What is our identity as humans? – Part 2
In the fourth episode, the author discusses the surprising evidence of the Mungo Lake remains, which suggests that humans had reached Australia even before they had reached Europe, contradicting to the fact that Australia is farther than Europe and hence not possible to do so. Alice attempts to trace the journey. She visits a site in India (the recently discovered Jwalapuram in today’s Andhra Pradesh state) that appears to indicate that humans were living there 70,000 years ago, both before and after the Toba super volcano deposited ash on the site.
She then points out that the reason that Samang people of Malaysia, who look different from other South East Asian peoples, might be because they might still be carrying the gene in them from this group of Homo sapiens and that they may be descendants of the peoples who first left Africa. She describes the discovery of tiny humans on the Indonesian island of Flores (Homo floresiensis or Hobbits, as they have been nicknamed) and suggests that they may have been exterminated by Homo sapiens. She completes the crossing of the Torres Strait on a bamboo raft and concludes by visiting a tribe in Northern Australia whose mythology describes their mother goddess arriving from across the sea.
In the final episode, she finds out from the available archeological evidence, how Homo sapiens might have reached the Americas. She explains the theory which explains how humans reached Americas from Siberia by crossing the Ice Age sheets through a small land bridge which opened 13000 years ago. Then she visits archeological sites in Texas, Brazil, the Californian Channel Islands and Monte Verde in southern Chile which show 14,000-year old human remains which contradicts the fact that the first humans to arrive on the continent was 13000 years ago but it should be before that time. This proves that humans should have arrived through a different route. She encounters the skull of a woman called Luzia, which surprisingly shows Australasian features rather than the East Asian features of modern Native Americans. An archaeologist explains that these first Americans may have been Asians who migrated before Asians developed their distinctive facial features. Alice shows that the earliest Americans may have migrated down through the west coast lines of both Americas.
My intention of writing this blog is to convey the below message:
After watching this amazing documentary (which I feel is worth a watch for one and everyone as it provides complete information on the theories found, this is because my blog gives a skeletal information only), it certainly made me think a lot about how we humans fight with each other for such trivial things such as how good our own country and culture is. If we just think deeply about this, would we have been here in this “civilised” world if this small group had not moved out of Africa and faced those life-threatening challenges?
No matter what hardship they faced, these groups certainly must have maintained a strong sense of community. This must have therefore been one of the critical factors that underlies the survival and spread of modern humans. When we think about this, I wonder if there could still be such hatred among humans about their own races being superior, and their own culture being the best.
To me, I feel that humans have this knack of adapting themselves to any conditions and cultivating a way of living and then call it “their” culture.
Just imagine, if the same people who went to Europe and developed pale fair skin went through the route towards Australia instead, would they still have had fair skin anyway? No, they would still have looked like native Australians.
Also, if those Homo sapiens who stayed along in subcontinent, had moved to Europe instead, would they have had the opportunity to enjoy the spices and good weather Indians enjoy? I personally do not think so.
So I feel modern humans, that is “us”, should stop fretting about their own miseries they are facing now and should broaden their minds and rediscover our true selves - about where we came from, how our ancestors struggled through and survived everything that nature threw at them.
This, I feel, will surely make us humble; I mean each and every one of us, if only one makes an effort to spare a moment and thinks about this!
Reference:
-> Documentary “The Incredible Human Journey”, by Alice Roberts
-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Human_Journey
She then points out that the reason that Samang people of Malaysia, who look different from other South East Asian peoples, might be because they might still be carrying the gene in them from this group of Homo sapiens and that they may be descendants of the peoples who first left Africa. She describes the discovery of tiny humans on the Indonesian island of Flores (Homo floresiensis or Hobbits, as they have been nicknamed) and suggests that they may have been exterminated by Homo sapiens. She completes the crossing of the Torres Strait on a bamboo raft and concludes by visiting a tribe in Northern Australia whose mythology describes their mother goddess arriving from across the sea.
In the final episode, she finds out from the available archeological evidence, how Homo sapiens might have reached the Americas. She explains the theory which explains how humans reached Americas from Siberia by crossing the Ice Age sheets through a small land bridge which opened 13000 years ago. Then she visits archeological sites in Texas, Brazil, the Californian Channel Islands and Monte Verde in southern Chile which show 14,000-year old human remains which contradicts the fact that the first humans to arrive on the continent was 13000 years ago but it should be before that time. This proves that humans should have arrived through a different route. She encounters the skull of a woman called Luzia, which surprisingly shows Australasian features rather than the East Asian features of modern Native Americans. An archaeologist explains that these first Americans may have been Asians who migrated before Asians developed their distinctive facial features. Alice shows that the earliest Americans may have migrated down through the west coast lines of both Americas.
My intention of writing this blog is to convey the below message:
After watching this amazing documentary (which I feel is worth a watch for one and everyone as it provides complete information on the theories found, this is because my blog gives a skeletal information only), it certainly made me think a lot about how we humans fight with each other for such trivial things such as how good our own country and culture is. If we just think deeply about this, would we have been here in this “civilised” world if this small group had not moved out of Africa and faced those life-threatening challenges?
No matter what hardship they faced, these groups certainly must have maintained a strong sense of community. This must have therefore been one of the critical factors that underlies the survival and spread of modern humans. When we think about this, I wonder if there could still be such hatred among humans about their own races being superior, and their own culture being the best.
To me, I feel that humans have this knack of adapting themselves to any conditions and cultivating a way of living and then call it “their” culture.
Just imagine, if the same people who went to Europe and developed pale fair skin went through the route towards Australia instead, would they still have had fair skin anyway? No, they would still have looked like native Australians.
Also, if those Homo sapiens who stayed along in subcontinent, had moved to Europe instead, would they have had the opportunity to enjoy the spices and good weather Indians enjoy? I personally do not think so.
So I feel modern humans, that is “us”, should stop fretting about their own miseries they are facing now and should broaden their minds and rediscover our true selves - about where we came from, how our ancestors struggled through and survived everything that nature threw at them.
This, I feel, will surely make us humble; I mean each and every one of us, if only one makes an effort to spare a moment and thinks about this!
Reference:
-> Documentary “The Incredible Human Journey”, by Alice Roberts
-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Human_Journey
thanks. that was a really informative post. will definity try to watch the doc.
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