TTC Video - The Human Journey
.MP4, AVC, 1280x720, 30 fps | English, AAC, 2 Ch | 6h 9m | 5.11 GB
Lecturer: Gaia Vince, MA | Course No. 10570
.MP4, AVC, 1280x720, 30 fps | English, AAC, 2 Ch | 6h 9m | 5.11 GB
Lecturer: Gaia Vince, MA | Course No. 10570
What a remarkable journey we’ve been on. Emerging as a distinct species some 300,000 years ago, we spread across Africa, then peopled Asia, Europe, Australia, and eventually the Americas. We crossed land bridges, sailed open seas, and created farmlands and cities. But why did we become the primate that migrates—while all our ape cousins never left the regions where they evolved millions of years ago? Among the many factors, these traits played a significant role:
- Cooperation: Humans developed a rare capacity for large-scale cooperation beyond kin groups. We hunted together, shared food, taught one another, and formed social bonds that made long journeys and survival in new environments possible.
- Fire: Using fire made us a different being. It enabled us to survive cold places, deter predators, and cook food—transforming tough raw ingredients into nutritious, easy-to-digest meals that freed us from constant foraging and allowed sustained travel.
- Carrying Technology: The invention of simple carrying tools—bladders, slings, bags, baskets—equipped early humans for transporting water, food, tools, and infants. This freed our hands, extended our range, and supported groups over long distances.
Now that we’ve expanded from small bands to billions of people spread across most of the planet, we’ve become victims of our own success. Millions are currently on the move—not in search of new frontiers, but to escape rising seas, extreme heat, fierce storms, political instability, and deepening economic hardship. For better or worse, migration is our destiny.
The Human Journey covers this epic story in 12 half-hour lectures taught by award-winning science writer, author, and broadcaster Gaia Vince. Few presentations have the scope of this course, taking you from the Stone Age to the future, and featuring topics in anthropology, genetics, archaeology, economics, psychology, and Earth science. Throughout the course, the focus is on the unifying theme of migration, which is more than movement—it’s the very key to our species’ success and the universal human experience.
Rethinking Migration
Once seen as a simple, one-way journey out of Africa, ancient human migration is now understood as complex, multidirectional, and ongoing. Genetic discoveries have revealed interbreeding with other human species, introducing traits that enhanced survival in non-tropical environments. These studies also point to multiple migration waves, dead ends, and backtracking. Climate shifts—not just curiosity or conquest—often drove people to move. And far from being a footnote in prehistory, migration is now recognized as a constant force, shaping who we are, where we live, and how we adapt. The Human Journey highlights striking examples, including:
The Future of Migration
Migration didn’t just spread people—it spread ideas, tools, weapons, skills, and social structures. Agriculture, cities, and civilization arose not in isolation, but through the movement and mingling of human groups across regions. Even with the rise of city-states and empires in the ancient world, there were few if any efforts to restrict ordinary people from crossing regional boundaries. Borders were often vague, and unless an armed force was involved, movement went largely unregulated. The notion of a tightly controlled national border—designed to keep out foreigners—is a modern invention.
In the last third of The Human Journey, you’ll analyze how that restrictive policy is being tested. As changing climate and political upheaval force large populations to move, what was once a manageable stream is becoming a destabilizing wave—challenging governments that still treat migration as something exceptional, rather than inevitable. The following background ideas help explain what’s going on:
The upshot is that the regions best suited for human habitation are shifting rapidly, with many places becoming unlivable, even as our modern institutions increase the barriers to migration. The Human Journey proposes several strategies to help break this impasse. One way or another, we must learn to accommodate a migratory compulsion as old as our species itself. By the end of this course, you will see that to understand migration is to understand ourselves.
The Human Journey covers this epic story in 12 half-hour lectures taught by award-winning science writer, author, and broadcaster Gaia Vince. Few presentations have the scope of this course, taking you from the Stone Age to the future, and featuring topics in anthropology, genetics, archaeology, economics, psychology, and Earth science. Throughout the course, the focus is on the unifying theme of migration, which is more than movement—it’s the very key to our species’ success and the universal human experience.
Rethinking Migration
Once seen as a simple, one-way journey out of Africa, ancient human migration is now understood as complex, multidirectional, and ongoing. Genetic discoveries have revealed interbreeding with other human species, introducing traits that enhanced survival in non-tropical environments. These studies also point to multiple migration waves, dead ends, and backtracking. Climate shifts—not just curiosity or conquest—often drove people to move. And far from being a footnote in prehistory, migration is now recognized as a constant force, shaping who we are, where we live, and how we adapt. The Human Journey highlights striking examples, including:
- Neanderthals and Denisovans: As modern humans moved out of Africa, they met and mixed with other human species. Genes from Neanderthals and Denisovans helped us handle cold climates and thin air—useful for thriving in previously unsuitable places.
- The First Americans: Around 20,000 years ago, humans began arriving in the Americas, likely in multiple waves. Some followed inland routes, others moved along the coast, adapting to an astonishing range of ecosystems, from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.
- Origin of the Indo-Europeans: About 5,000 years ago, the Yamnaya—steppe herders from Central Asia—began pushing outward. With them traveled wagons, horses, and the seeds of languages from Hindi to Persian, Spanish, Russian, and English.
The Future of Migration
Migration didn’t just spread people—it spread ideas, tools, weapons, skills, and social structures. Agriculture, cities, and civilization arose not in isolation, but through the movement and mingling of human groups across regions. Even with the rise of city-states and empires in the ancient world, there were few if any efforts to restrict ordinary people from crossing regional boundaries. Borders were often vague, and unless an armed force was involved, movement went largely unregulated. The notion of a tightly controlled national border—designed to keep out foreigners—is a modern invention.
In the last third of The Human Journey, you’ll analyze how that restrictive policy is being tested. As changing climate and political upheaval force large populations to move, what was once a manageable stream is becoming a destabilizing wave—challenging governments that still treat migration as something exceptional, rather than inevitable. The following background ideas help explain what’s going on:
- Optimal Climate: Humans evolved to thrive in regions with an average annual temperature between 52°F and 59°F. Our crops, livestock, and economic systems are finely tuned to this climate. The farther outside that range, the harder it is to sustain life.
- 150 Contacts: We are wired by evolution to maintain close social ties with around 150 individuals and can be cautious toward outsiders. Yet, our productive societies are also highly dependent on outsiders, especially as birthrates plunge. This means finding ways to overcome any instinctual distrust and welcome migrants.
- National Borders Are New: The idea of a unified national identity—and the nation-state to embody it—didn’t generally take shape until the 19th century. Passports weren’t widely required for international travel until well into the 20th.
The upshot is that the regions best suited for human habitation are shifting rapidly, with many places becoming unlivable, even as our modern institutions increase the barriers to migration. The Human Journey proposes several strategies to help break this impasse. One way or another, we must learn to accommodate a migratory compulsion as old as our species itself. By the end of this course, you will see that to understand migration is to understand ourselves.