientific speech by conception which are nonscientific. 536 01:09:18,48 --> 01:09:23,96 And I think we have to live with that somehow we have to accept that we have to 537 01:09:26,07 --> 01:09:29,19 but the way to live with that is to be aware of this. 538 01:09:30,57 --> 01:09:37,04 I think a common mistake today is to think that this was true in the nineteenth century or the. 539 01:09:37,63 --> 01:09:42,72 The beginning of the twentieth century but today you know we we are. 540 01:09:44,42 --> 01:09:50,68 Good scientists and we are freed from all these things I think we are not more free today than we were a century ago 541 01:09:51,6 --> 01:10:01,44 and I see that every day. In what ways. Well I see that that there are I would say there are fashions. In the future. 542 01:10:01,47 --> 01:10:05,94 Even for example the way the harmonies are we presented. 543 01:10:07,84 --> 01:10:21,01 We are often asked to provide pictures of the world and we found after we construction that we're mad a century ago. 544 01:10:23,51 --> 01:10:34,37 Somehow I think our presentation today our soul sort of funny. If you go to the Neanderthal Velvia. 545 01:10:36,01 --> 01:10:43,46 In front of four and you're in your Dusseldorf they have a reconstruction often at the top with a student in the tile. 546 01:10:43,92 --> 01:10:46,71 Which is watching the visitors. 547 01:10:48,78 --> 01:10:58,45 I think this is the expression of a conception that we have today of how we want to think of the Neanderthals like 548 01:11:00,11 --> 01:11:04,25 other humans just like modern humans almost. 549 01:11:05,23 --> 01:11:13,88 But I think is as wrong as the representation of an end that all like you agree scale from zero. I think so. 550 01:11:13,92 --> 01:11:26,52 We we sort of on this matter are you know all. I would say philosophic or ideological conception that we have today. 551 01:11:26,67 --> 01:11:33,54 Now what is clear is that if you think on the past. 552 01:11:33,55 --> 01:11:46,84 If you think especially in the twentieth century you also see how I would say political situations could influence the 553 01:11:47,58 --> 01:11:56,35 field when colonialism was something common. It doesn't impact on the field and the way. 554 01:11:56,37 --> 01:12:06,59 People use so human evolution for. Example for a long period. Europe was seen as the center of human evolution. 555 01:12:06,61 --> 01:12:09,11 Just because Europe at the center of the world 556 01:12:09,11 --> 01:12:16,03 and so it was difficult to think that modern humans of today did not originate from Europe 557 01:12:16,03 --> 01:12:20,52 and there are there are models in the. First hour for the twenty centuries. 558 01:12:20,85 --> 01:12:31,29 Where in which all the groups of living humans of today Africans Europeans are engines. 559 01:12:31,42 --> 01:12:34,12 With the region A from different sides of Europe. 560 01:12:34,92 --> 01:12:38,79 You know now we find it funny but people we even ridiculous 561 01:12:38,79 --> 01:12:47,16 but people did not think this way in the one nine hundred thirty or forty four. 562 01:12:48,48 --> 01:12:54,38 Well the modern humans originated in Africa. 563 01:12:55,43 --> 01:12:57,29 And they expanded out of Africa 564 01:12:57,29 --> 01:13:06,6 and even after you say that you don't really always measure what it means it means practically means that modern humans 565 01:13:06,6 --> 01:13:10,76 as said to us to modern Europeans 566 01:13:10,76 --> 01:13:21,66 when they arrived in the middle latitudes of for Asia say fifty to forty thousand years ago they were probably black 567 01:13:21,66 --> 01:13:28,59 guys you know and they didn't change their Finot time to adapt to the local conditions. OK. 568 01:13:28,65 --> 01:13:38,99 Or better say their phenotype changed to adapt to the local conditions so. And even today. 569 01:13:39,01 --> 01:13:49,61 They are groups of scientists were not very comfortable with the African A regions of modern humans for example if you 570 01:13:49,61 --> 01:14:02,27 look at the Chinese literature in the field is very easy to detect that space. Surely if you move back. 571 01:14:02,33 --> 01:14:16,1 Not very far in time you see there is a discomfort with African modern origins and. 572 01:14:16,12 --> 01:14:29,71 There is a long tradition of seeing the human evolution in Asia as a distinct process of what has been going on in 573 01:14:29,71 --> 01:14:33,2 other continents Europe or Africa 574 01:14:33,2 --> 01:14:43,72 and so that the idea is that basically modern Chinese would originate in order China and. 575 01:14:45,4 --> 01:14:52,96 That could go back to more writers in China. And so in other words have difficulty. 576 01:14:53,45 --> 01:15:01,34 Difficulties thinking that this is not somehow stained by some form of nationalism. 577 01:15:01,58 --> 01:15:11,17 So there is this idea that humans are to start with the genius homo. 578 01:15:12,34 --> 01:15:21,64 Originated in one place or another or something which has been very popular but which is far from being demonstrated. 579 01:15:22,38 --> 01:15:31,68 But now if you go today in South Africa or in our in Kenya or in Tanzania our people will take your 580 01:15:31,68 --> 01:15:38,39 and take you to a crowd all of humankind somewhere so there are several credit was competing one with the other. 581 01:15:39,85 --> 01:15:46,13 Well I don't know if I don't know maybe there is no crowd or maybe it's a it's a much larger region. 582 01:15:46,8 --> 01:15:55,5 Now for modern humans this notion that modern humans originated in a what has been called some time a god in a few of 583 01:15:55,5 --> 01:16:00,52 them by the way you see the connection with the Biblical. The fall of G. 584 01:16:01,63 --> 01:16:09,23 Has been always very popular or since this notion of African a region developed 585 01:16:09,23 --> 01:16:19,97 and so this garden has been seen in different parts of sub-Saharan Africa where I'm not sure that the reality of the 586 01:16:19,97 --> 01:16:21,7 data are really confirms that 587 01:16:22,63 --> 01:16:37,02 but the region of modern humans has been always a topic where I would say political ideological nationalist issues as 588 01:16:37,02 --> 01:16:43,87 being. Involved somehow so. Before. 589 01:16:45,74 --> 01:16:51,79 Before the Second World War there was this idea that modern humans originated in Europe. 590 01:16:53,43 --> 01:17:01,86 And then during the Nazi regime there was even archaeology is that try to prove that modern humans emerge in government. 591 01:17:02,09 --> 01:17:10,3 You know and they while they got some support from the Nazi regime to demonstrate that. 592 01:17:10,32 --> 01:17:19,22 And today we see all these debate about where are the oldest modern humans it's still there. 593 01:17:19,38 --> 01:17:23,36 And so people fight about different parts of Africa 594 01:17:23,36 --> 01:17:29,05 or now some people who think maybe it's in Asia that modern humans emerge 595 01:17:29,05 --> 01:17:39,51 and again I think is very different to think that you are not influenced by your your directly environment because 596 01:17:39,51 --> 01:17:40,27 first of all 597 01:17:40,27 --> 01:17:50,35 and you are more prone to advocate for our regions in the places that you know where you have been studying different 598 01:17:50,35 --> 01:18:05,31 size and fossils and. In the end I think I see science as a Darwinian process. So there are many wrong ideas.. 599 01:18:00,59 --> 01:18:05,3 Even if sometimes they are very popular. It's not a very democratic T.V. 600 01:18:05,84 --> 01:18:09,71 So the Istari of science is full of popular 601 01:18:09,72 --> 01:18:16,24 or ideas that has been proven to be wrong even if they are supported by a large number of people 602 01:18:16,24 --> 01:18:21,95 but sometimes they have been fired. She filed by minorities or even single individuals. 603 01:18:21,97 --> 01:18:33,45 And so there is this sort of Darwinian process that basically knows it's renew all of our ideas. 604 01:18:34,13 --> 01:18:47,77 One difficulty with policy is that it's there is something that is often missing which is replication of the results 605 01:18:47,77 --> 01:19:02,99 and I think a key aspect of modern science is replicability So if you if you produce any result it should be replicated 606 01:19:02,99 --> 01:19:04,55 by others to be confirmed. 607 01:19:05,5 --> 01:19:07,99 It's not always possible in archaeology 608 01:19:07,99 --> 01:19:18,96 or even why because it's there are fields which are basically built around sites. 609 01:19:19,18 --> 01:19:24,87 So a place somewhere on earth and objects and in general. 610 01:19:25,39 --> 01:19:34,29 Besides all these objects they are controlled by individuals or groups or come trees and so 611 01:19:34,29 --> 01:19:45,94 when a good story has been elaborated around an object or a site and that this good story is is somehow. 612 01:19:47,04 --> 01:19:53,7 Very supportive for a individual or a group or nation this individual this group 613 01:19:53,7 --> 01:20:02,95 or this nation they are not going to be very willing to let other people come and. Check if you are not. 614 01:20:02,96 --> 01:20:10,46 So in Texas a long time in the field of pollen Trump or G.E. Some time to find sci fi. 615 01:20:11,2 --> 01:20:15,81 We zones and and 616 01:20:15,82 --> 01:20:24,5 when it happens sometime it's a bit sort of scandal was we are just publishing a paper that's going to come out Friday. 617 01:20:24,51 --> 01:20:26,94 I can't speak about it because this request. 618 01:20:27,57 --> 01:20:33,58 Will not be on air before but where we have been asked by a museum to we date. 619 01:20:35,26 --> 01:20:38,37 A fossil that has been studied by others 620 01:20:39,19 --> 01:20:46,72 and this fossil has been published in major journals as an eye breed of Neanderthals and modern humans 621 01:20:47,56 --> 01:20:53,7 and by we dating this material we found that that first of all it's very recent and it cannot be 622 01:20:53,7 --> 01:21:00,83 and I breed of Neanderthal in modern humans be that other fragments of human that has been found around are not human. 623 01:21:00,84 --> 01:21:09,05 In fact. And finally investigating the D.N.A. Of these things we found that that is certainly not. 624 01:21:09,16 --> 01:21:15,8 And I breed of the thousand modern humans but a recent. Human probably have nobody to time. 625 01:21:17,03 --> 01:21:22,87 But I predict that the publication of this paper is going to be not well taken. 626 01:21:23,34 --> 01:21:32,99 Not just by the people who published the first ID but I'm not sure that in your all the field lives that. So. 627 01:21:33,94 --> 01:21:46,35 Somehow we it's always difficult to to be the one who is somehow create some kind of heat on scandal about a nice story 628 01:21:46,35 --> 01:21:56,72 that has been around for a while. They're always looking into the fossils into the world which also like to discover. 629 01:21:58,13 --> 01:22:03,76 The World. The World. Lord to the stars. 630 01:22:03,78 --> 01:22:14,24 Oh by the way I've been interested in astronomy when I was I was kid or so I even still have a telescope. 631 01:22:14,26 --> 01:22:24,43 In my basement. But. No I never considered making a profession of. Of something like that. 632 01:22:24,55 --> 01:22:31,01 I've been interested in other things. First of all in my own field. 633 01:22:31,03 --> 01:22:38,17 I think in another life I would like to do other things that I couldn't do in this one. 634 01:22:38,18 --> 01:22:51,32 But outside of the centrifuge feel I think it would have been very interested in another type of creation like 635 01:22:51,32 --> 01:23:05,14 architecture or art. Very impressed by artists and was part of days ago I was in Paris and I had a chance to. 636 01:23:05,16 --> 01:23:13,14 At dinner with first of all to attend a presentation and have dinner with the poor user. 637 01:23:13,15 --> 01:23:17,05 There your family was English Indian. 638 01:23:18,31 --> 01:23:19,62 Sculpture and 639 01:23:21,89 --> 01:23:35,64 and I'm always impressed by the way these are born to explore the reality of things very different way than scientist 640 01:23:35,64 --> 01:23:43,4 but I've got a question also Julia Huxley describes that it's all humans the universe because the cultures of itself 641 01:23:44,14 --> 01:23:50,37 because of a brace. We're not creating a kind of mind of the universe. Bill that would make you think. 642 01:23:51,89 --> 01:24:06,08 Well I think I tend to think on humans as a. A sort of collective brain and. 643 01:24:06,93 --> 01:24:15,23 Probably what is most impressive about humans is that humans as individuals are very sort of weak 644 01:24:15,23 --> 01:24:22,49 and limited creators is difficult to think on a human like a very dangerous creature of foreign nature 645 01:24:22,49 --> 01:24:33,03 or other animals but humans have been throughout their evolution to create social groups 646 01:24:33,03 --> 01:24:40,7 and networks of social networks that were always more extended and 647 01:24:40,71 --> 01:24:50,67 and today we have this sort of almost collective intelligence of humans which is something that. 648 01:24:50,68 --> 01:24:52,74 We do every day that to me. 649 01:24:54,16 --> 01:24:56,23 Is is amazing is the fact that 650 01:24:56,23 --> 01:25:05,7 when you miss an information you can sort of find it almost instantly in the collective brain of all humans of ours 651 01:25:05,7 --> 01:25:08,69 your internet and. 652 01:25:08,71 --> 01:25:18,02 I won't say the word but you you know type a certain name and you're get all sorts of information about that. 653 01:25:18,04 --> 01:25:26,86 And so this this capability to put in relation intelligence and. 654 01:25:26,88 --> 01:25:35,68 And memory of all humans is absolutely fascinating and goes much beyond information or. 655 01:25:37,94 --> 01:25:42,25 Basically recording of anything. 656 01:25:42,52 --> 01:25:53,99 It's also the cap and believe that humans have to add that expertise in a way that they can produce amazing results. 657 01:25:54,41 --> 01:26:04,87 So somehow the main difference between us I mean when I say as I mean I mean. Modern humans of today. And. 658 01:26:05,6 --> 01:26:05,89 A Neanderthal 659 01:26:05,89 --> 01:26:17,62 or an all derived hominids is that provide the most of these people were able to do everything they needed to do to 660 01:26:17,62 --> 01:26:19,78 make their life possible. 661 01:26:19,8 --> 01:26:23,11 And of course for us it's completely different 662 01:26:23,11 --> 01:26:30,34 and almost every single object that are around me not just objects many services 663 01:26:30,34 --> 01:26:40,02 and functions in the modern societies are made possible by the addition of the expertise of many many people to the 664 01:26:40,02 --> 01:26:46,79 example which is are often given is a cellular phone basically nobody would be able to build a cell phone 665 01:26:47,77 --> 01:26:54,27 but by hiding many many people were able to conceive and to produce all the parts of a set of fallen 666 01:26:54,27 --> 01:26:57,93 and the software and everything we have this amazing object. 667 01:26:58,46 --> 01:27:05,98 So this notion that humans are we present a sort of network of memory unconscious. 668 01:27:07,17 --> 01:27:11,33 Today is quite striking with especially the internet 669 01:27:12,09 --> 01:27:23,38 and interconnection of many individual is not a completely new idea somehow because you know if you moved back in the 670 01:27:23,38 --> 01:27:33,13 nineteenth century. You had people. To date seems a bit a bit strange but we may think of that. 671 01:27:36,38 --> 01:27:42,99 Separated in nature and vegetal rame a any more rain in the human race 672 01:27:44,06 --> 01:27:55,1 and just yesterday I was reading a chapter of a book but I do cattle five years very famous naturalist. 673 01:27:55,12 --> 01:28:04,02 Just after the French Revolution and look at her far. Developed in this book at this notion of human race. 674 01:28:04,31 --> 01:28:11,17 And is argument is exactly this one is the notion that humans they have acquired. 675 01:28:12,93 --> 01:28:19,17 Something that the rest of nature does not have is the self conscious. 676 01:28:19,89 --> 01:28:27,28 And so especially if you see humans as a bit network is the sort of south conscious of the of the universe itself 677 01:28:27,28 --> 01:28:37,33 somehow or at least the given creators on one planet. What when they fall a paradox is that I'm a bit torn. 678 01:28:37,48 --> 01:28:43,19 I thought that somehow of course. Humans are absolutely unique. 679 01:28:44,82 --> 01:28:51,22 In many aspects but in the meantime we know how they would endure living world 680 01:28:52,05 --> 01:28:57,64 and we know that the very close to apes like chimpanzees and bonobos 681 01:28:59,71 --> 01:29:09,67 and so in other words I think this notion that of course the notion of human rain is kind of ridiculous because we 682 01:29:09,67 --> 01:29:17,44 belong to the any more rain of course is not just that we belong to the animal world actually we are some kind of 683 01:29:17,44 --> 01:29:23,28 bizarre apes very close from one species of other apes the chimpanzee 684 01:29:24,07 --> 01:29:32,43 and a species which is further away from things like. Tabs or deepens or things like that. 685 01:29:35,18 --> 01:29:41,08 So we tend to develop this notion of exceptionalism of. 686 01:29:41,1 --> 01:29:49,58 Of humans but to some extend it's true of course with with living humans with modern humans 687 01:29:49,58 --> 01:29:58,8 and I mentioned many aspects that mag that absolutely unique in the in Story of Life. 688 01:30:00,00 --> 01:30:04,98 In the meantime I think we have to be careful not to project 689 01:30:04,99 --> 01:30:14,33 or extend this notion of exceptionalism into the past because if we move into the past. 690 01:30:14,35 --> 01:30:20,18 Ha meanings that lead to under five hundred thousand years ago. 691 01:30:20,2 --> 01:30:28,64 I think they were just like another piece species of mammals on earth and they are. Something a bit unusual. 692 01:30:29,25 --> 01:30:42,1 Carnivore all those predatory apes ill able to run after animals and catch them eat them. But in terms of. 693 01:30:43,35 --> 01:30:52,45 Simply in terms of numbers there was nothing remarkable nothing would be visible all in the landscape I would say. 694 01:30:52,47 --> 01:30:56,99 And if you think for example on the computer shown between humans and con yours. 695 01:30:58,36 --> 01:31:02,96 There are places on earth where obviously humans sort of. 696 01:31:02,98 --> 01:31:10,19 Succeeded in the in this competition but there are other places where it's not so our views for a long time 697 01:31:10,19 --> 01:31:21,82 and saw for example we think that the development of human groups. Say before I fully you and your goal in Europe. 698 01:31:21,83 --> 01:31:31,86 Was probably somehow limited by. The reach that rules. 699 01:31:31,88 --> 01:31:37,03 Very large carnivores existing in these in this part of the planet and so 700 01:31:37,03 --> 01:31:43,35 or to cause some time to take over the situation so. 701 01:31:43,37 --> 01:31:48,95 Again I think we should refrain ourselves from projecting in the past. 702 01:31:49,86 --> 01:31:58,12 What humans are today or how we want to see us today.. 703 01:31:53,53 --> 01:31:59,87 I think this is a main problem it has been always a problem in pattern trouble of G. Somehow we. 704 01:32:00,00 --> 01:32:09,87 Even people working on homonyms leaving two million years ago or more wanted to see them like. Version. 705 01:32:09,89 --> 01:32:15,85 And little bit more primitive of modern humans but running around in the seven Loving villages 706 01:32:15,85 --> 01:32:24,47 and meeting every night to tell stories to each other which I think it's a fantasy. 707 01:32:24,49 --> 01:32:31,33 Last question you are in the art we are serious as an arch types every every episode is our stuff your in the Concorde. 708 01:32:33,32 --> 01:32:45,29 Is that well. Well you mean it. A conqueror. I can I came to present that two ways. One way is. 709 01:32:45,93 --> 01:32:58,31 As an individual and another way is regarding my topic of research. So as an individual. 710 01:32:59,09 --> 01:33:02,3 I have been always a rather ambitious person I think 711 01:33:03,24 --> 01:33:20,42 and I my first years on earth were very challenging in many ways and I could not have survived I had a difficult start. 712 01:33:20,44 --> 01:33:23,83 And and I was I was poor. 713 01:33:25,99 --> 01:33:29,95 And so I was a immigrant I was a refugee 714 01:33:30,98 --> 01:33:41,51 and I had these kind of I think retrospectively I can see that had the sort of range of. 715 01:33:41,53 --> 01:33:51,1 You know managing doing well in life and being successful in reaching my goals and. 716 01:33:51,96 --> 01:33:59,85 Even from a matter of point of view to be you know on the safe side. I would say. So yeah I can. QUERO my mother. 717 01:34:00,00 --> 01:34:10,96 Like that. Probably if you would hear that now. If you think on my my my topic of my main topic of interest. 718 01:34:13,92 --> 01:34:28,95 Certainly you can see the evolution of humans as a sort of epics. Epic Story of a conquest of the planet by a species. 719 01:34:28,97 --> 01:34:35,57 I try to keep a cool brain somehow about that because this is something you find a lot in the literature 720 01:34:35,57 --> 01:34:40,00 or in the also in the popular eater at your. T.V. 721 01:34:40,00 --> 01:34:51,1 Documentary films and I think it's a sort of ritual spect You've way we have to tell the story. 722 01:34:51,12 --> 01:35:01,76 And it it meets this this storytelling which is so popular above the follow G. Of our. 723 01:35:02,69 --> 01:35:13,12 Species the mythology of far human societies and modern societies. I think somehow humans have been driven into these. 724 01:35:16,46 --> 01:35:29,07 Ecological needs. First completely by chance I would say and the fact is that we are lucky to be humans and not to be. 725 01:35:29,09 --> 01:35:33,46 And then germ species on Earth but. 726 01:35:34,4 --> 01:35:42,79 We have to remember that many other New Harmony and humans existed on earth and they are not here anymore. 727 01:35:42,81 --> 01:35:49,47 And so that should maybe give us a certain level of modesty 728 01:35:49,47 --> 01:35:59,81 or maybe you know it's a sort of warning that we have to be called for. Because speeches are more. 729 01:36:00,96 --> 01:36:05,33 And evolution is mostly about extinction. 730 01:36:05,35 --> 01:36:12,96 So it's nice that we have this level of conscious that lowers to speak about it and to analyze a lot of things 731 01:36:13,73 --> 01:36:25,86 but so let's be wise somehow. So we have been conquered by accident but let's let's be wise men and now that.