First Man Page #4

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to cut and slice the flesh, break the bones.

He shapes them out of a rock.

These shards are as sharp as razors.

It will take thousands of years

to master the technique.

One of the great advantages of our ancestors

relied on their capacity for imagination

and on the language they were

beginning to articulate.

They were capable of conceiving a project,

weighing up different aspects,

and anticipating future needs.

The young male has decided to train the group

to find carcasses and bring them back.

He lays out his vision.

His words evoke images of abundant feasts.

He captures their attention.

He wins them over with his words.

The alpha understands that his

dominance is under threat,

his physical force no longer sufficient.

So he takes the young male's idea.

The dream of plentiful food

is leading them into dangerous territory.

Sediba are prey.

Without their trees they are vulnerable.

And yet they march into the unknown,

driven by an urge greater than any other to eat.

They explore a continent

inhabited by great carnivores

on their hunt for carcasses left by

the kings of the savanna.

Who would think that this band of scavengers

would soon dominate the planet?

When a carcass is found,

everyone should take their turn.

First the top predators.

Then the hyenas.

The vultures, and the rest.

It's crucial to get there at the right time.

The alpha doesn't know that yet.

Their tree.

They should never have left their tree.

It is perhaps at this moment

that the fate of the entire human race

hangs in the balance.

They could retreat to the safety of the tree

and risk dying of starvation.

Or they could head into the unknown,

risking being attacked,

but having the chance to eat.

What should they do?

The young female doesn't know what to choose.

Everything is telling them to seek shelter.

Is there another life beyond the trees?

The group splits into two factions.

Some follow the young female while the others

head back to the tree.

In fact, it is the weaker ones that will

make the right choice.

They will risk everything for a better life.

The strong, never one to give up their privileges.

Those that leave are guided by the imagination.

Open spaces, prey in abundance,

food for everyone.

They dream of another world,

a better world up there over the mountains.

Even the old female, her

energy nearly spent,

is galvanized by hope.

This world does exist.

A vast land of riches.

If some of us hadn't had this astonishing courage,

we wouldn't be here today.

Those that have chosen to stay near the trees

will survive for a time.

They will be known as Paranthropus,

or almost humans.

But they will not be able to adapt

to the next climatic changes.

We thought that Lucy, the

most famous Australopithecus,

was the grandmother of humanity.

We were wrong.

Lucy was in fact one of these almost humans

and her descendants died

out a million years later.

Those that left the savanna

freed themselves from a life in the trees,

and had to invent a new way of living.

The world isn't exactly as they imagined.

There are riches all around,

but there are just as many traps.

Limitless space lies ahead of us

and nothing will stop our advance.

Is this how man became free?

Is this how we became truly human?

Some believe so.

But is there still something missing?

After the sediba, a new species emerges,

a very mobile man.

The next character in our story is

an unparalleled explorer, Homo erectus.

Five million years ago the two Americas collided.

This led to the creation of the Gulf Stream.

This warm current travels from the Gulf of Mexico

up towards the Arctic and plunges into the ocean,

taking the heat with it.

The polar icecap formed,

the earth cooled and entered the Ice Age.

The green plains of the Sahara dried out.

Two million years ago,

populations of herbivores left Africa

in search of new pastures.

Homo erectus followed.

Some of our ancestors migrated to Europe,

others to Asia.

They crossed mountains and deserts,

forests and swamps.

They traveled unthinkable

distances into the unknown.

Driven by the spirit of conquest

passed down to them from their ancestors,

they migrate to the far east.

The north of China, home of

the Chinese Homo erectus.

Homo erectus possesses the anatomy of a champion.

This man of the plains is born to run.

A vertical body propelled by his long legs

and balanced by his arms.

He is equipped with an extraordinary internal

cooling system, a body covered in short hairs,

sweat glands that allow perspiration,

and in his brain a

blood-purifying system

that regulates body temperature.

This gives him the most stamina

of any living creature.

Homo erectus has now become a big game hunter.

Like wolves they track their prey

across great distances.

They are slower, but can run a lot longer

than their prey.

When the prey is exhausted,

they set the trap.

For Homo erectus, power is not reserved

for the males.

The difference in size between males

and females has reduced.

The rule of the strongest has been replaced

by the leadership of the cleverest.

In this group, a female is in charge.

Her ability to anticipate,

her intelligence and her political skill

have made her their chief.

No longer scavengers competing with vultures,

thanks to their weapons and

collective organization,

Homo erectus now compete with the top predators.

But they have become dependent on their prey.

They must follow them wherever they go.

They have become nomads.

And so they build shelters on their travels.

Their ancestors adapted to their environment.

They are transforming it.

Finding a site to set up camp.

They are building the first shelters.

Sometimes enclosed by fences,

camps that allow them to protect themselves.

Homo erectus has created a more complex society.

Each member of the group now has a role

often according to their particular skills.

Some are skilled at shaping rocks.

Others for cutting meat.

Social functions appear for tanning hides

or building shelters.

Work and the distribution of tasks

are now a part of human life,

with all the pressures and

conflicts that come with them.

Clearly some do more than others.

The leader of the group must maintain justice.

The most important moment of the day

is when the food is shared out.

Serving some first with the best cuts,

giving a little extra to

someone she may need soon,

establishing a hierarchy and nurturing alliances.

The fine details of the social life

require political skill.

To protect their bodies,

Homo erectus have clothes made from plants,

hides, and bark.

But this brings its own problems.

Parasites have found a new home.

A body covered in thin visible skin

is easy and enticing prey for bloodsuckers.

They no longer fear predators.

But another enemy now stalks them.

More dangerous, more ruthless.

The world is still full of unexplained phenomena.

Homo erectus has an inquiring mind,

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