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Video

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How can Neanderthal DNA tell us about ourselves?
The Pencil Test
Why Are Fossils So Rare?

This Evidence web project applies the general question "How do we know what we know?" to the specific question of human origins. It features interviews and interactives based on the work of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Spanning anthropology, biology, paleontology, and genetics, the project reveals how different forms of evidence come together to tell the story of how we humans became human. Explore video components of the project here.

    • Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?
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sponsors

This project was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, with the additional generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, and the McBean Family Foundation.

Episodes

Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

How can Neanderthal DNA tell us about ourselves?

Published:   February 15, 2017
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Who Is

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:03:07
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

What Can We Learn from a Tooth?

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:00:59
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

How Do Bones and Teeth Grow?

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:53
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Virtual Skull Reconstruction

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:02:25
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Why Are Fossils So Rare?

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:00:57
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

When Scientists Disagree

Published:   November 11, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:00:48
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Reconstructing Neanderthal DNA

Published:   October 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:38
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

The Talking Gene

Published:   October 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:02:42
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Why Have a Fossil Cast Collection?

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:18
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

The Pencil Test

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:35
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Why Did the Neanderthals Disappear?

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:29
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Neanderthals: Fact vs. Fiction

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:00:57
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Did Humans and Neanderthals Mix?

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:02:47
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

How Do You Find a Fossil?

Published:   August 26, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:31
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Humans, Chimps, and Culture

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:35
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzees: Leaf Clipping

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:02:00
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzees: Ant Dipping

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:30
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzees: Nut Cracking

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:40
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzees: Culture Loss

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:00:47
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Altruism in Chimps and Humans

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:03:20
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzee Cooperation

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:03:02
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Do Primates Plan?

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:00
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Primate Problem-Solving

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:30
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Primates and Payback

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:00
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimp Behavior in Lab and Field

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:36
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Chimpanzees: Hive Raiding

Published:   August 21, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:01:30
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Alfred Wegener's Crazy Idea

Published:   August 20, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:24:49
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Why Do Nutcrackers Work?

Published:   August 20, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:11:17
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Ancient Astronomy, Modern Knowledge

Published:   August 20, 2008
Total Running Time:   00:15:28

Related Collections

Evidence: Ancient Writings Revealed

Evidence: Ancient Writings Revealed

In these videos, see ancient text revealed and read for the first time in a thousand years.

Evidence: Extremophiles in Kamchatka

Evidence: Extremophiles in Kamchatka

People often use boiling water to kill bacteria—so why look for life in natural sources of boiling water?

Origins: Unwinding DNA at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Origins: Unwinding DNA at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Viewed as the "home" of DNA, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in Long Island, New York, is considered by scientists to be one of the most important places for cutting-edge genetics research.

See all video Collections

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