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Neanderthals: the Rise and Fall

From their emergence in Europe and western Asia to their disappearance, the film traces Neanderthal biology, culture, and the forces that ended their lineage.

Chapters

• 0:07 Origins and Spread
• 1:25 Social Bonds and Symbolism
• 2:52 Cognition, Diet, and Genetics
• 4:01 Decline and Disappearance

On-screen text

• 0:07 Origins and Spread
• 0:14 Origins and Spread
• 0:31 Robust Neanderthal body, healed injuries Historical record · La Chapelle‑aux‑Saints 1, Musée d'Archéologie Nationale (France)
• 0:49 Levallois flake production Historical record · Leroi‑Gourhan, 1955, Mousterian industry studies
• 1:16 Evidence of controlled fire The Institute's interpretation · Zilhão et al., 2010, Science, hearth residues at Qesem Cave
• 1:25 Social Bonds and Symbolism
• 1:32 Social Bonds and Symbolism
• 1:49 Healed skull injury suggests care Historical record · Shanidar 1, Iraqi Kurdistan, excavated 1957, British Museum
• 2:07 Shell ornament suggests symbolism The Institute's interpretation · Trinkaus et al., 1995, Shanidar 4 burial report
• 2:25 Ivory bead as ornament Historical record · González et al., 2000, El Sidrón site report (Spain)
• 2:43 Ochre staining as early art The Institute's interpretation · Zilhão et al., 2010, PNAS, red ochre at Cueva de los Aviones
• 2:52 Cognition, Diet, and Genetics
• 2:59 Cognition, Diet, and Genetics
• 3:16 Hyoid bone shows speech potential Historical record · Kebara 2, Israel, 1984, Israel Antiquities Authority
• 3:34 Plant protein in diet The Institute's interpretation · Hardy et al., 2012, PNAS, stable isotope analysis of Kebara 2
• 3:52 Neanderthal‑Denisovan gene flow Historical record · Meyer et al., 2016, Nature, Altai Neanderthal genome
• 4:01 Decline and Disappearance
• 4:32 Rapid cooling around 40 ka The Institute's interpretation · Higham et al., 2014, Nature, radiocarbon chronology of Late Pleistocene sites
• 4:48 Neanderthals and modern humans overlapped The Institute's interpretation · Bar‑Yosef et al., 2002, Science, Middle Paleolithic transition
• 5:12 Pliny described wild mountain men Tradition / scripture · Pliny the Elder, Natural History (1st c. AD)

Sources

Historical record: La Chapelle‑aux‑Saints 1, Musée d'Archéologie Nationale (France) · Leroi‑Gourhan, 1955, Mousterian industry studies · Martínez et al., 1997, Sima de los Huesos assemblage (Spain) · Shanidar 1, Iraqi Kurdistan, excavated 1957, British Museum · González et al., 2000, El Sidrón site report (Spain) · Kebara 2, Israel, 1984, Israel Antiquities Authority · Meyer et al., 2016, Nature, Altai Neanderthal genome

Tradition / scripture: Pliny the Elder, Natural History (1st c. AD)

The Institute's interpretation: Zilhão et al., 2010, Science, hearth residues at Qesem Cave · Trinkaus et al., 1995, Shanidar 4 burial report · Zilhão et al., 2010, PNAS, red ochre at Cueva de los Aviones · Hardy et al., 2012, PNAS, stable isotope analysis of Kebara 2 · Higham et al., 2014, Nature, radiocarbon chronology of Late Pleistocene sites · Bar‑Yosef et al., 2002, Science, Middle Paleolithic transition

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 85 s of CPU.