Unknown: La grotta della scoperta

I did enjoy this because I was interested in the subject. I wanted to see the bones, hear what the actual physical discoveries were, etc.

What I got instead was an attempt to tell a story that seemed more for entertainment than actual scientific hypothesis.

There were also some truly concerning moments like when the supposed head of archeology for the project suddenly asks (in the middle of doing measurements) "are we measuring in centimeters or millimeters?" Shouldn't that be well established at that point?

The animations were completely unnecessary and much too speculative. Generally there was way too much romanticizing of these ancient creatures. I don't like the tendency to project a spiritual or religious meaning onto everything they did.

It almost feels condescending. Like they thought the viewers would be bored with pure science so they had to embellish it like a Disney movie to get people interested.

The subject in itself is very interesting, which helps the documentary, which is also very well produced.

However, I felt that scientists seem too passionate about the subject to give a more balanced or less biased opinion.

In addition, at a certain point the chief scientist passes by a cave location and makes an incredible discovery. However, how many did not pass by there? How could they not see?

The life and culture of Homo Naledi seemed too romanticized to me, with a lot of speculation and no dissenting voices.

That's why everything in the documentary seems to me to be partly scripted, disclosing possibly previous discoveries as if they were made in front of the cameras.

I think the subject matter is super interesting and the cinematography is really great.

However, I feel like the Scientists have done the classic poker term of "falling in love with your hand" meaning, they are making very bold statements, leaning towards calling them facts about something that is purely speculative.

I would love to see or hear from another team of Scientists that have little or no knowledge of this subject matter and to hear what their conclusions are.

I personally think there are some other obvious ways and methods that these remains could have made it to their final resting spots.

None the less, if you're into science, dawn of human and cave exploration, you'll enjoy this. I did.

I respect the dedication and years that the Scientists have put in here. Their passion is palpable, albeit possibly a bit one sided.

These individuals assume the Homo Naledi made this ritualistic climb in a cave to bury their dead. You're not geologists you're archeologists. The whole cave structure could have been different 250,000 years ago. They could have just walked in and walked out, yet you assume way too much with no solid proof. You want to spin a narrative to fit your story. You're scientists get data before you reach a conclusion. Early on you admitted the entrance of the cave collapsed, yet you have no geologists on your team to give you data for your hypotheses. Please look at all possibilities before televising documentaries that are purely speculative.

It starts off pretty good, but quickly descents into a very speculative realm. At one point they claim that these creatures had to use fire in the cave, otherwise they couldn't find their ways. Right, is this what rodents do when navigating caves? I haven't seen many torch carrying mice lately. Or, who knows, perhaps the cave layout changed in 250k years and used to be light coming from somewhere. All questions that popped in my head, none of which were answered.

There are no counter arguments whatsoever. These people love their jobs, that's obvious, but I'm missing a different perspective. A different take on their theories that could explain the observed as well. Now everything is presented as fact, which it clearly is not.