Our Prehistory

Migration out of Africa, interbreeding with Neanderthals, and colonization of Eurasia. What can stone tools, bone tools, and ornaments discovered in the Middle East tell us about those fateful events? Support the show

19,000 to 12,000 years ago ... As shifts to social dynamics took place in Africa, both human creativity and brutality flourished. Support the show

25,000 to 12,000 years ago ... Human life was gradually changing across Africa at the end of the Pleistocene. One element of this transformation was a shift in what people ate. Support the show

25,000 years ago ... Right at the peak of the Last Ice Age, most people living on the African continent finally embraced microlithic tools, an innovation that had been around for tens of thousands of years. Support the show

45,000 to 30,000 years ago ... Signs of Late Stone Age culture start appearing across sub-saharan Africa, hinting at long-distance contact between once isolated peoples. Support the show

60,000 to 45,000 years ago ... Signs of cultural change started to appear among hunter gatherers in Africa, leading to the end of the Middle Stone Age, a period that had lasted hundreds of thousands of years. Support the show

12,800 to 11,700 years ago ... In the cold of the Younger Dryas, at the peak of megafauna extinction, the descendants of Clovis fragmented into a range of new cultures across North America. Support the show

Around 13,000 years ago, a wide range of large animal species started disappearing. The circumstances strongly implicate humans. Support the show

13,000 to 12,000 years ago... From megafauna hunters in Tierra del Fuego to Amazonian rock painters, the formation of early South America hunter gatherer societies was a complex process, and a sudden burst of distinct human cultures appeared at the end of the Ice Age. Support the show

The first North American cultures appeared around 13,000 years ago, when megafauna roamed a continent still largely devoid of humans.  Support the show

Homo sapiens, the only hominin to colonize every continent on the planet, finally reaches America. But who were the first Americans and when did they arrive?  Support the show

19,000 to 11,700 years ago ... In the Himalayan foothills of Thailand and the southern islands of Wallacea, the adoption of new funerary rituals, ornaments, and tools by hunter gatherer societies coincided with global warming and large human migrations. Support the show

53,000 to 13,000 years ago ... Recent dating of rock paintings in Indonesia has redefined our understanding of the oldest art produced by humans and raised the possibility of an extremely old and widespread Pan-Eurasian and Sahulian style. Support the show

The first Homo sapiens to reach Southeast Asia quickly learned how to survive in rainforests, overcoming the unique challenges of this rainy biome. Support the show

Incredibly stable traditions of stone tool making remained in use for tens of thousands of years in South and Southeast Asia. Support the show

19,000 to 11,700 years ago ... Stirring of future fundamental transformations in the human way of life begin in parts of northeast Asia at the end of the Paleolithic. Support the show

20,000 to 11,700 years ago ... As the planet thawed after the Last Glacial Maximum, human life continued to evolve. A range of technologies appeared among the groups living in East Asia, one of which would eventually play a role in shaping our modern world.  Support the show

30,000 to 20,000 years ago ... A powerful new stone tool technology broke through longstanding cultural boundaries. Support the show

35,000 to 25,000 years ago ... The first major changes to the cultures of Siberia and Japan take place after the arrival of Homo sapiens result in peak in artistic production. Support the show

50,000 to 30,000 years ago ... The start of a new period of prehistory in China, Korea, and Japan began with the arrival of Homo sapiens and the quick development of regionally distinctive cultures. Support the show

60,000 to 40,000 years ago ... As Homo sapiens dispersed across Asia, they followed two different routes and these movements shaped the earliest cultures of this continent. Support the show

20,000 to 12,000 years ago ... As the world warmed, humans extended their reach in Sahul, migrated away from the rising seas, developed new funerary rituals, and learned new ways to manage animal populations. Support the show

28,600 to 17,700 years ago ... Global cooling altered the ecosystems of Sahul and forced its human populations to adapt.  Support the show

50,000 to 12,000 ... Prehistoric paintings and engravings provide insights into the rituals, technology, and worldviews of Australians, tens of thousands of years ago. Support the show

50,000 to 30,000 years ago ... Isolated from people on other continents, the oldest traditions of Sahulians evolved along a unique cultural pathway. Support the show