The Real Eve Page #4

they belonged to that group...

we need to look at their genetic

lines. The mitochondrial DNA...

will tell us whether or not

they come straight out of...

the two daughters of Eve

that originated just outside Africa.

If they have their own

unique lines that suggests...

they've been isolated since

that time, 70 or 80,000 years ago.

And that they have developed

completely on their own.

If on the other hand, we might even

find that their lines are ancestral...

to people further down the line, like

the Australians or the New Guineans.

Again, our genetic tracing will

help us to see if that's the case.

The genetic survey may prove

the Semang are an ancient race...

but it can't tell us exactly

when they were here.

We have to look for other

evidence to validate the theory.

These crude tools were found in a

wooded valley called Kota Tampan...

near Penang. There are other sites

nearby with the same sort of tools.

What makes these so interesting

is that they are embedded...

in a fall of Toba ash

dated 74,000 years ago.

Professor Zorinana Najeek was

looking for an ancient river terrace...

when she stumbled upon

the Kota Tampan site.

What Professor Najeek had actually

found was a stone tool workshop...

which could be pinpointed

to 74,000 years ago.

The ash covered

the working floor.

That ash has been dated

to 74,000 years ago.

This is a hammer stone

that they used...

and you can see that it's very

comfortable to hold it in the hand.

And this is the edge

that was used.

This is a chopper.

A type that is seen

in a lot of Asia...

and Southeast Asia.

What they were after

was the edge angle.

The edge angle

had to be right...

and the edge had to be sharp.

This was used for heavy-duty work.

It's heavy, it's got a sharp edge...

probably for felling trees.

Najeek is convinced that

they were left by modern man.

Kota Tampan also revealed

man who had a complex mind.

His total technology

reveals a rational...

systematic and

organized mind.

The mind of Homo-sapiens.

These Kota Tampan tools

are crucial...

for the dating of modern man's

presence in Southeast Asia.

They're the first tangible evidence

we have of the whole journey...

from Africa to Australia. Combined

with Steven Oppenheimer's...

genetic tests, they could be real

proof of our ancient migration.

Has he found the

evidence he needs?

For the first time, archeology and

genetics gives us the same answer...

at this crucial point

in our journey.

Now we can be sure our ancestors

came this way 74,000 years ago.

The results are very exciting.

The 0rang Asli...

the Semang group here,

have their own...

unique genetic lines

which suggest...

that they may have been in that

first trip 75,000 years ago.

They have their

own unique lines...

coming out of the first

two daughters of Eve outside Africa.

And they trace right back there, and

are not shared with anyone else...

in Southeast Asia

or in East Asia.

At that time, the sea levels

were 160 feet lower.

Most of the islands of Southeast

Asia were joined together...

into the single landmass

of the Sunda continent.

The survivors of the volcanic winter

would take our genetic journey...

onto its next great move,

the unknown continent of Australia.

100 miles of shark-infested sea

separated them from the new land.

This is the second great exodus

in the migration of mankind.

But this time there are no

green hills in the Yemen...

to give them the comfort

of a safe arrival.

Why did they risk all

on such a dangerous venture...

not even knowing if they would

make landfall at the end?

Some scientists believe

they were blown off course...

and arrived in the

unknown shore accidentally.

But new clues from the

genetic evidence says no.

It shows that Australian aborigines

have a number of genetic lines...

unique only to them, leading straight

back to the first daughters...

of our new Out of Africa Eve.

So many lines,

carried by so many women...

arriving in such a short time

suggest deliberate intention...

not accidental raft raid.

The first group arrived

70,000 years ago.

More followed

over the next 5,000 years.

All descendants

of our Out of Africa Eve.

These were the first people to walk

on this vast and empty continent.

They would stay undisturbed

for thousands of years.

The Australia they entered

was home to giant creatures...

megafauna, 3 meter high kangaroos

and tortoises as big as cars.

The cave of this vanished world

has been dated to 61,000 years ago.

But suddenly,

10,000 years later...

this fantastical creature and all

the other megafauna were extinct.

The climate didn't alter. There are

no sites indicating over-hunting.

But humans change the world

wherever they are.

This sudden extinction

is evidence of their presence.

It seems likely our ancestors

destroyed the leafy habitat...

with fire and the larger plant-eating

animals simply died away.

This dry lakebed is one of the places

where the theory might fall apart...

in spite of the matching

of archeology and genes...

back up on the trail

in Malaysia.

Mungo Man 3.

When he was found, the earth around

him was dated 62,000 years old.

When the bones were tested

for DNA, sensationally...

the DNA did not match anyone,

anywhere in the world.

To those who don't believe

in the Out of Africa theory...

this seems to be proof

that modern humans...

had evolved at different times

and at different places in the world...

into the people we are today.

But other scientists, like Professor

Chris Stringer, are doubtful.

There are many problems in extracting

DNA from a skeleton 60,000 years old.

So, firstly it might be that

the DNA that's been picked up...

is contamination, we're not sure.

But even if it's genuine DNA...

other analyses have shown that

it can reasonably be derived...

from an 0ut of Africa ancestor

just as the rest of us can.

So, in my view, the Mungo evidence

both from the bones...

and from the DNA,

if it's genuine...

still supports a recent African

origin for our species.

Australian aborigines

are an ancient people.

But they no longer look like

their ancestors...

who arrived all those

thousands of years ago.

Their bodies adapted, retaining the

characteristics needed to survive...

as hunter-gatherers

in the harsh desert environment.

Under the skin,

we are all very much alike.

Our DNA shows that we come

from one very small gene pool.

If we look at the DNA of all of us,

Australians, Africans...

Europeans, we find that comparing

the mitochondrial DNA of all of us...

we show less variation, even though

we're spread over the whole world...

we show less variation in the

mitochondrial DNA than we'd find...

in a small group of chimpanzees

or orangutans or gorillas.

Those apes show more variation,

even in their small groups...

than the entire human race.

But if all the people from

around the world...

descend from such

a small gene pool...

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