Paleoanthropologist Answers Caveman Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Paleoanthropologist Dr. Steven E. Churchill answers your questions about cavemen and early human evolution from Twitter. What happened to the Neanderthals? Is there a chance Big Foot is real? What did humans eat before the discovery of fire? Answers to these questions and many more await-it's Caveman Support.
Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: Constantine Economides
Editor: Louis Lalire
Expert: Dr. Steve Churchill
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production & Equipment Manager: Kevin Balash
Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer
Camera Operator: Roberto Herrera
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Caleb Clark
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: Jason Malizia
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
00:00 Caveman Support
00:11 How did caveman hunt?
00:58 Neanderthal Genes
01:58 Ice Age Accuracy
03:07 GEICO Caveman
03:23 What happened to Neanderthals?
04:26 Where did early humans live?
06:22 First Joke
06:41 How did humans survive the ice age?
07:11 Neandershorts
08:12 Pets
08:42 How did Lucy get her name?
09:11 Hominin Hair
09:47 Dental Hygiene
10:34 Favorite Ancient Hominid
11:27 Missing Link
12:22 Big Foot
13:05 When did language start?
14:06 What did cavemen do for fun?
15:11 Why are humans unique?
15:54 Venus Figurines
16:24 No Caves?
16:49 Food Before Fire
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[@orfmusic]

Love how WIRED is still using "Twitter" instead of "X" in their video titles because it's probably what people are still searching for

[@Docmain3]

Or it was recorded ages ago ..

[@colinstu]

@@Docmain3 the dates on the replies are new

[@anthonyp4209]

It is because the X rebranding is one of the dumbest, in an increasingly long list, decision Elon has made

[@Vixenschuuring]

I still use the name Twitter instead of X

[@hebribrown6700]

nobody is calling it x

[@jacksfacts20]

NO WAY, I was a student for Steven at Duke when I was there and we collaborated on a projectile weapons paper that just got published last year. I cannot emphasize how cool of a guy Steven is and how great his class was at Duke. So glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves!

[@BrandanLee]

That's awesome! What are you doing with it these days?

[@cleverusername9369]

Let us know one more time that you went to Duke?

[@Jayguevara1982]

Steven seems like a fantastic teacher, you're fortunate!

[@Taima]

@@cleverusername9369 lmao. "So back when I applied for Duke because I wanted to attend Duke, I found out that I had been accepted to Duke. Once I was accepted at Duke I started classes the following semester at Duke. At Duke, I had an excellent professor who worked at Duke, myself attending Duke as well..."

[@sereysothe.a]

@@cleverusername9369 he mentioned it twice in a context that made sense. why are you bitter

[@scottscott8123]

god I love how historians/paleontologists/anthropologists can just make the past come back to life like it's happening right now

[@fritagonia]

Yeah I love documentaries and history 🙂

[@Pacemaker_fgc]

Based pfp

[@Ruudiii]

And people still believe in god lmao

[@sycamore-tree540]

@@Ruudiiithis part baffles me. The fact that so many of us choose to believe in a book written by other humans, over the actual evidence we have of how life evolved and the universe came to be.

[@larrybuckner8619]

I have the same conversation so often with people I even had it today. Had to eventually tell one guy to stop talking to me because he would not stop telling me how much I’m wrong about the Bible. People refuse and I mean absolutely refuse to look past the religion at anything else. When we die we’re gonna have the exact same experience as we had before we were born.

[@shadowmagno9132]

10:16 getting publicly shamed in a KZbin video millions of years after you lived for your dental hygiene is crazy

[@johnpaul5447]

Bros in heaven getting blasted

[@yingle6027]

He was probably that one caveman with the stank breath that everyone else avoided

[@edvelociraptor1794]

My boy Grnk did nothing wrong, he just had a sweet tooth

[@PecPur]

the African honey was worth it.

[@carolinas.l6542]

He probably ate all that honey thinking, "Nobody's gonna know "

[@sparrowarchive]

It's so interesting to think that it all ACTUALLY happened. Like this wall with hands - omg people made it, someone made it, it's not just a picture on the internet, it really happened. Those people were alive just like we are, they are not just our imagination. Amazing.... I love science.

[@Boristheborat]

Totally agree. How cool is that

[@evanbrende]

Yeah I thought the wall of hands was the craziest part of this. Kinda like they really wanted some part of their experience to stick around, maybe for other people to find a long time later and think "that's cool" and look--it worked, millions of people are looking at those same hands hundreds of thousands of years later and thinking "wowza." Those were actual people too--so many people have gone before us and paved the way for an easier life for their descendants.

[@quily2002]

"Frieren, we're not fairy tales. We really existed."

[@easymoneysniper9013]

Imagine being 3 feet tall trying not to get eaten by dogs or a fcking dragon😮

[@undead_corsair]

​@@evanbrendeThat idea of people wanting to leave a mark behind, it makes me think of when you see graffiti people have left in places like "John was here" or something. That innate human desire to tie down a memory and leave something that others might discover, I don't know if it's a desire for a sense of legacy, or to make a memory feel more permanent or wanting to reach out to people in the future but it provokes a profound sense of connection and empathy across the eons. Like we are so different now and yet there are still innate things that make us similar.

[@jopo7996]

This guy is so knowledgeable. The amount he shared here is just the tip of the spear.

[@joristurk]

😂

[@nunyabidness3429]

Agreed. He's also pretty funny.

[@thorkagemob1297]

Nice

[@xKarenWalkerx]

He touches on all the important points. It's a great video.

[@gus473]

Yes, very sharp!

[@isabellenajarro6910]

I’m a senior majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke, and Professor Churchill is so amazing! I loved all of his classes because he’s so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his field. It made me so happy to see that they featured him on this channel.

[@12thDecember]

Question: "What the fvck did cavemen do for fun?" Dr. Churchill, without missing a beat: "Well, probably not a fvcking lot, to tell you the truth." I love the way these Wired guests are never fazed by an F-bomb. 😅

[@Snorlaxiian]

Cursing may not be the most suitable language out there for many but it is STILL language.😂

[@lukewormholes5388]

Actually a terrible answer. You’re telling me these humans did not have competitions that revolved around hunting/fighting skills like archery and foot races and spear throwing? No religious festivals where groups come together? No storytellers or bonfire dances? No kids games?

[@benn454]

@@lukewormholes5388 Probably. It's just hard to find evidence of that stuff in the fossil record.

[@mjfullente3359]

​​@@lukewormholes5388I think the only evidence that cavemen do for fun is cave paintings. And competitions in the past are not for fun, it was meant for survival. Dancing, I don't know if it's meant for fun or attracting for a mate. No storytelling because their language hasn't been developed yet. No religion because it hasn't been invented yet because you cannot contemplate life when you're fighting for survival. Maybe kids games existed back in those days, but there are not much evidence on what it is. Fun is limited when you are fighting for survival, the world is harsh after all.

[@douellette7960]

@@lukewormholes5388it was an educated answer unlike yours which is fantasy. These early humans were fighting for survival every day.

[@BlackReaper0]

"The human family tree was very, very bushy." Thats a fun phrase!

[@Taima]

Somehow makes me slightly uncomfortable like the word moist used to before it became a meme

[@yeshwanthyerramilli23]

Isn't it still is?

[@gudea5207]

The spear thrower with the ibex is already pretty ironic. Last thing an ibex sees is a depiction of itself pooping a spear.

[@richardwasserman]

The ibex looking backwards is probably a female giving birth and looking at her offspring. Ibex never look backwards when pooping.

[@dallasmed65]

That hair fact about evolving to grow it long enough to protect our backs is actually really interesting.

[@topsuperseven7910]

Is it, how would it know to 'grow hair' somehow?

[@ThePorkchop1787]

@@topsuperseven7910 Evolution is fact, deal with it

[@topsuperseven7910]

@@ThePorkchop1787 this isn't Reddit, goof

[@ThePorkchop1787]

@@topsuperseven7910 Your sky daddy and the foundation of Christianity(Adam and Eve) is dismantled by evolution, kook

[@ThePorkchop1787]

@@topsuperseven7910 cool

[@o0hotoko0o]

"what the F*** did cavemen do for fun?" "well...probably not a f****** lot to tell you the truth" LOL protect this man at all costs.

[@rollin340]

I could honestly have just watched over an hour of this no problem.

[@cvue009]

Now I'm wondering about neandershorts

[@naomisherred166]

😂😂

[@rodzalez3549]

😑

[@nirfz]

Only works in spoken and not in written form i think. Tall has 2 L's while Neandertal only has 1L and means Neander-valley.

[@MrPAULONEAL]

@@nirfz Neanderthal...

[@naomisherred166]

@@nirfz 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rainortega460]

I went to graduate school with a post doc who was on that Naledi dig. It was SO incredible to hear her retelling of it. I'm also a data point in a paper she and Dr. Churchill wrote about Naledi's adaptations to climbing. So cool to see him here!

[@VinnieG-]

the question "what is the missing link" is really just a way to say "I don't understand evolution"

[@POTAT-pi7mu]

Yes, the phrase was coined very early on and reflected lack of understanding and a sparse fossil record

[@kevinmccabe3984]

I like how he still gave an answer instead of making him feel stupid. There are clearly a lot of species that came before us that led to the evolution of humankind.

[@rdizzy1]

I agree, because if you want to continue to narrow it down further and further, even to the point of relatively minor genetic differences, you can always continue to find another gap, and another gap, the gap just continues to get smaller and smaller each time. Creationists love to use this ridiculous argument all the time. No matter how complete the evolutionary tree of life ends up getting, they will continue to concentrate on the gaps and point to a creator. (the god of the gaps)

[@profile2047]

@@rdizzy1Well said, and very depressing, in my opinion.

[@Squanto22]

I could listen to him for a whole hour. Great video!!

[@tannermcnabb4836]

Segments like these are some of the minor ways the internet is still an informative place 👍

[@TheDrag0nSlayer]

Lol the internet is the most informative invention in human history, you just spend too much time on social media.

[@eliasambriz6232]

You definitely have my sub. This content is next level. For me Eledator was the turning point. Please keep doing what you do and keep being you, love it.

[@saraamw]

Wow the guy doesnt trash ice age. I actually grow up watching the movies and love them

[@thychozwart2451]

I always am skeptical clicking on these videos because too many channels are unashamed to post blatant misinformation even years after the opposite was proved, but this has been one of the best videos about the subject i've seen, great pick of an expert and very interesting insights

[@wendy645]

Exactly, but I've never been let down by Wired with these expert videos - I love them!

[@Dino_Boy_2.0]

Imagine being an animal, in the past, you see a group of these weird bipedal creatures running at you with sharp objects. You keep running for so long but they are still running after you! But then, more surround you, you know your done.

[@thanos879]

ITS YOU’RE.

[@slooptrooperunlimitedofthe1772]

@@thanos879 IT'S IT'S. (Ironic honestly. "IT'S" is a contraction for IT IS. You used ITS which is possessive; wrong usage.)

[@LL-od6rd]

@@thanos879IT’S IT’S*

[@thanos879]

IT'S* (thanks)

[@dennis2478]

It’s not uncommon to stalk or run down prey. Wolves do it.

[@Dino_Boy_2.0]

2:05 I have always seen people complain about how the humans look, when they have literally looked at CAVE PEOPLE or NEANDERTHALS and have used that for the models of the people! Also I like how Ice age used lesser known creatures such as macrauchenia or Glyptodon for the movie. 👍🏾

[@l-l]

I would love to see this guy come on the show again

[@user-vu5zl8pd2d]

Why? He’s an idiot. That’s the problem when you let Leftists have total control of academia. Then again these people also thought Slavery and Eugenics and sterilization of the mentally ill was scientifically justified. Leftists aren’t known for their intelligence.

[@ali12475]

never stop these! i love learning and these videos are a great start to new topics!

[@MrPramii]

Stefan Milo has a great channel about this sort of stuff

[@johnnyokeeffe6577]

Bring this guy back or other paleoantropologists! Love love love this topic

[@waltissussybakka]

Love these experts they're very chill dropping the most deepest findings and researches.

[@TheSkinnyZ]

This is one of my favorite series on this platform. Thanks, Wired and thank you to all the experts!

[@garou198]

KZbin offers the best stuff after 1 am. I hope he returns the entire vid was super interesting.

[@nayfly9]

What a great expert to have on. Would love to hear more and thank you!

[@berliantisalamahu730]

I always feel so happy to be taught by Professors who love their craft, you can feel the passion in the way they explain things and that makes me excited to learn more.

[@Girlytang]

We need an extended Part II! This was fascinating! 👌🏽

[@JosephTongret]

I could listen to this guy talk forever, he's a Rockstar!

[@roxybetancourt2618]

This was all so incredibly intriguing! Thanks for sharing all this information. Love listening to it! 😊

[@PlayNowWorkLater]

This is incredibly detailed. So interesting. Will probably watch a few times to digest everything. Good stuff!

[@Anjikjelin]

Oooh please bring him back again for more questions!!!

[@StardustSJ_]

I am such a fan. Really enjoyed this feature with Dr. Churchill...

[@onyxbackstrom3379]

dude had answers I never even thought of, the detail was brilliant! I'd be his student.

[@addyarb_9851]

Outstanding. Such a nice variety of answers, with the perfect level of depth for this format. I appreciate the props/visuals a lot as well.

[@nightknight9981]

When discussing the cave paintings, it occurred to me that often times people underestimate how intelligent past humans already were. I'd dare say that tens of thousands of years ago, there were humans already much more intelligent than I currently am (not an incredibly high bar, but still). Had they received the same education as we are able to today, they would just fit into modern day society no problem!

[@jasonhaven7170]

Remember they were Black.

[@snek4prez497]

​@@jasonhaven7170 What's them being black got to do with their intelligence?

[@jasonhaven7170]

@@snek4prez497 Everything. The first people were Black. The first intelligent people were Black.

[@TheMilkMan8008]

People forget that they have the same brain and intelligence we have today. The only difference is the knowledge. We have more knowledge now.

[@jasonhaven7170]

@@snek4prez497 Everything, the first intelligent humans were Blk.

[@dan-rl]

It was a joy to watch and listen to this person. He communicates with an evident passion.

[@itisWhatitis12345]

This was the most fun I've had watching a youtube video in a long time.

[@TheJCJexe]

Wow, this is great information! Definitely need Part 2 of this!

[@robotslug]

I could listen to this guy talk all day

[@dundee2858]

This guy is great! Definitely do more videos with him

[@georgee6303]

Hands down this was the best one to date!

[@glkification]

Really enjoyed this! Thanks for the video 😊

[@bender9000]

Hey Wired. Thanks for making these series. This is so much better than what some of us got in school! Appreciate it!

[@azatheunholy]

That was awesome. Thx for the vid.

[@ramonbmovies]

Lots of interesting questions and even more interesting answers! Thank you!

[@aranzaachotegui9624]

I love this videos so much!! The information is so interesting and so well explained and he was very entertaining to listen to, you can tell right away he's an expert on the topic. Thank you so much! I really enjoyed watching this ❤

[@cyrilio]

These Wired series are so awesome. Keep em coming.

[@kianashirangi]

Disappointed it wasnt longer. Extremely interesting!

[@sjferguson]

I love learning about our ancestors. Very fascinating.

[@mingkachow1466]

we’re gonna need another episode with this guy!

[@toothlesspanda4607]

As someone who just finished their Evolution class for the semester, this was super insightful as reinforcement material 😊 the Evolution of Life is one heck of a crazy journey

[@narrowonflow]

9:43 knees and toes knees and toes

[@sealofapoorval7437]

Yeah I still got hairy toes lol

[@narrowonflow]

😅

[@rayblack7878]

Doors and corners, kid

[@juanplazas4593]

Awesome dude 👏🏻

[@joejasper9720]

I try to watch Dr. Churchill's videos whenever I can. I was lucky enough to have a Neanderthal class with him at Duke almost 30 years ago. Great teacher and makes it very interesting.

[@scottalpert3444]

Great episode. Lots of incredible information.

[@cgrim1584]

@4:49 when you need to get to the bathroom before the other person but you don't want to look desperate and run.

[@Duke_Dickinson]

The site with the human/dog burial was ~12,200 B.C.

[@aurynkilbanks4222]

This is the most I’ve ever learned about historical peoples! Amazing

[@profnanaki5778]

Thank you. Stunningly good! Love this series.

[@ch333rie]

I WANNA KNOW HOW CAVEWOMEN DEALT WITH PERIOD

[@jconner78]

Probably not tho 😂

[@seansullivan7928]

They just let it run down their legs

[@busterhikney6936]

NO PERIOD ONLY QUESTION

[@Lerenarddanslabergerie]

I am not an expert but I have read a bit on the subject. So the first thing is… they probably didn’t have to deal with it a lots in their life. Food was scarce, so they had regular occurrences of secondary amenorrhea, then when food supply was better and they were fertile again, boom, pregnant for 9months and then breastfeeding for 3-5years which will suppress periods for a time too (sometimes the entire time). But when they actually had their period, either free flow of it was a hotter climate, or a rag/moss/dry leaves in a colder climate, as it is still done in some parts of the world. Of course, this is all speculations, but those are things that are known about populations that, even recently, had no access to modern hygiene products.

[@katmurphy6634]

Same as they did in ancient Egypt I bet…and there it is unlikely that the organic material they used as absorbent material was preserved…..

[@tristan4893]

Man I thought it was Ron Perlman doing Tech Support at first.

[@batubagaturborjigin5915]

Then it would be caveman* doing a Caveman Support.

[@calikat8654]

I could listen to Dr Churchill all day. Very informative.

[@seantlewis376]

This was fascinating! I want to see more!

[@mattamuzzamil]

these are my favourite videos to fall asleep too. 02.17 in Melbourne. goodnight youtube

[@chateaudisco1436]

Not far behind ya!

[@gus473]

G'night, mate! 🐨🪃🇦🇺

[@damckissen]

I am trying to become a paleoanthropologist!

[@jacksfacts20]

As an evolutionary anthropologist taught by Churchill and others,, Duke is where you wanna go for that

[@Changon]

Great video. I used to think of human evolution as linear too but when he explained it with the map it all makes more sense. I can think about it intuitively now. Very fascinating stuff.

[@starfire1916]

This video is so cool. Thanks for the answers ❤

[@Pandaemoni]

11:04 "We actually needed an entire crew of small-bodied excavators to get down into this chamber. They have an ape-sized brain" That is not a very nice thing to say about your excavators.

[@WEEDNUTZ]

hehehehehe!

[@davidletarte214]

can we please get a part 2 to this video... & 3 & 4 & so on!

[@easymoneysniper9013]

Facts

[@sarah7895]

This was such an informative and amazing video, thank you!

[@crocodilesmiles8095]

i love this video! I wanted to do paleoanthropology back at the end of high school in 2013, but only 2 unis in australia did it at the time, and i didnt have the marks for it. i'll always find anthropology and palaeoanthropolgy so interesting!

[@spencergellsworth]

The hobbits battled dragons and giant rats. Tolkien is pleased.

[@theedon501]

Pretty sure he was a Christian

[@K._L2008]

The most educational channel on KZbin ❤

[@user-vu5zl8pd2d]

Not really. Unfortunately they don’t hire real experts and instead hire radical Leftists who present radical left wing nonsense as “factual”. The same kind of Leftist idiots who got everything about Covid wrong even though Conservatives warned them right at the beginning that they were wrong but they insisted on doubling down.

[@richardcombden3663]

This was amazing, loved it, thanks!

[@ladybug4207]

More of this please

[@Gandellion]

@UsefulCharts 11:49 How about this for a new family tree?

[@lemonade4203]

Great idea!!!

[@Ray-fq3cx]

I want to hear more about tiny elephants 👀

[@richardrobbins387]

There was also an extinct Sicilian pygmy elephant, apparently.

[@gus473]

Once upon a time there was this little elephant: 🐘😎✌️

[@jackwhitbread4583]

Then go and read about them

[@joeschianodicola1810]

this was an awesome video, i absolutely love Dr. Churchill he's the man!

[@susannahkoch]

I love paleoanthropology, and it's really cool to see it presented in such an accessible way for folks who don't have time for college courses on the subject. History belongs to us all. ❤

[@junebhattacharjee9669]

Nice information 🦍

[@RE5514]

I absolutely LOATHE the fact we’re censoring curse words in videos now.

[@AlbertaGeek]

If someone gets upset by hearing a "curse word", I tell them to get over it. If someone gets upset that a "curse word" was censored, I tell them to get over it.

[@normative]

It’s an educational video; seems pretty understandable they want it to be appropriate for curious kids.

[@terriwetz6077]

KZbin will demonetize videos if curse words are used. That's why many content creators are using alternate words or phrases to replace them too.

[@biggdogg6196]

Kids shouldn't be listening to curse words.

[@profile2047]

@@AlbertaGeekI know that’s written to be clever, but I’d argue that getting upset over a word and censoring have different short and long term societal effects. But it’s really interesting that you also feel enough superiority over people to tell them what to “get over”.

[@williamreilly5189]

Fascinating his description of how the early humans got to Indonesia. Would have never thought of that.

[@evanm.7945]

This is the epitome of good science communication, thank you so much

[@theuntwit1551]

Hard to believe we have so many creationists and flatearthers around.

[@zackakai5173]

The internet has given the absolute dumbest segment of the population a megaphone. See also climate change deniers, 9/11 truthers, and people who can't cope with the fact that Trump lost the 2020 election.

[@mikotagayuna8494]

Paleoanthropologists: We are all technically Africans. *Racists have left the chat*

[@edenleighl]

I could listen to this guy talk for hours!

[@nickzardiashvili624]

What did caveman do for fun? If we answer with the modern conception of fun, i.e. entertainment, then Dr Steven answered that perfectly, but if we widen the lens a bit, I'd say they probably tumbled about, wrestled, took walks, possibly pranked each other, groomed each other, definitely gossiped if we're talking late enough for language to be a thing and so on.

[@jiayilim1986]

Evolution is not an escalator but a branching tree. People back then liked the idea that humans were the most highly evolved, but it’s not like the goal of all species is to turn into humans. We are all placed equally.

[@larrybuckner8619]

I come to the comment section looking for the religious people refuting what are you saying but I didn’t find any.🤷‍♂️

[@juandiegoprado]

Finally some evidence of progress

[@gffrycole]

My wife (who's very religious, but also an anthropologist) says that evolution is irrefutable. There are morons out there..big surprise. Don't look for fights, makes you look like a douche.

[@SalemDrumline2011]

this guy rocks i need 17 more videos with him please

[@robinhollinger3531]

This was so cool and interesting, thank you!

[@gregoryguillen2717]

Imagine being hunted by a Komodo dragon

[@treysonmcgrady4750]

Absolute nightmare. They are deceptively fast for short distances too, you cannot be anywhere near them if they’re hungry.

[@JessicaD.-vb9ho]

Omg I was literally just saying this while in the forest the other day. Lol

[@brend5273]

I just Googled "gigantopithecus", you can't tell me that that's not an orangutang with gigantism.

[@jackwhitbread4583]

Well the Orangutan is it's closest living relative.

[@arandomanvil5989]

As someone who has had abscesses bad enough to disfigure the bones in the maxilla and mandible, I can only imagine how horrible it was for these ancient humans, who had no known way to properly treat the abscessed teeth, pain and infection.

[@justneedalogin]

I could listen to him for hours. What an amazing video.