Horizon Neanderthal: The Rebirth
This edition of Horizon does something that no one has done before. We have assembled the first ever complete Neanderthal skeleton, from parts gathered from all over the world, to reveal the most anatomically accurate representation of modern humanity's closest relative. The aim is to use this skeleton to answer two of the great questions of human evolution. Was Neanderthal a thinking, feeling human being like us, or a primitive beast? And why is it that we are here today, and Neanderthal is extinct? To answer these questions, we've brought together a team of leading experts to explore the skeleton for clues, and perform experiments to test out their ideas. Their findings allow us to use drama to bring Neanderthal to life with unrivalled accuracy. They reveal how Neanderthal hunted, thought - even spoke. What emerges is a very different beast to the brute of legend. It seems Neanderthal was in many ways our equal and in some ways our superior. And the story of his extinction owed less to modern humans' superiority than sheer luck.
Horizon is an ongoing and long-running British documentary television series on BBC that covers science and philosophy.
Primary Title
- Horizon
Episode Title
- Neanderthal: The Rebirth
Date Broadcast
- Thursday 26 May 2011
Original Broadcast Date
- Thursday 10 February 2005
Duration
- 55:00
Series
- 2005
Channel
- BBC Knowledge
Broadcaster
- Sky Network Television
Programme Description
- Horizon is an ongoing and long-running British documentary television series on BBC that covers science and philosophy.
Episode Description
- This edition of Horizon does something that no one has done before. We have assembled the first ever complete Neanderthal skeleton, from parts gathered from all over the world, to reveal the most anatomically accurate representation of modern humanity's closest relative. The aim is to use this skeleton to answer two of the great questions of human evolution. Was Neanderthal a thinking, feeling human being like us, or a primitive beast? And why is it that we are here today, and Neanderthal is extinct? To answer these questions, we've brought together a team of leading experts to explore the skeleton for clues, and perform experiments to test out their ideas. Their findings allow us to use drama to bring Neanderthal to life with unrivalled accuracy. They reveal how Neanderthal hunted, thought - even spoke. What emerges is a very different beast to the brute of legend. It seems Neanderthal was in many ways our equal and in some ways our superior. And the story of his extinction owed less to modern humans' superiority than sheer luck.
Classification
- Unknown
Owning Collection
- TV & Radio
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by agreement with rights owner.
Subjects
- Neanderthals
- Documentary television programs--Great Britain
Genres
- History
- Science
Contributors
- Joe Duttine (Narrator)
- Faroque Khan (Actor)
- Eliott Shrimpton (Actor)
- Cameron Balbirnie (Producer)
- Cameron Balbirnie (Writer)
- Matthew Barrett (Editor)
- BBC (Production Unit)
- Science Channel (Production Unit)
Subjects
- Neanderthals
- Documentary television programs--Great Britain