The Science On «10,000 BC»

A Prehistoric Epic Begun

Counting with a successful career based most of all on science fiction movies, —those mentioned at the promotional material of his last production are Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004)— the German director Roland Emmerich, according with the official site of his film slated to release at March 7, 2008: «Now turning his camera to the distant past to create ‘10,000 BC’, the filmmaker faced perhaps his boldest and most ambitious filmmaking challenge to date.» A film described also as «a sweeping odyssey into a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth.» By the synopsis we are notice also that the hero, a young mammoth hunter named D’Leh (Steven Strait) lead a quest to save his love, the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle) from the warlords which were kidnapping her, found eventually himself no longer at the command of an small rescue band but and entire army instead. «Driven by destiny, the unlikely warriors must battle prehistoric predators while braving the harshest elements. At their heroic journey’s end, they uncover a lost civilization and learn their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies.» Before such scheme, placed in time on a precisely date, become interesting; if not necessary, wondering regarding the factual accuracy of this film, based alone upon the available material prior to its release.

At the End of the Last Ice Age

The 10th millennium BC that point out the title of Emmerich’s 2008 production almost coincide with the beginning of the Holocene as the last epoch of the Neogene period (c. 9600 BC), the latter period of the Cenozoic, the actual geological Era. Also was the ending of the last ice age over North America, named Tioga, which was represented most of all by the Wisconsin glaciation; an ice age whose end mark the initiate of the interglacial period that endured to our days. Population on the world has estimated were below 5 million people, worldwide widespread through all continents except Antarctica, and formed mainly by hunter-gathering communities. Pottering, and probably alongside cooking were independently develop in Japan and North Africa. Also first incidences of agriculture of primitive forms of millet and rice occurred in Southeast Asia. Agriculture likewise has begun on the Armenian Highlands and the Fertile Crescent as well; but not become a prominently activity until 2,000 years after. Were also the times when our species become the last member of the hominid family, after the extinction of Homo floresiensis at the remote Indonesian island of Flores; event unknown until the discovering of its sub-fossil remains in 2003 at Liang Bua Cave.

Dominant fauna was, as through almost all the Cenozoic composed foremost by largest mammals, birds and reptiles known as megafauna, a term coined by Paul S. Martin, Professor of Geosciences Emeritus at the Desert Laboratory of the University of Arizona, who also propose the overkill hypothesis (referred colloquially as blitzkrieg) as an attempt to explain the mass extinctions of megafauna through late Pleistocene and the begun of Holocene, extinctions correlated with the arrive of humans around the world: «Man, and man alone, was responsible» affirm Martin. Nevertheless the Pleistocene extinction event still as a signature not totally explained yet by science. In North America several genus of megafauna become extinct around 11,000-10,000 years ago, briefly after arrive of the first Paleo Indians (Clovis culture) at the continent.

On Paleontology and Archaeological Inaccuracies

At the second released trailer of 10,000 BC shown a small group of hunter-gathers moving along the ground, introducing surreptitiously themselves within a herd of mammoths which grazing peacefully over the tundra-steppe landscape. Due to our knowledge of the extraordinary sense of smell on actual elephants, the surviving closer relatives of extinct mammoths, we can confidently suppose the same regarding to mammoths. Therefore were impossible that the hunters get themselves so close at those brutes and the latter remain unnoticed of human presence, and because the evolution of man and mammoths develop in parallel at Africa and Eurasia, and the former were hunting even by other hominid species, it is unable to think that 10,000 BC shown a case of naïveté before humans, as happened to island animals without a previous contact to our species. The official site also says: «The story opens in a remote valley where the Yagahl tribe subsists by taking down one giant mammoth from among the massive herds that thunder across the land on their yearly migration.» Likewise quote Harald Kloser, composer and co-writer besides to Emmerich of the screenplay: «Now they’re coming to the end of the Ice Age, so the climate is changing. They realize the mammoths don’t come as regularly anymore.» After several generations of hunting —if not thousand of years— it is to suppose that mammoths has learned how to deal whit humans at that time.

However, the matter become even more complex when we try to located geographically where the action of 10,000 BC takes place. Based on the physical traits of characters, and the cultural aspects displayed by them, the best guess possible has to be the North the Africa, most precisely at the East of Sahara, where North Africa encounter the Middle East and therefore has served as bridge to migrations. This is consistent, if well then broadly what we know about populations over such area. The Yagahl, —D’leh’s tribe—, with somehow Caucasoid traits, or at least in posses a lighter skin, resemble the diversity of phenotypes in North Africa, as it is know in actual Egypt during the predynastic period (between 5500 BC to 3100 BC), and human presence it is recorder there from the 11th millennium BC. On the other hand, the African people on film resemble actual Sub-Saharan populations, also those near to the border to North Africa. This also reflects director’s intentions. «Though the film does not dictate a specific place, for Emmerich, it was always Africa. ‘It’s the cradle of mankind,’ he notes. ‘But because of the story we wanted to tell, it became our own made-up Africa.’» This is a correct appreciation of the subject.

Even mammoths has begun to evolve at Africa around 4.8 million years ago, with the emerge of Mammuthus africanavus, afterwards the genus expanded at Europe near to 3-3.5 million years ago, and eventually arrive to America and evolve there as was happened in Eurasia before. However, there is no reference of extant mammoths over North Africa at the time of 10,000 BC, a period when the Sahara was as dry as is actually, but its desertification not occurred until around 2500 BC, and desert landscapes appear on the film. Also tundra and steppe is showed, but because this was an area of limited glacial impact, this seems quite unlikely. Likewise the idea of woolly mammoths dwelling on the desert or forced to live there appears improbable as well.

Concerning with the saber-toothed cat showed in the film, apparently the most near existence of a machairodont (true saber-toothed cat) or any other saber-toothed mammal on the Mediterranean area (including North Africa) so recently as possible was represented by the genus Megantereon, which is believed were the ancestor of the American saber-toothed cat Smilodon. Nevertheless, Megantereon become extinct around 1 million years ago. Also the saber-toothed tiger (as is misleading called in the official site) result quite bigger even in comparison with Smilodon populator, the largest of all known machairodonts, which was similar in size of a lion, but 1 ½ to 2 times heavier instead. But S. populator lived at South America before to extinct just 10,000 years ago. On the other hand, the film’s beast resembles more a Tigon —an hybrid between a female lion and a male tiger— rather than a machairodont: also posses a long tail similar of those of the genus Panthera, (which belong lion and tiger) instead of machairodonts’ characteristic short tail.

Within the other inaccuracies concerning megafauna is the apparition of three giant, baldhead birds of pray flying through the rainforest. These resemble teratorns, large bird of prey native from South and North America during the Miocene to Pleistocene epochs. The only know species of teratorn on the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary is the North American Teratornis merriami, the best know of all of them so far due the over hundred specimens founded at La Brea Tar Pits, in Los Angeles, California. None teratorn has been discovered in Africa as well.

Finally there are the astonishing apparition of vicious, faster, flightless, fearsome «terror birds» chasing D’leh’s men at some place so far of their home. «In the Lost Valley there is a flock of terror birds living on this high grass», Emmerich says. «They’re somewhere between dinosaurs and ostriches, but they hunt like sharks, coming out of the grass and disappearing again.» Phorusrhacids, the members of the avian Phorusrhacidae family were predators native from South America. The only know species of phorusrhacid at North America is Titanis walleri, a early migrated from the South prior to the Great American Interchange. Once were believed, due circumstantial evidence, that T. walleri become extinct just 15,000 years ago, which make it the only phorusrhacid that could be contemporaneous of modern humans anywhere at the world. However, a posterior research leaded by Bruce J. McFadden based on rare earth elements (REE) found out the age range of T. walleri remains were from early Pliocene to late Pliocene (c. 5 million to c. 2.2-1.8 million years ago). No human, modern or extinct, was a phorusrhacid’s victim ever.

Regarding to archaeological inaccuracies in 10,000 BC the most obvious is the built of pyramids a long time before as we know this really was happen. «For me, the pyramid is a symbol of total arrogance,» says Emmerich. But when we take in consideration when were the built of the first known Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser, a step pyramid somehow similar as those showed on the trailers of 10,000 BC, and then compared them with the construction date of Djoser’s Pyramid, finished in 2750 BC, the film portray an early develop of pyramids’ architecture at least 7250 years before to our actual knowledge concerning this matter, which is opposite to widely accepted archaeology, that have no record at all of an advanced civilization at that time. Without no evidence at all, and without no argument to suppose anything else, it is possible to affirm, regarding to lost civilizations, with great confidence, that absence of evidence is evidence of absence.

Nor less surprising is the use, in the film, of mammoths as beasts of burden on the pyramids construction, working alongside with enslaved people captured by warlords at the service of Emmerich’s lost civilization. Even could be possible that mammoths were able to be tamed, as Asian elephants has does today, however there is not evidence at all which could support such idea; likewise there is no reason to suppose what can lead to humans to do it at that time, within other reasons that cities were no building at the 10th millennium BC. The city of Jericho, consider as one of the oldest continually-inhabited cities in the world, was not founded until 9,000 BC by people belonged to the Natufian culture, which used to built on stone, but construct noting that could resemble greatest pyramids or any other advanced architecture beyond to all already recorded yet. Also the slave riders, called by the Yagahl as «four-legged demons» due they move on horseback, contradict the hypothesis that support the domestication of the horse through the Ukrainian steppes approximately at 4,000 BC, 6,000 years after that 10,000 BC shown. Use of metal tools (and probably weapons) is portrayed as occurred at least 2500 years early that were really happen.

Well then, and under any point of view, and despite on a first sight could seems that 10,000 BC is a film less inaccurate in comparison with previous prehistoric films, in fact result fulfilled of misinformation as its predecessors used to does, where was common to portray anatomically modern humans besides to non-avian dinosaurs. 10,000 BC do not include non-avian dinosaurs, indeed, but in own self way committed original errs regarding with our actual knowledge on prehistory. Of course, this is no a motive to censure Emmerich’s film, especially when he expose his motives, and those are entirely legitimate. «I have always been intrigued by the idea of classic storytelling, in the timeless way people have told stories round the campfire for generations,» Emmerich says. «When your subject matter is early man, you have the opportunity to tell very rich heroic stories in which one character has to do the almost impossible. I wanted to make a movie that would allow audiences to fall into this other world that looks and feels like nothing they have ever seen.» A point of view has no necessary to be entailed with sound science, but correspond better with artistic intentions. If Emmerich already has done a good movie this is something that critics and audience must to decide by themselves, and judge it by its artistic merits. But it is important have in mind also that this film has conceived most of all to serve as an entertainment movie instead anything else.

Concerning to its classification, 10,000 BC is a fantasy prehistoric film, a category which include science fiction or fantasy films which try to recreate or imagine prehistoric worlds, placed in prehistoric times or coexisted contemporary with actual world, and then discover by explorers. 10,000 BC portray a world whose resemblance with the actual at the time where supposedly take place could be interpret as an example of alternate history, a possible world which diverge to the actual at some point prior to the events narrate on the film, where the latter place us in medias res [into the middle of things] but without notice us what changes in past has lead to the story narrate, or how will develop once this has finish on the screen.

For so far this could to be the movie with the highest budget related to megafauna ever made in particular and probably on fantasy prehistoric films in general. And the special effects based on CGI have proved through the trailers to be really astonishing. As a film, 10,000 BC seems as a really entertainment vouch for.

Credits

Directed by Roland Emmerich, from a screenplay written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser, the film is produced by Michael Wimer, Roland Emmerich and Mark Gordon. Harald Kloser, Sarah Bradshaw, Tom Karnowski, Thomas Tull and William Fay are the executive producers. Composers: Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander. The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

10,000 BC will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

This film has been rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence.

References

10,000 BC. Official Site. «A Hero’s Journey», «Crossing Continents», «Synopsis», http://www.10000bcmovie.com/. Retrieved on Feb 16, 2008.

Bruce J Mcfadden, Joann Labs-Hochstein, Richard C. Hulbert Jr., Jon A. Baskin. «Revised age of the late Neogene terror bird (Titanis) in North America during the Great American Interchange.» Geology, 35(2): 123-126. doi:10.1130/G23186A.1. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

MeassyBeast. «Prehistoric Cats and Prehistoric Cat-Like Creatures», http://www.messybeast.com/cat-prehistory.htm. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

Nancy A. Schiller. «Of Mammoths and Men. A Case Study in Extinction», Science and Engineering Library, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/mammoth.html. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

Science Nerds.Info. «The REAL 10000 BC», Jan 26, 2008, http://sciencenerds.info/?p=5. Retrieved on Feb 8, 2008.

Shepard Krech III. «Paleoindians and the Great Pleistocene Die-Off», Brown University, National Humanity Center, 2003. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/pleistocenec.htm. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

The Academy of Natural Sciences. «Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)», http://www.ansp.org/museum/jefferson/otherFossils/mammuthus.php#top. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

William K. Stevens. «Pleistocene Megafauna Extinctions», Land Use History of North America. http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/Biota/megafauna_extinctions.htm. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2003.

Wikipedia entries

«10,000 BC (film)». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%2C000_BC_%28film%29. Retrieved on Feb 8, 2008.

«10th millennium BC». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%2C000_BC. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Alternate history». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_history. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

«Cenozoic». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenozoic. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Clovis culture». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_culture. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

«Domestication of the horse». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_horse. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Epipaleolithic». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipaleolithic. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Holocene». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Homo floresiensis». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Independence Day (film)». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28movie%29. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Mammoth». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Mesolithic». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_of_ancient_Egyptians. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«New World Pleistocene Extinctions». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Pleistocene_extinctions. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Prehistoric fantasy film (category)». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Prehistoric_fantasy_films. Retrieved on Jan 27, 2008.

«Pyramid of Djoser». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Djozer. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Races of ancient Egyptians». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_of_ancient_Egyptians. Retrieved on Feb 16, 2008.

«Saber-toothed cats». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saber-toothed_cats. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Teratornithidae». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratornithidae. Retrieved on Feb 8, 2008.

«The Day after Tomorrow». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After_Tomorrow. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Tigon». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigon. Retrieved on Feb 8, 2008.

«Titanis». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanis. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.

«Wisconsin glaciation». http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_glaciation. Retrieved on Jan 20, 2008.