JANUARY2015TheFirstsIssueTHEFIRSTARTISTSTHEFIRSTYEAROFLIFETHEFIRSTCITYOFAFRICATHEFIRSTGLIMPSEOFTHEHIDDENCOSMOSHOWATINY12,000-YEAR-OLDTEENAGERBECAMETHEFIRSTAMERICANJANUARUARUAUAAUAUAUAUY2015015JANUARY2015•VOL.227•NO.132TheFirstArtistsCreditthemwithapiv-otalinnovationinhumanhistory:theinventionofsymbolicexpression.ByChipWalterPhotographsbyStephenAlvarez58TheFirstYearIntheincrediblelearningmachinethatisababy’sbrain,developmentdependsonlovingcaretakers.ByYudhijitBhattacharjeePhotographsbyLynnJohnson108AFirstGlimpseoftheHiddenCosmosAsscientistsmaptheuniverse,whattheycan’tsee—darkenergyanddarkmatter—iskey.ByTimothyFerrisPhotographsbyRobertClark124TrackingtheFirstAmericansGeneticdataandnewarchaeologicaldiscoveriesoffercluestothemysteryofearlyAmericans’origin.ByGlennHodges138Proof|FirstBirdThebaldeaglemaybeamajesticnationalsymbol—butit’salsoonetoughbird.ByKlausNiggeAfrica’sFirstCityInLagos,Nigeria,aboomeconomywidenstheriftbetweenthewealthyandthepoor.ByRobertDraperPhotographsbyRobinHammond78TheweddingofGbengaAdeotiandhisbride,FunmiOlojede,featuredtraditionalcustomsandattireoftheYoruba,Lagos’smainethnicgroup.OntheCoverGeneticistssaythatNativeAmericans’ancestorswereAsianswhoseparatedfromotherAsianpopulationsandremainedisolatedforabout10,000years.ArtbyTomerHanukaCorrectionsandClarificationsGotongm.com/more.OFFICIALJOURNALOFTHENATIONALGEOGRAPHICSOCIETYFirstsFROMTHEEDITORLookingAheadThisissueofNationalGeographicisbuiltaroundtheideaof“firsts”—discoveries,innovations,andactionsthatchangedtheworld.Asafirst,it’shardtotopthebraveryofRubyBridges,whotellsusinour3QuestionsfeaturewhatitwasliketobethefirstchildtodesegregateanAmericanpublicelementaryschoolintheSouth.Wealsousethetermlessformally,asinaphotoessayonAmerica’s“first”bird(thebaldeagle)oravibrantstoryonAfrica’s“first”city(Lagos,Nigeria’scom-mercialcenter,whichisdrivingthebiggesteconomyonthecontinent).Soinanissueoffirsts,howdoweforecastwhatcomesnext?Whatwillbethenext“firsts”thatwillchangeus,ourfamilies,ou...
