Ella Al-Shamahi palaeoanthropologist, TV presenter, explorer and stand-up presents a talk on our remarkable origin story. Once upon a time we shared this planet with many species of human – it has been said that our world was a bit like Lord of the Rings. To start with we _Homo sapiens_ weren’t that remarkable, our origins were in fact rather humble and yet somehow today we are the only ones left. But we didn’t just survive against all odds, we thrived, innovated and travelled like no other species of human - becoming the explorer species who built cities, iPhones and painted the Sistine Chapel. Our success was profound, but how on Earth did it happen and at what cost?