Our Prehistory

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

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.Support the show

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.Support the show

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.Support the show

12,850 to 11,670 years ago ... In the Mediterranean Basin of Europe, the resilience of stone age societies was on display during the last gasp of the Ice Age. Support the show

14,700 to 12,800 years ago ... A dramatically warmer world and the proliferation of woodlands led people in Europe to a radically different way of life. Some groups thrived, other societies crumbled. Cultures: Azilian, Federmesser, Epimagdalenian, and Late Epigravettian.Support the show

19,000 to 15,000 years ago ... Among the cultures of eastern and southern Europe that came after the Last Glacial Maximum, the Mezinian of the Dnieper River basin left behind the most diverse set of remains. Also, a new genetic lineage appeared in Italy.Support the show

The final 2,000 years of the Magdalenian culture witnessed a major geographic expansion of hunter gatherer society in western and central Europe. Simultaneously, a new type of hunting weapon was invented and an old artistic theme made a reappearance. Support the show

The greatest heights of Upper Paleolithic cave paintings and engraved portable art were reached after the Last Glacial Maximum ended and human populations grew.Support the show

As the hunter gatherers of southwestern Europe endured the Last Glacial Maximum, a unique culture arose, characterized by fine stone points and a rich artistic repertoire.Support the show

The peak of the Last Ice Age drastically altered the course of European prehistory. Around 25,000 years ago, as the glaciers reached their maximum extent, the Gravettian ended and was replaced with a variety of local cultures. In central and eastern Europe this period is called the Epigravettian.Support the show

The Gravettian saw a flourishing of hunter gatherer art.  Engravings of bison, Venus figurines, and rich burials hint at a shifting Ice Age ideology and social organization.Support the show

The Aurignacian culture of Europe ended 33,000 years ago and was replaced by the Gravettian. Sometimes overlooked, this period of prehistory saw an intriguing peak in Ice Age culture and the precocious development of technologies not often associated with hunter gatherers.Support the show

The oldest European sculptures, paintings, and musical instruments appeared around 40,000 years ago. What does Aurignacian art reveal about the worldview of ancient hunter gatherers?Support the show

In the absence of Neanderthals, Homo sapiens developed the Aurignacian culture, which spanned Europe. These people continued the trend toward technological complexity that had begun during the out of Africa migrations.Support the show

Our most detailed insight into a prehistoric encounter and coexistence of two intelligent hominin species comes from the 8,000 year period before the eradication of the Neanderthals, when Homo sapiens migrated into Europe.Support the show

One branch of Homo sapiens expanding out of Africa migrated through southern Asia and adapted to tropical environments. Bows and arrows, microlithic tools, and seafaring were some of their technological innovations.Support the show

The permanent expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa began about 60,000 years ago. After intimate encounters with Neanderthals in Southwest Asia, some of them moved into Europe and Northern Asia. How did these Eurasian migrants adapt to foreign climates and ecosystems?Support the show

Eagle talons around their necks, painted faces, and stone-tipped spears in hand, Neanderthals were not dumb brutes. Join me on this crash course and learn about the species with whom we share the most in common.Support the show

Footprints on lake margins, contact between hominin species, and changing fortunes in arid landscapes characterize the earliest attempts of Homo sapiens to leave Africa.Support the show

Despite the relatively harsh and fluctuating environmental conditions of North Africa, Middle Stone Age people there developed aspects of modern human behavior earlier than anywhere else.Support the show

The crossroads of human evolution, tropical Africa supported several different populations of Homo sapiens between 130,000 and 40,000 years ago. They expanded, contracted, migrated, and eventually revealed their growing capacity for innovation.Support the show

Before our species left Africa for good, human creativity began to emerge along the southern tip of the continent in the form of new technology, symbolic objects, and greater social organization. Distinct cultures were finally appearing.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ourprehistorySupport the show

The very first members of our species adopted innovative stone tools, hunted a variety of large animals, sat around campfires and used pigments. But were they as smart as we are today?Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ourprehistorySupport the show

The earliest members of our species appeared around 300,000 years ago in Africa. As they spread across the continent and split into different genetic lineages, they encountered other hominin species and weathered millennia of fluctuating climates.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ourprehistorySupport the show

Welcome to Our Prehistory. Why is the earliest history of our species worth learning about? Find out in this introductory episode where I lay out the plan for this podcast.Support the show