Here, in the city that straddles two continents Valerie discovers the aromatic joys of a Hookah, the magnificence of the Sultans’ palaces, and the true meaning of Turkish Delight. As Valerie rides across the Bosphorous from Asia to Europe and back she takes us through some of the most beautiful buildings ever made, the Topkapi Palace, home to the Sultans for four centuries – and the centre of the Ottoman empire. After guiding us through the maze of rooms, the grandeur of the vaulted arches, the giant domes, and multiplying minarets, Valerie finds her holy grail – not the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia – but the Grand Bazaar. Here she takes tea with carpet salesperson who is looking to ease many million of Turkish Lire out of Valerie’s pocket book. Not quite sure who got the best of who in this exchange.
Languages: English
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Lake Como/Milan
The legendary lake district of north-western Italy has for many years been a place Valerie has always wanted to visit. Since the Roman Empire this area has attracted visitors and tourists, and now it has hosted Valerie Pringle and crew. Just half an hour from noisy, bustling Milan, Lake Como is a jewel-like oasis of tranquillity, a magical combination of lush Mediterranean foliage and snowy alpine peaks. And as Valerie shows us, tucked into the hills and overlooking the lake are some of the classic grand hotels of Europe. In the hills near Milan Valerie goes to the Bicycle Shrine before descending into Milan, the most important city of northern Italy – especially important if, like Valerie, you wish to go shopping.
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Uruguay
Between Brazil and Argentina, this small country on the east coast of South America is often ignored by North American tourists, but not by Valerie. Here she rides with the gauchos of the Pampas herding cows like a pro. She tours the Uruguayan Riviera and has an unexpected lunch with sea lions on the beach in Punta del Este. Valerie strolls the neo-colonial capital city of Montevideo where architecture of colonial Spanish, classic Italian, and Art Deco mix freely. And directly across the from the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires is the only World Heritage site in Uruguay, the City of Colonia del Sacramento, the five hundred year old former Portuguese colonial city which maintains an old world charm that Valerie brings outs in ways that only Valerie can.
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Chiang Mai
Valerie takes us to the Rose of the North, Chiang Mai, the second city of Thailand. There, Valerie rides the whitewater rapids of the Mae Taeng River. She joins a local hilltop tribe for a corn whiskey toast. And she climbs aboard a giant working elephant in the exotic forests surrounding Chiang Mai.
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Grand Canyon
Valerie Pringle gets down and dirty – She hikes down to the base of the magnificent Grand Canyon of north-west Arizona, and in the process gets covered in red dust and dirt that seems omnipresent. But don’t feel sorry for her as she makes the ten mile hike to the campsite beside Havasu Creek. The hundred foot cliffs and the three waterfalls flowing over them makes this area the gem of the Grand Canyon. It is a true paradise, so long as you don’t have to hike back out. And Valerie doesn’t – Five hours down, five minutes up. A helicopter takes Valerie from the lost world of the canyon floor to an aromatherapy taco wrap and massage at a famous Scottsdale resort. Only in America.
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Premodern Humans
Around 780,000 years ago a new species of Homo appears, perhaps descended from the hominins that lived in Spain and Italy between 900,000 and 800,000 years ago. This is time period, called the Middle Pleistocene, is marked by alternations of glaciations and interglacials. The new species is called Homo heidelbergensis. Around 125,000 Homo heidelbergensis gives rise to the Neandertals. The Neandertals are the main focus of this video lesson. You will see that the Neandertals were a robust people adapted for a cold, harsh environment. Their survival depended on more than just biology, however. A major factor to their survival was their stone tool culture, known as the Mousterian. In addition, the fact that they transported raw materials during their migrations to make future tools demonstrated forward planning.
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Origin & Dispersal of Modern Humans
The main question of physical anthropology since its origins in the 1770s was the origin of modern humans. At that time this was in reference to the different populations of humans. Today it refers to our origins as a species in evolutionary time. This video begins by introducing you to the three current models for human origins. Then a physical comparison is made between modern humans and Neandertals and you will see that it is in the brain case that we differ the most. You will journey to southern Ethiopia to see one of the earliest modern humans, discovered in 1967, but forgotten until recently. Associated with modern humans is a great advancement in technology that marks the Upper Paleolithic. The video ends with researchers discussing the advent of art and personal adornment and what this might have meant to the people of the Upper Paleolithic.
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Patterns of Variation
The video begins with comments on some instances of ethnic genocide that have occurred in the past in the Sudan, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Nazi Germany during World War II, and relates these occurrences to the concept of ?race,? a concept that is based on physical differences between groups. It defines the everyday usage of the word ?race? and includes its biological definition, which leads to the conclusion that the word and concept of ?race? cannot apply to Homo sapiens because, as is well understood, there are no subspecies of Homo sapiens. The video then briefly explains the historical context of how the concept of race emerged among European explorers during the sixteenth century. And, it explains that today anthropologists and scholars look beyond visible physical differences to explain human variation, that they analyze genetics and DNA, the cornerstone of genetic studies, to describe and understand human diversity.
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Patterns of Adaptation
How do humans adapt to environmental challenges? In this video, experts explore this question from many angles. The difference between acclimatization and adaptation is explained. Nina Jablonski explains skin color function and adaptations related to UV radiation levels, the vitamin D hypothesis, and preventing the loss of folate in the body. High-altitude adaptations are also discussed, along with responses to heat and cold stressors. In the last segment, the evolutionary dance between humans and their pathogens is brought to light. The interwoven interactions between human cultural activities, and the evolution of new pathogens, as well as the evolution of drug resistance in existing pathogens are discussed.
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Legacies of Human Evolutionary History
The interaction between human biology and culture, and human impact on the environment are discussed is this eye-opening video. It begins with a discussion of human life history from birth to senescence. The biocultural evolution of dietary patterns is demonstrated with an emphasis on the ancestral diet and the influence of agricultural practices on modern diets. The impact of these changes on human health is also discussed. Finally, Melvin J. Konner takes a look at human interaction with other organisms and the environment. He touches on antibiotic resistance, pollution, habitat destruction and the loss of biodiversity, mass extinctions, and global warming, and how we can take steps to reduce human impact on the earth.