Our Origins: Exploring The Human Spark

“Our Origins: Exploring the Human Spark” explores the cutting edge of research being done by scholars seeking to discover what made human beings different from the other primates – and when that difference first occurred. Professors Robin Dunbar of Oxford University and Michael L Wilson of the University of Minnesota are among many interdisciplinary researchers whose work connects studies of modern primate behavior with the analysis of evidence on early human evolution from the very distant past. Inspired by WNET’s “The Hu Spark” featuring Alan Alda, this production includes experts on chimpanzee behavior, our earliest human ancestors, Neanderthal social development and the emergence of modern humans as they seek to answer the question: what exactly was the spark that set us apart from the other great apes, and defines us now as a species? Was it language, or reasoning, or the use of fire – or other significant turning points over the past three million years? Created in association with the Science Museum of Minnesota.