Up Next
Back to Show
Watch Preview
NOVA
Great Human Odyssey
Season 43
Episode 12
Our ancient human ancestors once lived only in Africa in tiny bands of a few thousand hunter-gatherers. Then we moved out of our African cradle, spreading rapidly to every corner of the planet. How did we acquire the skills, technology and talent to thrive in every environment on earth? How did our prehistoric forebears cross the Sahara, survive frigid ice ages, and sail to remote Pacific islands?
Support Provided By
53:16
Sir David Attenborough explores a site with traces of ancient mammoths and Neanderthals.
53:30
In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:21
Intrepid paleontologists discover that dinosaurs thrived in the Arctic’s cold and dark.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Take a tasty look at insect foods that could benefit our health and our warming planet.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Join the hunt for the universe’s most common—yet most elusive and baffling—particle.
53:36
As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.
53:46
NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.
53:32
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
53:30
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.