Part 1: Homo Erectus. This episode is set 75,000 years ago in India, following a catastrophic super-volcanic eruption which forced a showdown between our ancestors and a completely different species of human, Homo erectus, who up until that point had reigned supreme. Homo erectus was a successful, long-lived species that migrated out of Africa. Possibly the first humans to live in hunter-gatherer societies, they also used rafts to travel the oceans.
Duration 58:29
Part 2: Neanderthal. This episode is set 35,000 years ago and depicts Homo sapiens's encounter with Homo neanderthalensis. As the ice caps retreated, the Neanderthal stronghold in Europe weakened, providing a window of opportunity to which modern humans owe their existence. As almost exclusively carnivorous, both male and female Neanderthals hunted. Evidence of a huge number of injuries, like those seen in today's rodeo riders, suggest that hunting involved dangerously close contact with large prey animals.
Duration 56:48
from Evolution documentary
Duration 58:29
Part 2: Neanderthal. This episode is set 35,000 years ago and depicts Homo sapiens's encounter with Homo neanderthalensis. As the ice caps retreated, the Neanderthal stronghold in Europe weakened, providing a window of opportunity to which modern humans owe their existence. As almost exclusively carnivorous, both male and female Neanderthals hunted. Evidence of a huge number of injuries, like those seen in today's rodeo riders, suggest that hunting involved dangerously close contact with large prey animals.
Duration 56:48
from Evolution documentary