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A dazzling 9,000-year-old grave reveals the life of a woman thought to be a shaman. Plus: the manosphere, domestic violence and DNA under pressure.
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00:06who is this person with the piercing gaze and the extraordinary headdress
00:10they lived in what is now central germany some 9 000 years ago
00:15the grave was so richly decorated it must have belonged to a king
00:22but it was a woman what made her so special
00:28all that and more on dw science show welcome to tomorrow today
00:38she was about 155 centimeters tall and in her 30s but her grave suggests she was no ordinary
00:45member of her community it was packed with ornaments and the remains of animals
00:55her community clearly held her in great steam
00:58they buried her with many offerings in a magnificent grave
01:02what was also unusual is how it was lined in white plaster so it would have shown
01:09the objects buried with her reflected the animistic world the creatures of the forest
01:15a small part of each animal was in the grave
01:23it's one of the richest mesolithic graves ever found in europe and its story began by chance
01:29on may 4th 1934 a worker digging a trench for a water pipe struck human bones here in the spa
01:37gardens
01:38of bad durden back in eastern germany
01:43today a simple sphere marks the spot
01:47for the nazis the find seemed to confirm what they want to believe
01:52that ancient aryans came from germany not asia
01:55they imagined the person buried here as white and male
02:00archaeology has since dismantled that racist fiction
02:03the skeleton was female and when harald meller's team returned in 2019 new evidence suggested
02:11she may have been a shaman
02:14her teeth reveal something unusual the pulp inside both incisors was exposed
02:20a shamanic practice intended to cause pain starting in childhood
02:26normally this would lead to a severe infection
02:30the fact that she avoided it suggests that she had healing skills
02:35she knew which herbs to use and how to clean her teeth to prevent infection
02:44using modern scientific methods the team examined her skeleton and dna
02:49revealing new details about her appearance and likely skin color
02:54and in life she may have had another striking characteristic
03:01she could tilt her head back much further than we can
03:06two of her neck vertebrae were malformed
03:09and the base of her skull had an unusual shape
03:12by moving her head she may have been able to compress a blood vessel
03:16and induce visions and involuntary eye movements
03:19that would have lent her credibility and it would have looked quite eerie
03:25thousands of years later shamans still fascinate us
03:28bands like the pagan folk group Heilung draw on shamanic imagery
03:33so do computer games and fantasy worlds steeped in myth
03:40ayahuasca retreats
03:42spirit animal workshops and healing journeys promise spiritual experiences
03:47but how much do they really have to do with traditional shamanism
03:54if we define shamanism as an ancient technique for achieving ecstasy
03:59that could apply to almost anything
04:02a Siberian shaman visited me here
04:04I told her about neo-shamanism in Europe
04:07she knew about it and said yes yes
04:10but that has nothing to do with our shamanism
04:13the word shaman is believed to have originally meant the one who knows
04:21this exhibition explores both the ancient origins of shamanism
04:25and traditions that are still alive today
04:28ritual robes worn by Siberia's Tungusik peoples evoke guardian spirits
04:33spirits that accompany shamans on their journeys into the spirit world
04:38there shamans seek help from the spirits
04:40for illness for the harvest or for problems facing their communities
04:44the rituals can be elaborate like this ceremony filmed among Siberia's Ungarnassan people in 1977
04:52European descriptions of Siberian shamans go back to the 17th century
04:57but evidence from Bad Dürgenberg suggests that shamanism may be thousands of years older
05:02the new excavations of the shaman's grave show what modern archaeology can do
05:11we can read traces in sandy soil where nothing is visible
05:15we find feathers, pollen left by flowers, traces of black fur
05:22they're all revealed in the soil chemistry
05:25we can even recover DNA from animals and people
05:31everything that happened at the site can leave traces in the soil
05:35it's fascinating and shows that archaeology can discover a lot more than treasures of gold and silver
05:42sometimes the treasure is the traces of lives almost lost to time
05:49more than 90 years after the grave was discovered
05:52the shaman of Bad Dürgenberg still raises questions
05:55but science has overturned one of the biggest assumptions made about her
05:59she was not a man
06:01and genetic evidence indicates she had dark skin
06:09we've also learned to challenge our own prejudices
06:12we assumed and took it for granted that people living this far north with so little sunlight would have developed
06:19light skin
06:23today genetic analysis tells us that the woman had dark skin
06:27and we know she was a woman
06:30the Nazis would have been very, very disappointed
06:32and it also shows that racial categories were invented by ideologues
06:37we are all human and we are all the same and that's how we should treat each other
06:44why do people have different skin colors?
06:48all early humans had dark skin back when our species migrated out of Africa between 100,000 and 70,000
06:56years ago
06:56lighter pigmentation evolved much later
06:59even 5,000 years ago
07:01UTSI, the famous Iceman discovered in the Alps
07:04had a darker skin tone than present-day Europeans
07:08the reason involves two forms of melanin
07:12pigments that dictate the color of our eyes, skin and hair
07:18melanin protects your skin from UV radiation
07:21it's produced in specialized skin cells called melanocytes
07:26when enough UV light strikes the skin, it initiates melanin production
07:31the pigment absorbs the shortwave radiation before it can damage your DNA
07:36the stronger the sunlight, the darker the skin becomes
07:41as humans migrated north out of Africa into more temperate regions where UV radiation is less intense
07:48their skin also had to adapt
07:50this is because certain waves called UVB radiation are also necessary for the body to produce vitamin D
07:58near the equator, the sun is so strong that even dark skin allows enough UVB radiation through to trigger vitamin
08:06D production
08:07farther north however, experts think this strong natural protection was a disadvantage
08:13so over many generations, people in northern climes evolved lighter skins to produce the vital compound
08:20vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, muscles and the immune system
08:26and diet alone doesn't provide sufficient quantities of it
08:30so why are there different skin colors?
08:34because over thousands of years, humans had to adapt to different levels of sunlight, climates and environments
08:41and melanin played a central role in that process
08:45the many shades of human skin tell the story of our shared history
08:51as a species that spread across the planet, continually adapting to new conditions
09:00do you have a science question?
09:02then send it to us as a video, text or voice message
09:07if we answer it in the show, we'll send you a little gift as a thank you
09:12so, just ask
09:16women's equality, the manosphere says it's gone too far
09:19that's a network of online communities that want to roll back women's rights
09:22and glorify traditional gender roles
09:24so what's behind it?
09:28in april 2026, marie-luise eta became germany's first female head coach of a men's bundesliga team
09:35almost immediately, sexist comments flooded social media
09:39so why was the backlash so predictable?
09:44the coaches had always been men
09:47a woman taking charge can feel like a loss of status
09:50as women enter another traditionally male domain
09:55social psychologist Lea Lorenz studied what happens when men feel their masculinity is under threat
10:02her meta-analysis drew on 123 studies involving almost 20,000 men
10:08predominantly heterosexual and mainly from western countries
10:16the strongest reactions were emotional
10:19anger and discomfort, lower self-esteem
10:22and then attempts to restore their sense of masculinity
10:27for some men, feminism and gender equality
10:30can feel like a threat to their traditional sense of masculine superiority
10:36and they may respond by trying to undermine women's empowerment
10:40the result can be increased aggression
10:43endorsement of patriarchal and authoritarian social structures
10:47and a devaluation of women
10:49working with Berlin's Free University
10:52analyst Paula Matlach searched German-language social media
10:56for this kind of content
10:57she found it in the Manosphere
10:59a loose network of online communities aimed at men
11:03our pilot study identified more than 350 accounts
11:07that clearly belonged to the spectrum
11:09some with over 100,000 followers
11:14on TikTok and YouTube
11:16dating and fitness coaches offer their own answers
11:19to what makes a man
11:21many promote traditional gender roles
11:24while devaluing anything seen as feminine
11:29and these attitudes extend beyond the Manosphere
11:32in an international survey
11:34over one in ten male baby boomers
11:36said a wife should always obey her husband
11:40among Gen Z men
11:42it was almost one in three
11:46form of revenge
11:48success
11:49the scene's international star
11:51Andrew Tate has become a powerful influence
11:54on the German-speaking Manosphere
11:56he has faced investigations into human trafficking, rape and assault
12:03several studies also found more violence
12:06men shared sexually degrading images
12:09after their masculinity was threatened
12:10we see this in the real world too
12:13in the Manosphere and incel movements
12:15where men feel their masculinity or status is under attack
12:19to the extent that they turn to violence
12:24the Manosphere brings together several strands
12:28incels blame women for their lack of relationships
12:32another group rejects emotional relationships with women altogether
12:36seeing women as inferior
12:38others turn to look-smaxing trying to optimize their appearance
12:42sometimes through dangerous exercises
12:43to achieve a more conventionally masculine look
12:46and pick-up artists use manipulation to attract women
12:50they offer sexist dating advice
12:52and teach tricks like flattery
12:54manipulation and negging
12:56backhanded compliments to undermine a woman's self-esteem
12:59one example is Maximilian Putz
13:03guys, men weren't worth a damn throughout history
13:06they were cannon fodder
13:08look at the millions killed in the world wars
13:10over 90% were men
13:13but those poor oppressed women were at home cooking
13:18the Manosphere is also a business
13:21its leading figures sell products promising to help men find their masculine identity
13:27but what does masculinity actually mean here?
13:31men call the shots
13:36when is a man a man?
13:37German pop star Herbert Grönemeyer asked in his 1980s hit
13:42is it the alpha male familiar from history
13:47the warrior
13:48the protector
13:49the family patriarch
13:53are these old ideals making a comeback
13:56and what makes the Manosphere so appealing to some men today?
14:03through his work with young people
14:05social scientist Olaf Stuhlwe has been exploring what lies behind this trend
14:13it's a combination of things
14:16I'd say masculinity is enjoying a resurgence
14:18a form of masculinity
14:20that's taking on authoritarian traits
14:22in response to the crises and upheavals of recent decades
14:27at the same time
14:28these forms of masculinity
14:30fit neatly into a society
14:32where competition is valorized
14:33and solidarity is eroding
14:35that's reflected in today's politics too
14:43for men who feel insecure about their place in society
14:47feminism and gender equality can feel like a loss of status
14:51even a crisis
14:53some respond by embracing more rigid ideas of masculinity
14:57reinforced by the Manosphere
14:59and in other places too
15:03I'd say the Manosphere
15:07and its messaging have strong links
15:09to far-right politics
15:11both offer easy, cut-and-dried answers
15:14that are above all
15:15based on hierarchy
15:20One example is German far-right politician Maximilian Krah
15:24Don't let anyone tell you to be nice, soft, weak and left-wing
15:28real men are right-wing
15:30real men have ideals
15:31real men are patriots
15:32then you'll get a girlfriend too
15:35for men who find identity, acceptance
15:38and a sense of belonging in these online communities
15:41leaving can be difficult
15:43so what can help them find a way out?
15:48it's very hard to get young men out of these tightly closed communities
15:52we probably need to ask men who left the Manosphere what helped them most
15:59we often hear that friendships across genders can help prevent men getting drawn in
16:05and help them leave
16:10parents and families can also raise awareness
16:12but if gender equality isn't valued in a family
16:15change can feel dangerous
16:17and even a female Bundesliga head coach can seem like a threat
16:23after all, the German Football Association banned women's teams in West Germany until 1970
16:29claiming in the battle for the ball, female grace disappears
16:36so are we really headed towards a world ruled by women?
16:40not even close
16:41worldwide, just one in seven countries is led by a woman
16:46and many women still depend financially on a partner or family
16:50one in four has experienced violence from a partner or former partner
17:02he walked into that nightclub and beat me up in front of everyone
17:06nobody stepped in
17:07that's how it started and I stayed for five years
17:18I left home at 18 when I met him
17:21at some point he said it was time for me to earn money too for our future together
17:27then I was dressed up and sent to work in a brothel
17:32I saw to Friedrich and Alice Westphal never reported what happened to them
17:37they're far from alone
17:39in Germany only about five percent of cases of partner violence are reported
17:43I always thought he was the love of my life
17:47we belonged together, we'd save each other, we were like magnets
17:53things at home were so difficult and I didn't want to go back
17:58that's how he got me to put up with it
18:03at Leipzig University Johanna Niendorf studies misogynistic attitudes
18:08and how they can fuel violence against women
18:15we've found that ideas about masculinity play a key role
18:20if we learn from childhood that women and men have different roles
18:23that women are subordinate to men
18:25that lays the groundwork for men to enforce that hierarchy through violence
18:33Sebastian Ulmer works with men who are violent toward their female partners
18:38he knows many of the patterns behind their violence
18:46they may struggle to resolve conflicts without violence
18:51there's often a sense of dominance and entitlement
18:55as well as experiences of violence in their own childhood
19:02domestic violence cuts across all social groups and classes
19:08according to Johanna Niendorf
19:10one in three men in Germany hold sexist views
19:14including support for traditional gender roles
19:16and a hierarchy between men and women
19:22we looked at which social groups were most likely to hold anti-feminist and sexist views
19:28we found these attitudes were most widespread
19:31among people with strongly right-wing political views
19:34we know that religion itself has no decisive influence
19:40but when people practice their religion in a very dogmatic way
19:43it can have a decisive effect on sexist and anti-feminist views
19:52psychologist Georg Meyer Hoeven and a colleague run anti-violence programs for domestic violence perpetrators in Berlin
19:59some are sent by the courts or youth welfare services
20:03most commit their partners request
20:10one thing I think many of these men share is a sense of powerlessness
20:14they say they don't know what else to do
20:18they can't see a way forward
20:22so they use violence to regain control of the situation
20:27experts say anti-violence programs need at least 25 sessions to reduce the risk of further violence
20:37the exercises here help men find more precise words for what they're feeling
20:42that can help prevent misunderstandings
20:46and it can help them step back when tensions rise
20:49when they're under pressure and the situation could turn violent
20:55women experiencing violence from a partner or ex-partner
20:59can seek refuge in women's shelters
21:01safe from physical attacks and emotional abuse
21:05many arrive here financially and socially isolated
21:09often the shelter is a last resort
21:14in Germany it takes a woman five to seven attempts to leave a violent male or female partner for good
21:20that's because over years sometimes decades
21:23an abuser can build up an incredible system of power and control
21:31that can make it extremely hard for a woman to break free from the cycle of violence
21:39Alice Westphal and Aisato Friedrich both managed to leave their abusers
21:44but like countless others they endured years of violence first
21:50what would have really helped was someone who saw me
21:53took me by the hand and told me that things would get better
21:56that I had other options
22:01Aisato Friedrich eventually found help
22:05after years of silence speaking publicly about the violence she experienced
22:10has helped her reclaim some of the freedom it took from her
22:17and now to another strong woman
22:18she's looking deep inside our cells
22:21trying to understand something extraordinary
22:23how they remember
22:27at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biology in Münster, Germany
22:32Sarah Wickström and her team study the building blocks of our bodies
22:36our cells
22:38what happens when they're stretched, squeezed or squashed
22:41it happens all the time
22:43and those forces can leave their mark
22:47one favourite example for me is like the skin of our elbows or skin of our skull soles of our
22:52feet
22:53is very different from the eyelid skin
22:54and this is because the forces change the tissue structure to be able to resist those forces
23:02Finnish scientist Sarah Wickström has spent more than 20 years researching in Germany
23:07a trained doctor with a PhD in cell biology
23:10she helped lay the foundations for a new field
23:14nuclear mechanobiology
23:17Wickström and her team showed that squeezing or stretching cells changes more than their shape
23:24there are markers on and around our DNA that help tell the cell which genes to read and use
23:31when a cell is squeezed those markers can change
23:38that can make some genetic instructions easier for the cell to access and others harder
23:43and those changes can happen surprisingly fast
23:48I think there were two surprises
23:50one that the changes were so substantial
23:52but also that they were so fast
23:54because classically in the epigenetics field
23:56people have thought that these kind of changes take days
24:00and how the cells slowly get reprogrammed
24:03but we saw that these actually these changes happen within minutes
24:08In the lab Wickström and her team apply precisely controlled forces to cells
24:13then watch how living cells and tissues respond
24:18but of course the cells which are like high left
24:21take a tumour pressing against surrounding tissue
24:24nearby cells can become stiffer
24:26understanding why that happens could eventually point to new approaches to treating cancer
24:37the researchers also use advanced tools to track which genes are active
24:43in individual cells under different kinds of mechanical stress
24:47that calls for expertise over several fields
24:52these kind of technological developments have been important
24:56but of course also our conceptual thinking
24:58in a way that we need interdisciplinary science
25:00so we need to combine physics biology and chemistry
25:04and again previously maybe science was operating in this kind of silos
25:08but now we are really kind of working together
25:10as a cell biologist and medical doctor
25:13human health is never far from her mind
25:17in my everyday life I'm more a cell biologist like than an MD
25:21but often I like to pick an angle where we still can think about
25:26the very basic science that we do in a context of human health and disease
25:30and particularly if we make a discovery
25:32then immediately I start thinking how we could use it to benefit human health
25:38so can cells remember an injury even after it's healed?
25:42that's the question Sarah Wickström plans to investigate
25:46backed by a 1 million euro curb-up price
25:51and that's all for now on DW Science Show
25:54thanks for watching and see you again soon on Tomorrow Today
25:59goodbye