
Your Aching Back: A Gift from Your Ancient Ancestors
Clip: Episode 3 | 2m 52s
As Bruce Latimer explains, our evolutionary history has some consequences for our back.
The shape of our backs keeps us balanced when we walk on two legs, but it comes at a cost. Anatomist Bruce Latimer shows how our transition to being exclusively bipedal has led to many common back ailments.

Your Aching Back: A Gift from Your Ancient Ancestors
Clip: Episode 3 | 2m 52s
The shape of our backs keeps us balanced when we walk on two legs, but it comes at a cost. Anatomist Bruce Latimer shows how our transition to being exclusively bipedal has led to many common back ailments.
How to Watch Your Inner Fish
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipEpisode 3: Your Inner Monkey Preview
Find out which traits our primate progenitors bequeathed to us. (30s)
The 500-Million-Year History of the Human Brain
Biologist Peter Holland shows us how much we have in common with a wormy little animal. (3m 19s)
Amazing Places, Amazing Fossils: Lucy
Don Johanson recounts the discovery of an iconic human ancestor in Ethiopia. (4m 54s)
Ancient Human Ancestors: Walking in the Woods
"Ardi" changed our understanding of how our ancestors first started walking on two legs. (3m 47s)
How Do We Know When Our Ancestors Lost Their Tails?
Paleontologist Holly Dunsworth shows us fossil evidence for the disappearance of our tail. (4m)
The Human Hand: A Gift from Ancient Primates
Meet an ancient primate with a hand eerily similar to your own. (4m 26s)
Meet Your Cousins: Squirrel Monkeys
Our relationship to living primates can be seen in their anatomy and genes. (2m 5s)
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