Forty years ago, the American anthropologist Dr. Ralph Selecki explored the caves of Shanidar, where he discovered an old man’s image that profoundly changed the way we saw our ancestors.
The professor discovered a skull – a Neanderthal skull. Interestingly, it was covered with microscopic pollen from the flowers of thistle, ragwort, Spiraea and mauve, among others.
The same pollen dust covered the rest of the skeletal elements, suggesting that family and friends had gathered deliberately and laid flowers in clusters in the body.
These mourners left behind the earliest known signs of man’s consciousness of death. Based on the findings of Dr. Selecki, Neanderthals seemed to have what we have come to call to mind.
Deeply complex and mysterious, the human brain is an odyssey in itself. Making this journey into the inner workings of the mind under the guidance of scientist Dr. David Suzuki, host of the Discovery Channel documentary fascinating.
This series explores how the brain develops from birth to adulthood, how memory works, how humans recovering from a brain injury, and the origins of creativity and identity.
