Our Prehistory
The history of humanity before civilization is populated by an array of cultures throughout the millennia and across the continents. The earliest humans followed diverse customs and survival strategies, explored the unknown, adapted to exotic ecosystems, thrived in good times, and fell into oblivion in others. This podcast relates that story, starting with the origin of our species and tracing the development of human life before written records.
Episodes
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.
The first North American cultures appeared around 13,000 years ago, when megafauna roamed a continent still largely devoid of humans.
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?
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.
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.
The first Homo sapiens to reach Southeast Asia quickly learned how to survive in rainforests, overcoming the unique challenges of this rainy biome.
Incredibly stable traditions of stone tool making remained in use for tens of thousands of years in South and Southeast Asia.
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.
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.
30,000 to 20,000 years ago ... A powerful new stone tool technology broke through longstanding cultural boundaries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
28,600 to 17,700 years ago ... Global cooling altered the ecosystems of Sahul and forced its human populations to adapt.
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.
50,000 to 30,000 years ago ... Isolated from people on other continents, the oldest traditions of Sahulians evolved along a unique cultural pathway.
65,000 to 40,000 years ago ... By crossing the ocean between Asia and the coasts of New Guinea and Australia, Homo sapiens dispersed to and colonized a third continent.
48,000 to 11,000 years ago ... Long term trends reveal dramatic changes in social complexity and the impact of climate, population size, and migration on cultural variation.
12,850 to 11,670 years ago ... The last gasp of the Ice Age led people across northern Europe to adopt a different way of life, one that resembled the customs of long lost cultures. Cultures: Swiderian, Ahrensburgian, Desnenian, Bromme, Laborian.
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