World’s Oldest Child Airs on Nat Geo, June 16 @ 8PM

-- June 16, 2011

In the spring of 2009, the skull and upper torso of an ancient child were discovered buried in the soil of a Moroccan cave. The archaeological team couldn't even tell if it was a boy or girl, though they opted to call it 'Bouchra', a feminine name meaning "good news." But that did little to answer the questions that swirled around 'her'.How long ago did she live? What did she look like? Was she one of us? Few answers were to be found there in the cave, but one thing was clear: this child was special. Not only because ancient human bones are rare, not only because a near-complete child's skull is an almost unique discovery, but (1) because she hails from a period of our history that we know almost nothing about. (2) It may be that Bouchra will shed light on one of the last great mysteries of our evolution: the development of modern thinking. Yet with little more than the few pieces of her skeleton and the dirt she was buried in to study, it remains to be seen what stories she will tell …  (more about it from Nat Geo)

In composing the music for this, I got to work closely for the first time with editor Tony Bacon and producer Owen Palmquist.  Lisa Wolfinger, Rocky Collins, and Kirk Wolfinger masterfully supervised the project.  Particularly amazing were the prehistoric recreations shot in South Africa and the way artists and scientists collaborated to turn an ancient skull into a realistic model face.