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Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link is a one-hour television documentary made by Atlantic Productions for the BBC, first aired on 26 May 2009 on BBC One. It explores the story behind the discovery of an early primate fossil, Darwinius masillae, nicknamed Ida, in a shale quarry in Germany. The fossil is believed to be around 47 million years old, and is extraordinarily well-preserved.[1] Originally unearthed in 1983, Ida lay in the hands of a private collector for 20 years before it was shown to a Norwegian paleontologist, Dr Jørn Hurum.[2] Realising that Ida could turn out to be a significant missing link between modern primates, lemurs and lower mammals, he persuaded the Natural History Museum in Oslo to purchase the fossil and assembled an international team of experts to study it. Their findings were announced in a press conference and the online publication of a scientific paper on 19 May 2009.[3]

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link
Also known asThe Link
GenreDocumentary
Written byDavid Attenborough
Presented byDavid Attenborough
Narrated byDavid Attenborough
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes1
Production
ProducerLucie Ridout
Production locationsHesse, Germany
Running time59:00
Original release
NetworkBBC One (UK)
History Channel (US)
ZDF (Germany)
NRK (Norway)
Release29 May 2009 (2009-05-29)
Darwinius masillae fossil

The BBC programme was narrated by David Attenborough. An alternative edit of the programme entitled The Link debuted on the History Channel on 25 May 2009 in a two-hour slot.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Exclusive BBC One documentary uncovers our earliest ancestor" (Press release). BBC. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  2. ^ Randerson, J. (19 May 2009). "Fossil Ida: extraordinary find is 'missing link' in human evolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  3. ^ Franzen, J. L.; Gingerich, P. D.; Habersetzer, J.; Hurum, J. H.; Von Koenigswald, W.; Smith, B. H. (2009). J., Hawks (ed.). "Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: morphology and paleobiology". PLOS ONE. 4 (5): e5723. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5723F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005723. PMC 2683573. PMID 19492084.
  4. ^ "Looking at The History Channel's The Link". Science4Grownups. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
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