0:00:04 > 0:00:06Eddie Izzard - actor...
0:00:06 > 0:00:08How are you?
0:00:08 > 0:00:09..comedian...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Morning! Mrs Stevens, going hunting!
0:00:12 > 0:00:16..transvestite and marathon runner extraordinaire
0:00:16 > 0:00:22is about to embark on the second leg of a remarkable journey,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25using his own DNA as the road map.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31I've always been fascinated by genetics and the fact you can bring my history to here is like magic!
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Locked within each of us is a genetic history book.
0:00:35 > 0:00:41It reveals not only our deep ancestry, but also the journey of mankind across the globe.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46This is it - the birthplace of the exodus, the first exodus.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Recent breakthroughs in genetics mean Eddie can use his own DNA
0:00:51 > 0:00:55to unlock the secrets of where he, and we, came from.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Instead of going back to the last couple of hundred years,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01we're going back to the last couple of hundred thousand years.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08This time, Eddie will explore the epic struggle for survival of his male ancestors,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12from the very first man in Africa, through thousands of generations, to Eddie Izzard.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15This is the first time in Britain
0:01:15 > 0:01:18that an individual has looked at their own DNA
0:01:18 > 0:01:21and used that to retrace their ancestral journey.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27He'll encounter alien species we slept with to survive.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30They are our closest relatives.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35He'll explore how the male Izzards battled the last Ice Age to get to Britain.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39- If something happens to you, I won't be responsible. - That's very superstitious of you.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45And, finally, he'll bridge the gap between his genetic and his family history.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49- You must be Eddie Izzard. - Oh, it's Eddie Izzard! Fancy that!
0:01:50 > 0:01:53This programme contains some strong language.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Eddie Izzard is about to embark on the second leg of his remarkable quest.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13He's using his own DNA to retrace his ancestors' journey
0:02:13 > 0:02:16all the way from the first modern human in Africa to Eddie.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Last time, Eddie looked into his mum's lineage.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25This time, he'll explore his dad's, using DNA they share.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29DNA is found within our cells.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32It's the instruction manual that helps build and run our bodies.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36But it also has another remarkable use.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Locked in our DNA is a genetic route map.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44It reveals how our ancestors migrated out of Africa
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and went on to populate the rest of the world.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Before Eddie starts on this second leg,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53he's come to meet his dad, John, in his hometown of Bexhill-on-Sea.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56It will be interesting to find out what stuff is Dad's.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59My history is his history.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03They're hoping that Eddie's journey into their deep ancestry
0:03:03 > 0:03:09will also reveal the origin of the Izzards before records they've traced back to the 17th century.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13We thought it could be a Norman route or a Celtic route,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17or an Old English route or Germanic or Huguenot French.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22- And before that, who knows what? - Yeah.- But it will be intriguing to find out.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26The one I'd like to do, if it's at all possible,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- is to get back beyond that 1650 date. - Yeah.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36The genetic adventure should also reveal more about the traits they share.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40- Were you freckled as a kid?- Yes. - So that could be an inherited thing.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- Not terribly tall. - Not over-tall, no.- Not over-tall.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Small in stature, but tall in personality. So we will look for...
0:03:48 > 0:03:53smaller of stature, tall in personality, footballing, singing comedians.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- Red hair, freckles.- And we share a problem which starts with a "P".
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Next letter "S".
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- Oh, yeah! Psoriasis.- Yes.- Yes.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07- I thought you were going to say penis problem.- We share that, too!
0:04:10 > 0:04:12To explore Eddie's dad's deep ancestry,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16geneticist Dr Jim Wilson will use the Y chromosome -
0:04:16 > 0:04:18the male sex chromosome.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22It's extracted from DNA in Eddie's spit.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28A near exact copy is passed down the male line from grandfather to father to son.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31But, occasionally, it changes.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34These changes, known as markers,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38can indicate the start of another branch in the Izzard family tree.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Jim will look for matches to Eddie's male markers in men from around the world.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46He'll access several databases and hundreds of thousands of people
0:04:46 > 0:04:50whose DNA has been collected over the last decade.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Many communities have remained in the same place for thousands of years.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00A match with an Eddie marker can show where Eddie's male ancestors travelled on their migration route.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So you have the Y chromosome from your father.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09He got it from his father, who got it from his father.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11It follows down the generations like that.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16So it allows us to learn quite a lot about this one specific lineage.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19And it's usually the lineage which someone gets their surname from.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24So your Y-chromosome ancestry is actually really interesting as well,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28because you carry a very rare type, in some ways rarer than your mother line.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33Approximately, one in 2,000 men in Britain carry this marker.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So it really is remarkably rare.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- You're not part of the rest of us. - The hoi polloi?
0:05:39 > 0:05:43- Yeah.- In future, do you think there's going to be a sort of...
0:05:43 > 0:05:47"Oh, they come from very rare genes," as opposed to very good money or a good family?
0:05:47 > 0:05:52- It's going to be, "Yes, special genes."- No doubt. - We'll have genetic clubs.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56And Jim has another surprise in store for Eddie.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59When we looked across some of the rest of your DNA,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04we saw these little hints of quite unusual, very different ancestry,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07from another species, actually.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Woah!
0:06:09 > 0:06:13What do you mean "another species"? Like the chimpanzees, the gorillas?
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Not quite the chimpanzees. It's something that would have been a big surprise a few years ago.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Later in the programme - I am related to another species.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26What I've done when I've analysed your DNA is to focus in on the bits I know are different.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31I mean, we're 98% identical with chimpanzees and we're 40% identical with bananas.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- So it all goes... - 40% identical with bananas?- Yeah!
0:06:34 > 0:06:39- That's the bit they don't tell you. - No! I like the 40%.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Jim will focus on several significant markers -
0:06:43 > 0:06:47key turning points in Eddie's male DNA journey.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52The first, known by the letter "A", takes us back to Africa,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56to one man, the common ancestor of all men living today.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03We can go back to the deepest branch point in the Y chromosome tree,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06to the so-called "Y-chromosome Adam".
0:07:06 > 0:07:09It's the man from which all men descend.
0:07:09 > 0:07:15- So do you want to know... - Yes, I don't care!- ..where your Y chromosome comes from?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Is it Croydon?- Yes! - Tell me what you have to tell me.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20The deepest branch of the Y chromosome tree
0:07:20 > 0:07:24dates from around about 142,000 years ago,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27in Cameroon, in central West Africa.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33And there's a group there known as the Bakola. They're actually pygmies.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- Wow! Pygmies. So it means they're not tall lads?- Not that tall, no.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I haven't met them myself, but I believe so.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Cos we are a family of not-tall lads.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48Do you want to know where you're from? Dad's line goes to Cameroon, 142,000 years ago.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51And it could be a... You'll love this.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54..A tribe of pygmy people.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00Do you...
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Yeah, that answers a few bloody questions!
0:08:07 > 0:08:10So Eddie's genetic time-travelling on his dad's side
0:08:10 > 0:08:14is first taking him more than 5,000km to Douala,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16the largest city in Cameroon.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27From Douala, he's travelling south into the heart of the equatorial rainforest.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30So an umbrella might be useful.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35EDDIE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Tres girlie!
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Eddie is in search of the Bakola pygmies,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52thought to be amongst the oldest human inhabitants of the forest.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56But people haven't always lived here.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59The culmination of human curiosity and climate change
0:08:59 > 0:09:02that drove the spread of modern humans throughout Africa,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07lead to our ancestors mastering most of its habitable areas.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11The ancestors of the Bakola are thought to have come into the forest
0:09:11 > 0:09:16some time after they split from Eddie's ancestors 140,000 years ago.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22It's thought their size is an adaptation to this environment of dense vegetation
0:09:22 > 0:09:24and low ultraviolet light.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Bon jour.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34To meet up with the Bakola, Eddie now has to cross the Sanaga River
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and head south into a closed reserve.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Where he's going, there are no roads.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I am not really looking forward to my two nights in the rainforest. I am wary of them.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55But there is the heart of darkness, where you travel in a boat
0:09:55 > 0:09:59and go deeper, deeper, up into the stranger parts of your mind.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Much of the equatorial forest of Central Africa is being stripped for its hardwood.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15An area the size of Jamaica is lost every year.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20But the reserve Eddie has entered is free of the logging industry.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25The Bakola here have an uneasy relationship with conservationists.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29But, for now, they can still live a traditional, semi-nomadic existence
0:10:29 > 0:10:32in pristine, primal forest.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36This is like travelling back into the past.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Eddie arrives just in time to erect his tent.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06The annual rainfall here is up to four times that of the UK.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10It has rained and rained.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12So I'm just staying in here, cos it's dry.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14RAIN PATTERS
0:11:14 > 0:11:18As you can hear... Cos it's quite nice to hear the rain on a tent.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31The rain doesn't stop the Bakola from getting on with their day.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Despite their use of metal blades, some woven cloth and a few plastic containers,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42the Bakola still live a Stone Age existence.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51With his translator, Francoise, Eddie is about to meet his, and our, most distant male relatives.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52Hi.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Bon jour.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57So how many people live here?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00THEY CONVERSE IN DIALECT
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- Trente personnes. - Trente personnes. So 30 people.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08- And they do hunting and gathering? What's that, a cat?- Civet.- A civet.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11In the middle of the rain, they found this cat and killed it.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15That's something for tea. So it is kind of amazing.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19I like the way they make things. I don't make things, but I've always thought I could.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24That is just so simple and it works. The string is from a different tree.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27They make their own furniture here. It's all very practical.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29They have to live in a lot of rain, which is just like London.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Oh, you have hats! Very cool. Merci.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37- Wow! That's good. - I don't know what- I- look like in it, but they look very cool.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- You are looking very good! - Are they cool?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Eddie wants to learn how his, and our, male ancestors
0:12:52 > 0:12:56might have adapted to the rigours of the rainforest.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59So the Bakola decide to take him hunting for their favourite delicacy.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03This won't be a conventional chasing down of an animal.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Over thousands of years, they have adopted different ways of catching their prey.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It means heading deep into uncharted jungle.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19This is where they're going to make the fires
0:13:19 > 0:13:22to scare the animals on the ground. I think it's a rat!
0:13:24 > 0:13:29They do the fires at the entrance and it scares them off to where the traps are.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34So this is hunting as you might do it in the old days.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36It's all the stuff that I can't do. I do breakfast cereal.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Men and women are doing hunting. Why not?
0:13:43 > 0:13:47With their big, big, fuck-off knives.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59She's got a fire going down there. The fire bearer brought fire all the way over to here.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03They kept the flame going, built it up. Now they're making it smoke down the hole.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07She just dug a separate hole. Everyone else is guarding the exits.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10The animals underneath are going to have to come out.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12It looks like four different exit holes.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15There's more smoke coming out there.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Steve! Steve!
0:14:37 > 0:14:41THEY SPEAK DIALECT
0:14:52 > 0:14:55So this is what the Izzards were doing 140,000 years ago.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Having rat pie!
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Here, the Bakola can just survive in the rainforest. Humans adapt.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06That's why we've made it through.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11SINGING
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I think they're celebrating it's a two-rat day.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22SINGING
0:15:32 > 0:15:35That could be a hymn. That...
0:15:35 > 0:15:37SINGING
0:15:37 > 0:15:39That could be a hymn.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42At some point, we worked out we could sing.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Someone said, "Hey, so who's the first person to harmonise?"
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- HE SINGS:- # Na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na
0:15:50 > 0:15:52# Na-na, na... # It sounded like that!
0:15:52 > 0:15:56Which you could put in some... # Oh come, all Christian soldiers... #
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Whatever the hymn was that I went through 12 years old at school.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02SINGING
0:16:02 > 0:16:05It was beautiful.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11The Bakola have a reputation for being experts in magic and traditional medicine.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The chief wants to show Eddie their natural remedy for bad stomachs.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Eddie's having trouble understanding how they administer it.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23THEY SPEAK DIALECT
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Oui.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28It's an enema. Something that you apply to your backside, or not?
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- You chuck it in your anus. - Right. So it...
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- With a s...- Syringe. - A syringe?- Yeah. Oui.- Oui.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39And you put it... OK! However you do it, you shove it up your backside
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- and your stomach is good?- Yes.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Shoving stuff up your backside's always kind of crazy, but...
0:16:45 > 0:16:49So against indigestion. It's what we call an enema in English.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53I don't think I'll try this one. I'll try the next one!
0:16:55 > 0:17:00The Bakola are also animists. They worship everything in the forest.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07Their most sacred object, a tree, is so revered that Eddie has to keep a respectful distance.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12This tree, it has the power of their ancestors.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Amen!
0:17:17 > 0:17:22The chief has a story to tell Eddie about the creation of humanity.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25HE SPEAKS DIALECT
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- They are the first people in the world and they always live in the bush.- Right.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- And you was their brother.- Right.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Now, you decide with your stubbornness
0:17:39 > 0:17:42to don't live in these kind of conditions.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45You white people, you don't want bush. It's too much.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51So your fathers decide to take you...
0:17:53 > 0:17:57- and send you to another country. - Yes.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03- And the name that the gods give you is "kuuto".- My name is "kuuto".
0:18:03 > 0:18:05It means "white man".
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Just me or all people like me?
0:18:08 > 0:18:12- People like you.- We are "kuuto". - White people.- Ah, white people.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Because he...they are black.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17DRUMS BEAT
0:18:17 > 0:18:22The Bakola are renowned for another skill. They are passionate about dancing.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24DRUMS BEAT, SINGING
0:18:24 > 0:18:28So before Eddie leaves, they insist he hits the dance floor.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52CLAPPING
0:18:56 > 0:18:59SINGING
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Fascinating.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05The fact that story totally links in with the genetics.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09A group said, "We're going off." They said, "Well, good luck to you.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13"We like it here." And now, I've come back and met them.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24It's time for Eddie to explore the next step in his "Y" DNA journey.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27He's moving forward some 80,000 years,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30to a pivotal moment in human history.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Some time before 60,000 years ago,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38the male Izzard lineage left Africa,
0:19:38 > 0:19:43along with the ancestors of all men who are of recent non-African origin.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47They were part of a small genetic group who, with Eddie's female ancestors,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51left to populate the rest of the world, probably via the Red Sea.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Dr Jim Wilson has been investigating where Eddie's, and everyone's,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05ancestors who left Africa at that time went next.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07How did this tiny population survive
0:20:07 > 0:20:11out of Africa, in what's now the harsh Arabian desert?
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Eddie's markers from this time help tell the story.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18His next branch originated in the Gulf.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20And then, about 50,000 years ago,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24numerous other branches developed in the human family tree.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It indicates a population explosion of some kind.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30That's what Eddie's going to explore now -
0:20:30 > 0:20:35how his ancestors, indeed the ancestors of all of us who are not of recent African origin,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38went on to explode out of Arabia.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43So, Jim, now tell me, following my father's line,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- where do I go from here? - 'You're heading next...'
0:20:46 > 0:20:49to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- Dubai?- 'Yes!'
0:20:51 > 0:20:56This is coming forward to a time when human populations all over the world were expanding...
0:20:56 > 0:20:59'pretty rapidly in numbers.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- You'll learn more about that when you get there.- 'Jim, thank you.'
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Bon voyage!
0:21:04 > 0:21:09We're going to an Arabic country. That's great. I was born in the Arabic country of Yemen.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15People don't know - Yemen's down here and Dubai is up here, if this is the Arabia peninsular.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18We're going to go that way in a Usain Bolt-type of way.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31My dad's genetic root was coming through Dubai,
0:21:31 > 0:21:37which is interesting cos I first came to Dubai 38 years ago. 38 years ago!
0:21:37 > 0:21:40And we didn't know our ancestors had been through here.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45It's spooky, as Dame Edna Everage would say.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48I'm finding out more and more, in drips and drabs,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51without any actual drips, but I'm finding out more stuff.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54So 50,000, 60,000 years ago, it's still a lot of people's story.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58It's my dad's story, but it still mixes in with a lot of humanity.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10A generation or so ago, Dubai was a desert backwater.
0:22:10 > 0:22:16Today, it is, for many, the epitome of how technology can transform our world -
0:22:17 > 0:22:22a futuristic metropolis forged out of a desert wasteland.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Eddie has come to one of the world's most luxurious hotels
0:22:36 > 0:22:40to meet archaeologist Jeff Rose.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Jeff and his colleagues are discovering new archaeological evidence all over the region.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49It shows how technological ingenuity and climate change
0:22:49 > 0:22:52influenced our ancestors survival in Arabia.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Jeff has brought along a typical example of the state-of-the-art technology
0:22:58 > 0:23:02early modern man was using in this fight for life.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Our shared ancestor, the ancestor of every human being on earth
0:23:06 > 0:23:10that's living outside of Africa, made this.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12So this is a...a hand axe?
0:23:12 > 0:23:16No, that's probably a thrust spear point or a knife.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Nobody ever expected to find this in Arabia.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22This is really, at that time, the pinnacle of human technology.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27This is an app, isn't it? Someone said, "Hey, we can make an app out of that!
0:23:27 > 0:23:31"Called the arrowhead app."
0:23:31 > 0:23:35But humans, when they first came to Arabia, also had an advantage
0:23:35 > 0:23:38over today's designers in the desert.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41It may have been what attracted them in the first place.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45The environment was completely different back then.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50The big surprise has been how green Arabia was, how fertile it was back in pre-history.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53And we're starting to find stone tools everywhere.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58I love that, cos that really hits on what's so amazing about Arabia. It's a lost land.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04- What happened was, there's a monsoon cycling through the Indian Ocean... - Back then?- Back then.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Thumping water all over the interior of Arabia.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11It greens up. So all these hunter- gatherers just go fill the interior,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14because there's food there, there's water there.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18After 70,000 years ago, things dry out and we enter an Ice Age.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22- And that's when some of the deserts in Arabia start to form.- Right.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27But humans didn't die out in Arabia in this drying out period.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30They were trapped in the interior,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32cut off by impassable desert.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Then something happened that allowed them to escape.
0:24:36 > 0:24:3950,000 years ago, there's a small window where it gets wet again.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43At that point, they exploded out of Arabia and across the world.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45This is the BIG human explosion.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54This population Big Bang, 50,000 years ago, has a modern equivalent here.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Eight million people now live in the United Arab Emirates.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03In 1950, there were just 70,000.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05The growth has been so rapid
0:25:05 > 0:25:11that today fewer than one in five inhabitants is a native birth.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It led to an initiative to boost the local population.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20So, with his translator, Eddie is going to meet a one-man population explosion.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Daad Mohammed Al Balushi is also Eddie's ancestral cousin.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31They share the same marker that places their common ancestor here
0:25:31 > 0:25:34around 50,000 years ago.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39Daad, who recently lost a leg in a car accident, is 64 years old.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Very nice to meet you. I hear you have one or two children?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- Yeah.- How many?- Er, 93.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49- 93!- Yeah.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- Wowser! So a lot of birthday parties.- Yeah.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59- He's expecting two more. - Oh, expecting two more?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- And he's planning to have 100. - This is amazing.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- And all these people here are your children?- Yes.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09If it was Olympics, you would have gold medal.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14How old is the oldest child? How young is the youngest child?
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- First one 37.- 37, oldest?- Yes.
0:26:17 > 0:26:23- Last one, nine months.- Nine months. - Yes.- 37 to nine months.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26HE SHOUTS IN ARABIC
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- HE TRANSLATES:- Get the youngest one.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33- How old are you? Nine months old?- Yes.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36But you've got lots of brothers and sisters.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I know, I know.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41THE BABY BAWLS
0:26:41 > 0:26:47- So how many wives do you have? - Four wives.- Under the law you cannot have more than four.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- And the retired wives are OK about this?- Yeah, yeah.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55Amazing story. In my country, if we have someone with ten kids, we go, "Wow!"
0:26:56 > 0:27:00What makes you want to carry on having children?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03HE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:27:03 > 0:27:07The more you spread the Islamic teachings, the greater the number of the people,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10the greater service to the country and nation.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13- Are you tired at all?- No, no, no!
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- He can have sex eight times at a time.- Wow!
0:27:16 > 0:27:20- Now sex at night, no sleeping. - Oh, really?!- Yeah.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24- So Daad has become a sex machine. - THEY LAUGH
0:27:30 > 0:27:3493. Two on the way. 95.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39Going for 100. That is kind of spectacular, Olympian fatherhood.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44He is, as James Brown would say, a sex machine.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47In a good way.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00The fundamental urge to reproduce to survive spurred humans out of Arabia 50,000 years ago.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06But just as our ancestors began to populate the rest of the world,
0:28:06 > 0:28:11that urge lead us to a close encounter with another species.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And this is what Eddie will explore next, in Israel.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Until recently, it was thought that Neanderthals,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24an archaic human species that evolved separately in Europe, had become completely extinct.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30But in 2010, scientists made a surprising discovery.
0:28:30 > 0:28:37All human populations that spread out of Africa have a small amount of Neanderthal DNA in them.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43Dr Jim Wilson has been searching for the Neanderthal in Eddie.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48The presence of Neanderthal DNA in humans means that at some stage
0:28:48 > 0:28:52humans and Neanderthals must have had sex with one another.
0:28:52 > 0:28:58And what's remarkable about Eddie is that he's got more Neanderthal in him than most.
0:28:58 > 0:29:04'Remember when I told you I'd found some extraordinary DNA in your genome?
0:29:04 > 0:29:06'All right, yeah. This is "extraordinary time".
0:29:06 > 0:29:12- 'Well, now I'm going to tell you where it came from.- OK.- You...'
0:29:12 > 0:29:15..are 2.8% Neanderthal.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16EDDIE LAUGHS
0:29:16 > 0:29:19Is that a good thing or bad thing?
0:29:19 > 0:29:23I'm sure a lot of people say... You know, people didn't want to be linked to...
0:29:23 > 0:29:27"Oh, we're not linked to people here or to chimpanzees. Neanderthals, for God's sake!"
0:29:27 > 0:29:31So 3% Neanderthal, 97% Homo sapien, is that what I am?
0:29:31 > 0:29:36It's quite a lot. Only 2.5% of my genome is Neanderthal.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40- So you've got more than me!- And that extra 0.5% makes a difference?
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Does that mean I'm good at bridge?
0:29:43 > 0:29:48Well, if we took 100 people, you'd be in the top 20. You'd be 17th.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50So I'm quite far up the Neanderthal list.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54Which, I suppose, if you get into 20, 30, 40%,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57you're getting the eyebrow ridge and less good at conversation?
0:29:57 > 0:30:01There are people out there who about 5% of their genome comes from Neanderthals.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06- It's only a part of it, but it's a significant part.- Cool.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11My standard assumption was that Neanderthals weren't the brightest guys in the pack.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15What's the saying? A few sandwiches short of a picnic.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26To find out more about our Neanderthal cousins,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Eddie has come to the Cave of Kebara on Israel's Mediterranean coast
0:30:30 > 0:30:33with the anatomist Professor Yoel Rak.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- And this is the cave. - It looks gorgeous.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40My old love.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45As it has bats, this is where Batman would come.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50We were fortunate enough, '83, to find a Neanderthal,
0:30:50 > 0:30:54right there eight metres below zero.
0:30:54 > 0:30:55Wow!
0:30:55 > 0:30:58The caves were a desirable place to live.
0:30:58 > 0:31:04- This Neanderthal is actually the most southern Neanderthal ever found. - Oh, really?- Yes.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07- What time would that represent? - 55,000 years old.
0:31:07 > 0:31:1055,000 years ago. Wow!
0:31:10 > 0:31:15All humans today who descend from the small group who first left Africa
0:31:15 > 0:31:17have Neanderthal DNA.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22It has led some scientists to conclude that our Neanderthal sexual adventure
0:31:22 > 0:31:25began somewhere close to Kebara.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28This would have been where we first encountered them
0:31:28 > 0:31:33on our journey north from Arabia before we spread out across the rest of the world.
0:31:33 > 0:31:39This is a classical Neanderthal. They are our closest relatives.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42- Can I hold it?- Sure.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45- And he's got this big eyebrow ridge there.- That's right.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50- Why is it so strong? - That's part of their so-called "primitive features".
0:31:50 > 0:31:55They are actually carrying it from very ancient times.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58The skull is much lower.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02The brain is actually set back in relationship to the face.
0:32:02 > 0:32:08Distinct anatomy goes also to the pelvis, to the foot, to the chest.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13The nose is huge in diameter and in volume.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14- Oh!- OK.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18- They are completely different.- Right. - Completely different.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23Anatomy wasn't the only difference that separated us from our Neanderthal cousins.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Neanderthals had evolved in Europe. Humans in Africa.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32- What would skin colour be like? - Well, there is very little doubt
0:32:32 > 0:32:36that Homo sapiens coming from Africa...
0:32:36 > 0:32:39They were black.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44There is, today, with the genetic evidence, there is very little doubt
0:32:44 > 0:32:47that the Neanderthals were fair.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51So Neanderthals were white and the Homo sapiens were black?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54- Yeah.- Back in the day.- Yeah. - Interesting.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57And that's really to do with sun...
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Cos everyone gets so... Ooh, sorry! Sorry, mate!
0:33:00 > 0:33:04How many wars have been fought over the colours of skin and all this hatred going on.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08But it really is just to do with where you are, the sun...
0:33:08 > 0:33:10The body will automatically adjust.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14As tribes moved further north, where there was less sunlight...
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- That's right.- ..They would actually start shedding pigment.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19It's a matter of being adjusted.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24Neanderthals are fantastically adjusted to cold weather.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27We can tell that they had ginger hair.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33- Oh, so Neanderthals had ginger hair and Homo sapiens not so much?- No. - Not at all?- Not at that time.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38So you're Neanderthal and ginger haired. I have a red-hair base.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Red hair in humans and Neanderthals arose at different times.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47But it's thought to have come about for the same reason.
0:33:47 > 0:33:53The move to areas with less sunshine led for a need to absorb more Vitamin D.
0:33:53 > 0:33:59The Izzards, like the Neanderthals, became red headed and lighter skinned in cooler climates.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08This shows us that racism is stupid, it's insane, because we are all the same people.
0:34:08 > 0:34:14People came together here thousands of years ago, being Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Who could never have thought when they were saying, "Hello! How are you?
0:34:17 > 0:34:21"Gosh, you're darker skinned, you're lighter skinned people. You have a very heavy eyebrow ridge."
0:34:21 > 0:34:24"Yes, don't know why that is. It must be physiognomy."
0:34:24 > 0:34:29While they discussed that... "We seem to be getting on OK. Shall we have sex?" "Yes, why not?"
0:34:33 > 0:34:37It was black Homo sapiens coming out of Africa
0:34:37 > 0:34:40and white Neanderthals meeting.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45And some of them had sex and that's why I'm 2.8% Neanderthal.
0:34:46 > 0:34:52So where did the Izzard go next after their Neanderthal adventure 50,000 years or so ago?
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Dr Jim Wilson has been looking on the migration map used by scientists
0:34:59 > 0:35:02for matches to Eddie's next significant marker.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07It produced the "I" branch that first appears around 25,000 years ago.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12It's present today in many Central European communities,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15but isn't present in the Middle East at all.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19It's existence so early in the heart of Europe
0:35:19 > 0:35:21suggests that Eddie's male ancestors
0:35:21 > 0:35:24were among the first to colonise the continent,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27probably in search of new hunting grounds.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Eddie's come to the River Danube, near Vienna in Austria,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39to explore how the male Izzards became some of the first Europeans.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Today, the Danube is a super-highway that cuts through the heart of Europe.
0:35:45 > 0:35:51It was the same around 25,000 years ago, when Eddie's "I" ancestors first came this way.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Here, he's joined by Dr Jim Wilson.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01This is where your ancestors probably came into Europe from the Near East.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04And this "I" group is interesting,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07because it's not really found at all outside Europe.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11- You actually descend from some of the earliest people in Europe.- Wow!
0:36:11 > 0:36:14This group is 25,000 years old.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19So actually arrived in Europe, we think, before the peak of the last Ice Age.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22So this is really very long ago, before agriculture.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26- So it would have been hunters and gatherers?- Yeah.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31- Yeah. It's been associated with the Gravettian culture. - Oh!- These are big game hunters.
0:36:31 > 0:36:37- They hunted reindeer and European bison and even mammoth as well.- Wow!
0:36:37 > 0:36:40These people, who are almost certainly your ancestors,
0:36:40 > 0:36:45are most famous for carving these stylised figurines of women.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49There are these very voluptuous female figurines
0:36:49 > 0:36:51with huge buttocks and huge breasts.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55- Buttocks and breasts. - And genitals.- You're doing the same mime for buttocks AND breasts.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00- It's supposed to be buttocks and breasts. - Depends which way round they are.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Concertinaing the body together. They were differently shaped backed then.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07And the most famous of all is Venus of Willendorf.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11And this is Willendorf here, where we're just going to pull in.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14And you'll get to see Venus herself.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18Your next genetic cousin is Sinisa Djokovic, who's waiting for you on the shore.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Sinisa Djokovic, who was born in Sarajevo,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29recently gave a saliva sample.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Jim found he's a match to Eddie's next branch,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34known as "I-2".
0:37:34 > 0:37:37It's shared by up to 10% of European males
0:37:37 > 0:37:41and originated in Central Europe 20,000 years ago.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47It means Eddie and Sinisa have a common ancestor in the past 700 generations.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51- Hello.- You must be Eddie Izzard, well-known British comedian.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Well, somewhat well known, not terribly well known.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57They told me that we are some kind of genetic cousins.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59They tell me this, yes.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02What is specific about two of us
0:38:02 > 0:38:06- is that our ancestor actually survived the Ice Age in Europe.- Yeah.
0:38:10 > 0:38:16Around 20,000 years ago, just as the Izzards pushed their way into the heart of the continent,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19the last Ice Age reached its peak.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Glaciers covered much of Britain.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26As far south as the Danube, the land was permanently frozen.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Our ancestor probably entered Europe in this region, our common ancestor.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33- Granddad.- Granddad!
0:38:33 > 0:38:36So we are probably on the edge of the ice cap.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41- So do you feel people were further up and came back down again when the ice came in?- Yes.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44There were probably people coming back down the river going,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47"Ice is coming, lads! Let's all pack it up and move back."
0:38:47 > 0:38:50After that Ice Age, when the ice melted,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53the re-population of Europe began.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57- And this was probably the place where we separated.- Oh, really?- Yes.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02Our ancient grandfather, he said, "You go this way. You go this way."
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Maybe some of you will make it cos it's really cold at the moment.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10- My guy would be called Steve. What was yours called?- Radojica.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12So Radojica goes that way and Steve goes that way.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16- So our ancestors lived here?- Yes. - And made these things?
0:39:16 > 0:39:20The actual Venus of Willendorf is just over four inches tall,
0:39:20 > 0:39:26but the locals have built a life-sized replica on the spot it was discovered.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30- I suppose it's supposed to be very fertile, babies, babies, babies.- Yes, yes.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36When you're just trying to survive, I suppose it was, everybody have babies so that the tribe gets big.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40- Interesting on statue is the hands over the...- Breasts, yes.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43With your hands on your breasts like this, it's saying, "So, anyway..."
0:39:43 > 0:39:49Women with big breasts - what it's supposed to do? Are you supposed to go and shag people cos of that?
0:39:49 > 0:39:54- And all those curls on the head - what is that?- "I can't do faces. I'm just going to...
0:39:54 > 0:39:58"I'm just going to put this basket over your head."
0:39:58 > 0:40:03It just doesn't work for me. If our family came up here 20,000 years ago and made these,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06they were doing a lot of drugs.
0:40:17 > 0:40:23The "I-2" people, which is my group seem to be the first people getting into Europe and this is interesting,
0:40:23 > 0:40:28because, apparently, we got in there and then we got pushed back by the ice and we came back again.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31This is all new to me. I think it will be fascinating to my dad.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36It's getting closer to the link, where you go, "Oh, I see how we got to where we are!"
0:40:36 > 0:40:39My story is now getting grabbable and chewable.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47To understand how the Stone Age Izzards dealt with the extreme conditions of the Ice Age,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Eddie has come to a wind tunnel in nearby Graz.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54During this time, winter temperatures
0:40:54 > 0:40:57could be up to 20 degrees Centigrade colder than they are today.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02Here, experimental archaeologist Dr Hubert Berke
0:41:02 > 0:41:06wants to show how the course of human history was altered
0:41:06 > 0:41:10by the invention of one tiny object, the needle.
0:41:11 > 0:41:17First, Hubert's dressing Eddie in the kind of loose clothing we wore before this momentous event.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21In the beginning, the clothing for the Ice Age was not good.
0:41:21 > 0:41:27- So if you go in the wind, you will be freezed. - Oh, it'll be cold.- It will be cold.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30I didn't know that the fur goes on the inside.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33- It is normally for the winter times. - Right.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38- It protects your body better.- I thought it was the other way round.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41- So you have air inside.- OK.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44So I've already got some loose stuff on. Can you help me...?
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- Yes.- Get some more... - You should protect your arms.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52If it is really cold and it is windy,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55if you have clothing like that, you cannot move.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58- Cos if you move, the air comes in?- Yes.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01- OK, I'm going in.- All right.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04- Just like that.- OK.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09This is a bit of bear. Bit of bear, bit of bear, bit of mongoose.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Fox and a gorilla down my back.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17- So now I'm going to go and stand in a wind tunnel and experience the wind...- You will feel it.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20..in Europe 20,000 years ago.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23I'm sure it will be roasty, toasty.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28As a result of the Ice Age windchill factor, temperatures could plummet.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Fewer trees meant less protection and stronger winds.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- SHOUTS OVER WIND:- It's a bit breezy!
0:42:35 > 0:42:38The clothing feels all right.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42But the wind could have been this strong 20,000 years ago.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46But the main thing is the cold. It gets in everywhere.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48And you're just trying to stand still.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52It's tough! It's difficult to stay warm.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57If you were interacting back in those days, it'd be difficult. You'd be going, "Morning!"
0:42:57 > 0:43:01Or even saying, "Hello! How are you? Lovely day."
0:43:01 > 0:43:05"Mrs Stevens, going hunting! Not today maybe."
0:43:11 > 0:43:14The invention of the needle around 20,000 years ago,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17meant clothes were much more wind resistant.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Yes, it's very me.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24Good tailoring helped the Izzards' Y chromosome survive the Ice Age.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Hubert is stitching up with an actual bone needle he made himself
0:43:30 > 0:43:33in the style that would have been made 20,000 years ago.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36He's stitching up the back of the costume here.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40This could be exactly the sort of thing to end up saying,
0:43:40 > 0:43:45"I attacked a bear and he got me in the back. Can you sew that up, cos it's a bit chilly?"
0:43:45 > 0:43:48- It should be better now.- Excellent.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52So you've got stitching up here. Stitching round here.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55- Some parts together.- Yeah.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59Very early puppets with Beatles' haircuts.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09You could survive I think in this. You can hunt.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11You could move.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13You could do boxing
0:44:13 > 0:44:16when an animal's coming for you.
0:44:22 > 0:44:23HE SIGHS
0:44:23 > 0:44:26Ah, that was great!
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Do I look refreshed?
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Never thought tailoring was important.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34I thought animals, you just kill them and wear them.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39The importance of the needle is that you can make, not only clothing,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42you can make a tent and you can make bags.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45It was a really great invention.
0:44:47 > 0:44:5220,000 years ago, because I survived - my family were stitching like crazy.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Every time there's a new invention, some people go, "It's not for me!
0:44:56 > 0:45:01"I'll just strap bits of dead animal on to me and hold on for dear life."
0:45:01 > 0:45:05But my family, no. They were clever. You do think once you've got tools, everything flows.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09You've got tools and then you get an iPad and it's just da-da-da-da...
0:45:09 > 0:45:15It isn't. There are eureka moments all the way up, including THE eureka moment,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18when... Who was that, Pythagoras?
0:45:18 > 0:45:22..in the bath, said, "Eureka!" So you have these moments and someone says, "Hey, needle!"
0:45:26 > 0:45:31Fine tailoring wasn't the only eureka moment early modern humans had at this time.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Eddie has come to the Cave of Niaux in the French Pyrenees
0:45:36 > 0:45:39to meet archaeologist Dr Jean Clottes.
0:45:39 > 0:45:45They are about to witness one of the defining achievements of the whole human journey.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49It was created in many caves throughout Europe
0:45:49 > 0:45:52by the ancestors of those of us who, like Eddie,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56share this early European genetic marker.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01They left their mark as they followed the ebb and flow of the ice.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05FOOTSTEPS ECHO
0:46:05 > 0:46:07It is an amazing place.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09Wow!
0:46:10 > 0:46:13We have two bison facing right.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17And, on top, we've got a horse.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Below we have a stag.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- And do we know what dates these... - They were 15,000, 16,000 years ago.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32So the height of the previous glaciation period was about 18-20.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35Yes. It was still the glaciation.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40With the lights we have, we can see the immensity.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45For them, the immensity, they could only feel through the sound.
0:46:45 > 0:46:51Because their lights were not enough to give more than a very faint glow around them.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54It's quite scary and spooky and impressive all at once.
0:46:54 > 0:47:00- This was a very sacred place.- It does sound a bit like a cathedral.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03- Yeah.- If you could sing, you'd sing.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06I'm very sorry. It's better for me not to sing!
0:47:06 > 0:47:10- OK, as we're in France.- I don't want to bring the wrath of the gods.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13But they might like the singing.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17# Sur le pont d'Avignon L'on y danse, l'on y danse
0:47:17 > 0:47:21# Sur le pont d'Avignon L'on y danse, da-da-da...
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- I don't know the end bit. - Well, if something happens to you, I won't be responsible.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28And you think... That's very superstitious of you.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34People, 16,000 years ago, came in here
0:47:34 > 0:47:37going through these caves... I don't know if I'd do this!
0:47:37 > 0:47:42But they went right back into the salon noir, the black room, black chamber,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46this almost cathedral-like place, and made these cave paintings.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48I think that's amazing because
0:47:48 > 0:47:52they must have been trying to talk to the gods, the gods of the mountain, the spirit world.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59I don't believe in a god, but I can understand people who did, especially back then.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04This is before the Romans, before the Greeks, before the Egyptians.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18- My family could have done these things.- Why not?
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Yes. 15,000 years ago and way before that.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24- 15,000 years ago is not that far from us.- No.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42By the end of the last glaciation 10,000 years ago,
0:48:42 > 0:48:46this original Ice Age population the Izzards belonged to
0:48:46 > 0:48:48had colonised Europe.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52So where did the Izzards go over the next few thousand years?
0:48:52 > 0:48:55And how did they get to Britain?
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Jim has been looking at Eddie's next significance marker.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01He believes it holds the key.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06I have been to see cave paintings, here in Niaux.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08My direct people did this.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Some of them are OK. Some are a bit... Need a bit of work there.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14B-plus, could do better.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Amazing to see that up front. Where am I going next on my father's line?
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Your next Y-chromosome marker
0:49:20 > 0:49:24arose about 3,000-4,000 years ago.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26So it's a jump forward in time.
0:49:26 > 0:49:32Now this is in a small village called Neuharlingersiel, in Lower Saxony,
0:49:32 > 0:49:37on the coast of the North Sea. This is one of the homelands of the Saxons.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Having heard that my mother's side is kind of Viking-ish
0:49:41 > 0:49:45and my father's side is kind of German-ish, it seems I'm Teutonic up the wazoo!
0:49:45 > 0:49:47HE LAUGHS
0:49:47 > 0:49:51This is a very rare group now. We're zooming in on to your type.
0:49:51 > 0:49:56- This is a group that only about 0.5% of the people in England carry.- Wow!
0:49:56 > 0:50:00It's very recently discovered, last year, and you're going to meet
0:50:00 > 0:50:04a genetic cousin of yours, Herr Frerichs.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09And he's just some bloke who's got this marker or is he good at juggling rats or something?
0:50:09 > 0:50:13Usually, I met people who have got some other skill. Very good.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16- We will speak more. Sayonara. - See you later.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18So I'm a Saxon. Erm...
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Yeah, OK. OK, I thought I was a Celt.
0:50:22 > 0:50:23Wow!
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Saxons and Vikings. There you go, it's got warrior written all over it.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Eddie has come to Lower Saxony in northern Germany,
0:50:36 > 0:50:42the spiritual home of the group of Germanic peoples we know as the Anglo-Saxons.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44He's here meeting Brian Frerichs,
0:50:44 > 0:50:48another genetic relative who gave a spit sample for science.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51But Brian doesn't live in northern Germany.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53The marker they share is so rare,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57that Jim could only find matches in America.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02Brian's family emigrated from this village in the 19th century.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06- I think we should do a glasses moment.- I agree.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Let's have a look and see what we can see.
0:51:08 > 0:51:14These are the church books where the pastors kept records of all the families that attended the church.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17That was my great-great- great-grandfather.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21Hillern Jacobs Frerichs is the one who went to America in 1881.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26So there's several families from this area in the Mid-West that probably share our Y DNA.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30And they would have left for... for what reason?
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Basically, the land. Cos you have more and more population looking for work.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37America presented an opportunity for more land.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Genealogical records prove the Izzards were in England by the 17th century.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47They must have left Germany much earlier than Brian's family, but when?
0:51:47 > 0:51:51The largest historical migration from this region to the UK
0:51:51 > 0:51:54took place when the Saxons invaded Britain.
0:51:54 > 0:51:59The Saxons came in about 600, 700, 800s. But we split off at some point!
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Maybe one guy stayed in northern Germany, the other one crossed over to England.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07Your guy was more aggressive. Part of the invaders and mine was...
0:52:07 > 0:52:11- Maybe he was annoying! They said, "Get out of here!" - They kicked him out.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15"You're annoying! Go and fight the British!" "All right."
0:52:15 > 0:52:18"Go and fight the Celts. Push them back to Wales."
0:52:18 > 0:52:23- So, Brian, thank you very much. - Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. - Thank you, ancient cousin.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33The Anglo-Saxon invasions from around 400 AD
0:52:33 > 0:52:38established kingdoms throughout the south and east of the British mainland.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43They united to form what we now know as England in 954 AD.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48But we're the Izzards part of this mass migration?
0:52:48 > 0:52:52We're getting closer, but I'm getting impatient for this gap bit.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56So you'd better find some decent people in the UK that links it all the way through.
0:52:58 > 0:53:04It's time for Eddie to head home and discover when the Izzards came to England.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10My dad's side of the family, I know, for pretty damn certain...
0:53:10 > 0:53:13I'm trying to use the science of the genetics here.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17That 2,000-3,000 years ago, the family was in north Germany.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20And I know that they came over here, cos I'm here.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Was it in the Roman period?
0:53:23 > 0:53:29Was it when the Angles and Saxons were attacking in the 600-800s? Was it later than that?
0:53:31 > 0:53:37If I could find out when my dad's side, when the Izzards, came over, that just would be fascinating.
0:53:38 > 0:53:44Dr Jim Wilson has been searching the databases to find matches to Eddie's most recent male marker.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47It turns out to be extremely rare.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51Only about 0.1% of us in the UK share it.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55It was discovered so recently, it has yet to be given a name.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00Will this provide the final piece in the male line jigsaw?
0:54:00 > 0:54:02We've brought you here to Lincolnshire today,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06to meet your next branch of the tree, your next cousin,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10who's someone that you share an ancestor with
0:54:10 > 0:54:13- only about 1,500 years ago, give or take.- Right.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17So that's, let's say, what? 500 AD or so, we're talking.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20- Just before the Saxons started coming here?- Just around that time.
0:54:20 > 0:54:26I think it points to your ancestors in the father line, in the male line,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- most probably coming to Britain as Saxons.- Wow.
0:54:29 > 0:54:35We're getting really quite recent now, into the era, borderline, of history.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39So I've brought you here to meet a chap called Henry Speare.
0:54:39 > 0:54:40KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Oh, he's not in, so let's...
0:54:49 > 0:54:52- Hello. Can I help you?- Henry?
0:54:52 > 0:54:55- Hello! How do you do? - I'm Jim Wilson.- Oh, Jim. Hi.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58- This is Eddie Izzard. - Oh, it's Eddie Izzard!- Hello.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01- Your distant genetic cousin. - Fancy that.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05We seem to be distantly, genetically Saxon cousins.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09- We're Saxon?- Did you not know? - No, I thought we were Vikings.
0:55:10 > 0:55:11Whey!
0:55:14 > 0:55:16Excellent!
0:55:16 > 0:55:20- Cheers!- Cheers! To the old days. And the new days.- Yes!
0:55:21 > 0:55:25- That's very nice. I wasn't expecting this.- Lovely!
0:55:25 > 0:55:27On a bridge with some ducks.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33You are round about 50th cousins in the direct male line.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37So your father's father's father's father and his father's father's father's father
0:55:37 > 0:55:39link back in around about 500 AD.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Sadly, I didn't have any sons, so I'm the end of the line.
0:55:43 > 0:55:48- For your Y chromosome.- Yeah. And I guess... Have you got many sons?
0:55:48 > 0:55:51No, I haven't and my brother hasn't.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54I haven't got any kids at the moment. Going to have kids later.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57When I start slowing down. So, er...
0:55:57 > 0:56:00- Yes, the Y chromosome better go and get some sons.- Yeah.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Eddie's quest is almost complete.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12This is as far as genetics can currently take him.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16But it's only the start of what DNA science will be able to do.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20It has the potential to reveal much more about our pasts
0:56:20 > 0:56:24and is on the cusp of understanding our futures, too.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Eddie has one final thing to do -
0:56:27 > 0:56:32to tell his dad how the Izzards' Y chromosome has survived until now.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34- Hello.- Hi.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38- I am back. Good to see you. - Nice to see you.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41We've got rare stuff in there.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46On our side, 0.1% of people in England have got our genes.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50- Must be a relief for the other 99.9%. - Exactly!
0:56:50 > 0:56:54What was the half-implied connection
0:56:54 > 0:56:58with the rather small inhabitants of part of the Cameroons?
0:56:58 > 0:57:02They were pygmy people. I mean, they were just about my height.
0:57:02 > 0:57:08It links to the genetics of everyone, not just us, even though the Izzards are not tall of stature.
0:57:08 > 0:57:14The root that we took, it seems to be up the Danube... We came up the Danube.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17And we got to Saxony. We seem to be Saxon.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20There's a whole bunch of people from the Bremen area,
0:57:20 > 0:57:22who had similar genetics.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27We haven't been able to get back beyond about 1650 in Sussex, have we?
0:57:27 > 0:57:32- But that's closer.- Yeah. So that's who you are and that's who I am.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35Well, I sort of knew who I was.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39Well, that's who our great-great- great-great-great-granddad was.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42- So that's the end of the adventure so far?- Yeah.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45So it's up to you to start the next generation, is it?
0:57:45 > 0:57:49- Er, what? Of Izzards? Keep the Y chromosome going?- That's right.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Cos I realise, the Y chromosome isn't happening at the moment.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56- Yes, it does seem like... - That's a new pressure on you.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Yeah, I know. I've got stuff to do.
0:57:59 > 0:58:00Yeah!
0:58:01 > 0:58:06Eddie set out to discover more about his and our shared origins,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08and to give something back to his dad.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Mission accomplished.
0:58:11 > 0:58:17So he's 84 and he knows things that his mum and dad could never have known.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22To come back and say, "Well, actually, this goes back thousands of years.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25"Tens, hundreds of thousands of years and has to go further!"
0:58:25 > 0:58:30It feels good to have brought all this information back and given it to him
0:58:30 > 0:58:32and now he's got to deal with it.
0:58:32 > 0:58:38It's definitely worth doing and 'twas another big adventure. Adventures are the stuff of life.
0:58:55 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd