Anthropologist Agustín Fuentes joins WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about human evolution. Are humans still evolving? Was there a first human? What does the family tree leading to humans look like? Is monogamy in human relationships natural or something society imposes? Did early people really live in caves? Who invented kissing? Were the Neanderthals stronger than us? Why didn’t other human-like species survive? Answers to these questions and many more await on Human Evolution Support.
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Watch more from WIRED | Tech Support:
0:00 Anthropology Support
0:13 How long have we been us?
0:58 The first human
1:38 Humans are monogamish
3:19 Monkey business
3:46 The human family shrub
7:06 Charles Xavier has entered the chat
8:23 An aside about the X-Men
9:12 Brain food
9:59 Roots
11:11 Primal fishing
11:55 Old Blue Eyes
12:45 What’s up cuz?
13:46 Tools
15:13 WALL-E humanity
16:07 Are hobbits real?
17:30 Who invented kissing?
19:29 Violence
20:19 We’re not that different, you and I
21:29 Cave, man?
23:01 The luckiest hominin
25:24 Survival of the fittest
26:44 Where did we come from, where did we go?
27:48 ELI5: Why are human kids so useless for so long?
29:09 Were the Neanderthals stronger than us?
29:53 This Charming Man
30:27 Gender roles
31:23 What came before
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@efrizaldia
September 15, 2026 at 7:50 pm
So handaxes were the rolex of stone age?
@msty_wtrs
September 15, 2026 at 7:53 pm
This man is what would’ve happened if Grant O Brian grew up as a Green brother.
@AgnosticMelon
September 15, 2026 at 8:01 pm
Omggggg finally I was waiting for that exact episode so glad it’s 5 hrs agoooo
@solomonrivers5639
September 15, 2026 at 8:03 pm
“Survival of the Fittest” certainly rolls off the tongue a lot better than “Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”
….especially in today’s political climate
@dominicstar1
September 15, 2026 at 8:08 pm
love being 10 mins into this video and have seen 8 ads
@crissdenico
September 15, 2026 at 8:11 pm
15:54 “WALL-E is not a threat, evolutionarily speaking” sounds like something you’d hear on Philomena Cunk’s show 😂
@smudge1619
September 15, 2026 at 8:14 pm
25:22 nailed it.
took all that time…
“maybe we’re the LUCKIEST hominids, NOT the BEST”
we’ll see in a few years with AI.
we aint so lucky and definitely not the best extincting ourselves for social status…
@RFC3514
September 15, 2026 at 8:17 pm
They put unused stone tools in huge piles because when the iStone 17 came out, no one wanted to be seen buying an iStone 16.
@theafterparty2264
September 15, 2026 at 8:20 pm
this dude rocks so much
@jeremyhouston3438
September 15, 2026 at 8:20 pm
16:00 what if Lord of the Rings really happened and denisovans were the elves and neanderthals were the orcs?!
@BrianHilt-so2it
September 15, 2026 at 8:32 pm
him dropping the word “looksmaxxing” made me laugh so hard
@davidbologna-fb4hn
September 15, 2026 at 8:33 pm
I believe nothing about our past
@SaxyCalzone
September 15, 2026 at 8:33 pm
InB4 someone comes in posting religious nonsense.
@RFC3514
September 15, 2026 at 8:36 pm
26:30 – So… when are USAians likely to do that? I’m asking for 8 billion friends.
@itrasgu611
September 15, 2026 at 8:36 pm
OMG I love this guy!
@purpleiguana208
September 15, 2026 at 8:43 pm
I heard once that human babies SHOULD gestate for a year (as evidenced by the fact that babies have more conscious control over their head around 3-4 months old), but that if babies gestated for a year, the head would be too big to pass through the pelvis, and that humans evolved to effectively give birth premature. I guess this is meant to be in response to pelvic changes as early primates became more upright.
I feel like this is an interesting thing to SAY, but I don’t know how accurate it really is.
@joshnizzle
September 15, 2026 at 8:53 pm
9:51 I thought it was the advent of cooking when we discovered that with fire that helped to drive brain growth, isn’t that the consensus now?
@ViGeeMan
September 15, 2026 at 8:53 pm
31:18 “It’s a little more complicated, and much more interesting.” perfect
@kristenlouiseissa
September 15, 2026 at 8:55 pm
He is so cool. I listen to every single word he says. Brilliant man!
@darkbluemars
September 15, 2026 at 9:01 pm
When you mentioned Honey around 10:20, I had a knee jerk reaction to skip ad.
@speedylogic
September 15, 2026 at 9:03 pm
Meh
@kibu.u
September 15, 2026 at 9:06 pm
29:48 so my small mouth means i’m more evolved than others 😂
@khaluwa7676
September 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm
@wired protect me to this, justice, goonerment cyndie’s case
@esseggei
September 15, 2026 at 9:10 pm
Cheap explaining, made for people in USA
@rubykoontz1364
September 15, 2026 at 9:14 pm
Part 2!!!
@---ij8zj
September 16, 2026 at 6:00 pm
The environment is more impactful to animals then evolution. They make this up along the way. They don’t know anything and are trying to fill in the many blanks. Evolution theory is pseudo science, they actually do not know anything.
@jchow5966
September 16, 2026 at 6:07 pm
Excellent vid.
@kilppa
September 16, 2026 at 6:17 pm
“My dad wasn’t a monkey!” Sigh…
@multiibrahim4636
September 16, 2026 at 6:19 pm
I wish someone has asked him : Adam & Eve ? Does it ring a bell ? Do you even speak that language !? 😅😭
@GraphiteGoddess
September 16, 2026 at 6:43 pm
14:21 I speculate that you would pick up a rock to use because its harder or sharper than your hand, then you might improve that rock. Next time, you already know how to improve it before even trying to use it.
@jesse6344
September 16, 2026 at 6:45 pm
Another great Wired explainer. I love his enthusiasm.
@Byetta1000
September 16, 2026 at 6:45 pm
Most probably there were diseases that spread that our ancestors were immune to it or did not affect all their communities by chance
@Burning_Dwarf
September 16, 2026 at 6:49 pm
Uhm don’t have elephants have chins too?
@Byetta1000
September 16, 2026 at 6:58 pm
Most of the civilizations older than 10k yrs did not leave marks that we are able to detect with our current technology. Hopefully we advancements we will be able to detect and discover more
@ZappdoseMoletrace
September 16, 2026 at 7:05 pm
24:15
This is more evidence that species and taxonomy in general are more likely human terms rather than being a biological reality…
@RealIronyIsGood
September 16, 2026 at 7:12 pm
2:22 The chin claim seems dubious, but this I know is wrong. Look up bonobo’s if you don’t believe me.
@alihmadi4911
September 16, 2026 at 7:17 pm
really amazing 😀
@shaggycan
September 16, 2026 at 7:22 pm
Evolution spat out an animal that is really good at splitting up into small groups and going over the next hill to make that place our own, and then the next generations go over the next hill and repeat. We just ran out of hills for the first time VERY recently. What is that sudden change doing to our species? Will we go mad? Maybe we already have.
@justsomedude-s7t
September 16, 2026 at 7:29 pm
I’ve been binging these WIRED Support videos lately, and I gotta say this is one of the better ones 👍💯
@Rhaenarys
September 16, 2026 at 7:35 pm
Also some of these anwers are really irritating because they dont actually answer the question. One person asks a question about how the brain sees things differently and the answer was abour genetics…of deer…
@ljensen9364
September 16, 2026 at 8:01 pm
Read his book in college. Excellent!
@creeperawman1431
September 16, 2026 at 8:05 pm
6:38 sooo, the dog breed analogy was valid all along
@creeperawman1431
September 16, 2026 at 8:09 pm
12:24 didnt answer the question that starts the chapter come on brk
@milfmereel4586
September 16, 2026 at 8:11 pm
Love this guy so much 🙂 my prof talked abt him in my bio anth class and reading his books has been a blast. Hes got such great energy for communicating these topics to general audiences.
@aaronclinard5003
September 16, 2026 at 8:36 pm
I feel like there’s an awkward inverse human-centric bias happening in a lot of these types of videos. When you mention the thing about kissing and dogs, I feel like we’re giving the individual dog too much credit in their motivation to like mouths. “They do it to say ‘here’s all my mouth stuff so that we’re in the same pack’ but humans do it because it feels good.” I don’t think that’s the case. I’m sure the dog is also just doing it because it feels good and right to the dog. But that behavior, in both humans and dogs, has been selected for. Maybe for different reasons, or maybe it was selected for the same reason, and we just kept doing it because it just feels good to do.
@carl11547
September 16, 2026 at 8:53 pm
I know just enough biology (grad school, but not a scientist by profession) to want to argue with Prof. Fuentes. I think it would be a fun conversation. (Example: the Italian wall lizard, isolated on an island in the Adriatic, evolved a whole new organ, the cecal valve, along with a new skull shape and larger body size IN THIRTY YEARS. Unlike the ancestral population, they can digest cellulose like mammalian ruminants or termites. Superpower in only decades of evolution: confirmed.)
@turboprickle
September 16, 2026 at 8:59 pm
Why does this guy keep taking shots at the manosphere?
@SydneyLarrikin-ci2vz
September 16, 2026 at 9:11 pm
Many animals, sheep, fish etc can recognize each other’s faces ! Just as we can!😊
@jallsinyobawls4253
September 16, 2026 at 9:13 pm
Ts unbearable to watch with ads every minute
@sarcasmeatsai
September 16, 2026 at 9:15 pm
Interesting to see the viewpoints for primates explained here. Now I can understand democrats little better and why they like Obama, AOC, Ilhan Omar so much.
@DexterMorgan_6_6_6
September 17, 2026 at 7:17 pm
4:03 6-7 reference
@9sheri9
September 17, 2026 at 7:24 pm
I could listen to him for days, we need parts 2, 3, etc! He’s interesting, super likeable, and teaches very well.
@khaluwa7676
September 17, 2026 at 7:25 pm
i agree to your laws save me with those who treat me like a ghost because then i agree to have to heal a cage and my justice for the nursings former glory because to me correctional nrses have that horriic ability and i agree
@stefanutzap
September 17, 2026 at 7:37 pm
proly best wired i seen…
@ArtEaton-f5f
September 17, 2026 at 7:40 pm
Human or any other species lacks a family tree. It is a 4D ball of fuzz. Split ends get rubbed and tangled with other proximal bits. In our case, the fuzz ball got matted and then cut itself out of the fur. In the terminology of a great philosopher, we are a GSMM, or General sort of Mish Mash. PS, I figured out that 42 is the added numbers of the letters MATH.
@kathrynherring9719
September 17, 2026 at 7:45 pm
He looks so delighted to walk us through a family tree! ❤
@kadermoulayely3949
September 17, 2026 at 7:51 pm
|__
@aranoanor
September 17, 2026 at 7:55 pm
eating a peanut butter honey sandwich when he mentioned honey and i got way too excited
@funkytron
September 17, 2026 at 7:56 pm
it turns out… (i love this guy)
@ArtEaton-f5f
September 17, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Survival of the fittest? No. Death of the incompetent.
@siim605
September 17, 2026 at 8:23 pm
The best explanation I’ve seen is actually “reproduction of the okay-est”
@ArtEaton-f5f
September 17, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Wolf packs are just families. Maybe with a few live-in cousins, but they are just families.
@CheerioDanHeng
September 17, 2026 at 8:08 pm
Loved this <3
@kristinedoty7876
September 17, 2026 at 8:12 pm
Wouldn’t you say it was more probable that the first tools were sticks?
@patricknez7258
September 17, 2026 at 8:13 pm
I liked this one.. Good stuff.
@syvarris467
September 17, 2026 at 8:17 pm
Wall-E is an example of a really weird route to a post-scarcity environment.
@ralucabogdan6032
September 17, 2026 at 8:19 pm
Community was so important for our development. I am worried over this drive towards individualism, social isolation through”social media”. It takes away our evolutionary advantage: coming together to accomplish great things and do good
@Whammytap
September 17, 2026 at 8:19 pm
4:14 It’s been so long since I was in school, we were calling this species _Australopithecus africanus_
10:44 As someone who eats both commercially grown meat and wild game, the former category is definitely tastier. You consume what your prey item eats, so being able to control that seems like a bonus.
@klearnsthings
September 17, 2026 at 8:23 pm
I recommend Clint’s Reptiles for people interested more in evolution with great personality and presentation
@Anaaewp
September 17, 2026 at 8:27 pm
So cool! I was so excited to hear everything he had to say. Probably because he was very happy to do so.
@onerichartist
September 17, 2026 at 8:50 pm
Great guest! Thanks
@LuisJRodriguezR
September 17, 2026 at 8:54 pm
I’m trying to be part of the same pack lmao
@angel.apollo1
September 17, 2026 at 9:16 pm
We survived by sharing information
@charlessarver1637
September 17, 2026 at 9:16 pm
Great information. Thank you 😊😊😊
@laurenpetro2901
September 17, 2026 at 9:22 pm
12:41 Can confirm we’re still evolving. I was born without developing wisdom teeth.
@roryrose8445
September 17, 2026 at 9:26 pm
4:02
@CyrusPest
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 pm
Could listen to this mfer all day what a legend.
@turnipsociety706
September 18, 2026 at 2:10 pm
Anthropology is not primatology! That is not what an “anthropologist” is….anthropology is about human societies. He is a biological anthropologist, a qualified one. But most anthropologists have no authority to speak on this subject. Misnamed video.
@davidkariu
September 18, 2026 at 2:29 pm
The human story will always be so fascinating to learn about.
@arielmyfriend
September 18, 2026 at 2:36 pm
4:03 6 7
@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin
September 18, 2026 at 2:38 pm
3:50
“Oh really? You’re an anthropologist huh? Name every hominid sub-species”
“…”
“Neanderthals
Erectus
Heidelbergensis
Denisovans
Habilis
Australopithicus”
“No no no no!”
“Ergaster
Australopithicus afroensis
Cro magnon”
@Sem-h4f
September 18, 2026 at 2:42 pm
This guy is great! So happy to see more of him!
@maxmordon7295
September 18, 2026 at 3:03 pm
29:53 Or it could be that… it… was… non-consensual. 🤔😵🫥
@elder-ke1hk
September 18, 2026 at 3:07 pm
This was so fun to watch. Makes me miss school, in some odd way.
@chadd990
September 18, 2026 at 3:47 pm
If evolution is true, then how come monkeys, and why are there monkeys if, I’m a human but they say humans and monkeys are the same thing, but how can we be the same thing if we’re both in the same room at the same time, and how come if monkeys live in africa that I live in america???????????????
@krishna-o9r1t
September 18, 2026 at 5:17 pm
are you being fr💔🥀
@genginger4033
September 18, 2026 at 3:48 pm
I always enjoy this series, but Dr. Fuentes was particularly fun to watch — knew his stuff and was so enthusiastic about it! I could watch a lot more of him talking about anthropology.
@jennym6167
September 18, 2026 at 3:56 pm
15:09 and tools are still often just social symbols 😄
@micklowrey1522
September 18, 2026 at 4:43 pm
“Your hippos appear to have lost their appetite Mr Bond” haircut.
@dicecorporation
September 18, 2026 at 5:04 pm
21:25 That didn’t answer his question
@BenFletcher7530
September 18, 2026 at 5:18 pm
More of this guy, please!
@ヌル状態
September 18, 2026 at 5:25 pm
I think this is the best presenter I’ve seen out of the dozens of Wired Tech Support episodes I’ve watched. Thank you Agustin Fuentes, you rock.
@leonwizard5
September 18, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Did that monkey just get drive-by fkd lol?
@allisonandrews4719
September 18, 2026 at 5:45 pm
The thing is though, it’s over. Women are done. Who cares if monogamy is natural or not? Talk about not recognizing what’s happening on the ground.
@ages6592
September 18, 2026 at 6:02 pm
Not calling them Neandershorts… such a missed opportunity 😅
@ages6592
September 18, 2026 at 6:08 pm
I think early human species started kissing for the same reason as dogs and then our faces evolved because those who got most “chemistry” out of kissing because more nerves in the lip region had more children and it became a trait in humans.
@ages6592
September 18, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Latest research shows most pairing were human females and male Neanderthals… doesn’t mean attraction had anything to do with it, it could have been completely non-consensual.
@chellbell121
September 18, 2026 at 6:38 pm
about making tools; my theory is that the first couple of stone tools would be coincidental, like if the thing you want to do is break a big stick into smaller ones, you and your buddies grabbed some rocks so maybe your hands hurt less. then whoever grabbed the naturally sharpest rock would’ve been the best at chopping the stick. then observing that they did a better job, you might observe how their rock was different. and noticing it’s sharper, maybe next time you look for a sharper rock.
then one day maybe you can’t find a sharper rock, but you know rocks can break, so you try to break a rock to make it sharper. and slowly over time this desired shape becomes more and more specific as you learn what does the job best. and maybe you pass on your knowledge so your friends can have better rocks too (after all, it makes the job quicker for all of you). and all of a sudden you’re making tools all the time, and so are your friends, because they make life easier.
but i’m no anthropologist, and i’m sure someone’s thought of that sequence before 😂
@BB-me5hl
September 18, 2026 at 7:37 pm
You’re telling me there’s homos in my family tree ?!
@nathanloomis5834
September 18, 2026 at 7:50 pm
He doesn’t actually answer several of the questions. Just talks around them without answering.
@ninahongkong5362
September 18, 2026 at 9:04 pm
Can you explain this using wolf to dog or some similarity that is easier to understand? Not having known Lucy makes it hard for me to grasp the distant cousin and family lineage.
@ZemaLemon
September 18, 2026 at 9:16 pm
We are not cousins of monkeys. If monkeys are a monophyletic group that includes all species common called “monkey”, then we are also monkeys. The latest common ancestor of all the old world and new world monkeys is also in our own lineage. You can’t evolve out of a clade.
@Boxeri
September 19, 2026 at 2:49 pm
A lot of beliefs. This is still just a theory; people need to remember that. Nobody really knows 100% for sure about anything.
@Tree_lover377
September 19, 2026 at 2:52 pm
Evolution is a fact
Is it our origin? You cant 100% prove it just like every other theory
@Boxeri
September 19, 2026 at 2:56 pm
@Tree_lover377 Yep, just like you can’t either. Just let your leaders tell you what is and what’s not.
@BigBallSacksBird
September 19, 2026 at 2:54 pm
Fuentes
@benplummer9100
September 19, 2026 at 3:36 pm
monogamy functions as a social technology designed to organize property, protect wealth, and maintain societal peace. that is all.
@Zennder5
September 19, 2026 at 3:48 pm
this guy is a great presenter
@red6alert6onesmit-iy5jz
September 19, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Fit to current circumstances, which is random, so fit is not equal strong, also fit is making surviving offspring, nothing more matter
@alexanderfeoktistov6826
September 19, 2026 at 4:15 pm
Arab slavers had a preference for blue eyed light skinned Slavs (the origin of the word slave in English). I suspect that contributed to some extent to the spread of blue eyes beyond Eastern Europe and the Southern Steppes of Russia and Ukraine.
@ThinkingPeopleCo
September 19, 2026 at 4:32 pm
Great, honest content
@Iwa_Biafwyla
September 19, 2026 at 4:55 pm
I feel like I could listen to this guy talk about cycle through topics for over and hour and it would be captivating the entire time
@DinduNuffinLAT
September 19, 2026 at 5:01 pm
28:22 i think there was a little misnomer there. Newborn human baby’s brain size is probably less than 40% compared to adult’s brain (because 40% feels like A LOT when comparing adult and newborn baby). With that said – awesome enthusiastic man to listen to, captivating educator.
@curlyhairblacklilacs
September 19, 2026 at 5:11 pm
“I’m sorry, that’s just a bunch of scientist talk. Same people who’d have you believe that my great-grandfather was a monkey. If he was a monkey, then why was he killed by a monkey?!” – Kenneth Parcell, 30 Rock
@IsaacHND
September 19, 2026 at 5:42 pm
4:03 activated me like a sleeper agent 💔
@jessicafrench2538
September 19, 2026 at 5:51 pm
Another man made story!
@jaipeacee
September 19, 2026 at 6:11 pm
30:47 😅💦
@roseheart270
September 19, 2026 at 6:50 pm
The first minute of this is hilarious if you know about Annunaki hybridization 300,000 – 500,000 years ago.
@ThompterSHunson
September 19, 2026 at 6:59 pm
He’s the most Anthropologistic-looking Anthropologist I have ever seen Anthropologisting.
@nicktfu
September 19, 2026 at 7:24 pm
I’m an anthropology student. this video is basically my first year classes combined and shrinked into 30 minutes. This is really all the basics you need to know to get into research and understand what people are talking about in it. Wish i didn’t have to do a year’s worth of classes for this though lol
@mononothanks
September 19, 2026 at 7:40 pm
A cool real life example of evolution are the nepali mountain tribes, the capillaries can be observed as larger in the mouth for greater oxygen absorption. ANDDD among mammals, its the women that rule!!!
@themr_wilson
September 19, 2026 at 8:05 pm
16:05 Neandershorts
@Unbeknownst-w6o
September 19, 2026 at 8:22 pm
Make a sequel to the Cave of Bones!
@alistairfontaine
September 19, 2026 at 8:27 pm
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
@alistairfontaine
September 19, 2026 at 8:29 pm
One last video before bed
@TheMapleDreamer
September 19, 2026 at 8:33 pm
jews dancing gif
@Tassadar4Ever
September 19, 2026 at 8:45 pm
1:33 that does make it sound quite arbitrary
@OHOHOHCOME
September 19, 2026 at 9:21 pm
Why am I not surprised to see the profile picture of the person that asked the monogamy question?
@CD-jr8nv
September 20, 2026 at 4:02 pm
This was excellent!!
@TheShawnMower
September 20, 2026 at 4:02 pm
Took anthro is college and almost minored in it. Wish my prof was this giy
@4yurjfdnjfi8
September 20, 2026 at 4:05 pm
02:24 so cheating is ok?
@willium2215
September 20, 2026 at 4:35 pm
I’m not an expert, but survival of the fittest is about fitting into something right? Why does this guy say that has to do with manhood and alfa males? Am I missing something or not understanding his point? I might be stupid, could somebody help me?
@betofarel0
September 20, 2026 at 5:03 pm
parece o irmão da Laurinha Lero
@georgeharutiuniann
September 20, 2026 at 5:05 pm
How tf 2 million years ago humans catch fish? Humans evolved only 300k years ago
@winter_ghosth
September 20, 2026 at 5:11 pm
26:31 how come we have these type of dudes all around today then? if this was not desirable trait for a man I think we wouldn’t have this kind of man anymore right ? if this behavior persists to this day I dont think it was thrown out of the group.
@christopherkelly7594
September 20, 2026 at 5:16 pm
We are indeed monkeys, given that we are more closely related to old world monkeys than to new world monkeys and you can’t evolve out of a clade, apes are still monkeys lol
@curiousmonkey8485
September 20, 2026 at 5:19 pm
How could he not tie the emergence of warfare in humans around 10k years ago to the invention of agriculture and the fact that around that time we for the first time started to have wealth to store and therefore something to steal and fight over?
Wasn’t that exactly what started it? And then we needed inheritance systems and we invented marriage?
@tyriaxepheles7996
September 20, 2026 at 5:24 pm
Can someone please clip him saying that alpha males get kicked out of groups, so I can use that whenever a dude starts talking about being alpha
@ngf7xp
September 20, 2026 at 5:49 pm
There’s a lot of misinformation in this video
@bodhileaf-smh
September 20, 2026 at 6:19 pm
If you’re a love Jesus fish with hot sauce and you’re reading this… congratulations, you still have a shot at not being a complete and total dipshidiot
@HugoBaesJr
September 20, 2026 at 6:24 pm
I love these talks, there is always some intriguing lore that blows my mind!
@mrtibblezz
September 20, 2026 at 6:36 pm
Refreshing thanks!
@emsriddles2075
September 20, 2026 at 6:42 pm
that was SUPER interesting! Thank you
@DrSlipperyFist
September 20, 2026 at 6:42 pm
They was really “getting some strange” back in the day
@ashlynella4597
September 20, 2026 at 6:43 pm
This guy wrote my uni textbook and the name just sparked my memory 😝
@Rkeen_Viewr
September 20, 2026 at 7:08 pm
My anthropology prof in college told us “survival of the fittest” doesn’t mean fit (as in strong). But rather that it means what ever fits best in it’s environment.
@ItsokayTobewhite-h1q
September 20, 2026 at 7:27 pm
I can hear all the men watching this right now and sending it to their wives to let them know hey it’s not my fault
@RaymondSigalaVideos
September 20, 2026 at 7:52 pm
I didn’t know Joe Perry was an anthropologist
@arthurdias5385
September 20, 2026 at 7:55 pm
Monogamish is my favorite word now ❤
@mellowhny
September 20, 2026 at 8:31 pm
why are they called different species? isn’t the definition of a different species that they can’t really reproduce like a dokey and a horse make infertile mules?
wouldn’t races or i guess breeds of human be a more accurate description? like dog breeds or horse breeds still can reproduce but can look vastly different?
@Joe-Przybranowski666
September 20, 2026 at 8:52 pm
cladistically, we are in fact monkeys, just as we are apes, and mammals.
you can’t evolve out of a clade.
@rohitkumartudu5326
September 20, 2026 at 9:13 pm
Polymath ✅️ polygamy❌️
@stephenwest6738
September 20, 2026 at 9:20 pm
“The manosphere wants us to believe that men are this way, and women are this way.”
This is not in any way accurate. Not even a little
@ajseke22
September 21, 2026 at 12:17 pm
Idk why Ive never thought of evolution as a shrub. Of course one species doesn’t come straight out of another species all at once on the same day and the other ceases to exist lol. That just never crossed my mind ever in school or in adulthood
@Cig-cat
September 21, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Was really hoping to hear his thoughts on stoned ape theory
@samueltooke9193
September 21, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Because our infants, babies, and children need protection. Women are not well equipped to protect themselves and the offspring on their own. Monogamy is for survival.
@migueldocavaco2825
September 21, 2026 at 12:51 pm
These are only his well presented theories!!!!
@Cwjltmadubadu
September 21, 2026 at 1:14 pm
Why did humans paint
@lisamangione2336
September 21, 2026 at 1:40 pm
You can tell how much he loves what he does by how enthusiastic he is about each answer. What a great video!
@JustWilly
September 21, 2026 at 2:01 pm
he is so enjoyable gosh
@CREDLACE
September 21, 2026 at 2:49 pm
Remember kids, if you can digest milk as an adult you have been blessed with a beneficial mutation that’s practically a Superpower.
@Pyuru-
September 21, 2026 at 3:29 pm
4:03 67
@HouseIntruder
September 21, 2026 at 6:38 pm
lmao was looking for this 😭 were so cooked
@MyXAHOB
September 21, 2026 at 4:06 pm
this is false. god created people
@sir_saltsalot
September 21, 2026 at 6:19 pm
this is false. people created god
@LearingCenters
September 21, 2026 at 4:31 pm
I like how he skipped over the first humans question.
Someone raised us. It’s simple.
@barbossawhitley5750
September 21, 2026 at 4:49 pm
I see quite a few comments on the potential irl hobbit genocide but lets not forget that, very evidently, our ancestors also loved to mingle. maybe the real hobbits live on within us. Short kings and queens ftw
@404errorusername
September 21, 2026 at 5:13 pm
13:46 my bets on an autistic cave mf’er discovered it first and spread it amongst the normies. Thank you cave dude.
@lilsheba1
September 21, 2026 at 5:41 pm
Monogamy is 100 percent forced on us due to made up social constructs. Just like gender.
@SuperHeadlock-k8t
September 21, 2026 at 6:28 pm
I think pseudo monogamy is natural for us humans.
@MagentaIzquierdo
September 21, 2026 at 6:46 pm
67 🥀😭 4:02
@minnesota_loon
September 21, 2026 at 6:48 pm
Unfortunately, modern medicine has outpaced natural selection. 😂
@tirzahtimes
September 21, 2026 at 6:54 pm
I love him!! His book is awesome :D!
@jordanarchuleta1649
September 21, 2026 at 7:00 pm
22:26 Do not build a fire inside of a cave unless you understand how it works. If I remember correctly, you have to build your fire at the back of the cave, otherwise you’ll suffocate. Building it at the back allows the smoke to travel up the walls and across the top of the cave, allowing air to flow inside. Building closer to the entrance or midway will fill the cave with smoke and burn up the oxygen.
@noilfaund
September 21, 2026 at 7:23 pm
First Fuentes I didn’t like.
@NyaLarkin
September 21, 2026 at 7:32 pm
am i crazy or does this guy look like a different universe will wood. it’s that hair the look in his eyes and his love over his passion that reminds me i believe. very interesting guy…….. big fan! putting him on my ita bag.
@YogiPrateado
September 21, 2026 at 7:39 pm
Agustín, I wanna know about Acheulean handaxes.
@homoseal
September 21, 2026 at 8:46 pm
He said 6 7
@jordancooper7119
September 21, 2026 at 9:10 pm
6:45 is actually a great way to explain artificial selection. We selected for specific traits in order to create different individual dogs. Dog C has longer legs and Dog E have less weight, you’d use both to make a stellar race dog then keep finding other individuals with similar traits to breed with them. At some point the differences became big enough to call them separate breeds. Every breed is some mix of other breeds. We are actually using artificial selection to reverse the standard breeds today and create: pugs with less bronchial issues, dachshunds with less severe spinal sensitivities, German Shepherds with less obstinate hip placement, etc
@SaltyMermaidClub
September 21, 2026 at 9:17 pm
Family Shrub perfect analogy, thank you
@brainonfire7
September 22, 2026 at 2:24 pm
About the monogamy , yup we r definitely forced by the law.
@coldhandgoblin
September 22, 2026 at 2:28 pm
Please tell me I am not the only one frequently crying because we are the only species of our genom rn.. Dude it makes me honestly so sad 😅
@Saintjackoftrades
September 22, 2026 at 3:13 pm
The monkey thing was kinda dismissed. But I think it’s much deeper than he made it seem.
@UlasMT
September 22, 2026 at 3:16 pm
21:20, WOW, probably the most touching bit of this whole video.
@UlasMT
September 22, 2026 at 3:28 pm
Oh, I need him back on this channel! This dude was hella fun and interesting.
@Blunechi
September 22, 2026 at 3:31 pm
The Romans discussed this about the germanic tribes on how they were more monogomous than themselves and other barbarian tribes.
@modest_meghan
September 22, 2026 at 3:46 pm
wait this was such a good presentation. thanks so much
@TheDustyForest
September 22, 2026 at 3:47 pm
I always like this series but this guy is exceptional. Could listen to him talk for hours!!
@lacchiappacolore44
September 22, 2026 at 3:52 pm
interesting thumbnail, just finished watching mushoku tensei
@noelle1505
September 22, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Wow wired have enough adds on this video?
@phinyxia
September 22, 2026 at 4:17 pm
4:02 6 7
@mahmutfir
September 22, 2026 at 4:26 pm
A lot of information, a lot of unknown, a lot of mysteries.
@liam9722
September 22, 2026 at 4:56 pm
So did bro just show up to the studio with a pile of skulls
@DryerFryer
September 22, 2026 at 5:01 pm
Excellent as always
@thelovelylindsey
September 22, 2026 at 5:01 pm
Anthropology major here! If you want a more fleshed out explanation of any of this, Lindsay Nikole’s Evolution of Us (That We Know Of) is a pretty great summation of this stuff in about 4 hrs.
@tjhookertj6923
September 22, 2026 at 5:06 pm
thumbs, its thumbs bro, that is why there are 8 billion.
@hgilbert
September 22, 2026 at 5:20 pm
it’s like pigeons. there is this misconception that pigeons mate for life. not true. they are “monogamish” – they tend to bond in pairs, but sometimes may break up and bond with another instead for no reason at all. but (my own guess) 90% of the time they stay together for as long as possible or for life.
@el_matote
September 22, 2026 at 5:54 pm
Bro looks like Luis Alberto Spinetta
@spicybaguette7706
September 22, 2026 at 6:10 pm
It kind of makes me sad that all these different species of humans went extinct. I would’ve loved to meet them
@andreasandremyrvold
September 22, 2026 at 7:00 pm
11:58 I have blue eyes, and I am pretty rare, there is only one of me. Also I am northern european who had my third molars removed.
@LaineyBug2020
September 22, 2026 at 8:09 pm
Meat didn’t give us bigger brains, cooking with fire allowed us to develop more complex brains over more complex guts.
@LaineyBug2020
September 22, 2026 at 8:27 pm
The Alpha Male concept wasn’t entirely made up, it was based on specific unnatural conditions. The study was done on only male captive wolves in a sanctuary. The author himself recanted when he realized his parameters were faulty.
@LaineyBug2020
September 22, 2026 at 8:34 pm
That last question was definitely giving Young Earth Creationist
@serengetilion
September 22, 2026 at 8:40 pm
Mutt!
I’ve had to tell people who say things like, why would you breed a mutt ( I’m referring to a dog), what does that mutt have to offer.
Makes me mad and then I tell them, guess what you’re a mutt too so those comments you said should be directed to yourself.
@singingrazors
September 22, 2026 at 9:08 pm
17:27 I know the person who asked this question just signed in resignation at that pause and mispronunciation of her name. How? Because it’s my name and I’ve heard the exact same sound countless times in my life 🤣
@sam95475
September 23, 2026 at 3:13 pm
If meat caused our brains evolving lions would be transcendental beings
@derekhive9837
September 23, 2026 at 3:29 pm
I imagine the reason we are so wide spread and yet varied very little genetically is to do with technology. Our application of tools is so pronounced that we were able use them to cover a lot of different environmental pressures (clothing and fire for the cold, spears for hunting etc.) and thus weren’t drastically affected by those pressures enough to favor traits that would otherwise risk really branching our genetic path. We were still affected in a few ways like skin pigments, facial structures etc. but more and more, the adaptation process was diverted to our culture away for our biology.
@mikexf1647
September 23, 2026 at 3:32 pm
Sone childish questions weren’t all that great to be honest.
The better ones answered their own question in the question itself.
@EricJSmith-qe7cn
September 23, 2026 at 3:49 pm
18:57 “…and other things like that…”??? 😚
@meliviktoria
September 23, 2026 at 3:50 pm
❤❤❤ worth watching to the end
@anotherdaytorun
September 23, 2026 at 4:00 pm
In school we learned that fish also kiss when they mate
@lyricaldawn
September 23, 2026 at 4:17 pm
Seems to me tools were also art.
@gogobrasil7185
September 23, 2026 at 4:21 pm
This guy is so cool! What a great find
@gwenwilliams3594
September 23, 2026 at 4:29 pm
I have read somewhere that the construct of marriage arrangements grew out of a communities need to make sure children would be taken care of by extended family members as needed. Modern marriages are generally decided between the couple. I the past, marriages were decided between families. The families that would be taking care of children as needed.
@hadrianrex117
September 23, 2026 at 4:43 pm
It’s hilarious that we needed to censor our ancestor’s naughty bits.
@gwenwilliams3594
September 23, 2026 at 4:49 pm
This is just my own idea (not educated in anthropology). I have thought the first tool of a bipedal primate would be a sling to carry a baby. This might have been as simple as a twisted vine. I just know, I’ve packed around enough babies to know what a handicap it is to only have the use of one arm. Bipedal baby toes could not cling to the mom like modern primates cling leaving both of the mother’s limbs free for other tasks. To pack around a bipedal infant, one needs a sling to keep the arms useful. One would also need a social group around for all kinds of assistance. A sling wouldn’t show up in the fossil record. I bet the sling that tosses rocks existed before they chipped rocks too.
@Hermesxt2
September 23, 2026 at 5:09 pm
So technically all humans are african to begin with. Racism is over
@paulinomachaieiejunior7925
September 23, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Mathew McConaughey?? 😮
@anoriolkoyt
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Wolverine’s claws is NOT his mutation. His mutation is extreme self healing. A group wanted to experiment with replacing a bone skeleton with a metal skeleton, and they found the only being able to survive such a procedure… And rest is history.
@JT-zq8fi
September 23, 2026 at 5:53 pm
Is there any way we could know if we were a dead end branch of evolution while we are alive?
@mamntwell
September 23, 2026 at 6:00 pm
This dude is a LEGEND
@noother964
September 23, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Amazing teacher, very interesting stuff. 👏
@LuoBinguinni957
September 23, 2026 at 6:10 pm
13:42 whenever this is being brought up i have uncomfortably vivid flashbacks of lindsay nikole letting everyone know they were banging. now i will also have to wonder if they communicated while doing so?? get me out of here
@Mufffinz
September 23, 2026 at 6:21 pm
Of course its natural.
Tribes even today have marriage ceremonies. The difference between westerners is… OPTIONS.
@HiFraiz
September 23, 2026 at 7:02 pm
1 question would be, how many primal humans with the increased natural strength, can fight a gorilla?
@satunbreeze
September 23, 2026 at 7:06 pm
Him explaining that the deer in different states in the US are more genetically diverse makes me think a lot about the banana plague that very nearly caused that type of banana to go extinct. It makes me wonder if even one other type of human existed today, would we still be so susceptible to the major infections we deal with? Would some types of cancers be less common/less deadly? We started off as mutts between the different types of humans, but without the continuing genetic diversity, and with less and less people having babies these days, will we end up being more and more inbred?
@xxxstubiguyxxx
September 23, 2026 at 7:08 pm
I feel teary-eyed listening to him…
Like I’m proud to be called human… Regardless of our Gruesome history…
@vonich2968
September 23, 2026 at 7:15 pm
All I can remember is that we are super freaky and that contributed so much to make what we are today
@TheSamfrog
September 23, 2026 at 7:27 pm
Gradualism was actually disproved by the theory of punctuated equilibrium.
@MaiElizabeth
September 23, 2026 at 8:02 pm
Polygamous marriage is actually what made muslim population grew exponentially in a short period of time.
Why? To dominate the world.
@samanthanor332
September 24, 2026 at 1:17 pm
Which is one of the biggest problems about having people with desires not being met , because a large portion of us just wanna get our crap done and go to bed alone, or snuggle so we’re not in pain.
@alessandrocossu1466
September 24, 2026 at 1:37 pm
Nose 👃🏼 size checks out
@Satire-Gaming
September 24, 2026 at 1:51 pm
the spring cleaner always felt like it should be made via invention anyways, i like the changes to this item.
@puisquilfautunnom7030
September 24, 2026 at 3:16 pm
Why does he seem to make a diffrence between Neandertal and Humans? Isn’t Neandertal considered a particular human specie?
@Christo1518
September 24, 2026 at 3:42 pm
Democrats channel
@reemsfirstrodeo
September 24, 2026 at 4:23 pm
I wish I had a passion for something like this man clearly does for anthropology
@karanvij00
September 24, 2026 at 4:55 pm
He is AWESOME
@miragegaming984
September 24, 2026 at 5:04 pm
Yes Adam and Eve.
@apresmoa
September 24, 2026 at 5:24 pm
Anthropologist Agustín Fuentes is a wealth of knowledge and his personality is vibrant! I’m enjoying all of his videos!
@rowdyriemer
September 24, 2026 at 5:25 pm
So the nearest common ancestors of humans and monkeys wouldn’t qualify as being a type of monkey?
@dj_i_love_you
September 24, 2026 at 5:32 pm
this man is amazing i could listen to him for hours
@LinguaSerbia
September 24, 2026 at 5:45 pm
The history teacher/professor we all needed in school
@ExpNovice
September 24, 2026 at 6:14 pm
We need more of this!!! ❤
@Airsaber
September 24, 2026 at 6:27 pm
Re: the last one: we have oral history going back tens of thousands of years at the very least – just look up Aboriginal oral history, for example.
@KatJordan-p2u
September 24, 2026 at 6:28 pm
16:16 There’s a theory that the myth of the leprechaun is due to when the celts first arrived in Ireland, they found or found evidence of a pygmy people.
@yeahthais
September 24, 2026 at 6:33 pm
It’s so funny to think that neanderthals kinda sounded like elmo
@nissan300ztt
September 24, 2026 at 6:55 pm
This dude is awesome.
@leoarce
September 24, 2026 at 7:14 pm
4:02 six-seven 🫴
@Chewywrinkles
September 24, 2026 at 7:15 pm
Love this dude very interesting stuff. Also this dude is clearly super proud of his admittedly excellent chin
@MrVictoriousGaming
September 24, 2026 at 7:57 pm
People really thinks evolution just happens like snap of the finger. Wild.
@kathyorourke9273
September 24, 2026 at 8:03 pm
I think it seems natural to lots of women. Not as natural feeling for men. Remember we didn’t live as long way back. 😢
@brodonnellYT
September 24, 2026 at 8:05 pm
12:42 couldn’t it also be that our bodies expect us to need new molars at about that stage of life? Keeping our molars so long is surely a modern phenomenon (?)
@itsanu1420
September 24, 2026 at 8:35 pm
Omg at minute 20:40 that reminds me of PK where he thinks humans are all so different till he realized it’s just clothes and skin tone variation
@ncayoung
September 24, 2026 at 8:39 pm
Tons of fun and so informative! Thanks for this great vid, Dr. Fuentes.
@DanielWilliams-n9u
September 24, 2026 at 8:46 pm
I am believing, more and more, that the “stoned ape” theory seems to be the logical answer to why we have the cognitive abilities that we do.🤔