The Incredible Human Journey

The Incredible Human Journey

How did we get here?

Following a trail of clues from the latest scientific research, Dr Alice Roberts re-traces the greatest ever journey taken by our ancestors. Thousands of years ago one small group of our species, Homo sapiens, crossed out of Africa and into the unknown. Their descendants faced baking deserts, sweat-soaked jungles and frozen wildernesses and risked everything on the vast empty ocean. Within 60,000 years they colonised the whole world… How did they do it? Why do we, their descendants all look so different? And what did we have that meant we were the only human species to survive?

Using the evidence from genetics, fossils, archaeology and climatology, Dr Alice Roberts uncovers five epic routes our ancestors took across the globe and the obstacles and brutal challenges they encountered along the way. It reveals how our family tree grew and spread out across the world, producing all the variety we see in the human species today – but despite all that diversity, Alice reveals how astonishingly closely related we all are.

Released in 2009. 5 hours (5 episodes in one playlist). TV documentary series. Suggested by Alex.

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John Smith

What annoys me is that the ‘Out of Africa Theory’ is always spinned as fact and not as a THEORY.

The Chinese have recently suggested that they developed seperately in Asia, even if they’re wrong, it doesn’t change the fact that this documentary treates humanity as if it were a ‘race’ instead of a ‘species’ and that is just poor journalism.

Rick.

There are two very different meanings for the word theory. In science it is not meant as a hypothesis or a guess, but a conclusion from all of the gathered evidence, which includes, in the case, things such as fossil records and genes relating every single human being to a common Ethiopian ancestor. One piece out of place would crush what science takes to be a theory.

The Chinese had a failed attempt at separating themselves from the rest of humanity to fit with ancient beliefs, however no conclusive evidence has contradicted the premiss of this film – so far!

I found this documentary to be very interesting and enjoyable.

Steven

There are not two different meanings of the word “theory”. “Theory” does not mean “hypothesis” or “guess” at all ever!

It is both true and significant that every theory is always under-determined by all the available evidence; and also that there is always an indeterminate number of possible theories to fit any given body of evidence.

A given theory is preferred to others on the basis of normative principles such as simplicity – perhaps even on the basis of inherited tradition.

For most theories, (and most pieces of evidence), it is not true that “one piece out of place would “crush” the theory”; most theories are sufficently complex to be tweaked, revised and adjusted in the face of most pieces of discomfirming evidence.

We are entitled provisionally to believe that our species orignated in Africa, but only while bearing in mind that scientific theories can only ever offer degrees of probability. And it can only offer that relative to a set of background assumptions, (or rules for theorising), which cannot themselves be validated within then same system.
Steven

There are not two different meanings of the word “theory”. “Theory” does not mean “hypothesis” or “guess” at all ever!

It is both true and significant that every theory is always under-determined by all the available evidence; and also that there is always an indeterminate number of possible theories to fit any given body of evidence.

A given theory is preferred to others on the basis of normative principles such as simplicity – perhaps even on the basis of inherited tradition.

For most theories, (and most pieces of evidence), it is not true that “one piece out of place would “crush” the theory”; most theories are sufficently complex to be tweaked, revised and adjusted in the face of most pieces of discomfirming evidence.

We are entitled provisionally to believe that our species orignated in Africa, but only while bearing in mind that scientific theories can only ever offer degrees of probability. And it can only offer that relative to a set of background assumptions, (or rules for theorising), which cannot themselves be validated within then same system.

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