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Artwork for Our Prehistory
History

Our Prehistory

Benjy Longworth

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. 

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  • 20 episodes
  • monthly
  • Avg 26 min
  • English

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Episodes 20

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  • July 21 · 29 min

    51. Epipaleolithic

    The Levant witnessed a gradual transition from simple nomadic societies to more complex sedentism. The earliest signs of this fundamental change in human life appeared during the Last Glacial Maximum. Support the show

  • June 21 · 4 min

    50. Southwest Asia: Upper Paleolithic Hub [Preview]

    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

  • May 7 · 23 min

    49. Ritual and Violence in Africa

    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

  • April 7 · 46 min

    48. Broad Spectrum Origins in Africa

    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

  • March 8 · 4 min

    47. Last Glacial Maximum of Africa [Preview]

    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

  • February 8 · 29 min

    46. Spread of the Late Stone Age

    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

  • January 13 · 33 min

    45. Late Stone Age of Africa

    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

  • Nov 6, 2025 · 4 min

    44. Post Clovis [Preview]

    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

  • Oct 5, 2025 · 45 min

    43. American Megafauna Extinctions

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

  • Jul 31, 2025 · 54 min

    42. Fishtail Points and Early South America

    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

  • May 16, 2025 · 55 min

    40. Arrival in America

    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

  • Mar 2, 2025 · 34 min

    39. Terminal Pleistocene of Southeast Asia

    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

  • Feb 9, 2025 · 3 min

    38. Rock Art of Southeast Asia [Preview]

    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

  • Jan 19, 2025 · 38 min

    37. Rainforest Adaptations in Asia

    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

  • Dec 28, 2024 · 43 min

    36. Hoabinhian and Indian Microlithic

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

  • Sep 3, 2024 · 41 min

    34. Invention of Pottery

    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

  • Aug 4, 2024 · 35 min

    33. Microblades

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

  • Jun 30, 2024 · 4 min

    32. Middle Upper Paleolithic [Preview]

    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

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes