How Did Ancient Humans Sleep? (It's Not What You Think)

73,000 years ago, someone in a South African cave set their own bed on fire… on purpose. So how did ancient humans actually sleep? No mattresses, no walls, predators in the dark, and no electricity. In this video we follow a Stone Age family through one night and look at what archaeology and sleep science really tell us: the oldest known beds, the danger beyond the fire, who stayed awake while everyone slept, and whether people without electricity really slept 10 perfect hours. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 The bed set on fire 0:30 Part 1: The Bed Before the Bedroom 2:51 Part 2: The Danger Beyond the Fire 5:10 Part 3: The People Who Were Still Awake 7:27 Part 4: Did They Sleep Better Than You? 10:27 What comes next 📚 Sources • Wadley et al. (2011), Science: Middle Stone Age bedding at Sibudu, South Africa • Wadley et al. (2020), Science: grass bedding at Border Cave, ~200,000 years ago • Nadel et al. (2004), PNAS: grass bedding in a brush hut at Ohalo II, ~23,000 years ago • Samson et al. (2017), Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Hadza sleep and sentinel-like behaviour • Yetish et al. (2015), Current Biology: sleep in Hadza, San and Tsimane communities ❄️ Watch next: How Did Ancient Humans Survive the Ice Age Winter? #ancienthumans #prehistory #history