© 2026 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

This Discovery Rewrote Human History

Season 52 Episode 12 | 2m 50s

For the longest time, we thought we knew the origins of our species. We thought we began 200,000 years ago in East Africa. But new revelations from out here in Morocco, from a part of Africa that people weren’t really considering, are forcing us to rethink our very first steps on this planet.

National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies and Viking Cruises. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust and PBS viewers.
Extras
Surprising evidence at the world’s oldest temple overturns our understanding of human history.
A deadly—and growing—global weather phenomenon mystifies scientists.
Explore mammals’ surprising origins, long before the age of dinosaurs.
Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.
New evidence sheds light on the remarkable life—and mysterious collapse—of the ancient jungle city.
What studying the surface of the Moon revealed about Earth’s apocalyptic youth.
What if violent asteroid impacts actually jump-started life on Earth? Explore a dramatic theory.
They're older than King Tut, Ötzi the Iceman, and even the ones found in the Atacama Desert.
From fruit flies to snake venom, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll explains what drives evolution.