Fairly lame documentary

This subject was done a whole lot better in the movie Quest For Fire (1981).

Where to start? Although the basic theory of human origins is presented, the science is extremely light. There was little that I could not have learned by reading a single page article in Discovery Magazine. While it was probably fun for the actors to get naked and wear "primate makeup" of fur and dirt and act primateish, they just ended up looking silly. I did not get the slightest impression that they at all approximated human ancestors. Do the writers/director really believe that early humans bumbled around like oversized monkeys grunting at each other? Far more likely that early human behavior had a lot in common with that of today. Undoubtedly, they were quite purposeful in learning the signs of nature in order to search for food and avoid danger. Undoubtedly, they intercommunicated fairly precisely with each other. Undoubtedly, they were extremely skilled in making tools to their level of technology. This is known because extremely well made tools have been excavated going back millions of years. Even early variations of Homo Erectus such as Peking Man used fire. If early humans were bumbling land monkeys, they would have died out.

One thing that especially bothered me were scenes of Homo Erectus developing social bonds and crude associated emotions as if they were something new. In fact, most mammals and all primates have highly developed emotional bonds with one another. Anyone who has ever had a pet dog, horse, and even cats, etc can attest to the feelings of love, attachment, companionship, jealousy, etc that these animals and humans share.

The scene of Homo Erectus accidentally discovering how to use fire was laughable. In fact, humans are keen observers of their environment. They undoubtedly knew all about the nature and effects of fire long before they began to use it. They probably noticed first that fire had the benefit of scaring away animals and giving warmth at night. Quickly that extended to cooking meat and clearing brush. Undoubtedly, the mesmerizing effect of fire (reflected in modern television watching) hearkens back to those early days.

The scene of the old chief murdered by his subordinate at an opportune moment probably had some accuracy, but still most humans instinctively do not normally murder other people whom they know very well. They abuse, oppress, and exploit them, but that is different.

The scene of the Neanderthal kidnapping the Homo Sapient debutante was amusing. I thought his trying to win her rather than simply sexing her outright was realistic - but I consider it highly unlikely that Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals commonly had interspecies relationships. I was actually rooting for the nappy Neanderthal. After all, he did offer her family some fine foods in exchange for her - namely, two rabbits and a good bird!


illegitimus!