On December 28, 2010 (as part of my holiday fare), I watched for the first time, on BBC Knowledge (relayed by DSTV), Alice Roberts' documentary titled "The Incredible Human Journey".
This is not the first TV account of human migration out of Africa, based ultimately on qualitative evidence -- evidence gleaned, as in certain earlier accounts, in part from archaeology, anthropology and climatology; but mostly from DNA databases. And because it is not the first, it lacks that indelible "first teller's" aha moment that some of us have already been exposed to (and told and retold in lectures). Nevertheless, it remains an incredible rendition, in its own right, of our ancestors' drive, weed-like, at once single-minded and unintended, toward world "domination"; a drive to claim and take possession of an entire planet -- and beyond the planet, going "forth", who knows?
Her documentary adds refreshing twists (and certain images) to the broad, paradigm-shifting, technicolor script:
Such as the chain-reaction (or a sort of kalausi) of human movement -- up and down, east and west, round and round -- that went on for millennia within the African continent before the original "China Syndrome" moment was reached; and with it, the release.
Such as the journey through Turkey and up the Danube (wonder if they gave an ancient name to that river as they rowed and remarked upon its convenience) into greater Europa.
Such as sailing down the west coast of the Americas, after a long, but always driven, wandering through Siberia's permafrost -- into the northern badlands and, farther (across the equator once again), into the deep jungles of the South. [Or was it simply a hugging and not letting go of the coastline, rather than dedicated sailing, perhaps enticed by the sudden abundance of (sea) food, and discouraged by the rugged hilliness of Alaska? I ask this because I wonder: Where and when would necessity have prompted this branch of migrants (not being, I suppose, the ones who rowed up the Danube) to invent and develop sea-faring technology (hardware and software) during the thousands of years that they lived deep in Siberia?]
The documentary is in turn testament to the grandeur and connectedness of Ms. Roberts' own awe-inspiring, passionate, umbilical journey.
And I would like to share it with you (click here to see)
Postscript: Sorry, just found out that the video is no longer available on YouTube. Instead, a DVD version can be purchased online ~MY, April 28, 2012.
SEE SAMPLE OF THE BOOK HERE: Alice Roberts' (2009) The Incredible Human Journey: The Story of How We Colonised the Planet. London: Bloomsbury
