Ida Fossil Explored in New Doc

NEW YORK: HISTORY, BBC One, ZDF and NRK are all on board for a  documentary special about Ida, the 47 million-year-old fossilized remains of a primate discovered in Germany that scientists believe will deliver a new understanding of human evolution.

The fossil was revealed publicly yesterday at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and full research findings were published by PLoS ONE, the interactive, open-access journal for the communication of all peer-reviewed scientific and medical research from the Public Library of Science. Ida has been described as a "transitional species", linking the very primitive non-human evolutionary line and the human evolutionary line. Discovered in Messel Pit, Germany, Ida is twenty times older than most fossils that explain human evolution, and is 95 percent complete. For the past two years, a team of scientists, led by Norwegian paleontologist Dr. Jorn Hurum of the University of Oslo Natural History Museum, has been analyzing the fossil. "This specimen is like finding the lost ark for archaeologists," said Hurum. "This fossil will probably be the one that will be pictured in all textbooks for the next 100 years."

HISTORY will air the doc, from London-based Atlantic Productions, as a two-hour special called The Link on May 25. It will be presented with limited commercials, made possible by Ally Bank. "This is a history-making story and HISTORY channel is honored to be working with the brilliant team of scientists who have uncovered one of the most important paleontological finds of both this generation and perhaps many to come," said Nancy Dubuc, the executive VP and general manager of HISTORY. "HISTORY has a rich tradition of collaborating within the scientific community to give work of this magnitude greater meaning and a national platform. We are extremely proud to bring Ida’s story, and ultimately our own, to the American public. This is a perfect example of how we at HISTORY strive, every day, to deliver authentic programming that connects history in very real, relatable and innovative ways with our viewers."

BBC One will air the doc in a one-hour slot on May 26 as Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link. "I am delighted that this ground-breaking piece of scientific research will be showcased on BBC One," said Jay Hunt, controller of BBC One. "There can be nothing more compelling than the story of how the human race evolved."