Where was the last place humans made home?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 February 2019
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our species started in Africa, but what was the last habitable landmass we reached? CrowdScience presenters Marnie Chesterton and Geoff Marsh team up to investigate how and when our species journeyed around the world and settled its most far flung landmasses. Geoff heads to some ancient caves in Israel to investigate the ‘false starts’ humans made out of Africa, and Marnie speaks with Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith in New Zealand, uncovering the development of Polynesian sailing canoes and how they enabled the last landmasses to be found by people. This is a story spanning over seventy thousand years, huge changes in culture and technology, and the repeated remodelling of the earth thanks to the ice ages.
Produced by Rory Galloway
(Photo: Polynesian canoeists at sunset. Credit: Richmatts/Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:29.7 | You're listening to Crowd Science on the BBC World Service, the show that takes your questions and turns them into audio adventures. I'm Marnie Chesterton and today's question comes from this guy. |
| 0:42.8 | My name is Vinicius and I'm from Portolagre in South Brazil and my question is where was the last place humans |
| 0:50.8 | got to as a species and especially why it's the last place. |
| 0:54.4 | We're talking early humans here. |
| 0:56.4 | Yes, yes, not just because of some late technological barrier like the poles or |
| 1:01.8 | Antarctica, but us as a species. |
| 1:05.0 | And what is it about how we spread as a species across the planet that has really grabbed your imagination? |
| 1:12.0 | We do not have writing, we do not have math. |
| 1:15.0 | I would like to know where we did this leap |
| 1:19.0 | and why we got there last, |
| 1:22.0 | if it was because we were smart enough to do this or it was just |
| 1:26.0 | dumb luck. I believe helps understand humans as a species. |
| 1:30.9 | This is a massive question, so big that we might need two crowd science presenters to cover this one. |
| 1:36.0 | Jeff Marsh joined the party. |
| 1:38.0 | Hello. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.